Articles

A beautifully patterned kangaroo nudibranch cruising the reef, Oahu, Hawaii, USA
 

While Olie Turner grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, a mere several hundred miles from the closest ocean, he quickly became obsessed with marine life. His underwater journey began relatively recently, in 2020, when he attended U.S. Navy Dive School in Panama City, Florida. After completing his training, he returned home to Hawaii, where he continued to dive professionally for the military. Spending so much time underwater naturally led him to explore the ocean recreationally and that passion eventually steered him toward underwater photography.

Like many budding photographers, Olie’s first camera was a simple GoPro, which he used to capture the underwater world to share with family and friends. He still remembers one of his early dives when he came across a flatworm that fascinated him, but his GoPro couldn’t capture the detail or color he saw with his own eyes. That humble flatworm inspired him to upgrade to an Olympus TG-6, which only deepened his appreciation for the incredible diversity beneath the surface. Over time, he moved on to his current setups: an OM System OM-1, most often paired with a 90mm lens, strobe and snoot for macro, as well as a Nikon D700 with dual strobes for wide.

Olie is especially drawn to macro photography, focusing on the tiny, often-overlooked creatures that many divers swim right past. Nudibranchs, in particular, hold a special fascination for him. At the same time, he is always looking to grow as a photographer, recently branching out into wide-angle work to capture the beauty of Hawaii’s larger marine residents like sea turtles, manta rays, and even the endangered Hawaiian monk seal. Being able to share the vibrant and diverse marine life of his home waters through his photography is something Olie finds deeply rewarding. He hopes that his images not only showcase the beauty and fragility of our oceans but also inspire others to appreciate and protect them.
 

A common bigeye staring back with its signature oversized gaze, Oahu, Hawaii, USA
 

A striking Denison’s nudibranch on a shallow reef, Oahu, Hawaii, USA
 

A stunning Hawaiian bobtail squid hovering over the sand at night, Oahu, Hawaii, USA
 

A vibrantly colored Cockerell’s dorid exploring the kelp forest, Monterey, California, USA
 

A green sea turtle, effortlessly cruising over the reef, Oahu, Hawaii, USA
 

A gloomy nudibranch showing off un-gloomy coloration, Oahu, Hawaii, USA
 

A rare and spectacular dragon moray peering out of the darkness, Oahu, Hawaii
 

A smooth seahorse clutches the seagrass, Oahu, Hawaii, USA
 

A gorgeous whitemouth moray emerging from its rocky den, Oahu, Hawaii, USA
 

A close-up portrait of a Hawaiian red lionfish, Oahu, Hawaii, USA
 

A yellow-margined nudibranch sliding over the sand, Oahu, Hawaii, USA
 

An adorable Shawn the Sheep munches algae while laying eggs, Oahu, Hawaii, USA
 

A beautiful opalescent nudibranch feeding on hydroids, California, USA
 

To see more of Olie’s underwater work, please give him a follow on Instagram.