Austrian photographer, and avid diver, Andreas Franke explored the Vandenberg shipwreck off the Florida Keys and took several images of the sunken ship. After returning to Austria he looked over his photographs and had an epiphany. The ship, which was sunk as an artificial reef, could be brought back to life in another capacity.
On August 4th The 522 ft former military ship became an underwater art exhibit titled ""Vandenberg: Life Below the Surface." Strong magnets were used to secure 12 of Franke's digitally composited photographs of the ship to the starboard side 93 feet below the surface. The images are encased in 3 millimeter waterproof Plexiglass cases and mounted in stainless steel frames. (all Eco-friendly of course)
The photograph above depicts a girl wielding a butterfly net to capture fish
"Even though there is so much life, marine life, all over and around it, the shipwreck itself, to me, is a dead thing," ... "But I thought that if I put people on it, then there would again be life on that ship." ~ Andreas Franke
Divers/Patrons peruse the photographs by Austrian photographer Andreas Franke along the deck of Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg artificial reef, August 4, 2011. The gift shop is just up on the left. The image on the left is of two people on exercise bikes and a woman in 80's work-out gear talking to Gym employee
Diver installing exhibit
Here are some of Franke's underwater composit work: