Articles

Freediver Felipe relaxing at 45 meters deep, Deepspot training facility, Poland
 

Our latest Photographer of the Week Quico Abadal Ramon has been working in the dive industry and capturing underwater images for five years, but he wasn’t always as comfortable in the water as he is now. As a young child, Quico was scared of dangerous and mysterious creatures that might lurk in the depths, and some unpleasant encounters with sea urchins and jellyfish while on holiday in the Mediterranean put him off swimming in the sea for most of his childhood.

It wasn’t until he left school and went to university that he learned to scuba dive, and his fear of the ocean soon turned to fascination. After finishing his studies, Quico left home and moved to Koh Tao in Thailand, where he became a divemaster and scuba instructor. Although he had never really owned a camera or taken any topside photos other than shots on his smartphone, he purchased his first underwater camera setup and taught himself how to use it while working as a dive professional and enjoying island life above and below the waterline.

After nearly two years in Thailand, Quico realized his real passion was underwater photography, so he moved back to Barcelona to work in a professional photo studio, where he learned about commercial photography while diving and improving his underwater photography in his spare time. This experience proved invaluable in helping him progress, and he then spent some time in Palau before returning to Thailand and working as a freelance photographer and dive instructor during the pandemic. His commercial work is evident in many of his underwater images, and he recently was awarded the “Up and Coming Photographer of the Year” award in the prestigious Underwater Photographer of the Year contest. Now that things have returned to some kind of normality, Quico is starting an entirely new project and opening a dive shop in Cozumel, Mexico, called Humarine, where he will be teaching underwater photography courses and adding to his awesome portfolio of fine art images.
 

Golden jellyfish, Jellyfish Lake, Palau
 

Octoher fine art portrait
 

Supernova in paradise, winner of Up and Coming category, UPY 2022
 

The adventures of captain Lisa
 

Octopus portrait, Mediterranean Sea
 

Death, Koh Tao, Thailand
 

Commercial shoot for Twanzu padel equipment
 

White eyed moray eel, Koh Tao, Thailand
 

Moray eel exploring the reef, Similan Islands, Thailand
 

Natalia’s rabbit hole, Deepspot training facility, Poland
 

Reef shark silhouette, Palau
 

Giant gorgonian seafan and diver, Similan Islands, Thailand
 

Quico Abadal Ramon
 

For more of Quico’s unique fine art work, check out his website, www.quicoabadal.com, or follow him on Instagram and Facebook.