Sean Chinn is an underwater and topside photographer based in Birmingham, UK. While photography isn’t a full-time career for Sean, his biggest passion is travelling the world and capturing the beauty of Earth’s wildlife, both on land and underwater. This has led to him being published in numerous magazines (online and print), books and in the British press. Sean has also won or placed in several international photography competitions.
Sean’s love affair with photography (in particular underwater photography) began after a trip to Indonesia in 2013, exploring both Bali and Gili Trawangan. While he had been diving since 2011 after a freezing open water course in Stoney Cove, he wasn’t quite hooked. That was until his first time sharing the water with manta rays and the urge to capture the beauty on camera took over.
With no prior photography knowledge or experience, on his return to the UK, he set about researching what he needed to do to become an accomplished underwater photographer, initially enlisting the help of Frogfish Photography to show him the ropes and then go on and develop his skills.
From reading, watching and diving with other underwater photographers. He slowly became more accomplished in his craft and added writing to his repertoire, and he now writes regular he still regularly content for resorts, liveaboards and tourist boards around the world.
When not creating content for publications, Sean has also led the occasional dive trip, with great reviews. Sharing his love of travel with others is a real passion for Sean, who loves nothing more than seeing the excitement that dive and wildlife travel brings the guests he’s worked with. Seain is also a strong believer in eco-tourism (when done right) in order to protect the planet’s wildlife.
Sean has been fortunate enough to travel to many places around the world in his quest to document the beauty of the World’s marine life and wildlife, with some od his favourite destinations being Cocos Island, Raja Ampat, the Maldives, Cuba’s Jardines de la Reina, The Philippines and more.
He is currently using an Olympus EM1 Mark II in a Nauticam housing and Inon Z-240 strobes to capture life underwater.
Blue shark, Plymouth, UK
Whip coral shrimp, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus bargibanti), Raja Ampat, Indonesia.
Green turtle, Bunaken National Park, Indonesia
Silky shark swims under the setting sun, Jardines de la Reina, Cuba
Blue-ringed octopus, Mabul, Borneo
Bobtail squid, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Tiger shark, Tiger Beach, Bahamas
Phyllodesmium crypticum nudibranch, Anilao, Philippines
Whale shark, Maldives
Leaf scorpionfish, Manado, Indonesia
Oceanic white tip shark, Daedalus, Red Sea
American crocodile in the mangroves of Jardines de la Reina, Cuba
Baby green turtle, Bunaken, Indonesia
C-130 Hercules wreck, Aqaba, Jordan
To connect, work with or follow Sean’s work, you can find him on his website www.greatwhitesean.com, or follow him on Instagram @greatwhitesean and Facebook @greatwhitesean
If you’d like to see your underwater photography published on these pages and shared across our social media feed and weekly newsletter, why not drop us a line at info@divemagazine.com.
