Portfolio
Photography Portfoilo
I have always been fascinated with nature, having at a young age had the luck to see Jacques Couteau's and of course David Attenborough´s documentaries, these have always inspired me. It wasn't until I started scuba diving that I became aware of a completely different world, filled with the most extraordinary creatures, and with a range of colours completely unique to it.
I have been very lucky to have been able to travel, to dive in some of the most most remote and beautiful places in the world, even luckier that when diving, the interactions I have had with many of the creatures have been unique, awe inspiring, surprising and in some cases humbling.
It has been my ambition to document it all, in the coming years I aim to do just that to build an awareness of what there is, and what we may lose forever.
Contact
Open University professional photography portfolio.
Intent - Natural History
It took a lot of work to select just these images and put them forward, as I have thousands of photos from over 24 years of diving. Both the photography and the more technical side of preparing the image are so absorbing. But getting the picture while diving was the real prize.
I have selected a set of images to illustrate a tiny fraction of our underwater landscapes, the images are arranged as if on a dive as we start and end on a wall. As we descend, I could just focus on fauna on the wall, with its endless textures and colours, the residents like octopus, or pugnacious damsel and clown fish who although tiny will defend their territory against even the biggest animals, but underwater, turn round and look into the blue you may see other animals coming to look at you. Deep ocean fauna like Dolphin, Shark and Rays sweep in and out. Each picture has a story behind it, understanding the environment, its fauna, and their habits is key to being able to capture the atmosphere, landscape, presence and beauty of its fauna, and on those good days forget that you are just a visitor.
Underwater landscapes can be brooding and immense in scale, the views can be awe inspiring, some are so filled with colour it is hard to believe that they are real. While ascending can also mean a return to light and colour, the water is sometimes so clear that you seem to be floating or flying over a sureal landscape

Underwater photography takes skill, and getting a shot to work in strong currents, is difficult enough, the fact that everything is in motion, with no purchase or support makes framing and taking shots extremely taxing, getting the light right and unable to set the shot up makes it a difficult and sometimes a disappointing quest, however, looking through the shots, you are often rewarded by some exceptional images, as much on the part of the subject, as on the patience of the photographer.
In 06, where keeping this image alive was tricky as at 40m depth with so much plankton and no clear overhead sun, visibility and colours can become irretrievable lost, I was lucky to keep the image as vivid as I did, with the bright spots and markings showing beautifully, complemented by that deep Indian ocean blue.
I avoid flash its scares the animals away, and as the water is filled with particles which pick up and reflect the light as backscatter that will ruin any image. This means that at low light taking a successful image is difficult.
In Image 08 and 10 the flash would have made the octopus disappear. It is usually the octopus that pops up to have a look at the clumsy noisy divers, I tend to hang back from the group, and many times this is when you see them out of the corner of your eye, peeking over a coral head or rock, spying on you. Some when spotted dart away to tuck themselves into a crevice, others like the octopus in image 10 was walking upright which is rare, I got the distinct impression that she had followed me for some time, and when I turned around, she froze in almost perfect camouflage, I think she had done this before with other divers and not been found out, I really believe she was really enjoying herself.
This small set is primarily about a glimpse into a world, where each ocean has its own particular hue and where every corner is covered in life. As we move through the images, we see the colours, textures, the tiny and the very large, all of whom share the that incredible habitat, and those who move through it with effortless ease, grace and in some cases humour.
Project information
- Category Photography
- Where The Open University
- Project date 2020-2021
- Project Ttile Digital photography - creating a professional portfolio