Fine art underwater photography from the Northwoods and Lake Superior by Michaela Rai

With this work I wanted to capture not just what the lake looks like but what the lake feels like. My work focuses on embodiment...what it feels like to be whole and integrated. This is your mind, your soul, your heart, your creativity, your darkness, your light, your love and your pain all safely housed in your body. I always strive for my photos of people to feel like coming home.   I want you to recognize yourself in your photographs and feel safe to exist exactly how you are in the moment you are in, without pretense or compensation.

'body of water'

There is nothing like Lake Superior with its movement and fresh, deep cold to require you to be completely present.

Even your body responds when you enter the lake by requiring you to breathe deeply, move how you need and allow your body to function how it must without resistance. The water supports you, increases circulation and your oxygen intake. It makes you feel alive and a little bit like dying at the same time. It's a good metaphor for life.

The balance between struggle and joy is tenuous and the lake is the perfect setting to capture the beauty of existence.

This is my work, entitled, 'Body of Water'.