Spotlight on Creativity: Emmanuel Vaillant, Our Photographer of the Week!

Striped dolphins glide through beautifully azure waters in the Mediterranean Sea, France

 

It’s a familiar tale – the non-photographer becomes a diver and suddenly that diver transforms into a photographer upon witnessing the extraordinary variety of life the oceanic world presents. This week, DPG spotlights Emmanuel Vaillant. Emmanuel received his certification as a youth, and a few years later, his journey into underwater photography commenced with a compact camera—a Canon Ixus 750 and a specialized housing. He initially sought to document his underwater adventures and has since cultivated a profound enthusiasm for photography beneath the surface.

Like many of us, financial limitations during his early diving period compelled Emmanuel to take a break from diving, yet he never relinquished his passion for photography. During his time away from the ocean, he engaged in wildlife and landscape photography. These endeavors benefited him in relation to his underwater photography when he managed to return to it in recent years.

Now that he can dive more consistently, Emmanuel’s passion for diving has been reignited, and he has upgraded his underwater photography equipment. While he doesn’t dive as often as he wishes (who truly does?), he undertakes several trips annually and has gathered invaluable experience behind the lens. Emmanuel states that he is perpetually aiming to enhance his expertise to produce images that portray the beauty and variety of the underwater realm.

 

Amazing coral growth surrounded by reef fish on the Liberty Wreck, Bali, Indonesia

 

The cherished ‘donut’ nudibranch, Bali, Indonesia

 

A backlit spiny seahorse, illuminated by snoot, Bali, Indonesia

 

A juvenile lionfish consuming an unfortunate little shrimp, Bali, Indonesia

 

The blue-ring’s slightly less ostentatious relative, the mototi octopus, Bali, Indonesia

 

A stunning pair of skunk anemonefish, nestled in their host, Bali, Indonesia

 

A ghost goby attentively guarding a cluster of eggs, Bali, Indonesia

 

A pair of southern stingrays seeking food in the sand flats, Tobago Cays, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

 

A traditional macro subject, a peacock mantis shrimp transporting eggs, Bali, Indonesia

 

Some leaffish display incredible colors like this pink individual from Bali, Indonesia

 

The sand flats of Tobago Cays shelter a robust population of green turtles, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

 

A beautifully thriving reefscape, Bali, Indonesia

 

To view more of Emmanuel’s creations, please follow him on Instagram.