The Whales Underwater team is here to deliver you the best whale swimming experience possible–whether its the inspiration to jump on board, the fine detail of bookings, the delivery of services on the ground or on the water –we all seek to help make your experience one you’ll cherish forever.
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Lead Host Boat A / Photographer Darren Jew Having been inspired to explore a career in nature photography by his father’s travels in Antarctica, Australian professional photographer Darren Jew now pursues his passion for capturing and sharing the wonder of the natural world.After graduating from the Queensland College of Art, he first worked in commercial photography, before taking up a position as photographer with the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service, where he worked for 8 years.He moved on from that part of his career in 1994 and since then has had the opportunity to photograph extensively across Australia and in Africa, Alaska, Patagonia and Antarctica and has introduced many people to the world’s great wildlife and landscape destinations first hand, through small group photography tours, predominantly to Africa and Antarctica and the Pacific. Darren hosted his first whale swimming photo tour in 2001 and since then has gained a reputation for not only his own whale photography, but his enthusiasm for sharing the whale encounters with other photographers. Darren is 5-time Australian Professional Science, Wildlife and Wild Places Photographer of the Year; is a Canon Master; holds an Associate Diploma in Applied Photography; has been a SCUBA diver since age 14. In recent years his work has been featured in major exhibitions at the Head On Photo Festival in Sydney; at the Wilderness Gallery in Tasmania; and he features in Episode 1 of the National Geographic Channel series “Tales by Light”. |
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Host Boat B / Photographer Jasmine Carey Joining us again in 2017, Jasmine Carey has worked as assistant and safety diver to Darren on shoots since 2014. She’s been integral to the success of Darren’s annual event “Foto Frenzy on Lady Elliot Island” and supported a number of underwater-focused Capture to Print Workshop events. Jasmine first visited Tonga and swam with whales in 2014 and in 2016 returned to run Whales Underwater ‘s second boat. Jasmine is a trained Rescue Diver and has a background in exercise physiology. An accomplished diver, group leader and underwater photographer, you can see a selection of her images on Instagram where you’ll find her work under the user name @pxlexplorer . |
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Travel Managers representative / Reservations for Tonga Emma Rowan-Kelly Emma’s an experienced explorer, photographer and travel planner and will take care of all your reservation needs for our Tonga program. |
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For our program in Tonga, Whales Underwater engage a local Tongan company, Dolphin Pacific Diving, to deliver our days on the water. As a Licensed Whale Watching Operator, Dolphin Pacific operate and staff the vessels that we charter all season.