I was always fascinated by the underwater world and always wanted to dive. I got my certification in 2015 and had my first post open water dive in Cozumel. I was amazed by the colors and textures and regretted not having a picture or video from that dive. I got a cheap action camera to share my underwater encounters with friends and family. Seeing pictures from other divers made me want to get a better camera.
The conundrum began – what camera to buy on a budget to continue to record the underwater adventures? Lucas, one of the instructors I dove with in Cozumel, showed me lettuce slugs, blennies, Thuridillas and a Flabellina. I fell in love with the small creatures which made my decision a no-brainer – the Olympus TG-6. Even though it has the underwater mode that compensates for the loss of the red color, it still did not show the bright colors I saw under water. But I was hooked, and we know that there is no way back after that! I first added a video light and then one strobe. Then 2 video lights and 2 strobes. I got a wide-angle lens for our wreck dives and a snoot for a “pop” effect on the nudies and small creatures. Recently I upgraded my TG-6 for a Sony A6600 with the Sony 90mm lens. I use that camera with different diopters and have a Tokina 10-17 mm for wide angle photography. I enjoy diving at Blue Heron Bridge looking for tiny slugs and nudibranchs.
There I have met great people that share the same passion for diving and underwater photography. I like to search for hard-to-find creatures and was excited that my images of an Aegires sublaevis, or “Banana Nudie,” were featured on www.jaxshells.org. More recently I started looking for “alien” creatures in black water dives.