Walt’s writing and imagery have also graced the pages of numerous magazines such as Boating, Boating Life, Motor Boating, SaltWater Sportsman, Sport Fishing, Field & Stream, Marlin, Saltwater Fly Fishing, Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Outdoor Photographer, Caribbean Travel & Life, Florida Travel and Life and Islands Magazine.
Walt maintains his blog site, UnderwaterJournal.com, and together with his wife, Karen, has created and managed an array of marketing initiatives and campaigns for Wakatobi Dive Resort, Caradonna Dive Adventures, the Palm Beach County Diving Association, Author Charles Todd, and the Masonic Lodge of Jupiter Florida.
Walt has a degree in zoology and background in oceanographic science and has been called upon by conservation groups such as Pew Research, the Ocean Conservancy, the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission and Florida State University Marine and Coastal Research Department to help bring specific goals in marine management to light. He has participated in a number of successful marine endowment programs. Among the most successful were the continuation of the Atlantic Goliath Grouper’s protected status in both State and Federal waters, the placement of Lemon sharks in 2010 as a protected species in Florida State waters and preventing the reintroduction of fish trapping in the Gulf of Mexico. He continues to be highly involved in the protection of the Goliath Grouper.
Walt is both a certified cave and rebreather diver as well as a recipient of SSI’s Platinum Pro5000, which he received in 1999. His background and skills in underwater photography and technical diving have also led to his participation in several documentary film projects beginning with Discovery Channel’s African Shark Safari and Mystery of the Whale Cave in 1994. More recent productions include work for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC’s) Plant Earth series as well as other film projects and Flag Expeditions for the Explorer's Club.
In September 2023, he was awarded the Medal of Merit of Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium, a decoration that honours people who have made Wallonia shine through their actions.
><> Harry Fayt <><
+32(0)478264447
www.harryfayt.com
Alex has been involved in the development and testing of many of Nauticam’s innovative optical products down the years, such as the SMC, WAPC and EMWL, and currently shoots with a Sony camera in a Nauticam NA-A1 housing.
His photographs have won many awards including regularly in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year - being awarded in 9 different categories and appearing in 15 different books of winning pictures in the last 20 years. These include the first mirrorless photo awarded in the contest (taken with the NA-EM5), as well as the first awarded images taken with the SMC and WACP lenses. He is also a six-time category winner in the British Wildlife Photography Awards and in 2013, he was named European Wildlife Photographer of the Year, the first underwater photographer to win this prestigious award.
His photographs have been displayed in exhibitions around the world and a particular highlight was personally presenting his work to Queen Elizabeth II in 2005. He received the Visions In the Sea Award for Outstanding Contributions to Underwater Photography (2003), in the ADEX Award for Extraordinary Contribution to Underwater Photography (2016) and the Tridente D’Oro - Underwater Academy Award (2020).
He is a founder and chair of the jury for UPY, the Underwater Photographer of the Year competition, and has acted as a judge for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year, the CMAS World Championship of Underwater Photography, the GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year, the British Wildlife Photography Awards and most other contests. He has been a committee member of the British Society of Underwater Photographers for the last 21 years and is Associate Editor of Wetpixel.com. Alex’s photography is represented by Nature Picture Library.
His images are regularly featured in magazines, newspapers and books around the world. He has published several books including The Art of Diving (2006), Secrets of the Seas (2016) and Diving The Thistlegorm (2020) and has contributed to more than 50, including many of the books that accompany David Attenborough’s landmark nature series (including Life On Earth, Blue Planet, Our Planet, Planet Earth, Wild Isles). His 2007 book Reefs Revealed, won the International Grand Prize for the best book of underwater photographs, while his 2016 instructional book Underwater Photography Masterclass remains the most sought after title on the subject and was reprinted just two weeks after its launch.
Alex is a regular contributor to many publications in the marine, wildlife, diving and photographic media, and to date has published more than 700 articles. In particular, he is a sought after writer on all aspects of underwater photography, especially technique articles. In addition to various features, he currently writes monthly columns on underwater photography for Scuba Diving Magazine (USA) and Scuba Diver Magazine (UK & Australasia).
One of the most unusual projects Alex has been involved in is Nissan's NV200 concept car built for the Tokyo Motor Show. The car was designed specifically around his needs as an underwater photographer working in the field.
In 2017, he began his journey into the aquatic world, and became fascinated with SCUBA diving and underwater photography. He seeks to apply his technical expertise developed from commercial assignments such as complex lighting techniques and panning to discover new perspective in underwater photography.
Since 2021, Wind has established a team of underwater photographers under the name “Banlai Diving” to provide photographic services to diving operators and organize advance underwater photography workshop to SCUBA divers. He hope that this initiative, “Banlai Diving” could fulfil his wish to share the love of photography and the underwater world to a larger crowd.
FB : https://www.facebook.com/L.Dejbordin
IG : https://www.instagram.com/dejbordin/
Shin mainly works with conservation organizations, including IUCN, Save Our Seas Foundation, WildAid, Ocean Conservancy. and also photographs news for Getty Images as a stringer. His images have been published by National Geographic, the Smithsonian, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Guardian, amongst others.
Shin is a National Geographic Explorer, an Associated Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers, one of the 6x6 Global Talent Program by World Press Photo, and listed among the PDN’s 30 2019. He gave TEDx talks on marine conservation photography for Bangkok in 2017, and Hong Kong in 2021. His photographs were awarded in multiple international competitions.
Although his focus is now on conservation photojournalism, he is still active within the scientific community, where he regularly collaborates on sharks and rays research in the Southeast Asia region, which he calls home.
Website: www.shinsphoto.com
IG: www.instagram.com/shinalodon
During this period, Alex bought his first underwater camera and housing, and began experimenting with photography. Following his departure from the military, his career brought him to Egypt, where he worked as a dive master and guide for a liveaboard on the Red Sea. This opportunity only further strengthened his love for the underwater world and photography, and eventually led him to work in Sudan, the Canary Islands, and his native country of Sweden. He has since been honored with the privilege to capture images for a variety of tourist organizations. “My style of photography is geared toward piquing the interest of non-divers, and giving them a window into worlds unseen. I always strive to create a ‘wish I was there’ feeling with my imagery. It is my hope that my unique style of hero shots in wide seascapes and ability to capture divers in the moment will inspire a whole new generation of divers and photographers.” This personal philosophy and unique approach to photography has led to stunning images that have received first-place awards in prestigious photo competitions across the globe.
Alex is a Nikon ambassador and shoots with a Nikon Z9 in a Nauticam housing with their dome ports and the WACP-2. He uses off-camera lighting from BigBlue Dive Lights and never uses stobes. He hasn’t owned a macro lens or port for more than 15 years. Today Alex works as a full-time commercial photographer both over and under the surface, and his work can be enjoyed in numerous publications worldwide.
Alex Dawson Photography
Tjusarstigen 3 B,
139 36 Värmdö, Sweden
phone: +46706369963
www.alex-dawson.com
www.instagram.com/alex_dawson_photography
Manoj Gupta is a Mumbai based photographer, cinematographer, diver, and owner of MG Lights N Cam, a camera rental business out of India. Gupta has spent over a decade photographing and helping others do the same across India, Maldives, United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and beyond.
Gupta is an expert in underwater cameras, lights, speakers, in addition to various other underwater accessories. He specializes in rentals for the Sony a1, Sony a7S III, as well as cinema focused equipment such as the Alexa Mini/Mini LF. Through MG Lights N Cam, Gupta strives to provide his clientele with the best possible equipment and software on the market.
MG Lights N Cam also provides consulting services, ranging from the planning stage, to equipment rentals, and underwater shooting. Gupta staffs MG Lights N Cam with other highly trained professionals who are available for hire in underwater shoots.
Gupta has worked in Bollywood and Tollywood (the two biggest film industries in India), and in partnership with Underwater Film Services and Luminousdeep (the two biggest underwater film production companies in India).
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Joe Romeiro is a multi award winning veteran wildlife cinematographer/filmmaker and executive director of 333 Productions. He is a member of the explorers club and in 2019 the Boston Sea Rovers awarded him the esteemed "Diver of the Year" award. Joe has spent over a decade filming and interacting with sharks all over the world. He has worked with many top celebrities and holds producer and filmmaking credits for Discovery Channel, National Geographic, BBC, Animal Planet and many more. His mission is to showcase sharks as beautiful creatures that are critical elements to our oceans ecosystem through personal interaction, education, research and filmmaking.
He has worked with many respected scientists in the field to bring to light some of the worlds first knowns about shark behavior and activities that astound audiences worldwide. Joe is the owner of a 45ft research vessel located in Rhode Island, the R/V WARFISH and has co- authored many scientific papers on shark behavior, movement, ecology and biology. He has been focusing on his local New England waters, fighting for the survival of the species that inhabit it; his main focuses are the Mako, Blue, Porbeagle and Great White Shark. His work has fueled awareness and legislation to protect these species not just regionally, but worldwide.
makos@night_sample from joe romeiro on Vimeo.
WhiteSharks_night1©joeromeiro from joe romeiro on Vimeo.
IG: joeromeiro333
Webpage: http://www.joeromeiro.com/
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She spends countless hours of her own time to understand the underwater world. Mean never takes her privilege for granted and feels honoured to be able to explore the ocean every single day. She is captivated by animal behaviour. For Mean, the reef is her playground and the critters are her best friends. She knows their daily routine, what and when they like to eat, and where they like to hang out.
Her wealth of knowledge and aesthetic senses are portrayed in her evocative storytelling. Mean has created a large body of work of both still and moving images, many of which have been published worldwide. Her peers also share a passion for her work, and as such, her work has received countless awards, both nationally and internationally.
Together with her husband, she co-created ‘digitalay’ - an online community for underwater enthusiasts. One of its primary objectives is to communicate unbiased and educated messages about marine animals, the environment and conservation issues.
Mean continues to learn and thrive in this changing world by passing on her knowledge, as well as her love of the natural world to younger generations. She can truly say that she has spent half of her amazing life underwater.
Always passionate about the complexity and richness of marine ecosystems, he first studied marine biology and worked on coral fish larvae in Polynesia, before becoming, over the years, a professional underwater cinematographer and a wildlife film director.
Why switching from the microscope to a camera? Kévin is convinced that the beauty revealed by the images attracts the eye, arouses curiosity and helps to better understand, becoming a very effective tool for science communication and raising awareness of the dire straits of the natural world.
On the field, he loves feeling all his senses awakening and be torn between the feeling of fear and excitement that come from these intense animal encounters.
He aims to melt with the environment, observe without disturbing, to better understand wild behaviours and capture these moments through his camera.
His first independent movie Eqalusuaq – On the trail of the Hidden Predators, followed the adventure in Alaska of two free divers and photographers looking for salmon sharks and big predators like orcas, sea lions or brown bears fishing salmons.
After presenting Eqalusuaq in different film festivals and winning several prices, Kevin has had the chance and the pleasure to work for the major international documentary channels (Arte, National Geographic, BBC) and some prestigious recent diving expeditions, from the cool waters of the Arctic to incredibly biodiverse tropical waters (Under The Pole, Gombessa).
As a professional cameraman, he is constantly looking for efficient and effective tools in order to improve the quality and originality of his shots. Rebreather allows him to meet animals down to 120m, but it is above all his camera and its housing that allow him to bring back a testimony of it.
During the different professional shootings, Kevin has tried many competing housing brands, but since the beginning, it is Nauticam with whom he has equipped all his personal professional cameras. For him, Nauticam remains the only one to offer the possibility of using different brands of video and photo cameras with the same set of domes. What is more, it also allows mounting lenses on cameras of different brands while keeping all the necessary settings, an essential point when using several RIG configurations during a remote expedition.
Taking the time on the field of observing to understand, of exploring to marvel and of valuing to pass on. These are the values that inspire Kevin in the realization of its visual projects. https://vimeo.com/279669454
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/sedna
Website: www.sednaexpeditions.com
Instagram: kevinpeyrusse
Video links with Nauticam partnership mention:
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His enthusiasm for creatively capturing the underwater world and sharing these ideas and techniques with others has led to his passion for teaching underwater photography workshops around the world. Alongside his teaching, he has become a leading and vocal proponent for marine animal welfare in the ever growing world of underwater photography.
After 8 years of training, he established the diving service Grunt Sculpin in 2000. As a local based diving service, he has been introducing the sea of Miyagi widely and domestically, it was unknown as a diving spot until then. In 2005, he successfully realized opening a new diving spot in cooperation with Shizugawa Fishery Corporative and Minamisanriku-cho. He is a Northern Sea evangelist who spreads the fun of ecological observation and photography through his own high quality photographs.
Minamisanriku Shizugawa is located on the Pacific Ocean side in the Tohoku region, almost in the middle of Minamisanriku Kinkasan Quasi-National Park. For a long time the offshore area has won fame as a great fishing ground where the cold Oyashio and the warm Kuroshio currents cross. The characteristic of Shizugawa Bay is a shallow expanse that is unusual as a rias coast. Creatures have been repeating their cycles of life in such a sea throughout the year. What he keeps in mind during field activities is to feel the seasons and read the sea. He is sure that understanding biological chains must multiply the fun of the sea. Since June 2013, he has been dedicating himself in Hakodate, the same type of sea where the cold Oyashio current and the warm Tsugaru Strait cross. This is due to influences from the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.
Diving Service Grunt Sculpin
http://www.gruntsculpin.com/
The shop name Grunt Sculpin comes from the English name for the small fish with the Japanese name Kuchibashi Kajika. The direct translation is ‘Grunt=picking, complaining’ Sculpin. They are a rare species that can only be observed in a vey limited water area in the world. Meeting these little fish that are only 7cm (2.75 in) long connected him to people and encounters, and has also become a trigger for him to start the service.
Beside the classical underwater photography, she was always very found of corals and the smallest things in the sea. As she also was a fan of art and architecture, she started as one of the first with reefart photography what means supermacro photography of corals. Claudia wants to show the beauty of nature but also stimulate the creativity of the people. With her label reefart.com, she did several single exhibitions also in museums in Switzerland.
Over the years, she saw the changing of the underwater world because of pollution, climate change and other problems. Since 2016 she is working together with firstclimate. This company has many projects for alternative energy all over the world and organises also climate compensation.
With some of here actual projects, Claudia Peyer is working in the rivers of Switzerland. With her special kind of view, she shows new perspectives to the people. She demonstrates the consequences of industrial use of rivers and also the results of a successful renaturation. She is doing this work for the local government.
The Nauticam equipment is perfect for Claudia’s work. For the reefart pictures, the viewfinder is very helpful and the different magnification lenses show all the beautiful details of natural hidden things.
When Claudia is doing the riverart pictures, she needs very durable tools, the conditions in the rivers are rough for people and material. The reliability and the high quality of the housing and the glass ports (wide angle and fisheye) are perfect for the heavyduty use.
Claudia's exhibitions in Switzerland
(23 pictures exhibited for 2 month in the cultural comunity center of Kreuzlingen)
(A special exhibition for 1.5 month: wine and art at the Moevenpick Wine and Hotels)
(For the release of the new Audi model, a special event cars and art)
Equipments:
First Nauticam Housing: 2012 (Olympus OMD-EM5)
Actual Cameras: Olympus OMD-EMD EM1X and OMD-EM1 II
Lenses: Macro 50 mm, Fisheye 8 mm, WW 7-14 mm, Zoom: 12 – 40 mm
Housing and Ports from Nauticam for both camera and all lenses.
Water contact optics: SMC-1, SMC-1 Multiplier, CMC-1
Websites: fotomeer.ch, reefart.ch, riverart.ch
FB: @Claudia Peyer
A violinist with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, William earned his scuba diving certification in 1994. Thereafter, without his prized antique Italian violin, he travels extensively between concert seasons throughout the Pacific region photographing marine life for scientific institutions, camera and housing manufacturers, tourism organizations, dive magazines and resorts.
William works closely with Canon Singapore, and is generously sponsored by Fourth Element Equipment for Adventure, Fun-In Underwater Photo Equipment, Nauticam International Limited, RGBlue Underwater Lighting System, and Scubalamp Underwater Photography Equipment.
]]>William's FB: https://www.facebook.com/william.tan.7334
Uros Podlogar is a professional photographer and videographer based between Ljubljana and the rest of the world. His work and lifestyle bring together some of his greatest passions: photography, videography, adventure, travel and creating unique content. All these inspire his creativity and challenge him to push boundaries and step ever further into the unknown. He considers that, in his line of work, it is essential to keep learning, growing and exploring new fields. Being knowledgeable about the photo and video industry is of highest importance which is also the reason for his constant knowledge upgrade. He believes hard work brings the best results.
His work has been recognised by Sony Global Imaging, and he is an official ambassador, as well by Peli watertight hard cases, Toyota and Dji drones, who have all also entrusted him with the role of their ambassador. He prides himself on working alone on the majority of his projects, however when working on bigger projects or projects where both photo and video materials are needed at the same time, he works with a small team, no more than 2 or 3 people. You will find Uros packed and always ready to join on new project.
Some of his recent work:
Mercedes Benz G 63 AMG - The Dream from Uros Podlogar Photography on Vimeo.
Adventure sailing in Croatia from Uros Podlogar Photography on Vimeo.
Showreel 2018 from Uros Podlogar Photography on Vimeo.
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He formed a professional underwater cinematography in 2010. As the underwater director and cinematographer, he and his team filmed for many Taiwan and international movies. In 2017, he produced his second feature film "Mermaid Whispering," which was won him six awards for best film, best director, best cinematography from domestic and international film festival. Hsu-Hu Yuan is currently working and living in Taipei, preparing for his next feature film.
FILMOGRAPHY
2011 《HAGA-PARIS》documentary
2017 《Mermaid Whispering》Drama Movies
TV COMMERCIAL — since 2003
TVC show reels include various brands from T.G.I Friday’s, Chunghwa Telecom, MaxFactor, Motorola,
Nokia, yam, Sapporo Beer, 7-11, IKEA etc.
MUSIC VIDEO DIRECTOR — since 1999
Taiwan: For Sun Yanzi,SARS, Huilun Su
Hong Kong: For Ku Kui Kei (Leo), Gigi Leung Wing-kei,Jordan Chan Siu Chun,Daniel Chan
China: For Nan Sun, Bing Hu, Quan Yu
Japan: For Nana, Issei Miyake
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To see more or Erin's work please see the gallery below or click on one of the links.
]]>Please scroll down to see more of Joanna's work.
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In 2014 Katy moved to Mexico to train in cave diving which opened up a whole host of career opportunities. She is currently based there focusing on developing unique lighting techniques. Caves, as beautiful as they are, tend not to be very dynamic. You light it and it dries much like a painting, never to move again, unless you instigate that movement. Everything in the caves in Mexico is slow to stationary and so her challenge is to take something which is forming in geological time and make it come alive in a space of minutes.
Over the past 7 years she has navigated her way through the technical diving industry, tailoring her own route with the aim of achieving her dream of Natural History camera operation. In May this year she achieved this dream landing a position as underwater camera operator for two episodes of a new BBC TWO series called ‘Expedition’ with presenter Steve Backshall and produced by James Brickell.
Katy’s ability to come up with unique concepts and execute innovative and ambitious ideas in challenging environments are a large part of why her career is currently gaining traction. Her goal is now to continue expanding into the TV production industry by becoming more versatile in the environments she is able to shoot, in tandem with continuing to direct, produce, shoot and do the post production for her own independent films through her company She Dives Tech, packing in as much creativity as possible.
The diving industry is a never ending learning experience, this is something Katy relishes and continues to take all opportunities to expand her skill and knowledge. This year she is focusing on progressing through GUE and CCR certifications and plans to apply it to her film skillset.
Katy began to use Nauticam housings from the age of 19 and although she has tried competing brands, she has never waivered from their user friendly, functionable and easily interchangeable design throughout various brands of cameras.
Here are some examples of Katy’s latest work:
For the first time as far as I’m aware, we gelled lots and lots of video lights and transformed the caves here in the Riviera Maya into something truly out of this world. Here we take a journey through roots, under air domes and over haloclines. Needless to say this was extremely fun to shoot! I use coloured lights in my workshops to teach students who are new to lighting to differentiate between what has already been illuminated and what still needs to be. It is also a lot more forgiving than white light and is less prone to burning whiter rock.
Shot with Panasonic GH5s with Nauticam Housing
A Different Light from She Dives Tech on Vimeo.
Philip Gray was dubbed 'extreme artist' after a number of expeditions he undertook to paint. He has travelled far and wide to places like Everest, Antartica and deep into the Borneo Rainforest.
Journey to the Lion City part I from She Dives Tech on Vimeo.
In 2016 Philip Gray came to Quintana Roo in Mexico with aims of capturing the cenotes by painting underwater. This was not the first time he has painted under water and the cenotes proved a different beast all together, even when compared to painting under an iceberg or with the tiger sharks of the Bahamas.
TRAILER "A Peace Within" - Out of Darkness into Light from She Dives Tech on Vimeo.
Using two 15,000 lumen video lights at night and carefully selected material, the idea was to loosely depict the metamorphosis of a butterfly to create a visually pleasing sequence and story. Playing on reflection was the key to incorporating a butterfly theme that ties in with the song Nature by Bassline Drift
This shoot was a completely unique experience for me. It held lots of challenges as many times it went late into the night and working with material is a variable in itself! Although no special effects were used, the post production had to be meticulously done to produce not just an aesthetic motion picture, but also a piece that compliments both the flow of the music and weaves in music artists Keli and Rachel.
Throughout the editing Keli and Rachel were thoroughly engaged and involved. Their constant excitement and great creative input definitely helped to mould the film into what you see here. It is so amazing to be able to combine passions in our unlikely, unique, little collaboration.
Shot with a Panasonic GH4 and Nauticam Housing
Bassline Drift Nature - OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO from She Dives Tech on Vimeo.
Visit Katy's website to see more of her work: https://shedivestech.com
One of his latest works was the music Video « Runnin' » directed by Julie Gautier and Charlie Robins, featuring Beyonce and staring the world free-diving champion Guillaume Nery. The video counts more than 280 millions views on Youtube and got nominated for international best music video in 2016 at the world’s greatest festival for cinematographers : Camerimage, Poland.
He filmed and produced « AMA » a short directed and performed by Julie Gautier, shot in the deepest pool in the world (Y-40 Deep joy, in Italy) screened around the world in festivals and that count over 60 million views on internet. He won the best cinematography award at the Berlin Music Video Awards 2018.
He also was an underwater cinematographer on movies like : « Marie Madeleine » by Garth Davis, the Amazon series « The Patriot S02 » by Steve Conrad, « Plonger » by Melanie Laurent, « Le chant du Loup » by Antonin Baudry, and « Deep » by JF Julian, a Web series he entirely shot and for which he won the best cinematography award at the International Bilbao TV series festival 2017.
Jacques has shot over a dozen of one hour documentaries around the world for the private french TV channel Canal +, getting him the reputation of a adventure traveller. He has worked and travelled in more than 30 countries.
He has shot over 150 commercials for clients and directors around the world, appreciated for his work on car commercials for clients such as Volkswagen, Audi, Jeep, Renault, Peugeot, Citroen, Ferrari, Lexus, Ford… He also shoots action and sports commercials, and is used to work on projects with lots of special effects.
He also loves to work on drama projects. The first feature he lensed : « Noor » was selected in more than 20 festivals worldwide, one of them being Cannes Films Festival (ACID program), won several prizes. He has just finished shooting his 3rd feature, an independent French road movie shot in Thailand.
AMA - a short film by Julie Gautier from Les films engloutis on Vimeo.
To see more of Jacques workplace go to: jacquesballard.com
]]>True to the Nice school of diving, Guillaume devoted all his time and energy to his passion. He made huge progress when working alongside Loic Leferme (5 times No-Limits world record holder), who later became a role model, guide and close friend.
In 2002, he became the youngest ever free dive record holder, by diving to a depth of -87m using the force of his fins alone. That marked the beginning of a great adventure. Guillaume then beat the world record 3 times, became the world team champion in 2008 and the individual world champion in Greece in 2011, diving down to -117m.Nowadays, he dives until -125m of depth, the new France record.
As well as all the competitions and broken records, Guillaume teaches deep diving at his school, CIPA (in Nice), conducts training, is involved in business life and sets sail across the world's oceans searching for new areas to explore.
However, it was thanks to the film he produced in 2010 with his partner Julie Gautier, FREE FALL, that the Frenchman's career truly took off. One scene shows Guillaume walking on a seabed, towards an underwater chasm: the Deans Blue Hole (Bahamas), the deepest blue hole in the world. Suddenly, he jumps into emptiness and starts his free fall into the chasm.
In just a few days, these images had been seen all around the world, revealing a new, artistic and poetic approach to free diving.
Since then, the famous couple has carried out a number of other film projects, including NARCOSE or recently Ocean gravity. They also launched their own website dedicated to all their creations: www.lesfilmsengloutis.com
Much more than a sport, Guillaume practices diving like an art, has turned it into a way of life, combining aesthetic appeal and high performance levels.
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Based in Nice (France) since the age 26, Julie started creating artistic underwater videos that bring a new look on the marine world with her partner, Guillaume Néry (the freediving world champion). Their strength comes from using freediving to work on each side of the camera. Being completely self taught, she draws inspiration from dance, comics and cinema.
Julie is an underwater artist. She uses her skills and creativity to capture the magic of the world below the surface. Author, film director, director of photography and even underwater model, she collaborates with Guillaume under their own label Les Films Engloutis . On top of her personal projects, she is working in different fields like cinema,commercials, music video or documentary.
Julie Demo Reel from Les films engloutis on Vimeo.
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We have a passion for nature. As soon as we are on a trip we feel like little kids playing outside, discovering something new under each stone. With new media at hand and a long builded up expertise in creating appealing media, we use this blog to find a healthy balance in our lives. Even though we are many times sponsored, invited and booked, we always tell our honest thoughts in whatever we publish here. We want to be part of the global network of creative nature enthusiasts trying to push our own limitations a bit further every time. We intent to be polite, entertaining and transparent in our actions. We believe that by telling our stories we can shine a light on the beauty of nature."
Phease click on the videos below to see some of Florian's work.
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by Hergen Spalink
While the other kids were playing soccer in the yard, I was already out diving with my father either in the Mediterranean Sea or the lakes near my hometown. We even faked my year of birth so that I could get official permission to go diving; my father took me underwater for the first time when I was seven. All the family holidays were spent on a small yacht in the Mediterranean Sea, so my best childhood memories were made either in or on the water.
That‘s where it all started. I grew older and at some point I felt I could add something more to my diving. My choices were freediving, technical diving or underwater photography. I decided for the latter and during a dive holiday in the Similan Islands of Thailand I did my first dive with a camera. I loved it from the first shutter click and my passion for underwater photography is still growing. Later, I even quit my well-paying job as a key accounts manager to spend more time photographing and diving. I left Germany and worked on a liveaboard in Asia as a instructor, guide and underwater photographer. Since 2010 I've been back in Germany, founded my own company, Art Design Photography and since then I make a living from it. Four months a year I travel to shoot wildlife, the rest of the year I photograph babies underwater here in Germany. Every year I extend my traveling time more and more.
My first camera was a used Sealife Reefmaster DC 500 with an external strobe and multiple macro/wide angle lenses. Everything was automatic, there was not even the chance to shoot in Raw. I sold the system after one trip and got a used Fuji E900 in an Ikelite housing and a Inon D2000 strobe instead (the strobe is still working today). Two years later I took my first DSLR camera underwater, a Canon 400D in a Hugyfot housing. Another two years later I switched to a Canon 7D in a Hugyfot housing.
I am currently using a Canon 5D Mark IV in the Nauticam NA-5DIV housing with two Inon Z-240 strobes. As I like to shoot a lot of over-under split images I use the Nauticam 250mm glass dome port and the 45° viewfinder.
In terms of quality and manufacturing there is no doubt that Nauticam housings set the standard, but what really set the hook for me is the accurate and intuitive handling of the housing underwater. You don‘t have to take your eye away from the viewfinder when adjusting camera settings as all the controls of the camera are where they should be. A fantastic tool!
The port-locking system makes life (and port changes) so much easier.
The vacuum system is a winner. It‘s just a better feeling to have a short look at the green LED on your housing to know everything is ok. That better feeling leads to better photos.
I have no single favorite location. Give me some dive gear, an underwater camera and wildlife interaction and I'm happy.
I've dived a lot in tropical locations. In terms of diversity, colors and the amount of life they are outstanding but for sure there are other hotspots in the world, like the Azores that I don‘t want to miss.
Too many places, too little time.
Patrick was born in Cologne, Germany and began diving at age 7. Since then he has logged over 3200 dives all over the world. After leaving a lucrative career with an insurance company as an account manager in 2007 he worked as an instructor, dive guide and photographer on a live aboard in Asia. In 2010 he returned to Germany and started Art Design Photography by Patrick Neumann. In addition to magazine work he leads underwater photography workshops and photography diving babies in Germany.
Join Patrick on one of his trips, visit his website or check him out on Facebook.
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Equipment: Nauticam housings and accessories, different strobes mainly Inon, actionscams (GoPro, Actionpro)
Can you tell us a bit about your background, and how you got started taking underwater photos/video
I started diving in 2005 and a camera was my buddy since I finished my Open water course. The underwater world is fascinating and because I am the only diver in my family, I try to give them an inspiration what I see during my dives. After a few years the behavior has changed and I go diving to make pictures. I cant remember my last dive without a camera.The water is one of the last free places of the world and for the most part undetected – Perfect to make pictures ! On the basis of my experiences in the first years I decided to create my own beginner underwater photography courses with different dive shops. In the last years I had talks about dive locations or techniques with UW-Fotopartner (www.UW-Fotopartner.com) and Nauticam. You can find or see my pictures at different photo contests.Since the first dive i use Canon cameras and i started with a small compact camera – The Canon Powershot A75.
From this point onwards it became bigger and bigger. With various accessories like a flash, wetlenses, handle, etc. and different housings up to the first DSLR.
I am using a Canon EOS 7D Mark II in a Nauticam housing and I love the haptic of my system. It is flexible to use and I never had an insoluble restriction. My favorite style is macro and I am using different ports with adapters for lenses (Canon or LAOWA macro lenses), wetlenses, extension rings or teleconverter.
Because of my technical passsion it was a challenge to find the right housing ! I am always playing with UW Photo stuff and sometimes I built something special.
In recent years I have mainly dived at macro dive sites. My favorite dive location is the Lembeh Strait with the NAD Lembeh Resort (http://www.nad-lembeh.com/) – Short trips, great team and incredible critters.
Now it is time to use a little bit more the big or mini Dome on my nauticam housing to make more Wideangle pictures.
]]>Abraham Joffe ACS is an internationally award-winning Australian cinematographer who has gained a strong reputation for his visuals and story-telling. He has always been captivated by the power of the moving image, and knew from an early age that this would be his life’s calling.
He was an early adopter of 4K and has filmed in over 40 countries on all seven continents. In 2014/15 Abraham Produced, directed and filmed a 6-part television series Tales by Light. This break-through production, narrated by Australian film legend Jack Thompson, aired on the National Geographic Channel in Australia and New Zealand. In October 2016 Tales by Light was picked up for global distribution by Netflix. The show has won numerous awards for cinematography including from the prestigious Australian Cinematographers Society.
In 2000 Abraham founded the Sydney-based production company untitled film works. Untitled is renowned for their creative storytelling and use of cutting edge capture technology. They currently produce much of the film content requirements for Canon Australia of which Abraham is also a Canon Master.
He is slated to shoot a number of Australian and international projects in 2017 for Tales by Light season 3 as well as a new series for National Geographic Channel on the Big Cats of the Masai Mara.
In May of 2017, Abraham had the honour of being named “Australian Cinematographer of the Year” by receiving the Milli award by the Australian Cinematographer’s Society. He also gained his accreditation from the ACS in the same year.
Darren Jew from Untitled Film Works on Vimeo.
Shark + Human interactions goes viral from Untitled Film Works on Vimeo.