Jay Clue: I purchased my first camera just before
I moved to Baja California in Mexico six years ago. It was a small compact camera with plastic housing. 

Back then, I knew almost nothing about photography. I’d just run around mashing buttons in Auto mode, hoping I would get some epic shots. 

Eventually, a close friend sat me down and said, ‘Okay, you need to learn how to shoot photos or I’m taking the camera away’. She’s an incredible photographer and I’ll forever be grateful that she took the time to teach me the basics of shooting in Manual mode. 

Being a big nerd at heart, I began going down rabbit holes online, reading guides and watching tutorials, then going out and practicing what I’d learned. 

I was still horrible at it but I really wanted 
to be able to capture photos that showed the same beauty I felt when I was in the ocean, so I kept pushing on and practicing more and more.

Fast forward a year or so and I decided to save up my pennies to upgrade from my compact to a crop-sensor mirrorless camera. 

To my surprise, around six months or so later, I won my first photography award. Not long after that, I placed fourth in the world for the best up-and-coming photographer, as well as picking up a few other placements and awards that year. 

But then, I had a change of heart and stopped entering competitions. I realized something incredibly important: beautiful images and stories can do a lot more than just be pretty. 

They have this incredible power to make humans who have never been to the ocean before fall in love with it and maybe even want to protect it. This realization became ingrained in my work as I continued learning and growing as a photographer. 

For me, it really changed the quality of my shots. I no longer only wanted to just capture the beauty I saw in the ocean but instead use my photos to inspire others to hopefully feel that same passion
I have for our oceans. 

Bringing a purpose to my photography helped me take it to new levels. 

Sam Glenn-Smith: I was influenced by two incredible men who continue to inspire me to this day. 

Alan Wiggs, who was my high school teacher and taught me to dive, and Daniel Geary (also known as Doctor Frogfish), who first put a camera in my hand and inspired the creative side in me to start shooting underwater.