Photography
Great Barrier Reef Megafauna Expedition
Through my photography experience with the ATSIMS Program and The FINstitute (below), I successfully applied to a Great Barrier Reef Megafauna Photography Competition & Expedition. This was run through Adrenalin Dive and offered 14 dives (completely for free) to photograph and measure the largest megafauna on the reef.
Competing against two people who had a lifetime of dive and photography experience, I felt extremely out of my comfort zone with my 17 logged dives and underwater Ikelite Camera housing that I had previously only taken into the ocean once before. The only reason I was even able to afford my camera setup was through my work with the ATSIMS program. My underwater housing arrived two weeks before the expedition start date.
Although daunting, I slowly but surely got more and more comfortable in the water with my camera. The best part was getting to see my progress each day. My aim on this expedition was not to win the competition but to be a sponge and absorb as much expertise from the incredibly talented and experienced divers, photographers and filmmakers onboard. These photos (right) are some of my favourite ones, taken during my last two dives of the expedition on the remote but stunning Myrmidon Reef, after having learnt as much as possible from my previous dives.
In the end, I successfully won in two categories by having photographed the largest reptile (a Loggerhead Sea Turtle) on the SS Yongala shipwreck, as well as in the wild card category, of a photo I had taken of a fellow diver coming out of a swim-through.
ATSIMS Program 2024
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in Marine Science (ATSIMS) Program is an outreach initiative providing First Nations Year 10 students in North Queensland with opportunities to engage in marine science and marine management, citizen science, and the stewardship of Sea Country.
In 2024, I was the ATSIMS photographer and also was tasked with creating a video of the part of the program that takes place on Orpheus Island Research Station titled "Just Jump In!".
FINstitute Events
The FINstitute is a student-led, James Cook University-affiliated shark conservation consortium supporting Indonesian and Australian shark conservation initiatives.
Since 2023, I have been supporting this club by taking photos and videos for their social media. In 2024, I joined their executive team as the official Social Media Manager in charge of taking the photos, editing them using Adobe Lightroom and also creating marketing posts using Canva.
Travel Photography
