Articles

Ribbon eel motion blur, Lembeh, Indonesia
 

As we all know, underwater photography is difficult and can take years to master. Books, magazines, and online resources like DPG help to make the task easier, but one of the best ways to see immediate improvements in the quality of your images is to take part in a dedicated underwater photography course. With that in mind, this week’s featured photographer Alex Tyrrell established Dive4Photos, a premium training facility in Thailand to teach aspiring underwater photographers how to maximize their success.

Like many underwater photographers, Alex started out with basic equipment and slowly progressed towards adding strobes and wet lenses. A trip to the Bahamas in 2006 was the catalyst for him to finally take the plunge and upgrade to a DSLR system and since then he hasn’t looked back. After stints working in Myanmar and Indonesia, Alex accepted a job as photo pro at a luxury dive resort in the Philippines and spent more than four years running photo classes and workshops before deciding it was time to start his own company and moving permanently to the Thai island of Koh Tao in 2012.

To be a teacher of underwater photography requires patience, experience and a complete understanding of different techniques, and looking at Alex’s portfolio, it is clear he also knows how to capture amazing images of his own. Combining macro and wide-angle work with the use of snoots, sunbursts, silhouettes and motion blur results in every image showing a unique subject, behavior or technique, which really adds to the selection’s overall appeal.
 

Blue-ringed octopus with eggs, Lembeh, Indonesia
 

Giant trevally and siversides, Richelieu Rock, Thailand
 

Pelagic swimming crab, Koh Tao, Thailand
 

Pelagic thresher silhouette, Malapascua, Philippines
 

Sargassum frogfish, Lembeh, Indonesia
 

Paper nautilus riding a jellyfish, Anilao, Philippines
 

Bryzoan goby, Lembeh, Indonesia
 

Reticulate stargazer spotlighted with a snoot, Puerto Galera, Philippines
 

Filefish and jellyfish, Anilao, Philippines
 

McCosker’s flasher wrasse motion blur, Pulau Weh, Indonesia
 

Hedgehog seahorse, Koh Tao, Thailand
 

Clearfin lizardfish eating a shrimp goby, Lembeh, Indonesia
 

Alex Tyrrell
 

If you’re interested in learning how to emulate some of the awesome images you see here, check out the comprehensive training program Alex developed in association with PADI, the 30-dive PADI Dive Centre Pro Photographer Course. See more of Alex’s fabulous images on his website, www.dive4photos.com, or follow him on his Instagram page.