Franco Banfi underwater photography

As a professional underwater photographer, Franco Banfi has spent much of his life exploring a mesmerizing world that thrives beneath the waves. His images reveal a beautiful, captivating environment where humans are at best short-term guests. "I don't mind cold places, fresh or salt," says the Ticino-based lensman, who has shot the bottoms of icebergs in frozen Swiss lakes, beluga whales in Russia and mysterious wrecks of the Adriatic. "The best are the whales," he says. "You can see how they watch you." swissinfo's Tim Neville caught up with Banfi on assignment in Croatia.