Growing up in Sydney, Australia, I was always in water, from the beaches in and around Sydney to my grandmother’s swimming pool where my uncle taught me to dive as a teenager. I left Australia at age 19 and traveled the world living in Canada, Northern California and Singapore which unfortunately resulted in an extended absence from diving.
I started diving again in 2010 after being inspired by some great diving with my brother in Playa Del Carmen and Cozumel and as with anything I do, I don’t do it by half measures. Since July 2010 I have logged 400+ dives, achieved my Divemaster certification and become a Digital Underwater Photography Instructor. I have taken three overseas dive trips to the Red Sea, diving it from both a liveaboard and shore out of Egypt and from Aqaba, Jordan.
I have always been interested in photography so taking photos while underwater was a natural extension of diving for me. During my 2011 trip to Jordan and Egypt I completed my Underwater Digital Photography Instructors certification with excellent instruction from Rod Abbotson and Omar Madain at Dive Aqaba and am excited to be able to offer Digital Underwater Photography lessons.
People often ask me what camera I shoot with. Initially I was using a Canon S90 in an Ikelite housing with A35 strobe flash but it wasn’t really designed for underwater photography and the Ikelite housing did not allow me to change many settings underwater. I upgraded to a Sea & Sea DX-2G with wet-swappable wide angle lens from Leisure Pro and am loving it. It is specifically designed for underwater photography and the housing and the camera made by the same company which is important to allow you to access all the camera’s functionality.
Next on the agenda is underwater video, I am learning how to use the awesome underwater video setup I have from Equinox Video Housings, after a lot of research I chose Equinox as they have the best housings and a great team to support the product.