In an ongoing series, Scubaverse’s Underwater Photography Editor Nick Robertson-Brown talks to underwater photographers from around the world that he admires. In this blog: Ivan Donoghue

NRB: Tell us a little about yourself

ID: My name is Ivan Donoghue.  I live in a coastal county of Ireland called Wexford and it was with Wexford Sub Aqua Club that I learned to dive in 1990.  In 1996 I bought my first small housing for a disposable camera, then moving up through a Nikonos V, several compact digital cameras and now shoot with a Canon 7Dii DSLR in an Aquatica housing.

Over the years I’ve had modest success in some of the underwater competitions including the British and Irish Underwater Photography Championship, the British Wildlife Photography Awards, Hook Peninsula Photography Competition, Diving Life Photography Competition, and this year I was truly delighted to be awarded the Love Your Coast Photographer of the Year.

I have run the main underwater photography and videography competitions for Irish divers and I’m proud to have helped promote underwater photography in Ireland.

NRB: How did your underwater photography start?

ID: I began diving in 1990 with my local club, Wexford Sub Aqua, in the south east of Ireland.  After six years of learning the skills, I purchase my first u/w camera, an UNDY housing which accepted disposable cameras.  After that I bought a second-hand Nikonos V (now resting on my shelf).  After that it was a couple of compacts before moving to DLSR with a Canon 550D and Aquatica housing and then a Canon 7Dii in recent years.

NRB: What is your favourite u/w camera equipment (past & present) & why?

ID: My current Canon 7Dii and Aquatica housing travels home and away with me, but the one piece of equipment that opened my eyes was the INON wide angle wet lens.  Adding the ability to get close to the subject is a game changer in everyone’s images.  Where once I could only get a diver’s face, now I was getting their whole body and fins.  It really was a game changer for my photography.

NRB: What would be your advice to anyone new to underwater photography?

ID: Firstly, if I could go back in time, I believe a dedicated underwater photography workshop would have been so beneficial to me and cut out a lot of mistakes. Secondly, buy a camera and housing set up that allows a wide-angle lens to be fitted.  Getting close and adding good light to the image will make your pictures stand out.  Shoot RAW and shoot using manual settings.

NRB: What, or who, has been the single biggest inspiration for your underwater photography?

ID: I believe Alex Mustard is the best in the world.  Not only does he take award winning images, write books, he also educates people on how they can become better through books, talks and trips.

However, my biggest inspiration is Irishman Nigel Motyer.  I first met Nigel when we were discussing introducing an U/W photography course for the Irish Dive organisation.  That day he lent me his SLR and I took my first wide angle pic.  From that day we have travelled to the Bahamas, west of Ireland and Hook Head and on these dives, I have learnt from him.

NRB: What image are you most proud of and why?

ID: The image I am most proud of is the recent one of the Jellyfish and Diver.  The reason is that it was the winner of the Love Your Coast competition 2020, the first time an underwater image took top prize.  The picture also shows a dive friend Nick Pfeiffer who kindly took me and my wife in his boat that day to the Aran Islands and also had the good manners to make the background more interesting by posing!  That is what divers do for each other – we go that extra mile to help fellow divers.

NRB: Where is your favourite dive location, and is it your favourite for the photography?

ID: I love the Red Sea and have been lucky to have a dived their several times.  Egypt and its history is something that grows on you.  Now that my son is older and has a dive qualification, I hope to spend more holiday time there.

Back at home in Ireland I love a shore dive about 40 mins from my home.  It is a ten-minute walk from the car to the site, but when you get there, it is a shallow site with the Schlesien shipwreck, propellor, hidden caves and a blowhole where you can surface for a chat.

NRB: What are you views on marine life manipulation, moving subjects?

ID: I don’t like the idea of adding anything to a picture and it’s the same when it comes to harassing animals or damaging coral for a picture opportunity.

NRB: What do you look for when you are making your images?

ID: I love wide angle images, so I look for something in the foreground with a diver in the frame.  Good visibility is a bonus, but not guaranteed in Irish waters of my home county where either windy weather or plankton blooms affect the seasons.

NRB: What motivates you to take u/w photos?

ID: I love scuba diving and I love photography, so those two addictions are very potent.  In addition, for the underwater photographer the gratification doesn’t stop after the dive.  It continues through to the download of images and reviewing them on the computer.  A good photography dive can keep giving enjoyment for days afterwards.

NRB: If you could photograph any one thing/place what or where would that be?

ID: I’ve always looked enviously at the travel features in Scubaverse, so a lot of the places featured in the magazine would me on my wish list.  I’d love to do the cage diving trip to photograph Great White Shark off Guadeloupe.  I’d also love to travel to Indonesia with my family, as it’s a part of the world I’ve never been to, but I know offers superb diving and photography opportunities.