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The Ocean

Ocean Hero: David Doubilet

Photograph by Jennifer Hayes

Name: David Doubilet
Place of Birth: New York, New York
Current Home: Clayton, New York
Occupation: Underwater photographer/photojournalist

What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Believe it or not I always wanted to be an underwater photographer. I began shooting underwater at age 12. My first underwater camera setup was a Brownie Hawkeye that my father and I put into a rubber anesthesiologist bag to make it waterproof. After that I spent as much time as I could in the water learning about sea life and learning how to make images underwater.

How did you get started in your field?
I began shooting professionally in my late teens, and I received my first assignment from National Geographic magazine while I was in college. My biggest break came along when I was invited by Stan Waterman to join an expedition to the Red Sea to work with Dr. Eugenie Clark and garden eels. I would continue to work with Dr. Clark on many stories.

What is a typical day like for you?
There are many types of days. In-the-field-on-assignment days, studio days, editing days. The most exciting days are field days when we get up very early to double-check the camera gear and make a dive plan that will get us where we need to be to make images. We spend six to nine hours a day in the water, depending on how deep we are diving and how many dives we can make. We swap digital cards and batteries between dives and then download and back up the images after the diving day is done.

What has been your favorite experience in the field?
I have many favorite experiences: watching animals interact, meeting people, and learning something new all the time. My most recent “wow” moment was photographing huge congregations of goliath groupers, a 500-pound (230-kilogram) fish that was nearly wiped out by overfishing. It was good to see them back again.

Do you have a hero?
My world, personal and professional, is filled with heroes. The pioneers in my profession—Bates Littlehales, Luis Marden, Jacques Cousteau—are some of my early heroes and mentors along with Sylvia Earle, Phil Nuytten, and Harold Edgerton. My personal heroes are anyone who reaches out to help someone who needs help.

If you could have people do one thing to help the ocean, what would it be?
If I could do one thing to save the ocean it would be to introduce every person on this planet to the important role the ocean has in their life and make them aware that the ocean is truly the Earth’s engine.

David Doubilet: Underwater Photographer

Considered the world’s leading underwater photographer, Doubilet has introduced a generation to the mystery and wonder of the deep.
Living Color

Humble sea slugs turn self-defense into art in this photo gallery by David Doubilet.
David Doubilet

Acclaimed underwater photographer David Doubilet was born in New York in 1946. At the age of eight, he began snorkeling off the coast of New Jersey. When he was 12, he began shooting underwater, using a Brownie Hawkeye.

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