KIRK KILFOYLE

Kirk has been working as a marine biologist for over 10 years, first at the NOAA Fisheries Laboratory in Galveston, TX, and currently at the National Coral Reef Institute at the NSU Oceanographic Center in Dania Beach, FL, where he is also pursuing a PhD. As his field research activities began to take him to increasingly interesting places near and far, he decided the time was at hand to finally get an underwater camera. He started out with a point-and shoot Sony DSC-N1, which served him well for a time, but soon realized the need for something with more versatility and better performance. From there he upgraded to a Nikon P5000 with Ikelite housing and dual DS-125 sub-strobes, which enabled development of the basic skill set need to take photos underwater with manual settings. He has since taken the plunge and acquired a Nikon D200 and Subal housing, and has been eagerly shooting with it as often as possible ever since. As far as subject matter is concerned, anything is fair game. From macro to wide angle, there is virtually an endless supply of great subjects to shoot out there, as long as you have an open mind and a lot of patience. 

While most of his diving experience has involved scientific research closer to home, in recent years he has also been fortunate enough to travel to Australia, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Mexico, Palau, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Tanzania, and the U.S. Virgin islands to dive. Since joining SFUPS he has been inspired to keep shooting as often as possible to continue building both his skills and portfolio. His images have performed well in several local and international underwater photography competitions, and have been featured in several scientific publications, displays for international conferences and public aquaria, the popular press, and on several websites.