Photography by Elena Kalis

Elena Kalis lives on a small island in the Bahamas, surrounded by clear warm ocean. During her childhood she spend a lot of time in the water and often with her camera. It comes to no surprise that she was always intrigued and inspired by how things look very different underwater: Shapes, lights, colors are shifting all the time, everything is vivid and fluid. Elena became interested in capturing this specific environment and specialised in underwater photography and we at Ben Trovato have always been a fan of this young lady, so time for a chat. I'm pretty confident I already know the answer, but can you tell us what your biggest source of inspiration is? " -The ocean. It’s vast and multifaceted. One day it is bright, sunny and fun. Yet there is another side which is darkness, unconsciousness, death. I can never get tired from it and it is my main daily dose of inspiration." The Alice in Waterland series have been extremely popular and can easily be labelled as an internet phenomenon, but how did it all started? " -Alice in Wonderland is my favorite book of all time. It’s limitless and free. It is open to interpretations and so many people are inspired by it. It occurs to me that the place Alice found herself when she fell in the rabbit hole, or when she went on the other side of the mirror, has the same quality as being underwater; different perception of reality, weightless, a dreamlike surreal feeling. I took it from there and made my own interpretation of the story. I shared a few images on art-photo sites and it was a complete surprise that it would spread so quickly. I was still in the middle of the project and it was already all over the internet, with people asking me for interviews etc. It is amazing that you can reach so many people in a very short period of time, especially considering that I live on the island with a population of a few hundred people." Has your work been published? In what magazines? What are you currently working on? " -I have done a few book covers, including upcoming novel by Nova Ren Suma “Imaginary Girls” (Penguin group) which I just read and liked very much. I was also published in many magazines in countries like China, Korea, USA, Greece, Span, Israel and a latest cover story for Italian “Photo Cult” to name a few. I am pushing further with underwater photography, looking for new concepts and ideas. It is fascinating and a rich subject for me." More pictures and a video inside the post.