‘I came back a bit depressed’: Aussie underwater photographer shines light on ocean conservation

AN AUSSIE tradie cum underwater photography extraordinaire has taken footage he hopes will serve as a wake up call for all of us.

AFTER years spent working in construction, Aussie Matt Draper now travels the world chasing sharks, whales and other marine life with his underwater camera in tow.

“I’d taken photos all my life but it’s only the last four years since I picked up a proper professional camera and tried the under water thing,” he said.

After previously working in the mines, he now spends his time jumping around the world’s oceans and is able to support himself through his photography.

“Ever since I embarked on the photography thing, I’ve been able to make a living off it. which is pretty humbling,” he told news.com.au.

Despite the serious depths he sometimes dives to film his aquatic subjects, all his photography is taken while free diving and uses natural light — and the results are pretty stunning.

Matt says he wants to “replace fear with fascination” when it comes to sharks like this. Picture: Matt Draper

A mother and her calf. Picture: Matt Draper

Mr Draper hopes images like his can act as a bridge between the public and the science and research that underpins conservation efforts. Ultimately he hopes his images can get people to love the animals they depict, and in turn move people to more actively care for them and their environment.

He recently spent a couple weeks in Indonesia documenting the harmful effects waste pollution is having on marine life such as the Manta ray populations.

“What I saw there was so overwhelming. I came back a little depressed,” he said. “Just seeing the amount of plastic in the ocean.”

Mr Draper travelled to the same area where a British diver recently took startling footage of the sheer level of plastic waste in the ocean off the Indonesian islands.

“I saw dozens of Manta rays swimming through plastic bags, nappies, single use straws, it was absolutely endless. Just watching it go right through their mouths and coming out their gills,” he lamented.

“I collected two handfuls of plastic I watched a Manta ray poo out which goes against all the science that says they have muscle memory that regurgitates plastic over a certain size.

“I’ve got a video that blows that theory out of the water. I watched it poo plastic out that’s the size of my hand,” he said.

The footage will be part of an upcoming show and he says the proceeds will go to paying for water stations in Bali for tourists and locals to fill up reusable water bottles.

A photo of a Great White shark recently posted to his Instagram account captured off Neptune Island on the coast of South Australia is an image that will feel very familiar to a lot of people.

“It just shows the power and the size and the fact that they are such an apex predator,” Mr Draper said.

“It’s coming up and launching for the bait, so it’s the classic kind of Jaws photo which a lot of people are so frightened by,” he said. “But that’s the whole purpose of what I’m trying to do now is educate people. All that fear from people comes from a bias in the media.

“They’re not out to bite people,” he said.

For most of his shark interactions he teams up with a friend and shark scientists from New Zealand.

“He and I travel the world looking for the biggest sharks,” he said. “I’ve actually felt more threatened by cetaceans ... like 40 tonne humpback whales that come super close and try to measure you, and get so close that they bump you around.

“But sharks you can actually dominate them quite easily by a few behaviour techniques so I’ve never really felt outside my comfort zone and if I have I don’t really enter the water.”

The shot looks almost identical to the famous Jaws poster. Picture: Matt Draper

Byron Bay underwater photographer Matt Draper only started his love of photography four years ago and now travels the world doing underwater photos. Picture: David Clark

Thanks to a partnership with tech company Lenovo, Mr Draper recently got the chance to travel to Macquarie Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which lies in the Pacific Ocean, about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica.

All up he spent 10 days sailing to the remote island to shoot the famous King penguins that inhabit it, which he called “one of the most incredible animals I have ever seen in my life.”

“Being self funded I’ve never really had the chance to do something like that. So when Lenovo asked where in the world I wanted to go, it was pretty special,” he said.

A partnership with tech firm Lenovo scored him a trip to the remote Macquarie Island. Picture: Matt Draper

The birds are curious creatures. Picture: Matt Draper

The populations of King penguins and Royal penguins on the island were once hunted but these days they show little fear when inspecting any human intruders.

“If you’re lying still you’ll have a dozen around you picking your hair and trying to take your shoes off,” Mr Draper said.

Despite the long journey to get there, he spent less than two hours filming the iconic birds.

“It just goes to show how far some people go to capture the images that people quickly scroll past on Instagram,” he said.