Age: 32

How long a shooter: Eight years professionally

How long an underwater shooter: 15 years

How long diving: 20 years

Day job: Commercial photographer

Favorite underwater ­camera: Nikon D800E

Favorite place to be underwater with a camera: For large animals: Socorro; for critters: Indonesia. Socorro was absolutely amazing with the mantas, false killer whales, sharks and dolphins. ­Indonesia was incredible with all of the life. I loved muck ­diving and finding unique animals. It seemed that every few seconds I would find something absolutely amazing that I had never seen before.

Most unforgettable moment underwater with a camera: In Socorro, a pod of false killer whales came near the liveaboard. Surprisingly, at first they were very curious and approached within arms’ length. I could hear their high-pitched calls and see them looking right at me. The image above is from that first encounter with them.

No. 1 bucket-list dive destination: I have a list of all the creatures and ­animals I want to see and ­photograph, and a ­liveaboard trip to Raja Ampat would cross a lot of them off my list. ­Bimini, Bahamas, is also high on my list because the great hammerhead is the No. 1 animal I’ve always wanted to ­photograph.

Advice for shooters entering their first photo contest: Not everyone will like your work. Don’t let that stop you. Keep­ ­learning, keep pushing your work, and don’t let anyone deter you from sharing what you think is an amazing image that you want people to see.