NEWFOUNDLAND (REUTERS) - For the first time in 14 years, video and photographs taken by high-powered, specially adapted cameras captured the bacteria-eaten Titanic at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean about 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

After 14 years in complete darkness, the wreckage of the ill-fated Titanic is in the spotlight again, after a wealthy undersea explorer captured new video of the massive - and once-thought unsinkable - steamship.

"First impressions. It's big. It is a big wreck. I wasn't fully ready for just how large it was. And when it came up on sonar, it really stood out," said private equity investor Victor Vescovo.

Vescovo led a mission more than 12,000 feet deep to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean about 400 miles from Newfoundland with a submersible vehicle that took more than three years to build.

Researchers used a specialized camera to survey the wreck - collecting data for future 3D models of the Titanic for augmented reality and virtual reality platforms.

The images may also help scientists predict how the wreck will continue to deteriorate.

But despite its state of decay, researchers say it continues to impress.

"It was just extraordinary just to see it all. And the most amazing moment came when I was going along the side of the Titanic and the bright lights of the submersible, the first time when they reflected off of a portal and came right back. It was like the ship was winking at me. It was really amazing."

The ship was once thought to be unsinkable.

In 1912, two days after it set sail from England with more than 2,000 people on board, the Titanic struck an iceberg.

Over 1,500 people died when it disappeared into the Atlantic.

And now, after 100 years - these striking images are helping keep the memory of that disaster alive.