I am 37 and have dived since 1999. 251
dives logged, the last one on a WW2 vintage German Junkers
JU-52 transport aeroplane in a frozen lake near Narvik,
Norway. Since taking up UW photography in 2001 I have dived
twice without a camera.
Two or three weeks a month I work as a
technical consultant for engineering companies, improving how
they manage their data. One week a month I freelance with my
travel/underwater photography and written features.
My p hotographic gear is Nikon (A couple of
F90x bodies, a D70 body, plus lenses) and housings are Subal.
Dive gear is nothing special, but having completed an 85
minute dive in 7 degree water (Norway) I can recommend an
O'Three drysuit and Forth Element clothing! I almost always
dive with a twinset, and carry travel bands so I can build
one whatever tanks the operator supplies. My personal rule of
'carry as much air as possible - you can't get more down
there' has never let me down and has saved another divers
life on one occasion.
I dive wherever the job takes me, from the
Arctic to the tropics, in fresh or salt water. Having
reviewed my logbook (from dive 125 to 250) there are a total
of 13 different countries represented, from Europe, North
America, Africa and New Zealand. I usually look for the more
unusual and off-beat
dive sites such as Marico Oog in South Africa (remote
spring), Pupu springs in New Zealand (ditto) or the JU-52 in
Norway. I have never dived the Red Sea. Plenty of
photographers go there and have taken better images than I am
capable of, but I would like to go one day.
There is little time for other hobbies or
interests, but I am a competent off-road motorcyclist and I
am planning to ride a trail bike across the Namib Desert in
search of prehistoric rock art sites next year.
Website http://ww.simonbrownimages.com
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