Articles

The epic chaos of the sardine run. Here sharks and dolphins (and photographers) gather up a baitball, shortly before its imminent destruction, South Africa
 

Our newest Photographer of the Week is David Robinson, an underwater wildlife photographer, marine ecologist, and research scientist. He has been taking underwater photos since he was 15—a long time ago, by his own admission!—with his first film Sea&Sea camera. Many upgrades later, and we are featuring him here on DPG.

Formerly based in Dubai, David spent 12 years in the Middle East rehabilitating sea turtles and conducting marine research. He has been working with and studying elasmobranchs (sharks, rays and their relatives) and sea turtles for most of his career. While in the Middle East, David completed his PhD on whale shark ecology in Arabia. Many underwater photographers are photographers first and foremost, while David is equal parts photographer and scientist!

David has taken his talents to Australia and is now co-owner of Sundive Byron Bay and founder of the Cape Byron Leopard Shark Project as well as Sharkwatch Arabia. The leopard shark project aims to investigate the ecology of the leopard shark within the Cape Byron Marine Park and Julian Rocks Nguthungulli Nature Reserve and uncover why they gather in such large numbers within this area. Anyone who has dived that area or seen images from there knows it is famous (justifiably so) for its stunning leopard sharks. David’s portfolio here focuses largely on his big-animal work in the Middle East, South Africa, and Australia.
 

A whale shark surrounded by baitfish (breakfast) off Djibouti
 

Green sea turtle returning to the depths after snatching a breath during a beautiful sunset, Lady Elliot Island, Australia
 

A beautiful blacktip shark striking a pose in the Arabian Sea
 

A young whale shark and its entourage of remoras cruising just beneath the surface off Byron Bay, Australia
 

Gannets dive for food in the Shetland Islands, Scotland
 

A pair of emperor shrimp hitching a ride on a sea cucumber in the world famous Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
 

A humpback whale calf sticking close to mom in the murky waters of St John’s, South Africa
 

This young whale shark is being led around by the nose by a school of trevally, Djibouti
 

Sailfish corral a baitball near the surface, Isla Mujeres, Mexico
 

The largest animal on Earth, the blue whale, emanating sun rays, Sri Lanka
 

One of David’s study species, the zebra shark (or four of them), stirring up sand in Byron Bay, Australia
 

To see more of David’s work, please visit his Instagram page or check out his website, www.sundive.com.au.