I learned to dive twenty-five years ago in a cold, old granite quarry near my hometown in Norfolk, England. A month later on holiday in Phuket, Thailand I went into a dive centre to book my first ‘fun’ dives. After meeting the boat crew and seeing marine life for the first time, I knew my life would never be the same again.
Back in England I joined my local BSAC club and became an instructor, quarry diving and wreck diving in the North Sea. I did several hundred dives without a camera, just enjoying the experience, the equipment, the instructing and the adventure. In 2003 I moved to Phuket and spent several wonderful years as a liveaboard tour leader in the Andaman Sea. I bought my first camera in 2004 and found myself with a brand new hobby!
Fast-forward to today and I have been living and diving in the USA with my wife Ally for the last thirteen years. Our local dives sites are in Monterey Bay, California and on the Big Island of Hawaii, which are both very different and equally rewarding. I enjoy photographing the small animals there, particularly nudibranchs, blennies and gobies. I also enjoy the challenge of using any light, natural or artificial, in creative ways.
My favourite diving is anywhere in the ‘coral triangle’ of southeast Asia and Oceania, Indonesia in particular. I think the variety of colourful reefs and marine species there is unbeatable.
I love sharing my photos with my dive friends who share my love of marine life, and with my family and friends who love to see what I do down there. Most of all I love creating a photo underwater, showing Ally the result, and seeing her face light up. She has usually shared the whole experience with me and appreciates the work, and the patience, that goes into creating these images.
Stony coral ghost goby, Palau, Micronesia
Onespot fringehead, Channel Islands, California
Hilton’s nudibranch, Monterey Bay, California
Anthias explosion, Bligh Water, Fiji
Tinker’s butterflyfish, Big Island, Hawaii
Rose skunk anemonefish, Baa Atoll, Maldives
Stony coral ghost goby, Palau, Micronesia
Yellowfin fringehead in strawberry bryozoan, Monterey Bay, California
Leafy ‘sheep’ nudibranch, Big Island, Hawaii
Phyllodesmium nudibranch, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
Bearded scorpionfish, Banda Island, Indonesia
Soft coral wall, Banda Sea, Indonesia
Juvenile wolf eel, Carmel Bay, California
Spanish shawl nudibranch, Monterey Bay, California
Coleman shrimp in fire urchin, Komodo National Park, Indonesia
Cabezon eye detail, Monterey Bay, California
Ally’s opalescent nudibranch, Monterey Bay, California
Find Rich on Instagram @richneelyphotos
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