Super-accomplished underwater photographer David Doubilet has done 70 stories since 1971 with National Geographic magazine, is a contributing editor for several publications, as well as an author of twelve books. And hooray for us―the man himself will be in town for National Geographic Life presents Coral, Fire & Ice, where he’ll share some of his gorgeous images of corals, sculptural icebergs, shipwrecks and more as part of the first ever National Geographic Live series in Asia. We got to squeeze in a few quick questions with him:
Have you always wanted to be an underwater photographer?
Yes, since the ripe old age of 12. I have known that I wanted―or more accurately, needed―to be an underwater photographer. I was obsessed with being in the water since I first put on a mask at Camp Lincoln, a summer camp in the Adirondack Mountains. My father, a surgeon, put my Brownie Hawkeye into an anesthesiologist bag so I could take it underwater. My first pictures were a disaster but a dream come true.
What are some of your lesser-known favorite diving spots?
Hopkins Island (South Australia) is a magical place filled with Australian sealions that like to play with you underwater. They peer into your camera dome, pull your flippers and tug on the strobe cords. I also love to dive at Mioskon Reef in Raja Ampat, Indonesia. The reef is exploding with layers of life from pygmy seahorses to lazy wobbegong sharks lying on coral couches.
What do you like most about the ocean?
I like the ocean because the bizarre is commonplace. The unexpected is constant. You never know what you will see or experience. It is another world, a parallel universe that is a privilege to work in.
What’s your most memorable experience?
There are many memorable experiences and it is hard to rank or rate them. I vividly remember the first time a very large great white shark materialized at the edge of my vision. I also find diving with harp seal pups in the Gulf of St Lawrence ice addicting and my partner and I go back each year. Also, I just returned from Banda Run Island in the Spice Islands of Indonesia, where we experienced a reef covered in millions of red tooth triggerfish. I have never seen a phenomenon like that.
What creatures would you want to dive with?
Adult Nile crocodiles, sturgeons, Greenland sharks, more basking sharks, free-swimming marlins and beluga whales in the ice.
What is your greatest achievement?
I have not drowned or been eaten up, so that’s a basic achievement. A greater achievement would be producing nearly 70 stories for National Geographic that reached million of readers and took them on a journey into the sea. Some of those readers went on to become marine scientists and problem solvers. Pictures have the power to inspire, honor and humiliate; they also have the power to make change. Some of my pictures have resulted in the protection of species and that makes me very settled.
David Doubilet will be sharing his experiences at National Geographic Live presents Coral, Fire & Ice, August 25, 7.30pm.
