Portraits Of The Deep

A false clown anemone fish peeks out from its host anemone.

To many of us, the word “retirement” evokes thoughts of long and leisurely afternoons spent on the golf course or poolside. To Mike and Ann Ricciardi, however, it means having the time to embark on exciting diving expeditions halfway around the world. This fortunate and adventurous couple has been able to experience at arm’s length what most of us can only imagine from our armchairs. It’s only through a collection of remarkable photographs that we can catch a glimpse of the exotic undersea world that the Ricciardis have explored firsthand.

Mike and Ann have been avid scuba divers for nearly 25 years. Both are advanced open-water divers, with Mike having completed over 900 dives and Ann pushing the 1,000 mark. For years, the couple enjoyed combining their interests in travel and diving by visiting a variety of diving destinations. Now that they’re retired, the Ricciardis are taking the opportunity to travel more often and to areas that are even more remote.

Read the entire article in the September 2004 issue