Hey, great to bring you Episode 91 Ellen Cuylaerts - "The Power of Positive", with the support of our sponsor XDEEP and the patrons of Speaking Sidemount. Massive thanks to both for their support :)!
Of all the disciplines associated with diving, photography and videography have always been special to me. The ability to capture that perfect moment, underwater, in often challenging conditions, dealing with lighting and composition and the technical requirements of the camera in an underwater environment. Add the dive skills to be stable in the water while seeking "the shot".
I love shooting GoPro videos of my dives, clipping images and editing them into almost a video logbook of where I have been and dived and sharing them on the Sidemount Pros YouTube channel is satisfying. But like anything, there are levels to this, and in photography, capturing images worthy of magazine spreads or covers and winning awards against their peers is the pinnacle.
Many great photographers and videographers are out there, and I have had a few on the show… Laurent Miroult, Stratis Kas, Phillip Lehman, Natalie Gibb and Becky Kagan-Schott. Some have also worked on conservation and wildlife photography in their work.
My guest in this episode is very much in this vein. Ellen Cuylaerts hails from Belgium and is an award-winning photographer focused on ocean wildlife photography. She has a unique perspective on her work as she seeks to develop deeper connections between humanity and nature through her images.
Ellen is also a cave diver and now an explorer. She was part of the all-female Xunaan Ha project under the tutelage of Robbie Schmittner my guest in Episode 85.
As we talk of Ellen's diving and her work we can’t help but touch on the many challenges that she has faced being a mother to two high-functioning autistic children, losing her partner to suicide and a type 2 DCS incident that left her with paralysis. Through all of this, Ellen has shown extraordinary strength, resilience, and an amazingly positive attitude and outlook. She now applies this to her work and conservation efforts, where she is a leading speaker and voice for the environment.
Please sit back and enjoy my conversation with Ellen in this episode of… Speaking Sidemount.
Cheers Steve