i learnt to dive in the maldives around the year 2000 and did a little bit of holiday diving in turkey for a year or so.  i managed to get an underwater housing for my canon a70 soon after and so started to take a few pix when i had the chance.  following a liveaboard in the red sea in 2004, i had the chance to become a padi instructor in the states and have loved teaching since then, racking up over 50 students in 2008, and have recently qualified my 100th diver!

as my diving has developed so has my photography.  i’ve never been a very technical photographer, but always seem to be the one with a little camera handy to take a few pix when the opportunity arose.  this is still the case now as despite the love of being underwater and the challenge that underwater photography is, i’ve never really pushed myself to work on top side photography… something i keep saying i need to do to develop my skills… fortunately, people have usually said “i’ve got a good eye” which i reckon is just because i take too many pictures and only show the ones with good composition to my pals!

after upgrading to an olympus c7070 in december 2005, and then adding the complexities of a strobe in summer 2007, i finally made the plunge and invested into a full dslr set up in the summer of 2008 (thank heavens for tax rebates) which saw me purchase a canon 450d, ikelite housing, 2 ikelike ds125 strobes, a 60mm macro lens and a 10-17mm fisheye with appropriate ports. 

i’m now fully committed to getting in the water whatever chance i get to practice and develop my skills and hope to justify the investment and have a lot of fun doing it.  i love diving in the uk as much as overseas and the challenges that low visibility diving presents to the photographer.