Steve (Coutts) Munoz took up diving back in 1996 during a trip to Turkey and was instantly hooked. Roll forward to today and with over 3,000 dives across multiple continents, he never tires of the wonders that nature brings.

Coming back from a dive and telling your friends and family stories of what you encountered never really expressed how amazing the experiences were. It was at this point he decided to get an underwater camera, starting off with a Canon 300D in an Ikelite housing.

To begin with, Steve was more into wide angled shots. Diving around Sydney, Australia he had giant Australian cuttlefish, port Jackson sharks and weedy sea dragons which suited this type of photography well. Some of his best encounters have been minke whales, american crocodiles, great white sharks and dugongs.

At some point, Steve decided to buy a macro lens and spent time in his garden with extension tubes and diopters, photographing many bugs and spiders. It was then that his passion for macro photography began to blossom. Steve says:

     “You realise what you are not seeing by moving quickly around. By slowing down, and really looking at the reef, do you begin to see its true beauty and wonders.” 

You can often see him with a flip down +6 diopter glasses over his mask, scouring the reef for tiny nudibranchs to photograph. Steve’s equipment now has different set-ups depending on what he is shooting, the conditions and how creative he feels on the day. Be sure to join the webinar to find out how the master uses the various tools he has to create stunning underwater art.

In the meantime, visit Steve’s website and browse his jaw-dropping Instagram for a taster of his photography.