The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum has received a $100,000 donation from world-renowned underwater photographer Ernest H. Brooks II.

Brooks, the son of Ernest Brooks Sr., founder of the Brooks Photography Institute, decided to make his planned gift to the Maritime Museum while he was still alive, enabling him to witness firsthand the transformative change such a gift can make to the museum.

Knowing how important light is to a photographer, the Maritime Museum will use Brooks’ donation to launch a long-awaited capital campaign to design and install new state-of-the-art lighting throughout the museum.

The new lighting will brighten both the exhibit displays and the future of the Maritime Museum for decades.

Brooks is one of 21 members of the SBMM’s Flagship Society, those who have designated the museum in their planned giving.

For more information about the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum Flagship Society go to http://www.sbmm.org/support-the-museum/.

— Greg Gorga for Santa Barbara Maritime Museum.