Daniel Botelho

Aliases: Daniel Botelho
Role: Professional underwater photographer, National Geographic contributor, DivePhotoGuide contributor, competition judge
First appearance: 2010 (Wetpixel coverage)
Nationality: Brazilian
Home base: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Website: danielbotelho.com
Affiliation: National Geographic, Walt Disney Company, DivePhotoGuide

Biography

Daniel Botelho is a Brazilian professional underwater photographer and National Geographic contributor known for conceptually bold, high-risk assignments involving large marine predators and innovative above/below-water compositions. He began photographing at age 14 during a backpacking trip across the United States, returning home with 80 rolls of 36-exposure film. He started shooting underwater two years later, at age 16. (^[1])

Disputed: In his 2013 interview, Botelho stated he turned professional at age 26 when he received his first assignment. However, his 2015 Louvre exhibition described him as 34 years old celebrating ten years of professional work, which would place the start of his professional career at age 24. The two accounts are inconsistent.

Botelho described his path to National Geographic as organic rather than self-initiated: “I have never approached my biggest assigners such as NG or Walt Disney Company who are now my biggest client. It is much more a matter of education and being visible in the media market, as these companies request prestigious status from their photographers.” He recalled receiving an email from National Geographic’s senior editor expressing appreciation for his work and offering him an assignment. (^[2])

By 2013, Botelho was spending seven to nine months per year away from home on expeditions. He described himself as a meticulous planner who conducts deep research on local statistics regarding animal behavior, visibility averages, and weather before each assignment. He tracked his professional efficacy rate, targeting 15-18% of images taken versus images sold, adjusting expectations based on conditions. (^[3])

At the time of his 2015 Louvre exhibition, Botelho was 34 years old and celebrating ten years of professional work, placing the start of his professional career around 2005 at age 24. (^[4])

Equipment and Technique

Botelho was sponsored by Nikon, though he expressed a pragmatic view of brand loyalty: “I play with Nikon because they sponsor me, but I could play with Canon if they send me cameras as well. Once you have at least 12 MP, at least 7fps and fair ISOs with low noise you are good. After all, was Jimi Hendrix all about his Fender?” (^[5])

For his Cat Island shark assignment in 2013, he used a Nikon D4 with a 16mm lens, housed in a Nauticam housing with Zen dome ports and Sea&Sea YS250 Pro strobes. His settings were aperture f/8-f/10, shutter speed 1/250s, ISO 320-500, and white balance at 5260K. (^[6])

On post-processing, Botelho held a purist philosophy: “Unacceptable is to include things in the image, once somebody includes something, it is not about photography anymore, it is about designing, which can also be art, but don’t call photography. The most beautiful and precious thing about photography is to freeze one moment that will never happen again, if you change it you corrupt it.” (^[7])

Major Projects

Sharks of Cat Island, Bahamas (2013)

Botelho traveled to Cat Island, Bahamas, on assignment for the Walt Disney Company to photograph dusky sharks (Carcharhinus obscurus) and oceanic whitetip sharks (Carcharhinus longimanus). He chose to snorkel rather than scuba dive, as sharks approached more closely and the shallow surface light was superior. He enlisted models Debra Canabal and Noortje Beenackers for human-shark interaction compositions, which he described as requiring extremely precise timing despite appearing slow. The dusky shark images were particularly successful with Disney, who were pleased that he captured baby sharks, “which are apparently preferred by children.” The images remained embargoed by Disney at the time of publication. Wetpixel published the resulting gallery as a Full Frame feature in May 2013. (^[8])

Great White Sharks Out of the Cage (2012)

Botelho’s best trip of 2012 was photographing great white sharks outside the cage, on assignment for the Walt Disney Company. He served simultaneously as a safety diver for clients who left the cage. His challenge was to compose an image of diver and shark face-to-face, with the shark in the foreground — “quite a demanding request.” Images from this project appeared on the UK’s Daily Telegraph website in November 2012, drawing attention from the Wetpixel forum community. (^[9], ^[10])

Nile Crocodile Face-to-Face

Botelho described his Nile crocodile assignment in the Okavango Delta as the most hair-raising underwater event of his career. An editor had requested a close, intimate facing interaction two years before the expedition. Conditions were extreme: dark, murky water with huge currents. The crew breathed through 80 cu ft (11 liter) tanks in just 20 minutes at ten feet deep because of the physical exertion of fighting currents. Botelho nearly broke his leg on a submerged tree trunk. (^[11])

Swimming with Jets, St. Maarten (2015)

In 2015, Botelho conceived and executed what he described as the hardest assignment of his career: photographing a model named Ane underwater at Maho Beach, St. Maarten, while KLM Boeing 747s made their final approach directly overhead at 180 knots. Princess Juliana International Airport’s runway sits directly adjacent to the beach, where jets pass at extremely low altitude.

Botelho kept the concept secret and pitched it to Boeing and KLM before traveling, securing their involvement despite uncertain outcomes. Upon arrival, he spent days mapping exact underwater positions using rocks and sand as reference points. The technical challenge required freezing a jet moving at 180 knots while maintaining sufficient depth of field to keep both underwater model and aircraft in focus. Three variables had to align simultaneously: weather, wave height/direction, and subject/aircraft positioning.

The primary target was the Monday, Friday, and Sunday KLM Boeing 747 service. After many frustrating days of failed attempts — waiting in the water all day, getting cold and sunburnt — Botelho declared the project harder than working with blue whales, Nile crocodiles, great white sharks (free-diving outside the cage), and narwhals at the North Pole. Wetpixel published the resulting images as a Full Frame feature in April 2015. (^[12])

The images gained international media coverage before the Wetpixel feature: the Daily Mail published them in October 2014 under the headline about dramatic images of aircraft flying feet above swimmers. (^[13])

Urban Sharks of Recife, Brazil (2014)

In April 2014, Botelho was on assignment for National Geographic photographing “urban sharks” in Recife, Brazil — his home country — documenting the phenomenon of sharks in proximity to urban coastal areas. The work was covered by GrindTV. (^[14])

Sardine Run, South Africa (2009)

Botelho participated in the 2009 Sardine Run off South Africa, where forum member Alex Mustard described a Bryde’s whale making “a high speed pass within 2m of photographer Daniel Botelho.” (^[15])

Exhibitions

Louvre Museum, Paris (2015)

In May-June 2015, Botelho exhibited a retrospective of his underwater photography at the Louvre Museum in Paris. Titled “Art from the SEVEN Seas”, the show celebrated his first ten years of professional image-making, running from 20 May to 15 June 2015. He was 34 years old at the time.

Botelho wrote: “I am super thrilled to announce my exhibit at Louvre Museum, Paris, celebrating ten years of my career. I have never dreamt that one day I would be featured at the amazing Louvre Museum… I will be representing wildlife and underwater photography in the same place that Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is exhibited.” (^[16])

United Nations “Oceans” Exhibition (2013)

Botelho’s work was included in the “Oceans” exhibition at the United Nations Visitor Center in New York City, organized by DivePhotoGuide and Swiss watchmaker Blancpain. The exhibition, which ran from June 5 to August 16, 2013, highlighted World Oceans Day and featured thirty images and two high-definition videos from leading underwater photographers. Botelho was identified as a DPG contributor. (^[17])

Speaking and Industry Events

DEMA Show Presentations

Botelho was a regular speaker at the DEMA Show’s Image Resource Center:

• DEMA 2011 (Orlando, Florida): Presented “Extreme Underwater Photography — Capturing the Wild Ocean” on November 2, sponsored by DivePhotoGuide.com. (^[18])
• DEMA 2012 (Las Vegas): Presented “How to Plan a True Underwater Photography Expedition” on November 16, sponsored by DivePhotoGuide.com. Described as “National Geographic photographer Daniel Botelho,” the session covered researching the right time and place, acquiring permits and other logistics, and getting shots in extreme conditions. (^[19])

Competition Judging

Botelho served as a judge for major international underwater photography competitions:

• Our World Underwater / DEEP Indonesia 2016: Judging panel alongside Aaron Wong, Abi Smigel Mullens, and Joseph Tepper. (^[20], ^[21])
• DEEP Indonesia 2017: Judging panel alongside Amanda Cotton, Alice Grainger, Adam Hanlon, and Lia Barrett. (^[22])

He was also listed among the judges for the 2016 competition call for entries alongside Keri Wilk, Alex Mustard, Berkley White, Amanda Cotton, and Aaron Wong. (^[23])

Featured Publications and Expert Contributions

• UnderXmag Issue 6 (2010): Featured photographer in this Brazilian Portuguese-language diving magazine. (^[24])
• AOL “25 Awe-Inspiring Images of 2012”: His mola mola image, shot off San Diego, California, was selected as the cover image representing all 25 photographs. He had initially dismissed the image, leaving it in what he called the “lost souls drawer” before rediscovering it two years later. (^[25])
• “What Makes for a Great Black and White Image?” (2014): Contributed alongside Stephen Frink, Tony Wu, Alex Mustard, and others, writing about identifying images that are “natural born mono.” (^[26])
• “Ask the Pros: Backup Strategies” (2015): Featured in the inaugural Ask the Pros column alongside Stephen Frink, Erin Quigley, Howard Hall, Michelle Hall, Franco Banfi, and others. (^[27])
• “Ask the Pros: Wide-Angle” (2015): Featured in Part 3 alongside Douglas Seifert, Tony Wu, Franco Banfi, Steve Jones, and Alex Tattersall. (^[28])
• Full Frame 2015 Retrospective: His “Swimming with Jets” image was selected as one of the standout images of the year. (^[29])
• Brazilian TV: Botelho worked with Brazilian TV presenter Karina on a show that reached an audience of 50 million Brazilians. (^[30])

Conservation Views

Botelho was passionate about shark conservation, stating: “My worst nightmare is the word ‘extinction’, so every time I hear this word I get really passionate about protecting the species under threat. Right now my focus is the shark campaign, as these guys will be vanished soon from Earth if we don’t take good care of the situation.” He argued that wildlife photographers must support conservation not only as social responsibility but to sustain their own livelihood: “What will I work with if sharks and whales disappear?” (^[31])

Personal

Botelho was based in Rio de Janeiro and described music as “a passion as big as photography.” He played drums across rock and roll, bossa nova, jazz, and samba styles, though his travel schedule prevented him from maintaining a band. His favorite dive sites were Protea Banks (South Africa), Tiger Beach (Bahamas), and Shark Reef in Beqa Lagoon (Fiji) — all premier shark diving destinations. He named Amos Nachoum, Eric Cheng, and David Doubilet as his favorite underwater photographers, and cited topside photographer Andreas Gursky as his primary artistic inspiration. (^[32])

Timeline

• ~1995: Begins photography at age 14 during a backpacking trip across the United States (^[33])
• ~1997: Starts shooting underwater at age 16 (^[34])
• ~2005: Turns professional (age 24 per Louvre exhibition timeline, or age 26 per 2013 interview — see Disputed note above) (^[35], ^[36])
• 2009: Participates in the Sardine Run off South Africa, photographed alongside a Bryde’s whale (^[37])
• 2010-10: Featured photographer in UnderXmag Issue 6 (^[38])
• 2011-11-02: Presents “Extreme Underwater Photography” at DEMA 2011 Image Resource Center (^[39])
• 2012: Photographs great white sharks outside the cage on assignment for Walt Disney Company (^[40])
• 2012: Mola mola image selected as cover of AOL “25 Awe-Inspiring Images of 2012” (^[41])
• 2012-11-16: Presents “How to Plan a True Underwater Photography Expedition” at DEMA 2012 IRC (^[42])
• 2013-01-04: In-depth interview published on Wetpixel (^[43])
• 2013-05-21: Wetpixel Full Frame feature: “Sharks of Cat Island” — oceanic whitetip shark images from Bahamas assignment for Walt Disney Company (^[44])
• 2013-06-05: Work included in “Oceans” exhibition at the United Nations, New York City (^[45])
• 2014-04: On assignment for National Geographic photographing urban sharks in Recife, Brazil (^[46])
• 2014-10-10: Swimming with Jets images published by Daily Mail (^[47])
• 2014-11-09: Contributes to Wetpixel “What Makes for a Great Black and White Image?” feature (^[48])
• 2015-04-19: Featured in “Ask the Pros: Backup Strategies” (^[49])
• 2015-04-30: Wetpixel Full Frame feature: “Swimming with Jets” — KLM Boeing 747/St. Maarten underwater images (^[50])
• 2015-05-07: Louvre exhibition “Art from the SEVEN Seas” announced (runs 20 May-15 June 2015) (^[51])
• 2015-05-18: Featured in “Ask the Pros: Wide-Angle” series (^[52])
• 2016-03: Serves as judge for DEEP Indonesia 2016 competition (^[53])
• 2016-01-01: “Swimming with Jets” selected for Full Frame 2015 Retrospective (^[54])
• 2017-03: Serves as judge for DEEP Indonesia 2017 competition (^[55])

References