Andreas Franke / Florida Keys News Bureau / Reuters

Divers examine photographs by Austrian photographer Andreas Franke along the deck of Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg artificial reef, 90 feet deep in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary off Key West, Fla., in this photograph taken on Aug. 4, 2011 and provided on Aug. 7. Franke created and installed a dozen digitally composited images for the underwater exhibition.

Keysnews.com reports:

Franke, an avid diver and professional photographer, explored the Vandenberg last year and took several photos of the wreck, which rests in 120 feet of water and rises to 55 feet below the surface.

When he returned to Austria and examined his photos, Franke wanted to add life to what he saw as a dead ship, which was sunk as an artificial reef.

"Even though there is so much life, marine life, all over and around it, the shipwreck itself, to me, is a dead thing," Franke said. "But I thought that if I put people on it, then there would again be life on that ship."

Read the full story from Keysnews.com here.