Articles
Anything underwater has the potential to be a toy for a young Stellar's sealion, even a hapless sea star! Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, USA
Ryan Miller is our latest photographer of the week at DPG and his subject matter is near and dear to my heart as well. Most people are surprised to find out that Ryan grew up in a small town in Manitoba and it's here, at the age of 10, Ryan watched “Jaws” for the first time. Unlike many during the time Jaws was 'hot', Ryan became fascinated with sharks and the ocean.
Shortly after graduating from high school Ryan applied to numerous shark research stations around the world and was invited out to the Bimini Biological field station in the Bahamas. Ryan spent three months assisting in the PHD research of prey selectivity in juvenile lemon sharks. He was lucky enough to also assist with tagging large tiger, lemon, bull and hammerhead sharks. During his time in Bimini, Ryan met Tim Calver, a Canadian professional underwater photographer which sparked Ryan's interest in underwater photography. When Ryan returned to Canada he enrolled in the photography program at Red River College in Manitoba. A year later the ocean was calling so Ryan packed up and moved to Vancouver Island to take the commercial diving program at North Island College. Since graduating from NIC Ryan has logged thousands of dives; working all over Canada doing construction, salvage, engineering inspections and contaminated water diving.
Ryan's focus over the last 9 years has been on ocean conservation, which has led him to work with numerous biological consulting companies conducting environmental surveys all over British Columbia; from kelp, eel grass, abalone, herring spawn, urchin and geoduck surveys to creating artificial reefs and restoration projects. Ryan is also a founding member of the CCPC – Canadian Conservation Photographers Collective which was formed in 2021 with the objective of promoting conservation and science education through the production of strong, thought-provoking visual content.
A swarm of tadpoles swim beneath the sunrays in a small pond. Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
During the fall, millions of pink salmon return to the rivers of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
The two flavors of fish eating anemone share a rock, Klemtu, British Columbia, Canada
A swarm of hooded nudibranchs has taken over a small kelp forest, Port Hardy, British Columbia, Canada
Stellar's sealions wrestle at a rookery near Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
Pink salmon school in the emerald green waters of a river on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
Happy (probably) little tadpoles cruising through lilypad stems. Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
A monster lion's mane jellyfish, Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada
A chrome Coho salmon makes a quick turn, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
A diver explores a beautiful river, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
A huge Puget Sound king crab strikes a pose on a steep wall in Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada, USA
Very few sea creatures are more curious than a sealion pup! Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
A beautiful curve of kelp near Bella Bella, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
A profusion of life along a wall near God's Pocket Resort, British Columbia, Canada
To see more of Ryan's spectacular work from Canada, both underwater and topside, please visit his website, www.millermarine.ca, and give him a follow on Instagram.
RELATED ARTICLES
Featured Photographer
