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This is a collection of some of my underwater photography of sharks and other marine life, from around the world.
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If you would like to see more photos of dives specifically from Sydney check out my www.SydneyDives.com
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My Underwater Photography Journey
My first underwater photography started with a small compact camera and a swimming pool in the UK where I could practice photographing toys. No surprise, I don't have many good photos from those times! My underwater photography truly began in 2008 - when I bought myself a Canon powershot (IXUS 950) before a holiday to Thailand. At the time most divers didn't use underwater cameras and so I loved the ability to record my dives and experience the "after-dive", where I could review my photos back in the hotel room in the evening.
This first camera came on diving holidays with me to Thailand, Croatia, Hawaii, Dominica, Iceland, Galapagos and Borneo (Malaysia). It wasn't much long after I moved to Sydney in 2015 that I bought myself the next version up in the Canon "point and shoot" range, a Canon Powershot G10. This was a much better camera but sadly I hadn't learned to properly look after it, and so after a flooding incident, I chose to upgrade to the Canon G7Mark 2 camera. I used this camera for years without strobes, but used my torch with one hand and the camera in the other. However, after seeing the quality of photos that my friends were able to take, I decided to add strobes to my camera rig. Enter the next phase of my underwater photography!
Underwater lights make a huge difference to photography and it was my friend at Aquatic Imaging Australia who finally convinced me to upgrade. But I didn't stop there - I decided to buy a custom attachment that could add a wet macro lens to my camera set up, which I could choose to use or not underwater. I loved this set up and used it for years. In 2020, I felt I had grown out of my camera and wanted to play with more settings. This is when I upgraded to an Olympus OMD Mark 2 camera where I most certainly had to learn manual settings. I loved that camera, but I found it frustrating that before the dive I needed to plan in advance and decide on my lens. Will I dive macro, or will I dive on wide angle? How could I know until I saw the ocean conditions! I found this really frustrating and while most divers select a lens the night before and are happy, I just found that I needed choice underwater.
That is why in 2023 I upgraded to my current camera - a Sony A7iv full frame mirrorless camera, with a Nauticam housing where I have a huge array of wet lens options that I can take and choose underwater. On one dive, I can switch lenses and go from macro to wide angle and back again. I love this camera and the freedom of choice it has given me underwater - despite it being huge and heavy!
Having a great camera is awesome, but what I have learned over the years is that you must also have good buoyancy control underwater. You also need to really understand the camera so that you can quickly change settings underwater to suit the light and environment or marine animal you are photographing. It also really helps to seek advice from professionals, like my friend Vanessa who runs the Aquatic Imaging Australia business.
Diving with a camera adds a whole extra layer of excitement for me when I am underwater, and I hope you enjoy some of my photos I have taken through the years from around the world.
This first camera came on diving holidays with me to Thailand, Croatia, Hawaii, Dominica, Iceland, Galapagos and Borneo (Malaysia). It wasn't much long after I moved to Sydney in 2015 that I bought myself the next version up in the Canon "point and shoot" range, a Canon Powershot G10. This was a much better camera but sadly I hadn't learned to properly look after it, and so after a flooding incident, I chose to upgrade to the Canon G7Mark 2 camera. I used this camera for years without strobes, but used my torch with one hand and the camera in the other. However, after seeing the quality of photos that my friends were able to take, I decided to add strobes to my camera rig. Enter the next phase of my underwater photography!
Underwater lights make a huge difference to photography and it was my friend at Aquatic Imaging Australia who finally convinced me to upgrade. But I didn't stop there - I decided to buy a custom attachment that could add a wet macro lens to my camera set up, which I could choose to use or not underwater. I loved this set up and used it for years. In 2020, I felt I had grown out of my camera and wanted to play with more settings. This is when I upgraded to an Olympus OMD Mark 2 camera where I most certainly had to learn manual settings. I loved that camera, but I found it frustrating that before the dive I needed to plan in advance and decide on my lens. Will I dive macro, or will I dive on wide angle? How could I know until I saw the ocean conditions! I found this really frustrating and while most divers select a lens the night before and are happy, I just found that I needed choice underwater.
That is why in 2023 I upgraded to my current camera - a Sony A7iv full frame mirrorless camera, with a Nauticam housing where I have a huge array of wet lens options that I can take and choose underwater. On one dive, I can switch lenses and go from macro to wide angle and back again. I love this camera and the freedom of choice it has given me underwater - despite it being huge and heavy!
Having a great camera is awesome, but what I have learned over the years is that you must also have good buoyancy control underwater. You also need to really understand the camera so that you can quickly change settings underwater to suit the light and environment or marine animal you are photographing. It also really helps to seek advice from professionals, like my friend Vanessa who runs the Aquatic Imaging Australia business.
Diving with a camera adds a whole extra layer of excitement for me when I am underwater, and I hope you enjoy some of my photos I have taken through the years from around the world.