Shot 1. Taken in the Galapagos at night, these Tubastrea corals are a standard picture in any underwater photographer's slide file. However they fitted with the orange/red/blue colour scheme of the portfolio, and formed a strong and simple first image of the 6. Nikon F801s, Subal housing, SB25 speedlight in Cullimore housing, 60 mm micro Nikkor, manual on 1/60th, f16, Fuji Velvia.

Shot 2. I very much wanted to capture the metallic blue tinge on the back of the blue sharks a group of us encountered in the San Pedro channel off Catalina Island in September this year. This was the only shot that got anywhere near looking like I wanted, and is naturally entirely down to luck regarding the angle of the shark and the flash! Towards late afternoon, the sharks came very close, and this one in fact sampled my hair shortly after this picture was taken. At that point I decided to leave the water. Nikon F100, Subal housing, SB25 speedlight in Cullimore housing stopped down by 1 exposure value, YS30 slave strobe, 17-35 mm Nikkor zoom with +2 diopter behind Subal dome port, shutter priority on 1/250th with focus tracking, probably f11, Fuji Provia 400.

Shot 3. Bloch's bigeye always makes for a high impact portrait, and this one was taken in the Red Sea on the last dive of this summer's trip. Nikon 801s equipment, 105 mm micro Nikkor, manual 1/125th, f11 or 8, Fuji Velvia.

Shot 4. Catalina Island again, in the giant kelp, with a fan coral and a garibaldi. I thought that the giant kelp was astonishing in terms of a natural phenomenon, and the garibaldis truly are this fantastic orange colour! Nikon F100 equipment, 16 mm fish-eye Nikkor, manual on 1/60th, f8, Fuji Velvia.

Shot 5. B&W film has long been popular with wreck photographers, in this case Agfa Scala. I wanted a slightly different angle on the Giannis D, and so came up to about 12 m, where this natural light shot was taken before breakfast last summer, with my oldest daughter Marie-Louise as the model, and the sun highlighting the superstructure. The composition was the most time-consuming part of this shot, which has gone on to be quite a successful fine-art print. Nikon F801s equipment, 16 mm fish-eye Nikkor, B&W contrast filter fitted to the back of the lens, manual on 1/30th or 1/15th, f4 or 2.8!

Shot 6. Taken along Bloody Bay Wall in Little Cayman, I included this picture in the portfolio because I thought that the shapes and colours suited the theme. Hilary Driscoll is the model, and the wall is littered with red sponges such as these. Nikon F801s equipment, 16 mm full-frame Nikkor, manual on 1/60th, f11, Fuji Velvia.