Q: How long have you been a scuba diver/what’s your certification level?
A: I got my official open water certification in 1986 but since my dad was a SCUBA instructor, I was diving before I could ride a bike. 

Q: How long have you been an underwater photographer, and how did you get started?
A: I started taking photographs with my dad because he was an underwater photography hobbyist, so I was shooting film with him as a kid. But when he sold his business, I took a break from diving for over twenty years. As an adult, my photography career was focused on the music scene, primarily in Texas, for years. Then I had the opportunity to photograph the musician and surfer Donavan Frankenreiter in Indonesia. That rekindled my interest in underwater photography, and I’ve been doing that for about three years.

Tell us about your camera rig.

Camera: Nikon D800
Housing: Ikelite
Lens: Nikon 16mm
Lights/Strobes: Dual Ikelite DS161
Extras: SPL Surf Housing  

Q: Do you prefer to shoot on scuba or freediving?
A: Freediving has its advantages in terms of mobility, but I prefer SCUBA because it allows the opportunity to stay under water, to stay focused and get relaxed with my subject.  

Q: What is your favorite photo-sharing platform?
A: My favorite is Instagram since that is nothing but photo-sharing.  

Follow Rodney on Instagram.

Q: What are three of your favorite social-media accounts to follow?
A: I find inspiration all over, from hundreds of other photographers and accounts. It’s hard to narrow it down to favorites. I do especially like “discoversharks” because they share a wide variety of photos and photographers.  

Q: What hashtag best describes your underwater photography style?
A: #adventure

Q: What or who inspires you?
A: Just being in the ocean and never knowing what encounters with the animals I’ll actually have inspires me. My dad has remained an inspiration since he got me started with underwater photography. I’ve also inspired him to get back in the water, and he’s joined me on a couple of trips.

Q: What do you love most about your work?
A: The places I’ve been able to go and the things I’ve seen that most people aren’t able to: the opportunity to swim face to face with a 30-ton whale or a 15-foot great white shark. I love being able to bring those experiences to people through photography.  

Q: What’s been the biggest challenge and/or your most rewarding moment?
A: Finding the time and resources to take every trip I want to take and do all the things I want to do is the biggest challenge.

Q: What was your favorite trip and why?
A: My first experience back in the ocean after twenty years stands out. I went to the Socorro Islands and was able to spend two full days with a humpback whale, calf, and her escort. After bonding with the whales, a pod of Orcas hunted down the baby. Experiencing and witnessing the cycle of life so closely had a huge impact on me. Despite the sadness of what I saw, it connected me to life under water and made me want to keep going back.  

Enter Scuba Diving Magazine's 2017 "Through Your Lens" photo contest

Q: Where do you most want to go?
A: There are so many places, it’s hard to nail down one. I’d love to go the Galapagos Islands to shoot schooling hammerheads and to Antarctica to shoot the sea leopards. I also have plans to repeat many of the trips I’ve taken because it’s hard not to return to the humpbacks in Tonga and great whites in Guadalupe.  

Q: Any advice for budding photographers?
A: Follow your heart and do what you love and what sounds fun to you! Start out open-minded without specific expectations. I focus on the subjects I enjoy most – I think that if you love what you’re shooting, your photography will illustrate that. Go shoot, experiment and have fun.

ABOUT: Rodney Bursiel is based outside of Austin, Texas and routinely travels the world photographing the big animals of the ocean. Back home in Texas, he focuses on the music scene but when he is traveling his goal is to shoot it all.

For more of Rodney's photography, visit www.rodneybursiel.com.