Susan Middleton: "Spineless: Portraits of Marine Invertebrates"

Spineless: Portraits of Marine Invertebrates, The Backbone of Life (Abrams, November 2014) by pioneering photographer Susan Middleton. Marine invertebrates make up more than 98% of the known animal species in the ocean, yet they remain elusive to most of us. Susan Middleton has devoted seven years of fieldwork across the Pacific Ocean to provide us with a rare glimpse into this mysterious world. As timely as it is visually stunning, her portraiture spotlights a vulnerable population, marine invertebrates being the first to experience the effects of climate change,
particularly ocean acidification.
Photographs are copyright © Susan Middleton, all rights reserved

Susan Middleton participated in the effort to protect the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, resulting in the National Marine Monument designation in 2006. President Obama is proposing to extend the parameters of that protected region, including the Line Islands, several of whose marine inhabitants are pictured in Spineless. In her foreword to the book, Sylvia Earle makes a powerful argument for conservation, emphasizing the critical importance of marine invertebrates to the health of our oceans and ourselves.

From the stubby squid to the white phantom crab, these images open our eyes to the biodiversity, the fragility and the resiliency of these species.
“The photos…exquisitely convey a dynamic world largely unknown to the human eye.”—American Photo

“[These] striking portraits bring the bizarre beauty of marine invertebrates to life. . . .gorgeous.”—Wired.com

“The marine invertebrates in her photographs are such beautiful, ethereal, otherworldly creatures, they almost appear to float atop the pages.”—Entertainment Weekly
“Gorgeous portraits of spineless sea creatures…capture the curious gestures and expressions of marine invertebrates.”—Smithsonian.com