The 12th Annual Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition 2023 is accepting entries today through November 30, 2023 – with the largest prize value ever!   The Underwater Photography Guide is delighted to announce that it is accepting entries for the 2023 edition of the annual Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition …

When you get home from a memorable diving trip, the first thing you want to do is share your experience with others. Whether you have filmed wild whale sharks, watched a male jawfish incubate eggs in his mouth, or found a rare leafy sea dragon, the urge to share …

By Michel Gilbert & Danielle Alary One of the first lessons we learn in photography is to put emphasis on a single subject. However, sometimes having a secondary point of interest adds value to an image. We all go through a learning curve. First, we snap pictures of a …

By Jonathan Willis Multiple 12-foot, 1,500 pound tiger sharks approach us out of the blue, puppy-like, sniffing around looking for treats. This describes the scene at a well-known dive site called Tiger Beach, near West End, Grand Bahama Island, where I spent several days attempting to learn all that …

Words and Photography by Brandon Cole As a newbie, I got really excited seeing lionfish. Bold attitude and striking markings made it one cool fish. I’d bang on my tank and wildly gesticulate to attract other divers. Some buddies shared my enthusiasm. Others gave me withering glares before turning to look …

The 11th Annual Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition 2022 is accepting entries today through November 30, 2022 – with the largest prize value ever  The Underwater Photography Guide is delighted to announce that it is accepting entries for the 2022 edition of the annual Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition …

To accompany our Fall issue’s incredible feature by Becky Kagan Schott, the Seiko short film can be seen in all it’s underwater glory, right here: Built from the start for superior operation in the most hostile environments, Seiko diver’s watches were an immediate favorite for high-intensity exploration, becoming essential …

By Jill Heinerth Constructing an enjoyable short video is a lot like cooking. Different chefs can use similar ingredients and recipes and still produce completely distinctive meals. Too much hot sauce can render a meal inedible, and a lack of seasoning can make good food seem bland. Small portions …

Filmmaker, freediver, and mentor to a new generation of indigenous storytellers, Len Morissette’s life has been guided by a deep connection to water Words by Jill Heinerth  When you are born in Saskatchewan and a member of the Mistawasis First Nation, “waves” usually refer to how wheat stalks and …

Photograph by Maxwel Hohn / Words by Roseanne Keatley A sure sign that a change of seasons has arrived in the north is the annual appearance of giant icebergs on the horizon, as they lumber down the coastline. These unlikely travellers migrate annually from the glaciers in Greenland, sailing across …

By Michel Gilbert & Danielle Alary Our eyes are sometimes slow to reveal the world around us. We can’t always trust them to show us what’s staring us in the face.  We depart for a dive on one of the many reefs surrounding the Puerto Galera peninsula on the …

Words and Photography by Joe Platko Through part of the California lockdown, scuba diving was one of the few activities that was still allowed for residents. We were lucky, as during a unique one week diving window, a few friends and I were able to have a rare experience while …

By Jill Heinerth I like to swim slowly when filming underwater, but sometimes my dive buddy flits around like a skittish fish. Moving quickly to gather sequences of various creatures can be exciting, but sometimes it is far better to focus on getting complete coverage of a single animal or …

The SeaLife SportDiver is not the first of its kind, but given their track record at producing user-friendly camera systems and the iPhone’s current image making capabilities, is now the time to start using your phone underwater? Words by Russell Clark We have, in the past, featured underwater iPhone …

MacGillivray Freeman Films (MFF) announced that Secrets of The Sea, a co-production from Howard Hall Productions and Oceanic Research Group, is slated for release to IMAX and giant-screen theaters later this summer. The company’s latest giant screen release will be narrated by actress Joelle Carter. Joelle is best known …

By Michel Gilbert & Danielle Alary Seemingly ifinite memory card capacity, large buffers, impressive firing rates: all things that may turn you into a lazy photographer. Is there a curse hidden in our favourite tools, or does gear make us better photographers? We recently watched an interview with famed …

By Jill Heinerth When the sun drops below the horizon, vacationers often grab a cocktail and start sharing dive stories at the beach bar. Yet, if you only dive in the full light of day, you might be missing some extraordinary experiences. Night, dusk, and dawn dives bring fresh …

From documentary maker to documentary subject, Mike deGruy’s wife and filmmaking partner continues her husband’s legacy with her new film Dive Deep: The Life and Times of Mike deGruy Words By Mimi deGruy Anyone who’s ever tried to make a film about the ocean knows it can be hard, …

Words and Photography by Brandon Cole Clinging to a sponge-covered piling under Australia’s Blairgowrie Pier, giant spider crabs hope to avoid being eaten by predators patrolling the sand below. Each winter, tens of thousands of crabs with legs spanning 16 inches (40cm) march from deep water into the shallows of …

Words by Jill Heinerth We’ve all seen an underwater video with a distracting blue cast. Our eyes long for the warm tones of orange and red that we saw on the rope sponges during our dive. What happened? Can we recover what we remembered from the hazy blue footage? …

Photography by Maxwel Hohn / Words by Roseanne Kealtey Winter in the coastal region of British Columbia can bring harsh conditions for marine life and photographers alike. The gusting winds, driving rains, and unpredictable seas can create numerous challenges when filming, and any opportunities need to be fully utilized as …

Martin Edge’s Fifth Edition has been ten years in the making, and is better than ever. Words by Michel Gilbert & Danielle Alary In our review of the Fourth Edition of Martin Edge’s The Underwater Photographer, we wrote, “Let us just say that this is the best underwater photo technique book …

NOTE: This article was written at the height of the global lockdown – but still includes some great advice for videographers. By Jill Heinerth Our world is a far different place from just a few months ago. The global pandemic has changed life for most of us. Some divers …

By Michel Gilbert & Danielle Alary Light is the foundation of any image and artificial lighting is ubiquitous in underwater photography. When using twin strobes, you can go beyond the standard strobe head placement. As we’ve said many times in this column, adding a second strobe is probably the …

Sometimes the most incredible marine life encoutners aren’t in the ocean, they’re hiding under lily pads in remote Canadian lakes Words by Russell Clark / Photography by Maxwel Hohn   You may well remember seeing a couple of images we’ve previously published of tadpoles. They are always crowd pleasers, …

Words by Jill Heinerth  The underwater photo and cinematography community is mourning Val Ranetkins, founder of Aqua Vision Systems, Amphibico, Aquatica, and Valstech, all companies on the leading edge of underwater optics, housings, and lighting. National Geographic Explorer/Photographer David Doubilet remembers Val Ranetkins as “a Canadian national treasure.” Chuck …

By Jill Heinerth Like many of you, I am focused on capturing the most beautiful underwater images and videos possible. While swimming through a rowdy pack of sea lions, or gliding through a virgin cave, I am mesmerized by the visual grandeur of our submerged world. As an underwater …

By Michel Gilbert & Danielle Alary Nobody likes fuzzy images—unless they are intentional. In this world of auto-everything, people take the performance of their cameras for granted. Fuzzy or out-of-focus images may result from a mechanical or electronics problem—or you may be the culprit. Most of us buy the …

The Underwater Photography Guide have announced that the prestigious Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition 2021 will be accepting images from now through November 30, 2021! Ocean Art is one of the most prestigious underwater photo competitions in the world. A long list of prizes valued at over $30,000 also …

Canadian Artist Grace Marquez captures the essence of what it is to be submerged Words by Robert Osborne Diving can be a very personal, almost intimate experience. Perhaps it’s the silence—the lack of chatter—that surrounds the activity; perhaps it’s because it’s such an all absorbing activity—no clutter from daily …

By Michel Gilbert & Danielle Alary It seems like we just entered the new century, yet we are already at the beginning of a new decade and a new season. As thoughts of many of us in the Northern Hemisphere turn from skiing to diving, we have a few …

Being in the midst of circling basking sharks is a rare occurrence, so did this underwater filmmaker witness a unique courtship event? Words by Ken O’Sullivan What an odd thing it is to want to swim with a shark in the sea. We humans, we’re usually close to the …

By Jill Heinerth If I had one wish, it would be for more time underwater. When Mobula rays surround me, or sea lions swarm, I don’t want to surface. I wish I could expand time into an endless and exciting underwater journey. Sometimes the moments you catch on video …

By Michel Gilbert & Danielle Alary After returning from a dive, many photographers upload their images and quickly delete all the bad ones. They may be missing something in the process. We work as a couple and divide tasks. For example, Danielle keeps the photobank, edits images, and catalogues them. …

Words by Joseph Frey Nighttime fluoro diving offers an entirely new perspective to the stunningly beautiful and pristine reefs of the famous Coral Triangle  With the planet’s coral reefs dying off due to human activities and few healthy reefs left to dive on in the Caribbean region, divers have …

As part of Analox’s DEMA 2020 campaign they are running an underwater photography competition, #MadForMarineLife. Analox are fascinated by everything that goes on beneath the surface and would love for you to share your experiences with them! If you have taken any underwater photographs that you are proud of …