The Underwater Podcast

Send us Fan Mail In episode #38, host Brett Stanley chats with Linden Wolbert. Linden is a professional mermaid who’s pioneered the world of mermaiding, from creating her own tail with a special effects artist to now having her own line of Body Glove tails for kids available worldwide. She talks about how she moved from behind the camera as a wildlife filmmaker to being in front of it and presenti...

Send us Fan Mail In episode #37, host Brett Stanley chats with Canadian photographer Meaghan Ogilvie . Meaghan is an underwater fine art photographer, and whilst based in Toronto she travels quite extensively and creating beautiful underwater images as she goes. She’s shown her work in galleries worldwide, and we talk about what that process is like and how the pandemic has change that landscape....

Send us Fan Mail In episode #36, host Brett Stanley chats with actor Eline Powell about her work as a mermaid on the now sadly cancelled show Siren.  They talk about her training for the part, the intense days filming underwater, and how learning to move underwater really informed the actor's movements on land. She also talks about how the experience has changed her, and how she’d much rather...

Send us Fan Mail In episode #35, host Brett Stanley chats with dive photographer Alex Dawson. Alex talks about his experiences diving in his homeland of Sweden, learning to cave dive in old mines, and how he evolved his lighting styles. They cover his approach to photographing wreaks and divers, and how his fear of water has made him a better diver. Follow their work: Instagram Discuss the episode...

Send us Fan Mail In episode #34, host Brett Stanley chats with visual artist Christy Lee Rogers . Christy has a unique approach to underwater photography as she shoots from above the water – capturing the movements and contortions of her models below the surface and creating these amazing painting-like images that tell all sorts of stories to the viewer. They speak about how she found her process...

Send us Fan Mail In episode #33, host Brett Stanley chats with Underwater Cinematographer Vance Burberry. Vance has had an amazing career starting as a lighting designer for Australian Rock bands and now working as a sort after underwater DP in America.  He’s got some great stories about using film, his experiences chasing submarines for the latest Bad Bunny music video, and how rolling film aroun...

Send us Fan Mail In episode #32, host Brett Stanley chats with Marine and dive coordinator Bo Sanchez. Based in the Dominican Republic, Bo supervises the ultra large outdoor water tank build by Pinewood Studios and his team works on many of the productions that come to the island to shoot – including huge action films like Triple X, The Mummy, and The Man From Uncle . Bo talks through how he train...

Send us Fan Mail In episode #31, host Brett Stanley is strapping on the fins and talking with freedive photographer Michael DK – also known as Suahuatica . Originally from the Netherlands, Michael grew up on a sailboat with his parents – sailing around the Mediterranean and nurturing a love of the ocean.  We chat about his experiences travelling the world shooting in underwater caves, why he’s usi...

Send us Fan Mail In episode #30 , host Brett Stanley is chatting with Underwater Model Julia Pretzl . Julia’s adventure began whilst living in Thailand working as a Dive Master, when one of her clients asked her to model underwater for them – and she was hooked. They chat about what’s like modelling 60ft under the water , her techniques to get the best out of a shoot, and how being a dive master h...

Send us Fan Mail In episode twenty nine we’re honoring Breast Cancer Awareness month with underwater photographer Erena Shimoda. Erena works with cancer and trauma survivors to give them an experience like no other, and a way to help them heal emotionally through the therapeutic immersion. Erena raised money to fund her work, donating almost half of it to charity and the rest to photograph 13 canc...

Send us Fan Mail In episode twenty eight host Brett Stanley is talking with underwater wildlife cinematographer Jeff Hester . Jeff is responsible for some of the footage seen in shows like Blue Planet, Deadliest Catch , and those amazing Apple TV screensavers . We chat about how he went from a marine biology degree to shooting Orcas for Netflix , sitting underwater for 7 hours at a time, and what...

Send us Fan Mail In episode twenty seven host Brett Stanley is talking with Fine Art Photographer Steve Richard . Steve has an amazing take on underwater photography, his approach is quite unique and results in a beautiful painterly feel to his images. They chat about building a personal dogma to help find your artistic voice, and how people can approach work in very different ways. Oh, and Steve...

Send us Fan Mail In episode twenty six, for Breast Cancer Awareness month host Brett Stanley is sharing some stories of people using the underwater experience as part of their therapy, and this week we're talking to Model Jess McIntern and her partner Photographer and Illustrator Joe Hoddinott. In 2016 Jess was diagnosed with breast cancer, and as you’ll hear in the interview they came up wit...

Send us Fan Mail In episode twenty five, host Brett Stanley is talking to underwater filmmaker and cave diver Jill Heinerth. Jill is an amazing woman who’s explorations have taken her to places no person has ever seen before, including the caves inside icebergs . We talk about her career underwater, how she controls her own fears , and what it’s like filming documentaries and consulting on feature...

Send us Fan Mail In episode twenty four, host Brett Stanley chats with Fine Art Photographer Mallory Morrison. Mallory has perfected her ethereal and minimal style underwater, and also her print sales process.  She shares with us how she got started working with dancers underwater, how she channels her fears and nightmares in to her work as a kind of therapy, and her approach to creating art that...

Send us Fan Mail In episode twenty three, host Brett Stanley chats with Master Freedive Instructor & cold water specialist Roberta Cenedese. Based in Vancouver Canada, Roberta often works on film and tv sets coaching actors for their underwater scenes, she works alongside stunt performers as part of the safety team, and provides guidance to the production on how to achieve some of the technica...

Send us Fan Mail In episode twenty two, host Brett Stanley chats with Casey Sapp – a pioneer in underwater Virtual Reality. Casey’s company VRTUL designs and builds some of the most amazing camera arrays for capturing 180 and 360 degree underwater experiences. We chat about how he got started in this industry, and some of the very cool clients he’s had. There is a bit of technical jargon in this e...

Send us Fan Mail In episode twenty one, host Brett Stanley chats with underwater photographer Lucie Drlikova in the beautiful city of Prague in the Czech Republic. Lucie’s work is a beautiful mix of fantasy, wonder, and perfectly executed concepts. She makes a lot of the set pieces, props, and outfits herself – and combined with her crisp clean post production her images really come to life. They...

Send us Fan Mail In episode twenty, host Brett Stanley chats with Mary Jeanette Ramsey - choreographer, performer, and Executive Director of The Aqualillies , an American synchronised swimming troupe or Artistic Swimming as it’s now called. They chat about working on the Cohen Brothers film Hail Caesar with Scarlett Johansson , helping Beyonce to craft an all black synchronised swimming troupe for...

Send us Fan Mail In episode nineteen, host Brett Stanley chats with underwater camera operator Braden Haggerty , a Canadian who’s based in Vancouver. Braden has worked on shows like Batwoman, Altered Carbon, Power Rangers , and the recently cancelled Siren – a drama about mermaids with loads of underwater sequences. They chat about the process of shooting for TV, what she needs to keep in mind for...

Send us Fan Mail In episode eighteen, host Brett Stanley is joined by Surf and Fine Art Photographer Lucas Murnaghan . Lucas is based in Toronto and as you’ll hear in the interview he runs a surf shop on the edge of Lake Ontario where there’s a decent surfing community! Lucas talks about shooting surf photos in Lake Ontario and further afield, and how he started to include male portraiture into hi...

Send us Fan Mail In episode seventeen, host Brett Stanley is joined by underwater Artivist and performer Christine Ren . Christine has a degree in Marine Affairs and Policy which give her a great insight in to how our water ways are being managed and also a strong desire to make some change in the world with her own conservation campaigns . Christine chats about creating some of the campaigns she’...

Send us Fan Mail In episode fifteen, host Brett Stanley is chatting with Ian Seabrook , a Canadian underwater Camera Operator and Director of Photography who spends most of his time working between Canada, America, and the UK. His work includes underwater scenes in features like Deadpool 2, Batman vs Superman, Lost in Space, and Pirates of the Caribbean. They talk about learning underwater photogr...

Send us Fan Mail In episode thirteen, host Brett Stanley is discussing lifestyle and nude photography with LA based photographer Damon Loble . Damon has a wonderfully lo-fi style about his images, reminiscent of photos from the 70’s and 80s, and his work with scuba divers totally reminds me of the Hardy Boy’s book covers I used to see as a kid.  Damon also works as a DIT on commercial photoshoots...

Send us Fan Mail In episode fourteen, host Brett Stanley is talking to Australian  Hair & Makeup Artist Rick Findlater about his experiences working on films like Pirates of the Caribbean and The Impossible – a true story about the devastating tsunami in Thailand back in 2004. He also tells me about his time working on the Jacques Cousteau biopic The Odyssey , which took him all around the wor...