Underwater Photos, Pictures, Prints

Poolepynten Underwater Walrus 3

Posted on November 5, 2015 February 6, 2018

I want to start sharing some of my incredible new images from my spectacular Svalbard expedition that I co-lead with Tony Wu this past June. I have been hesitant to publish what I consider to be some of my best work ever given the fact that publishing photos is not what it used to be, not to mention that a lot of my work gets used without compensation by copyright infringers. However, I can not be afraid of holding back my new photos forever.

This is an underwater walrus image that I created while standing in the Arctic Ocean, holding my polecam, and waiting for a walrus from the nearby colony to swim up to me. Eventually, this very curious walrus took interest and swam directly at me as I nervously stood my ground with my polecam held under the surface in front of me. I blindly fired away as this extraordinary encounter unfolded. After the walrus grew tired of staring at its reflection on my dome port, it gently settled into the shallow water in front of me and proceeded to scratch itself for what seemed like an eternity. It was truly an unimaginable experience as both of us were just relaxed and hanging out at the beach while enjoying each other’s company.

Sport Diver October 2015 Cover

Posted on November 3, 2015 February 6, 2018

One of my false clown anemonefish images was published on the October cover of Sport Diver! I photographed this clownfish while visiting the Misool Ecoresort located in Raja Ampat, Indonesia in March 2011. (Man, was that trip really almost 5 years ago?) I had always wanted to photograph these charismatic fish ever since watching Finding Nemo a thousand times with my older daughter when she was little. When I returned from the trip, I recall one of my good dive buddies telling me that clownfish images were a dime-a-dozen and I would never publish them. Surprisingly, I have proven him wrong and published them widely.

Canadian Wildlife September 2014 Cover

Posted on September 23, 2014 February 6, 2018

One of my underwater Steller sea lion images is featured on the cover of this month’s issue of Canadian Wildlife. Scuba diving with these curious pinnipeds is one the highlights of my entire photography career. Over the years, I have had a lot of success publishing these images from my January 2009 dive trip to Hornby Island in British Columbia. (Doesn’t that seem like a long time ago?) It’s nice to see that an “older” image that I created using my original Canon 5D is still valuable and publishable.

Kona Sperm Whale 1

Posted on January 21, 2014 February 7, 2018

Since I am getting ready to fly back to the Big Island of Hawaii tomorrow afternoon, I decided to share an image from my last trip to Kona in November. I got very lucky several days in a row by experiencing my first encounters with sperm whales. This photo was taken moments after one swam directly at me to check me out and then inverted itself vertically in the water. I don’t know whether this image is epic or not, but it is one of my first sperm whale images all the same. What I like most about going out on the water in Kona is that I never know what I will encounter. Every day is different.

Scuba Diving January 2014 Cover

Posted on January 14, 2014 February 7, 2018

I am excited to share that I have the cover photo on this month’s issue of Scuba Diving! I photographed this humpback whale calf while visiting Tonga in August 2012. It was especially playful and pretty much swam right over me while I was snorkeling next to it.

Kona Pilot Whales 1

Posted on December 16, 2013 February 7, 2018

Over the years, I have tried to photograph pilot whales while visiting Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii, but been unsuccessful. However, during my recent visit I had a close encounter with this pod. After observing them logging (resting) on the surface, I cautiously entered the water and photographed this curious mother and calf. It was an exhilarating experience, especially given the unpredictable reputation of these large animals.

Ha’apai Humpback Mother & Calf 28

Posted on June 20, 2013 February 9, 2018

I recently made some progress on editing my backlog of humpback whale images from Tonga last year and thought that this one was worth sharing. I was very lucky to be able to spend 90 minutes photographing this very relaxed mother-calf pair. They spent most of the time calmly resting on the surface during which the calf moved around a lot and curiously check me out. This was an amazing experience, which is why I can’t wait to return to Tonga in 2014 to lead a few week-long tours in search of more encounters like this.

Namena Soft Corals 5

Posted on June 19, 2013 February 9, 2018

What can be better than photographing sunset? How about photographing sunset while underwater? A number of variables had to perfectly come together in order to shoot this scene, including the soft corals, colorful anthias, and dramatic low-angle sunlight. I especially like the dramatic sunbeams penetrating beneath the waves.

Beqa Bull Shark 1

Posted on June 18, 2013 February 9, 2018

This is my favorite image from my recent bull shark diving adventure in Fiji. I like the vertical composition of the shark coming directly at me with several other sharks silhouetted in the background. I wonder if this will someday make a nice cover? Man, that was a great trip.

Digital Camera May 2013 Cover

Posted on June 14, 2013 February 9, 2018

I’ve been meaning to share this news for the last few weeks, but have been so busy that I am only now getting around to it. One of my underwater humpback whale images from Tonga was published on the cover of China’s Digital Camera May 2013 issue! This was the first time that I have worked with this magazine, but I hope to continue building upon this new relationship in the year ahead.