Articles

A friendly and curious loggerhead turtle living on a platform 100 miles off the Texas coast, where sponges to eat are plentiful
 

Jesse Cancelmo’s work as an underwater photojournalist has taken him around the world. But it is perhaps the images taken in his backyard waters—the Gulf of Mexico—that are the most iconic in his portfolio.

Jesse has authored four books—his most recent, Glorious Gulf of Mexico, illustrates the beauty to be found and photographed off the coasts of Mexico, Cuba and the U.S. Gulf states. In addition to his photo prowess, Jesse also has a heck of a dive resume. Certified in 1969, the Texas native eventually earned his open circuit trimix certification. His log book includes dives on the Andrea Doria and the USS Monitor.

In addition to working as a regular contributing editor and photographer for Dive Training magazine, Jesse also has contributed to BBC Wildlife, National Geographic online and Newsweek.
 

At the entrance to Jacob’s Well near Austin, TX. Jesse was full cave certified in 2011 to fulfill assignment work in another Texas cave near Del Rio
 

A mass of striped catfish balled tightly together off Komodo Island, Indonesia
 

Mass coral spawning occurs 8 to 10 nights after the August full moon at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS) off the Texas-Louisiana border
 

A close encounter with a lone scalloped hammerhead at Stetson Bank, one of the three protected banks of the FGBMNS
 

A wide-angle close-up of a spotted scorpionfish at Stetson Bank
 

A school of Bermuda chub at Stetson Bank
 

A graysby portrait at Stetson Bank
 

Snorkeling with sailfish attracted to sardine baitballs north of Isla Mujeres, an event occurring from January to March. Some of the most exhilarating swimming ever while positioning with the fastest fish in the ocean
 

Over-under shot at the headwaters of Homosassa Springs, FL, one of Jesse’s favorite locales for manatee images
 

Schooling scalloped hammerhead sharks off Darwin Island, Galápagos Islands

Jesse photographs sailfish in the Gulf of Mexico
 

For more of Jesse’s amazing images from the Gulf of Mexico and very far beyond, visit his website, www.cancelmophoto.com.