Brisbane Camera Group

Are you inspired by the fantastic and alien-like creatures of the deep sea? Or are you more interested in fresh and quirky interpretations of a more traditional subject - wedding portraiture? In either case we have something for you in this month's website reviews.

The Deep Book

This is a promotional website for the book "The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss" by Claire Nouvian. The book features 220 colour photographs of deep-sea creatures - "vampires of the deep, finned octopi, living fossils, and fragile bioluminescent creatures". The images were collected from mostly American oceanographic research institutions—including images taken by robots capable of diving to a depth of 6,000 meters.

The website gallery has 26 images and although this is clearly a limited selection, the brilliant colours, intricate decorations and startling physical designs of these creatures will have you wishing you could dive underwater with your camera tomorrow!

Claire Nouvian is a journalist, producer, and film director who has traveled the world for more than ten years, shooting wildlife for French and international television. In 2005 she was a correspondent at sea on the Gulf of Maine mission of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution and traveled 1,000 meters down onboard the submersible Johnson Sea Link-1. She said:

That was the most amazing, the most incredible moment of my life; as if I had been offered a trip to the moon … I thought of nothing else for months before it happened. Afterwards, for weeks I couldn't talk about it without crying. I'm still not entirely over it … It was so beautiful and so intense, it changed me forever.

Trash the Dress and Trash the Dress Australia

Go ahead, you know you want to. Trash it. Get it dirty. Get it wet. Roll around in the mud. Drench it in the ocean. Totally trash it.

Image by Jan Garcia

This is the provocative challenge thrown down by the Trash the Dress project, and it is one which has attracted some negative publicity.

But there are many more supporters than detracters and you will understand why when you see the quality of photography on both websites. These are not just gorgeous wedding images, they are beautiful examples of modern portrait photography.

Whether it is the ground breaking work of John Michael Cooper or simply stunning images from talented photographers from around the world, these photographs will inspire creative experimentation on your next portrait shoot.

And both websites are open for submissions - what a great way to showcase your original vision of wedding photography.