The Living Ocean Foundation team is hard at work at Hao Atoll, far flung in the Tuamotu Islands of French Polynesia. We’re six days into the first EVER comprehensive reef assessment for this beautiful coral atoll. Normally I would feel right at home on the fish team counting schools, but this cruise has a twist. I’m here creating images rather than recording data!  This adventure I’m the photo assistant for Michele Westmorland on assignment for the International League of Conservation Photographers.

Michele has a vast portfolio and unique talent for world-class imagery across genres– including underwater and commercial projects. She could make the most boring shot sparkle with her eye for detail. There’s some serious girl power assisting for my first time with one of the only female pro photographers in the industry!

 

Photo assistant is a catch-all term for making it go smoothly. I love that every day is different: tracking colorful critters on the reef, wrangling a lighting bounce in the tropical breeze, repairing strobe batteries, chasing down manta rays, or scuba modeling (seriously much harder than it looks). Today I even dabbled in the art of fruit bowl arranging when we needed some extra color for a cabin shot. Oranges, apples, and kiwis need to be equidistant from bananas to get just the right pop.  You really never know what skills you’ll learn along the scholarship road!

 

ASSISTANT BONUS- While toting super nice camera systems for Michele I get to play with them! Every lens can capture a different perspective of a reef, and they’re great to experiment with. This is the first time I’ve shot macro close-ups and love the challenge.  Here are a couple of my favorite shots so far.

 

Hao Atoll Inner Lagoon

 

Cushion star close up OR chocolate chip flash mob?

 

What do you think they’re saying?

 

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