The website contains photographs, above and below water, taken over the past 12 years. Some of the older images are scanned film slides, the majority are digital.

My first memories of photography are “helping” my father develop and print black and white photos when I was a young boy growing up in Risca, South Wales.

It wasn’t until I got my first summer job that I was able to buy a camera – a Pentax ME Super, which I still have in a cupboard somewhere!

For many years rugby was my passion and took up most weekends. As age took its toll, I decided to fulfil a life-long ambition and learned to dive. I joined the local BSAC club, Hartford SAC in Northwich, in I998, and met several keen and talented amateur underwater photographers. With their encouragement I bought a second hand set-up – Nikon F90X and Sea & Sea housing and strobes, in 2002.

I moved to digital in 2006 with the D200 and in 2008 bought the full frame D3, again with Sea & Sea housing and twin YS110 strobes

These days diving and photography take up most of my spare time and all of my money! I have a very understanding and supportive wife, Eleanor. We live in Northwich, Cheshire but hope one day to move to Connemara.

The bulk of my diving is in UK and Ireland – cold water, poor visibility and even worse weather. During the winter months I dive freshwater sites, flooded quarries and rivers where water temperatures are frequently in single figures.

My favourite places to dive include

-       N. Wales – Menai Straits, Trefor Pier, Porth Ysgaden.

-       Farne Islands, Northumberland

-       Babbacombe, Devon

-       Scotland – St Abbs, Sound of Mull, Hebrides

-       Connemara, in the west of Ireland

I’ve ventured further afield, to Galapagos, Lembeh Straits and Cocotinos in Indonesia and in 2012 to the Reviiagigedos Islands . I still dislike long haul travel!

There are more photos on my flickr site www.flickr.com/photos/marknthomas