underwater photography + motion Feb 2018

Aaron Okayama specialises in underwater sports and lifestyle photography. He captures incredible colours and emotion under the water, often utilising extraordinary machinery and equipment.

He has shot some of the world’s greatest Olympian swimmers, including Ryan Lochte and Missy Franklin. Some of his recent clients include Speedo, OAKLEY, Tom's Shoes, Sperry, Polo, Triflare, Manhattan Beachwear, and Aquasphere.

He also enjoys shooting car racing and has produced some amazing images for Motegi Racing, American Racing, and KMC Wheels.

With over 19 years of experience as a freelancer in the camera department of the film and advertising industries, Gemma Silvestre’s cinematographic influences are clear in her work.

After learning from the best directors of photography, she decided to add technique to her own natural instinct by attending different schools. A Master's in Applied Photography at IDEP Image and Design School in Barcelona and a workshop in Creative Lighting at the International Center of Photography in New York, are just some highlights of her training.

Gemma is passionate about capturing light, details and feelings - pure emotion. In recent years, she has been drawn to the underwater world, with images full of creativity and imagination.

"Anything a client can imagine underwater, clothing, jewellery or drinks, these images will spark creativity, poetry and magic. Welcome to a world of inventive dreamscapes, where femininity, subtlety and beauty take the centre stage!"

Ilse Moore is renowned in South Africa as an underwater fashion, fine art  and maternity photographer. Her work has been featured in several arts and culture, lifestyle and fine art magazines as well as numerous fashion and culture blogs around the world.

Ilse was a guest photographer on the first season of 'Africa’s Next Top Model' and her work has also formed part of ad campaigns in Istanbul and the USA.

One of her ongoing projects is a visual collaboration with a local Spanish music and dance theatre production, RECUERDOS, in which the dancers are the subject of her exhibition prints and well as performances via film projections on stage.

As an artist, Ilse likes to explore water as a symbol that nurtures the psyche, be it positive or negative, and much of her work takes on an ethereal, sometimes surreal approach to the inherent qualities of water.

Laura Barisonzi is a New York-based outdoor sports and lifestyle photographer with an underwater specialty. As a life-long swimmer, sailor, kayaker and observer of the ocean, she brings her unique perspective to her underwater work both in the pool, lakes, and in the open ocean.

Her clients have included the Nature Conservancy, Sierra Magazine, the Gap, United Airlines Hemispheres Magazine, New Balance, Poland Spring, Danner Boots, Florida Tourism, Yoga Journal, Canon, Hilton, and more.

Her years of experience on location means she knows the planning, production, customised equipment, lighting and on-set direction it takes to accomplish a stunning and successful underwater shoot. She is represented by The Gren Group.

Ronny Kiaulehn was born in a little town near Munich, Germany in 1968 and now lives between Munich and Milan. He speciallises in outdoor, sports and lifestyle photography. Featured in this Spotlight is a range of his underwater photography.

“I love to create my own lighting, that‘s why I work with battery studio flash units most of the time when I do outdoor and action photography. I like the challenge of setting up my studio set also under really difficult conditions, like carrying 50kg of lighting equipment up a mountain to do some action shots for a mountain bike client.

When I decided to get into underwater photography, it was clear to me that I wanted to adapt the same lighting techniques I use above water. I enjoy the underwater shoots most because they need a lot more planning, preparation and skills. They are not as predictable as studio or outdoor shoots, but this is what makes them very special and a real challenge.”

Ronny's clients include Cube Bikes, Bosch, Bora, Garmin, Erdinger Alkoholfrei, MAN, Naish, Boards and More, Felt Bikes and Delius Klasing Verlag, among others.

Sandy Nicholson and his team create compelling stories with still or moving images. They work on large scale projects both commercial and personal.

Sandy started telling stories in the 1990s, shooting photo essays for Rolling Stone, Vogue and Australian magazines. From there, he started making images for ad agencies and designers globally.

Sandy Nicholson Stills & Motion is a full production team that executes the creative from start to finish. Clients include Air Canada, AstraZeneca, Bank of Montreal, Bell, Canada Post, Cochlear, Corus Entertainment, Girl Guides of Canada, Glaxo Smith Kline, Hutchison Communications, Little Tikes, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Nickelodeon, Nike, Nokia, Nestlé, Purolator, RIM, Rogers, Sony, Toshiba, TD Bank, Telus, Unilever and Wind Mobile.

Sandy's photographs have exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, London, the World Expo, Lisbon, Fotofeis in Scotland, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney. His solo exhibitions, 'Lifts', 'Suburban Fetish' and '2nd' have shown in Australia, the UK, Canada and Croatia. Sandy has won a World Press Photo, Applied Arts, Advertising and Directors Club of Canada and several other awards.

Whether it's sharks, wrecks or ballet dancers, with over 10 years' experience in creating underwater visuals Susanne Stemmer catches them all.

"Over the years, we’ve worked for big clients like LVMH, Swarovski and Chanel yet every job is different and has its own requirements. We partnered up with Friendly Fire 3D Concept House a few years ago to add even more impact and fantasy to our underwater sets and environments. We invent underwater lighting and bubble machines, and train our models to do exactly the poses we need. From slightly unpredictable and adventurous underwater shoots in the beginning, we've moved on to totally controlled large productions with a lot of fun and expertise. I simply love my job!"

After many years of shooting commercials, Susanne started her art career four years ago with exhibitions in Paris, New York and Los Angeles. She was invited to show her video installation at the Venice Biennale 2017 - a huge projection installation on the facade of Palazzo Mora.

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

London-born Zac Macaulay has won three international awards and is one of Europe’s leading underwater artists with a camera. Zac has been shooting for over 25 years in the industry.

He is first an artist and then a diver. His most recent projects include Take That for their Wonderland Tour, Frankie Hayward for The Royal Ballet, Mylene Klass for Littlewoods, Mermaids for a Burger chain, and shooting a Strictly Come Dancing set underwater for Fit Bit.

Zac owns a high end movie system, the Gates housing with a Red Epic Dragon, Weapon or Arri Alexa Mini movie cameras for commercial and movie projects, and has recently being the DOP on a Pantene Pro V hair commercial underwater.

He loves pushing boundaries underwater with his camera, shooting intuitively and to the clients' brief. He has a strong team and trusted crew with which he can make your assignment come to life and win awards.