At the same time I wrote to anyone I could
think of to enquire about career advice, work
or work experience. Basically anything I could
get my hands on, paid or unpaid. After a handful
of positive responses, and a lot of rejections, I
was eventually given the chance by Scubazoo
to come out to Borneo and work as an intern.
Needless to say, I jumped at it.
What challenges did you face at the start?
I think, like most people, I thought this was
going to be a dream job from the off, capturing
stunning underwater footage, gliding over
kaleidoscopic coral reefs, and feeling more like
I was on holiday than at work. The reality is
rather different. It can, at times, be an incredibly
stressful job which requires meticulous planning
and preparation in order for everything to run
smoothly. Without any formal training, I had to
learn on the job, which means you progress very
quickly but you also make a lot of mistakes. It
was a real baptism by fire. Thankfully, I was also
editing my camerawork so could easily hide all
the terrible shots I took!
02
03
There’s no substitute for
experience so practise,
practise, practise
How long have you been professionally
filming underwater?
I joined underwater production company
Scubazoo early last year on an internship, and
after a few months helping in the office I was
given a shot at handling a camera underwater,
albeit a GoPro. So I guess you could say I’ve been
doing it now for around 15 months. Since that
first outing my setup has become a little more
elaborate and I now shoot on a Sony EX1R with
Gates underwater housing.
Who was your biggest inspiration?
Working at a company like Scubazoo with so
many talented and experienced underwater
cameramen, it is not hard to get inspired.
However, I’d have to say that certainly one of
my biggest inspirations and mentors has been
my colleague and good friend Aaron “Bertie”
Gekoski. He really took me under his wing from
the first day I went filming underwater and as an
underwater photographer and cinematographer
himself has taught me a huge amount in the
time we’ve worked together.
What advice would you give to somebody
who is looking to become an underwater
cameraman?
Whilst there is definitely no set path to
becoming an underwater cameraman, most
have a background in biology or other related
studies so that’s a good place to begin. Add to
that a professional level of diving and then it’s
time to beg, borrow and steal any camera and
housing you can get your hands on. There’s no
substitute for experience so practise, practise,
practise, but be warned, whilst learning you
may have to work for free for quite a while. But
if you can stick it out and show progress then a
paid opportunity will come your way. SDOP