Articles

A seafan silhouette looking up through a cavern in the reef, St Lucia
 

It wasn’t until after retiring that Charlotte Mosley took up diving and underwater photography. But she was fortunate to have world-class underwater shooter Henley Spiers as her mentor. She was still getting the hang of using the dump valve when Henley suggested she invest in an underwater housing for her camera—and she was instantly hooked. Though Charlotte had always loved the sea, she never imagined that simply dipping her head beneath the surface would reveal such an wildly different, new, and exciting world filled with whales, sharks, and octopuses!

Initially, she was captivated by the tiny life within coral reefs, like blennies and nudibranchs. However, over time, Charlotte’s passion has shifted towards the challenge of pelagic adventures and encounters with larger marine animals, which you’ll see plenty of evidence for in her feature. Places like Baja and Galápagos have become favorite places for her. Charlotte now thrives on the excitement and unpredictability of these underwater encounters with marine megafauna.

Charlotte also finds the process of editing images after her encounters to be deeply absorbing. She says there’s a true sense of satisfaction when a murky green or blue image suddenly reveals a subject in its true colors. Or when a black-and-white conversion surprises her with its stark simplicity. Henley’s student has taken his lessons to heart and has begun to create her own incredible underwater images—and there are no doubt many more to come.
 

One of the world’s most beautiful sharks, the blue shark, searches the open ocean for snacks, UK
 

Two bull sharks stir up the sand on a shark dive, Playa del Carmen, Mexico
 

A lone sperm whale takes a rest on the surface, Baja, Mexico
 

Exploring caverns, lit extravagently by beautiful light beams, Yucatán, Mexico
 

A trio of California sea lions corral a baitball near the surface, Baja, Mexico
 

A flamingo tongue clings to the foot of a gorgonian, St. Lucia
 

The Galápagos penguin looks a bit out of place on this rocky, warm-toned seabed! Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
 

Like a feathery missile, a northern gannet plunges into the water after prey, Shetlands, UK
 

Perhaps the most comical turtle of all time, an olive ridley’s turtle hangs out at the surface, Costa Rica
 

A small school of cownose rays cruises through the spectacular blue waters off Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
 

A gray seal comes up to inspect the photographer over a kelp forest, UK
 

A striped marlin makes a quick U-turn while chasing some doomed baitfish, Baja, Mexico