Adam Hanlon

Aliases: adamhanlon
Role: Editor and owner of Wetpixel, underwater photographer, PADI Course Director
First appearance: 2007 (forum), 2010 (articles) ([1])
Affiliation: Wetpixel (editor 2011–present, owner 2018–present), Capernwray Diving
Website: hanlon-photography.com

Biography

Adam Hanlon is a British underwater photographer, PADI Course Director, and the current owner and editor of Wetpixel.com. A 30+ year dive veteran based near Lancaster in the United Kingdom, he operates Capernwray Diving and has specialized in Bahamas diving — wrecks, caves, and sharks. He was appointed Bahamas Dive Ambassador and in 2020 was invited by the United Nations to become a Champion in Image Making for the Ocean Decade (2021–2030), serving as a judge for the UN World Oceans Day Photo Competition alongside Jill Heinerth, Amos Nachoum, and others ([2]).

Hanlon’s forum account dates to April 2007, with his first article for Wetpixel published on April 18, 2010 — a report on the UK’s Dive Fest at Pentewan Sands ([3]). Eric Cheng formally appointed him Wetpixel Editor on May 27, 2011, noting that Hanlon had “been increasingly involved with Wetpixel.com, and has been responsible for adding almost-daily news items to the front page.” Cheng retained the role of Publisher and Editor-at-Large to “concentrate on strategic and continued development” ([4]). Community reaction was universally positive: Simon Rogerson praised his “excellent editorial instincts,” and MattDPG noted “Editor of an underwater photography site is not a bad gig” ([5], comments).

On December 1, 2018, Hanlon became the sole owner of Wetpixel. In the announcement, he publicly acknowledged Cheng’s “leading role as an underwater image maker, technical innovator and resource developer” over 17 years. Cheng continued as an advisor ([6]).

A self-described “Nikon shooter,” Hanlon was transparent about his gear preferences in reviews, noting in his Canon 6D review: “I have a confession. It is simple: I am a Nikon shooter. This is not due to any assumed superiority of the brand’s products but simply a historical quirk” ([7]). His primary systems over the years included the Nikon D800, D810, D500, and later the Z9, typically housed by Nauticam or Seacam. In a 2020 Wetpixel Live episode, he and Alex Mustard discussed his gear choices for diving flooded mines in the UK’s Lake District, touching on the “myth” of the perfect camera system ([8]).

Contributions

Editorial output

Hanlon posted 4,931 articles across 14 years (2010–2023), far exceeding any other Wetpixel contributor. Of these, at least 164 were guest contributions written by other authors — most prominently Don Silcock (13), Alex Mustard (12), Andrej Belic (5), Drew Wong (4), and Henley Spiers (4), plus 102 Full Frame photo essays by dozens of guest photographers. The remainder (~4,770) were written or curated by Hanlon himself. At his peak — 552 articles in 2011 — he was publishing more than 1.5 articles per day while simultaneously managing every other aspect of the site. He also left 1,538 comments on articles and made 2,581 forum posts across 557 threads he started.

YearArticlesYearArticles
20103352017357
20115522018288
20125432019298
20134112020373
20143762021298
20154602022172
20163642023104

His output declined visibly from 2018 onward, dropping to 104 in 2023 (only approximately 24 real articles; the rest were junk URL-named files from an apparent crawler error). The last front page article appeared on April 8, 2023 ([9]).

Trade show coverage

Hanlon wrote 429 DEMA-related articles — continuing and expanding the booth-by-booth tradition Eric Cheng had established. His first DEMA coverage was in 2010, attending alongside Sterling Zumbrunn and Norbert Wu ([10]). By 2012, he was the primary DEMA reporter, joined by senior moderators Abi Smigel Mullens and Dave Burroughs, plus Cheng ([11]). At DEMA 2017 in Orlando, he covered the show with Drew Wohl and Lureen Ferretti, visiting dozens of booths across four days ([12]).

He also covered international shows:

Gear reviews

Authored or commissioned 130+ gear review articles. Many reviews were written by guest contributors — notably Alex Mustard, Jack Connick, Phil Rudin, Becky Kagan Schott, and Morten Bjørn-Larsen — and posted under Hanlon’s editor account. His own field reviews were notable for their length, thoroughness, and transparent methodology. Key reviews he personally wrote include:

He also wrote book reviews, including a detailed review and author interview with Brian Skerry for Ocean Soul ([27]), and authored “The Wetpixel Rinse Tank,” a series of editorial columns in 2011 covering gear maintenance, diopter testing, and practical advice ([28]).

Competition coverage

Published results from virtually every major UW photo competition annually (~150 competition articles): Wildlife Photographer of the Year, UPY, Ocean Art, DPG/Wetpixel Masters, Beneath the Sea, Deep Indonesia, World Shootout, GDT European Underwater Photographer of the Year, British Underwater Photography Championship, and dozens of regional events. He personally attended the British Underwater Photography Championship in 2012, providing live coverage ([29]).

Wetpixel Live

Co-created and hosted all 302 episodes of Wetpixel Live (numbered to 264, plus extras) with Alex Mustard on YouTube, born from a conversation during COVID-19 travel restrictions. Mustard later credited the concept as his idea, while Hanlon built the production infrastructure. The first episode was released June 28, 2020 ([30]). Hanlon described it as aiming “to answer some of the questions that are frequently asked on the forum and make this amazing resource more accessible to image-makers.”

Production was intense: 150 episodes in 2020 alone (nearly one per day during lockdown), 107 in 2021, 41 in 2022, and 3 in 2023. At the 100th episode on November 23, 2020, Hanlon wrote: “Originally conceived by Alex Mustard as a way of staying engaged about underwater image-making when we were prevented from doing so due to COVID-19” ([31]). By 150 episodes in February 2021, the series had nearly 61,000 views and 1,053 subscribers and was sponsored by Aquatica, Backscatter, Ikelite, Inon, Lembeh Resort, and Seacam. Episodes were offered for purchase at $50 per 50-episode block, though remaining free on YouTube ([32]). The series ultimately accumulated approximately 329,000 total views and ~89 hours of content.

The final numbered episode (264) aired March 13, 2023, reviewing UPY 2023 winning images ([33]). A farewell episode was released January 16, 2024. Mustard subsequently launched a successor solo series, “The Underwater Photography Show.”

Topics ranged widely: strobe technique, macro photography, dome port choices, focus light buying guides, lens choices for cropped sensors, Lightroom tutorials, field maintenance, color theory with Daniel Keller of Keldan, the digital camera market’s contraction, dive gear for photographers, competition image reviews, and guest interviews. Notable guests included Edward Lai of Nauticam (optics design, Eps 181/183/259), Mike Bartick (blackwater, Ep 33), Erin Quigley (workflow, Ep 94), Martin Edge (book discussion, Ep 13), Ken and Kimber Kiefer (underwater modeling, Eps 90-93), and Jon Betz (RED V-RAPTOR, Ep 226). The series became one of the most comprehensive video archives of UW photography discussion ever assembled.

Hanlon also hosted “Conversations with the Masters” on the ADEX Pixel platform, featuring Alex Mustard’s 20:20 Photo Collection ([34]).

Wetpixel Hangouts

Before Wetpixel Live, Hanlon participated in Wetpixel’s first-ever live video hangout on June 5, 2012, moderated by Eric Cheng. The Google Hangout featured Hanlon, Alex Mustard, Berkley White of Backscatter, and Ryan Canon of Reef Photo & Video, discussing the Nikon D800, Canon 5D Mark III, and Olympus OM-D E-M5 ([35]).

Expeditions program

Continued and expanded Wetpixel’s expeditions with 178+ trip-related articles spanning 15+ destinations:

Forum presence

Over his career, Hanlon made 2,581 forum posts across 557 threads. His most engaged forum threads include the Wetpixel D800 review thread (223 replies), “The Perfect Underwater Camera” discussion (102 replies) where he outlined his ideal specifications including a “26-28MP cropped sensor,” the “Calling All Underwater Image Makers” COVID-19 image sharing thread (86 replies), and a Nikon 8-15mm fisheye discussion (76 replies) ([42], [43], [44], [45]).

His commenting was also prolific (1,538 article comments). His reply on the “Wetpixel Live: Full Frame vs Cropped” episode clarified the editorial position that cropped sensors were the better choice for many underwater applications, and his detailed response to Canon EOS 70D coverage pushed back against readers who misread a press release repost as an endorsement.

COVID-19 community response

Hanlon was among the first in the UW photography community to respond to the pandemic. On January 31, 2020, he started a community thread on coronavirus travel restrictions, providing government resource links and asking members to share their experiences to help others adapt travel plans ([46]). On March 24, 2020, he published “Calling All Underwater Image Makers,” urging the community to share images from their archives and tag dive operations to support businesses facing uncertain futures during lockdowns ([47]). The article and its companion forum thread (86 replies) rallied the community during a period when all dive travel had stopped.

This crisis also gave birth to Wetpixel Live (June 2020), which transformed from a COVID-era pivot into the site’s most significant content initiative of the decade.

Decline and controversy (2022–2023)

In April 2022, Hanlon implemented admin-approved memberships to combat scammers in the Classifieds forum, describing it as “a short term change” ([48]). By early 2023, new membership requests were going unprocessed, with users reporting that prospective members were stuck “waiting for approval” for weeks ([49]).

In July 2022, Hanlon claimed he had suffered a heart attack. He was unable to attend DEMA 2022 and sent Tom St. George to provide video coverage in his place — “I was sadly unable to attend the annual DEMA Show this year” ([50]). No independent medical confirmation appears in the record; Alex Mustard later documented that Hanlon was teaching a workshop via Zoom in May 2023 and working as a dive instructor while claiming to be too ill to process payments ([51]).

On June 6, 2023, when community member dhaas noticed no front page articles since April 8, Alex Mustard explained: “Adam has been really unwell. Especially so for the last few months. Fingers crossed he’s better soon.” Multiple members posted well-wishes ([52]).

In the period that followed, Hanlon cited his illness as the reason he could not process payments and refunds, but continued accepting payments for forthcoming expeditions ([53], [54]). Multiple customers accused him of withholding payments collected for Wetpixel-organized dive trips, with community estimates reaching in excess of $100,000 — including dive operator fees, gratuities pre-collected from guests and never passed through to boat and resort staff, workshop instructor fees, and refunds owed to participants who cancelled or were replaced ([55], [56], [57]). A September 2023 article in Undercurrent Magazine by John Bantin independently documented an estimated $60,000+ in a narrower scope of funds collected from Wetpixel readers for trips that were allegedly not fully booked or paid for.

Key incidents reported:

In a rebuttal provided to DeeperBlue.com, Hanlon stated: “Despite the social media furore, I am working to ensure that those that are owed monies are being repaid.” He also denied organizing any new trips after July 21, 2022.

In August 2023, community member KeithG created the thread “Is wetpixel.com dead (or dying)?” asking moderators for metrics. Moderator TimG replied: “As a moderator we can only speak for the forum… We have no access to the metrics.” He confirmed “Adam is the owner and controls Wetpixel” ([58]). By September, members were monitoring the site’s SSL certificate expiration date as a proxy for whether anyone was maintaining the infrastructure ([59]).

A separate thread in July 2023 saw community members expressing concern about Hanlon’s wellbeing and absence from the site. Anonymous users alluded to serious allegations; moderators stated they could not provide updates. (forum community)

Following these events, Hanlon restricted forum access to approved members only, deleted complaint threads, and banned members who raised concerns. He deactivated his social media accounts and essentially disappeared from the internet ([60]); when one community member attempted to reach him through his wife’s Facebook page, it went private within days ([61]). New membership requests went unprocessed for months. The community largely migrated to Waterpixels.net (launched January 2024) and Facebook groups. By early 2024, even key figures including Alex Mustard and Chris Ross were redirecting users to Waterpixels.net, with Chris Ross noting “not many posting here on Wetpixel” and “most have gone to Waterpixels.” The site remains technically accessible but is effectively dormant. (forum community)

Photography

Hanlon’s underwater photography covered a wide range of subjects and locations. His published Full Frame gallery on the Great Barrier Reef documented pink anemonefish, grey reef sharks at Osprey Reef’s North Horn, green turtles, potato cod at Cod Hole, broadclub cuttlefish, and night dive macro subjects across the Ribbon Reefs and Coral Sea ([62]). His “Calling All Underwater Image Makers” article during COVID featured his own images from Lembeh Strait, Tiger Beach (Grand Bahama), Raja Ampat, Anilao (Philippines), Isla Mujeres (Mexico), and the Farne Islands in Northumberland, UK ([63]).

He also dove and photographed UK cold water sites including flooded mines in the Lake District ([64]).

Timeline

References

Wetpixel Live

Sources

  1. Wetpixel article, Apr 18, 2010: Dive Fest 2010 ↩
  2. Wetpixel article, Jun 4, 2020: Full Schedule Un World Oceans Day 2020 ↩
  3. Wetpixel article, Apr 18, 2010: Dive Fest 2010 ↩
  4. Wetpixel article, May 27, 2011: Adam Hanlon Appointed As Wetpixel Editor ↩
  5. Wetpixel article, May 27, 2011: Adam Hanlon Appointed As Wetpixel Editor ↩
  6. Wetpixel article, Nov 30, 2018: Change Of Ownership At Wetpixel ↩
  7. Wetpixel article, Sep 22, 2013: Field Review Canon Eos 6d Na 6d Housing And Zen Dp 100 Port ↩
  8. Wetpixel article, Aug 17, 2020: Wetpixel Live Adam Hanlons Photography Gear ↩
  9. Forum thread: Front Page Updated Announcements ↩
  10. Wetpixel article, Nov 8, 2010: Wetpixel Dema 2010 ↩
  11. Wetpixel article, Sep 8, 2012: Wetpixel At Photokina 20121 ↩
  12. Wetpixel article, Nov 2, 2017: Show Report Dema 2017 ↩
  13. Wetpixel article, Feb 1, 2016: Report Boot Show 2016 ↩
  14. Wetpixel article, Feb 23, 2019: Report Go Diving Show 2019 ↩
  15. Wetpixel article, Apr 1, 2012: London Dive Show 2012 ↩
  16. Wetpixel article, Sep 8, 2012: Wetpixel At Photokina 20121 ↩
  17. Wetpixel article, Oct 4, 2021: Live Report Cmas World Underwater Photo And Video Championships ↩
  18. Wetpixel article, Jun 21, 2019: Live Reports Atlantis Imagemakers 2019 ↩
  19. Wetpixel article, Oct 26, 2016: Field Review Nikon D500 ↩
  20. Wetpixel article, Feb 8, 2018: Behind The Scenes Strobe Testing In The Red Sea ↩
  21. Wetpixel article, Sep 22, 2013: Field Review Canon Eos 6d Na 6d Housing And Zen Dp 100 Port ↩
  22. Wetpixel article, Mar 29, 2017: Review Saga Trio Macro Lens System ↩
  23. Wetpixel article, Jan 15, 2019: Field Review Seacam 60d Strobes ↩
  24. Wetpixel article, Dec 8, 2021: Field Report Seacam Seaflash 160d Strobes ↩
  25. Wetpixel article, Jun 22, 2020: Review Retra Supercharger ↩
  26. Wetpixel article, Mar 30, 2022: Hands On Nikon Z9 ↩
  27. Wetpixel article, May 22, 2012: Book Review Ocean Soul By Brian Skerry ↩
  28. Wetpixel article, Aug 29, 2011: The Wetpixel Rinse Tank ↩
  29. Wetpixel article, Jul 12, 2012: The British Underwater Photography Championship 2012 ↩
  30. Wetpixel article, Jul 10, 2020: Announcing Wetpixel Live ↩
  31. Wetpixel article, Nov 23, 2020: Wetpixel Live Turns 100 ↩
  32. Wetpixel article, Feb 28, 2021: Wetpixel Live Celebrates 150 Episodes ↩
  33. Source: wetpixel_live/264-a-review-of-the-winning-images-from-upy-2023.md ↩
  34. Wetpixel article, Aug 17, 2020: Wetpixel Live Adam Hanlons Photography Gear ↩
  35. Wetpixel article, Jun 5, 2012: Wetpixel Hangout 1 Is On Air Join Us Live ↩
  36. Wetpixel article, Sep 22, 2013: Field Review Canon Eos 6d Na 6d Housing And Zen Dp 100 Port ↩
  37. Wetpixel article, Oct 10, 2013: Trip Thread For Wetpixel Lembeh Macro Workshop ↩
  38. Wetpixel article, May 11, 2016: Late Availability Wetpixel Mustard Lembeh Macro Workshop ↩
  39. Wetpixel article, Jul 18, 2018: Adam Hanlon Great Barrier Reef ↩
  40. Wetpixel article, May 5, 2018: Live Updates Canon Collective Scubapix Imaging Event At Heron Island ↩
  41. Wetpixel article, Mar 24, 2020: Calling All Underwater Image Makers ↩
  42. Forum thread: Wetpixel D800 Review ↩
  43. Forum thread: The Perfect Underwater Camera ↩
  44. Forum thread: Calling All Underwater Image Makers ↩
  45. Forum thread: Nikon 8 15mm In The House ↩
  46. Forum thread: Community Updates On Coronavirus Travel Restrictions ↩
  47. Wetpixel article, Mar 24, 2020: Calling All Underwater Image Makers ↩
  48. Forum thread: Membership Change Please Read ↩
  49. Forum thread: Membership Change Please Read ↩
  50. Wetpixel article, Nov 8, 2022: Dema 2022 Coverage From Tom St George ↩
  51. Forum thread: Wetpixeltravel Issues ↩
  52. Forum thread: Front Page Updated Announcements ↩
  53. Forum thread: Wetpixeltravel Issues ↩
  54. Forum thread: How Is Adam Doing ↩
  55. Forum thread: Wetpixeltravel Issues ↩
  56. Forum thread: Wetpixel Defrauding Customers And Others ↩
  57. Forum thread: How Is Adam Doing ↩
  58. Forum thread: Is Wetpixelcom Dead Or Dying ↩
  59. Forum thread: Is Wetpixelcom Dead Or Dying ↩
  60. Forum thread: What Is The Story Of Wetpixels Survival ↩
  61. Forum thread: Wetpixel Defrauding Customers And Others ↩
  62. Wetpixel article, Jul 18, 2018: Adam Hanlon Great Barrier Reef ↩
  63. Wetpixel article, Mar 24, 2020: Calling All Underwater Image Makers ↩
  64. Wetpixel article, Aug 17, 2020: Wetpixel Live Adam Hanlons Photography Gear ↩
  65. Wetpixel article, Apr 18, 2010: Dive Fest 2010 ↩
  66. Wetpixel article, Nov 8, 2010: Wetpixel Dema 2010 ↩
  67. Wetpixel article, May 27, 2011: Adam Hanlon Appointed As Wetpixel Editor ↩
  68. Forum thread: Adam Hanlon Appointed As Wetpixel Editor ↩
  69. Wetpixel article, Aug 29, 2011: The Wetpixel Rinse Tank ↩
  70. Wetpixel article, Apr 1, 2012: London Dive Show 2012 ↩
  71. Wetpixel article, May 22, 2012: Book Review Ocean Soul By Brian Skerry ↩
  72. Wetpixel article, Jun 5, 2012: Wetpixel Hangout 1 Is On Air Join Us Live ↩
  73. Wetpixel article, Jul 12, 2012: The British Underwater Photography Championship 2012 ↩
  74. Wetpixel article, Sep 8, 2012: Wetpixel At Photokina 20121 ↩
  75. Wetpixel article, Oct 10, 2013: Trip Thread For Wetpixel Lembeh Macro Workshop ↩
  76. Wetpixel article, Sep 22, 2013: Field Review Canon Eos 6d Na 6d Housing And Zen Dp 100 Port ↩
  77. Wetpixel article, Feb 1, 2016: Report Boot Show 2016 ↩
  78. Wetpixel article, Oct 26, 2016: Field Review Nikon D500 ↩
  79. Wetpixel article, May 11, 2016: Late Availability Wetpixel Mustard Lembeh Macro Workshop ↩
  80. Wetpixel article, Mar 29, 2017: Review Saga Trio Macro Lens System ↩
  81. Wetpixel article, Nov 2, 2017: Show Report Dema 2017 ↩
  82. Wetpixel article, Feb 8, 2018: Behind The Scenes Strobe Testing In The Red Sea ↩
  83. Wetpixel article, Jul 18, 2018: Adam Hanlon Great Barrier Reef ↩
  84. Wetpixel article, Nov 30, 2018: Change Of Ownership At Wetpixel ↩
  85. Wetpixel article, Jan 15, 2019: Field Review Seacam 60d Strobes ↩
  86. Wetpixel article, Feb 23, 2019: Report Go Diving Show 2019 ↩
  87. Wetpixel article, Jun 21, 2019: Live Reports Atlantis Imagemakers 2019 ↩
  88. Forum thread: Community Updates On Coronavirus Travel Restrictions ↩
  89. Wetpixel article, Mar 24, 2020: Calling All Underwater Image Makers ↩
  90. Wetpixel article, Jun 4, 2020: Full Schedule Un World Oceans Day 2020 ↩
  91. Wetpixel article, Jul 10, 2020: Announcing Wetpixel Live ↩
  92. Wetpixel article, Jun 22, 2020: Review Retra Supercharger ↩
  93. Wetpixel article, Nov 23, 2020: Wetpixel Live Turns 100 ↩
  94. Wetpixel article, Feb 28, 2021: Wetpixel Live Celebrates 150 Episodes ↩
  95. Wetpixel article, Oct 4, 2021: Live Report Cmas World Underwater Photo And Video Championships ↩
  96. Wetpixel article, Dec 8, 2021: Field Report Seacam Seaflash 160d Strobes ↩
  97. Forum thread: The Perfect Underwater Camera ↩
  98. Wetpixel article, Mar 30, 2022: Hands On Nikon Z9 ↩
  99. Forum thread: Membership Change Please Read ↩
  100. Wetpixel article, Nov 8, 2022: Dema 2022 Coverage From Tom St George ↩
  101. Forum thread: Front Page Updated Announcements ↩
  102. Forum thread: Is Wetpixelcom Dead Or Dying ↩
  103. Adam Hanlon appointed as Wetpixel Editor (article) ↩
  104. Adam Hanlon appointed as Wetpixel Editor (forum) (forum) ↩
  105. Change of ownership at Wetpixel (article) ↩
  106. Dive Fest 2010 (article) ↩
  107. Wetpixel @ DEMA 2010 (article) ↩
  108. Announcing Wetpixel Live (article) ↩
  109. Wetpixel Live turns 100 (article) ↩
  110. Wetpixel Live Celebrates 150 Episodes (article) ↩
  111. Field Review: Nikon D500 (article) ↩
  112. Field Review: Canon EOS 6D (article) ↩
  113. Behind the Scenes: Strobe Testing in the Red Sea (article) ↩
  114. Review: SAGA Trio macro lens system (article) ↩
  115. Field Review: Seacam Seaflash 60D Strobes (article) ↩
  116. Field Report: Seacam Seaflash 160D Strobes (article) ↩
  117. Review: Retra Supercharger (article) ↩
  118. Hands on: Nikon Z9 (article) ↩
  119. Wetpixel Live: Adam Hanlon’s Photography Gear (article) ↩
  120. Adam Hanlon: Great Barrier Reef (article) ↩
  121. Canon Collective/Scubapix at Heron Island (article) ↩
  122. Trip thread for Wetpixel Lembeh Macro Workshop (article) ↩
  123. Wetpixel Lembeh Workshop slideshow (article) ↩
  124. Calling All Underwater Image Makers (article) ↩
  125. Full Schedule: UN World Oceans Day 2020 (article) ↩
  126. Wetpixel Hangout #1 (article) ↩
  127. Book Review: Ocean Soul by Brian Skerry (article) ↩
  128. The Wetpixel Rinse Tank (article) ↩
  129. London Dive Show 2012 (article) ↩
  130. Photokina 2012 (article) ↩
  131. British UW Photography Championship 2012 (article) ↩
  132. Show Report: DEMA 2017 (article) ↩
  133. Report: Boot Show 2016 (article) ↩
  134. Report: Go Diving Show 2019 (article) ↩
  135. Live Report: CMAS World Championships (article) ↩
  136. Live Reports: Atlantis ImageMakers 2019 (article) ↩
  137. DEMA 2022: Coverage from Tom St George (article) ↩
  138. Community Updates on Coronavirus Travel Restrictions (forum) ↩
  139. Calling All Underwater Image Makers (forum) (forum) ↩
  140. Wetpixel D800 review (forum) (forum) ↩
  141. The Perfect Underwater Camera (forum) (forum) ↩
  142. Membership change-please read! (forum) ↩
  143. Front Page Updated Announcements (forum) ↩
  144. Is Wetpixel Dead or Dying? (forum) ↩
  145. Wetpixel Live Ep. 16: Adam Hanlon’s Underwater Photography Gear (unknown) ↩