Located along the equator in the remote Indian Ocean, 1,192 distinct islands make up the Maldives, a world renowned destination for diving. The incredible reefs and crystal clear water are home to thousands of species of fish, including massive manta rays and whale sharks. Recently, a handful of friends had decided to meet up in the Maldives for a couple weeks to dive, and as I hadn’t seen some of them in quite some time I decided to jump on board at the last minute. With 20 rolls of film and my Nikonos V, no less.
Photographing underwater tends to be a shot in the dark for me most days, even after a decade of experience. I first got into shooting in the water through surfing, so naturally during the emergence of action cameras I started out with a GoPro 2, sometime around 2012. From there the hobby followed me to university in Southern California where I lucked into a DSLR with a water housing to shoot at the Wedge, a huge and famously volatile wave. Now, after selling my digital rig, I’ve spent the past three years using the legendary Nikonos V while freediving.