UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY + MOTION Mar 2016

Aldara Ortega uses photography to capture instantaneous moments of motion. Her vivid, colour-saturated images express freedom and calm simultaneously, focusing on the movement of the human form as it interacts with an underwater environment.

A self-taught photographer and mixed media artist, Aldara merges her own reflective experiences with those of her subjects, creating stunningly harmonious and light-filled works.

Born in Madrid, Spain, Aldara first explored the effects of underwater photography after moving to New York in 2009. Her photographs communicate the transformational experience of being submerged in water, achieving an almost meditative state for subject and viewer alike.

"I'm a London based photographer, shooting a mix of sports, lifestyle and landscapes. I was born in Portugal and have always been fascinated by the ocean - I'm currently in the process of getting to know more of the UK's beautiful, rugged coastline.

My skill set allows me to work in the most challenging of conditions, from shooting surfers in the Arctic Circle to elite athletes on the track, or pensioners in a swimming pool.

My client list is diverse and includes Mazda, Red Bull, Mercedes-Benz, Ernst & Young, Penguin and Outside Magazine."

"My background is in design. For over 16 years, I have served as the Creative Director for a design and marketing firm in Los Angeles where I developed properties for major international brands in entertainment, fashion, and television. 

I became intrigued by underwater photography due to the other-worldly qualities inherent in the medium. The lack of gravity creates a unique aesthetic to the images that borders on the surreal. I find this to be incredibly inspiring, as the creative possibilities are endless.

I am an experienced diver and freediver and have worked both in controlled environments as well as open water conditions around the world. I am particularly interested in creative portraiture, fashion, and working with people who want to push creative boundaries."

As an award winning photographer, Brett Stanley has been consistently pushing the envelope of underwater photography since he added the speciality to his commercial business, garnering international attention for his unique and creative vision.

Brett's images are emotive and dramatic, perfectly melding the client's brief with the photographer's own vision. He is constantly creating new ways to create imagery with water, and loves it when a client has a challenging project, be it fashion, portrait, dance, or advertising.

Always professional, Brett and his production team constantly strive for the best customer experience for their clients, and with the addition of motion to their skill set the crew can deliver results.

Brett's happy place is in the water, creating with his clients and crew. Whilst based in Los Angeles, he is available for commissions worldwide.

Frank P. Wartenberg loves to experiment. Structures, colours, shapes and lights are his approach to capture the human body with his camera. The elements have always been an artistic component of this photography: he has worked in the mud and with flames, up in the air, above and under water.

The range of his portfolio goes from clean, pure beauty shots to opulent fashion spreads, elaborate settings and light installations. He thoroughly works on poses and expressions and encourages his team, behind and in front of his camera, to give it one's all until he has captured the perfect moment.

Frank's work leads him from Hamburg to London and New York, and to places all over the world.

Danish born photographer and film-maker, Henrik Sørensen, is one of Europe’s leading professional underwater photographers, combining the highly technical aspects of underwater photography with superb creative direction, resulting in extraordinary images.

Throughout the last 20 years, Henrik has worked with almost every aspect of photography. His repertoire in his early career included documentary photography, portraits and ethnographic photographs. Over the years, his work has focused on bringing fine arts into the realm of commercial photography, developing a signature style with a high level of refinement and creativity.

“Underwater photography offers the possibility of creating a different expression. In many ways, the underwater photograph signifies an abstract universe, removed from the space of everyday life.”

Today, Henrik is considered one of the most successful and innovative photographers and film-makers in the industry, shooting regularly for clients all over the world.

John Huet is an award-winning advertising photographer and director whose work has appeared in countless ad campaigns and editorial magazines.

Known for his photography of athletes, John has devoted his career to photographing individuals who compete at all levels of sport. Through his photography, he captures the intensity and power of the athlete, while also revealing the vulnerability of the competitor.

His client list includes Nike, Under Armour, Powerade, Saucony, asics, PowerBar, Gillette, Playtex, Bose, Bank of America, The International Olympic Committee, U.S. Army, Time Magazine, TaylorMade, United Airlines, ESPN The Magazine, Coca-Cola, Reebok, Fox Sports, Esquire, The Special Olympics, United States Marine Corps, Sports Illustrated and Thomson Reuters.

In addition to his many industry awards, John was named the International Photography Awards’ Sports Photographer of the Year in 2015 for the ESPN images.

From John’s perspective: "I have a hard time differentiating between my assignment work and my personal work. Whether I'm doing an ad campaign, an editorial shoot, a TV spot or a pro bono project, it's personal for me. Everything I shoot is personal.

I love what I do. I truly do. I couldn’t have chosen a better career for myself, and I can’t imagine spending my life doing anything other than exactly what I’m doing".

Mark Mawson is a London-based photographer with 25 years' experience shooting a broad spectrum of subjects.

He specialises in shooting fashion, people and still life underwater, as well as liquids and splashes. His colourful work titled ‘Aqueous’ has become very well known around the world. In 2012, an 'Aqueous' video was projected onto the walls of Buckingham Palace as the backdrop to The Queen’s diamond jubilee celebrations.

Mark also likes photographing cinematic-style landscapes and is currently working on a series of caravan images.

Mark enjoys being part of a creative team to produce stunning images.

"There’s something quite literally in the water: the way the sunlight scatters, transforming a watery abyss into an iridescent aquatic utopia; the water itself being symbolic of birth as it mirrors the exact conditions and environment where all life begins; the weightlessness; the freedom; the tranquility; the magic; the elegance it infuses into our awkward human bodies."

For Peter De Mulder, shooting underwater allows “fantastic movement; something you could not hope for in a studio. The element of water is magical. It’s a different world. It’s like saying, “Let’s go to Mars and do a photo-shoot.” It’s a three dimensional feeling. The ocean is our ultimate master.”

Peter shoots with his experienced team above and under-water to provide expert knowledge when it comes to taking perfect underwater pictures. His work has been featured in French Marie-Claire, Italian Vanity Fair, Greek Harper's and others. His shooting playgrounds include Greece, the Maldives, Bahamas, Seychelles, Ibiza, Corsica and - of course - numerous swimming pools. Peter works both free diving and scuba diving.

Visit his website, email or call +32 475498292 for more information.

Clients include Kusmi Tea Paris, Sofitel, Coleman, Thalys, Bridgestone, Decathlon, TBS, Toyota, Renault, Head&Shoulders, Giant, Magnum, Zovirax, Dexia, Panasonic, Mobistar, Ben Q and Green Cross.

With over 20 international awards to his credit, including multiple International Photography Award, Applied Arts, and Communication Arts awards, photographer and director Ric Frazier is one of the most skilled, experienced and versatile photographers specialising in water in the world.

He has redefined the art of underwater photography by shooting everything ranging from people, ocean life, and props, on specially built sets, in pools and in the oceans of the world; all in a unique style that is contemporary, yet timeless.

Ric’s photographic journey began with his passion for documenting the oceans. This led him to pursue his degree in Advertising and Undersea Photography at the prestigious Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California.

As an advertising and editorial photographer with over 20 years of experience, Ric excels in problem solving and collaboration that leads to creative solutions, delivering successful campaigns for his clients such as Nike, MTV, McDonald's, O'Neill, Kodak, GQ and ESPN Magazine.

Furthermore, Ric likes to balance his hectic advertising career with personal work documenting the underwater life of Canadian Lakes. With a passion for creating photos that show innovations in light and movement, Ric reminds the viewer that water is not only comfort, but that it is energy, strength and life.

Ryan Struck is a 30 year-old, self-taught Brooklyn-based photographer. Earning a BA in History allowed him to investigate the things that have occurred in the world of which he knew nothing about. In that same spirit, photography allows Ryan to be curious about the world and what surrounds us all.

He enjoys saving poignant moments through a visual medium, and documenting lifestyle often fulfills this need. Ryan loves photography. When not at home shooting he can be found travelling in search of surf and inspiring natural lighting.

His desire to capture images that help viewers imagine the very instant the shutter clicked fuels his passion to combine beautiful light, people and places.

Follow Ryan in Instagram to get updates about his latest projects.

Sara Acosta is a freelance photographer specialising in capturing underwater images.

She currently lives and develops her work in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, covering a wide range of topics focused on liquid - from water sports to fashion, underwater photo and video through advertising and effects with all types of fluids.

"It may be work that requires specialised equipment, a lot of planning and infinite patience to capture the desired scene, but the results are worth all the effort."

Visit her website for more information.

"More mercurial than Juergen Teller, more cerebral than Mario Testino, hers is a world that few dare to brave! Forget the familiarity of the studio - you’re more likely to find Susanne Stemmer underwater, camera in hand, creating jaw-droppingly awesome fashion photography that most would struggle to produce on dry land.“ Ben Hawkins, Practical Photography, 2015.

Underwater and above, commercial campaigns and exhibitions worldwide, Susanne's next exhibition will be in Paris Photo, Los Angeles, May 2016.

Always on the move, Susanne lives in Paris and Vienna.

Szymon Kobusinski is a graduate of the National Film School in Lodz, Poland. Portrait photography has always been his passion and he has photographed notable individuals across culture, politics and top business leaders.

Szymon is equally passionate about underwater photography. 'Whaternet', '(un)fulfilled with color' and 'Metamorphosis' are some of his latest and most critically acclaimed series.

He has created dozens of individual photographic projects that have been presented in exhibitions and events including 'O2', 'The Medalists',' Passion', 'To Save From Oblivion', 'The Light of Life' and 'Another World'.

Szymon is a multi-award winner and has also been nominated in the 'Moving Images Photographer of the Year' category of one of the most prestigious competitions in the world, The Lucie Awards.