Santa Barbara Maritime Museum Presents Marine Megatropolis Photos by Bob Evans at the Santa Barbara Airport

The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum has announced the installation of an exciting photography exhibit, Marine Megatropolis 1974-1981: Photos by Bob Evans, in the main entrance of the Santa Barbara Airport terminal.

The unique exhibit is on view at the airport from June 6 through the end of 2023 and will feature the underwater photography of entrepreneur, visionary, and photographer Bob Evans. Designed to greet Santa Barbara visitors and remind them how beautiful the California Central Coast is, the exhibit includes photographs of marine life under the oil platforms in the Santa Barbara Channel captured between 1974-1981.

The offshore oil platforms of the Santa Barbara Channel are a unique vertical habitat, offering marine life shadows and shelter from predators and structure on which to anchor. The life that propagates and creates a thriving community in the ocean is what Evans calls “Marine Megatropolis.”

Selected from thousands of photos taken over 850 dive expeditions by Bob Evans and Andrew J. McMullen of La Mer Bleu Productions, the 16 spectacular images help contribute to understanding the unseen ocean and the opportunities available for a new offshore development paradigm.

“It’s an honor to share the progeny of our adventures with visitors and those traveling home through the Santa Barbara Airport,” said Evans, “as you fly over the Channel, let my photographs inspire you to visualize what lives below.”

From a young age, Evans has always been interested in the underwater world, and wanted to share his passion through photography. Evans has had exhibits at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center on Stearns Wharf and is currently working with Pacific Offshore Continental Shelf Operators, exploring collaboration on a pilot of his patented subsea system for desalination.SBMM Curator, Emily Falke, said of the exhibit “in the spirit of building community, SBMM and SBA worked together to exhibit Marine Megatropolis 1974-1981, photographs by Bob Evans, providing an immediate unique experience to viewers visiting from all over the world.”