Dr. Alex Mustard
Wildlife Photographer
"Even those that have never seen the ocean depend on it for every breath they take."
"Submerged in water is where I feel most at ease – filled with immense calm and marveling at the life below."
About the photographer
Earth, as Arthur C. Clarke pointed out, is an unusual choice of name for our home planet, as “Ocean” would be far more appropriate. I was addicted to the ocean long before I took up photography. I remember many childhood marathon snorkeling sessions, and I abandoned a conventional career for life as a dive professional and vocational underwater photographer. S
ubmerged in water is where I feel most at ease – filled with immense calm and marveling at the life below. It is difficult to convey this feeling in words, and taking up photography was my way of communicating the beauty of the marine world when words failed. Photography honed my appreciation of beauty, slowing me down to the point where I would happily spend hours observing a single fish. The most human reaction to beauty is the desire to share it with others, and I am lucky to share this passion and career with my wife, Jade. Technical skills with the camera were required to adequately transfer what I witnessed with my naked eyes into some semblance of these feelings of wonder. Initially, I focused on capturing moments, but as time went on I began experimenting with slow frames and underwater motion.
For me, nature is art, and my ultimate ambition is to create imagery that embraces the beauty and art inherent to nature. Motion represents the dynamism of underwater life and highlights a beautiful subject against its background. Life, both on shore and in the water, perpetually evolves for better or worse and photography can create the illusion of everlasting beauty. Even on a heavily damaged reef, a photographer can still showcase that one small corner of exception. For all the beautiful images in this book, remember they represent only one part of reality.
The ocean is at its most precarious tipping point ever in human history, jeopardized and put under immense strain by over-fishing, pollution, habitat destruction and global climate change. To prevent the ecological balance from tipping, it is time to change our habits and start taking better care of our planet’s greatest treasure.