W
heredidyourloveforoceans
andnaturecomefrom?
Theoriginalcuriositycame
fromreadingbooks.Myfamily
receivedNationalGeographiclikeeverybody
else.Thatwasagreatsourceofwonder.But
therewasaseriesofadventurebooksmy
fathergiftedtomyolderbrother,written
bytheItaliannovelistEmilioSalgari,who
livedinthe1800s,withincrediblestories
aboutpiratesinMalaysiaorcowboys.The
descriptionsweresovividandexciting.
That’swherethebugtowandercamefrom.
Inthosebooks,therewerealotoffemale
heroes.Alotofyounggirlsgrowupwith
theideathatadventureandexplorationis
notforthem.Butinmymind,girlscandoit.
Therewasneveranyquestionaboutit.Howhasyourphotographychangedfrom
justtakingpicturestotellingstoriesand
creatingimageswithamessage?
Ifirststartedtakingpictureswithacamera
Iborrowedfrommyex-husband.Itwas
justatool.ButIrealisedpeopleareable
tounderstandthingsbetterwhentheysee
themthroughvisualstories.
I’moneofthosepeoplewho’sblessedby
beingabletodevelopbothsidesofmybrain.
Ihaveascientific,analyticalside;that’swhy
I’manengineer.ButtheothersideisthatI
amanartist...Ilikethingstobebeautiful–
notjustinterestingstories.Underwaterphotographyhasallthe
challengesofphotography,butalso
buoyancy,breathing,safety–isit
difficulttothinkofeverythingatonce?
Underwaterphotographyhasbeenthe
steepestlearningcurveofmylife.Jobnumberoneistoavoiddrowning.You
can’tbegintoconcentrateonf-stopsand
apertureswhenthecurrentsaretearingyou
somewhereoryou’resinkingdesperately.
Youneedtobeanaccomplishedswimmer
andtointimatelyunderstandyour
equipmentbeforeyoucanevenconsider
lookingthroughyourviewfinder.
Thewayacameraworksunderwateris
verydifferent:thewaylightrefracts,the
stuffthatfloatsintheoceanandruins
pictures...underwaterphotographyis
difficult.It’sexpensive.It’shardtoget
toplaces.Andyouhavetohaveavery
completesetofskills.It’safullimmersion
thing–youneedtothrowyourselfin.
For 20 yearsIwasmarriedtoa
primatologist[RussellAMittermeier],so
Iwaschasingmonkeysinjunglesaround
theworld.However,mypassionwasfor
indigenouspeople,anditstillis.Then
whenImetPaulNicklenandwestarted
livingtogether,hebecamemymentorin
underwaterphotography.Isworkingwithyourpartnerdifficult?
Itishard.ButPaulwasthefirstpersonto
loanmetheequipment,hetaughtmehow
touseitandgavememanyopportunities.
Now,withtheskillsetIhave,whatIwant
todo...istellthestoryoftheedgeofthe
ocean,thepeoplewholiveonthecoast.
ButIwanttodoitfromtheperspectiveof
thesea.It’schangingsorapidlybecause
ofclimatechangeandthedepletionof
fisheries.It’sastorynooneelseistelling.Whichmarinecreaturesdoyouliketo
spendtimewith?
Idon’tdomuchmacrophotography.Thattakes a level of patience I don’t have. For me,
it’s about those bigger animals: dolphins,
mantas, stingrays...
One thing I really like, almost like a
voyeuristic thing, is split photography. I
spend a lot of time at the surface, looking
foropportunities to complete the scene.
People see the surface of the ocean and
they can only imagine what’s below. I like
photography to be that ‘reveal’, to show you
that beneath your boat there’s a whale, or
right next to the beach there’s a jellyfish.
Ifeel lucky. Sometimes I have to pinch
myself that this is my job and I get paid to
dothis. It’s so wonderful.
But at the same time, I also see horrible
things: whales that have been hit by ships,
sharks that have been finned, sea turtles
tangled with debris. There’s a lot of death
happening underneath the surface thatAbove
Steller sea lion
“The helplessness one feels when
you encounter a wild animal that
has either ingested or become
entangled with manmade materials
is downright devastating”
Above right
Polar bear, Arctic
Cristina used a 70-200mm
lens and 2x teleconverter
here to capture this starving
polar bear, which became a
symbol of climate changeFar right
Egg yolk jellyfish
“Bridging the gap between above
and below, this jellyfish dances
on the thin blue line; a symbol of
how connected the two worlds
are,” Cristina explains© Cristina Mittermeier© Cristina MittermeierINTERVIEW