What Keeps You Diving? – Paul Savage

When people think about diving in the UK, the first images that might come to mind are cold waters and limited visibility. But ask any underwater photographer, and they’ll tell you that UK diving is a hidden gem. In fact, diving to photograph marine life in British waters might just be the reason you keep reaching for your dive kit all year round.

This is the case for Paul…

Paul was kind enough to send in some stunning pictures and write a few words on what keeps him diving and why he started diving.

During my 23 years in the Army, I was out on a training exercise in Kenya and was given the opportunity to try scuba diving in Mombasa which I enjoyed but due to service commitments and other commitments my interest in scuba diving took a back seat.

A few years passed and whilst on a family holiday to Ibiza I got the opportunity to have another go. Once back in the UK I wanted to reignite my interest in the sport and decided to get involved with my local dive center. I was hooked on the sport and worked endlessly to save up and start building on my diving equipment. I soon progressed through the PADI ranks from Divemaster to open water Instructor.

I then found myself heading to the coastline at every opportunity to submerge beneath the waves and explore our fascinating coastline from which I found had an amazing number of different types of marine life.

In time I found myself wanting to record the variety of life we had around our shores and that’s where my photography started with just a GoPro camera. I never thought at the time my interest in underwater photography would take me to where I am today.

Today, I go out diving with mirrorless camera in a Nauticam housing, complete with strobe lights and various components and lenses and due to UK water temperatures always wear my drysuit.

I have been lucky enough to dive in lots of different countries but I’m always drawn back to the UK coastline. My favorite dive sites are along the South West Coast.

The majority of my photography is macro which I enjoy most and regularly find myself at one of my favorite dive sites under Swanage pier. It never ceases to amaze me as you never know what you’re going to find or what will turn up.

The following gallery from Paul features stunning photography captured primarily along the UK’s south coast. Known for its diverse marine life and rich underwater landscapes, the south coast offers exceptional opportunities for close-up photography of tiny, vibrant sea creatures. From colorful nudibranchs to camouflaged crustaceans, these images showcase the incredible variety found just below the surface.