Tarpon Springs, Sponge Divers

Three days living aboard with Tarpon Springs sponge divers in the Gulf of Mexico, documenting the heritage and craft of sponge harvesting.

An older man wearing a red bandana and sunglasses is operating a radio inside a sponge boat in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Shirtless man in green shorts standing inside a sponge boat in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Close-up portrait of a sponge diver wearing a black backward baseball cap and a gold chain necklace in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Shirtless sponge diver handling ropes beside stacked fishing nets on a boat under a cloudy sky in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Commercial fishing boat deck stacked with net-covered sponges beside the ocean in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Commercial dive boat with scuba gear and sponge diver on deck, photographed from water level in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Black-and-white close-up of a sponge diver underwater in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Black-and-white photo of a sponge diver wearing a respirator and safety harness aboard a fishing vessel at sea in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Angler measures a large fish with a yellow tape measure on a boat deck in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Close-up of an older man holding a freshly caught fish on a boat in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Man wearing a red bandana and sunglasses rests shirtless among bundled natural sea sponges on a boat deck in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Shirtless man wearing a red bandana sits aboard a boat surrounded by equipment, with the ocean visible behind him in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Dark ocean water with rippling waves reflecting warm sunlight in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Shirtless man making a rock hand gesture under dramatic red lighting in Tarpon Springs, Florida.