At Close Range

By sending vacation snaps to scientists, travelers can help preserve underwater wonders.

- Stephanie Vermillion

A scuba diver photographs a coral reef near Wakaya Island, in Fiji.

THE ASSIGNMENT was clear: I was to scuba dive 15 feet below the waves in the Pacific Ocean, near New Zealand’s Poor Knights Islands, and capture a photo. The waters teemed with colorful aquatic life, but it was tricky to get a perfect shot amid the oceanic swells.

This was to be expected, though. I had just begun my two-day underwater photography course with