Doug Perrine

Aliases: None known
Role: Wildlife photographer, marine conservationist, stock photography agent
First appearance: 2003 (forum discussion) ([1]), 2004 (featured article) ([2])
Affiliation: SeaPics.com (stock photography agency), independent photographer
Based in: Hawaii

Biography

Doug Perrine is an underwater wildlife photographer and marine conservationist whose career spans decades of professional ocean photography. He is best known for winning the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year (WPotY) award in 2004 — the first year digital entries were permitted in the competition — with underwater images of bronze whaler sharks during South Africa’s sardine run ([3]). His images are available for licensing through SeaPics.com, a marine life stock photography agency ([4]).

Based in Hawaii, Perrine became a prominent voice for marine conservation, particularly for manta ray protection. He authored a Wetpixel article in 2009 advocating for Hawaiian legislation (HB366 and SB394) to prohibit the capture or killing of manta rays, noting that only 154 individual mantas had been identified in Kona since 1992 and that the species was extremely susceptible to overfishing ([5]). He contributed a feature on Hawaii to the spring 2011 issue of Alert Diver magazine ([6]).

Perrine was recognized by peers as one of the most accomplished underwater photographers of his generation. Marty Snyderman cited Perrine alongside David Fleetham, Douglas Seifert, Howard Hall, and Tony Wu as photographers whose work he studied and followed ([7]). Adam Hanlon noted that Perrine was among the elite group of underwater photographers — alongside Marty Snyderman, Michael Aw, Brandon Cole, Stephen Frink, Alex Mustard, and John Bantin — who had published 100 or more articles for dive publications ([8]). Drew Wong described Perrine as “legendary” when reporting on his appearance at ADEX 2018 in Singapore ([9]).

Despite his stature in the industry, Perrine did not participate in online forum discussions. As Eric Cheng noted in 2003: “He doesn’t get involved in online discussions like this, even though I’ve tried to get him to make a statement publicly” ([10]).

Gear and Technique

Perrine was an early adopter of digital photography for professional underwater work. By 2003, he was shooting with both a Canon D60 (underwater) and a Canon EOS-1Ds (topside), as confirmed by Eric Cheng ([11]). His WPotY-winning images were shot using a Canon EOS D60 in a UK-Germany housing with a Sigma 14mm f/2.8 lens ([12]).

For his winning sardine run image “Bronze whalers charging a baitball,” he exposed at 1/800s at f/5.6, ISO 200, lit with a Canon 550EX strobe in a UK-Germany underwater housing. A second winning image, “Bronze whaler at a sardine feast,” was lit with two Inon Z-220 strobes ([13]).

Perrine was notably vocal about digital photography’s advantages for dynamic wildlife situations. He wrote that digital allowed him to shoot hundreds of images in chaotic sardine run conditions and check feedback on the LCD, compared to only 72 exposures possible with film (36 per camera body). He stated that “given the restraints of using film underwater it is likely I would not have achieved those images with a film camera” ([14]).

Eric Cheng noted that Jim Watt visited Perrine to test his Canon EOS-1Ds and was “quite disappointed,” likely due to chromatic aberrations when shooting wide-angle — an early indication that the first-generation full-frame sensor had limitations for underwater use ([15]).

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Perrine’s 2004 WPotY win was a watershed moment for digital underwater photography. The competition, organized by the British Natural History Museum, allowed digital entries for the first time that year, requiring submission of original camera files. Perrine won the overall award, while other digital underwater winners included Charles Hood (great hammerhead, Nikon D100) and Douglas Seifert (white shark at Guadalupe, Canon D60 in Sea & Sea housing). Eric Cheng noted he was present when both Hood and Seifert captured their winning shots ([16]).

Perrine provided extensive commentary on the significance of digital entries being accepted, noting that the rules “went through a series of refinements” and that the awards to digital entries “should be taken as a green light for digital photographers to submit to these competitions, with a fair chance of winning, and a notice to the nature photography community that digital has arrived and it’s not going away” ([17]).

In 2009, Perrine was again named among underwater winners at the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, alongside Paul Nicklen, Nano Cordovilla, Kevin Schafer, and others ([18]).

Sardine Run Photography

Perrine is closely associated with South Africa’s sardine run, one of the world’s greatest marine migration events. His expertise in this subject led Eric Cheng to organize a Wetpixel Sardine Run Expedition for 2006 in partnership with SEAL (Sea-Air-Land) Expeditions, with Perrine’s WPotY-winning sardine run images used prominently to promote the trip ([19]). Multiple images by Perrine — including sharks tearing through a sardine ball, dolphins playing in the surf, and sharks in a bait ball — illustrated the expedition announcement ([20]).

Randall Benton’s Wetpixel Picture of the Year 2009 winning image depicted Perrine himself, photographed from below a large manta ray at the famous Kona night manta dive in Hawaii, demonstrating that Perrine was both a subject and practitioner of iconic underwater imagery ([21]).

Conservation Work

Perrine was a consistent contributor to marine conservation efforts throughout his career:

Guest Photography and Publications

Perrine contributed guest images to Andrea and Antonella Ferrari’s book A Diver’s Guide to the Art of Underwater Photography (2008), reviewed by Alex Mustard for Wetpixel. He was one of 21 guest photographers in the book, contributing images from the Caribbean. Andrea Ferrari corrected the review’s characterization that the book focused exclusively on Southeast Asia, noting contributions from Perrine and others photographing in California, the Caribbean, and other regions ([30]).

Perrine contributed to the Alert Diver magazine’s spring 2011 issue with a feature on Hawaii ([31]).

Speaking and Events

Timeline

References

Sources

  1. Forum thread: Pros And D60s Coincidence ↩
  2. Wetpixel article, Oct 25, 2004: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year Doug Perrine ↩
  3. Wetpixel article, Oct 25, 2004: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year Doug Perrine ↩
  4. Wetpixel article, Oct 25, 2004: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year Doug Perrine ↩
  5. Wetpixel article, Feb 22, 2009: Support Legislation To Protect Manta Rays In Hawaiian Waters ↩
  6. Wetpixel article, May 3, 2011: Spring Issue Of Alert Diver Released ↩
  7. Wetpixel article, Feb 26, 2017: Interview With Marty Snyderman ↩
  8. Wetpixel article, Jun 10, 2017: Latest Issue Of Dive Magazine Available ↩
  9. Wetpixel article, Apr 16, 2018: Show Report Adex 2018 By Drew Wong ↩
  10. Forum thread: Pros And D60s Coincidence ↩
  11. Forum thread: Pros And D60s Coincidence ↩
  12. Wetpixel article, Oct 25, 2004: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year Doug Perrine ↩
  13. Wetpixel article, Oct 25, 2004: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year Doug Perrine ↩
  14. Wetpixel article, Oct 25, 2004: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year Doug Perrine ↩
  15. Forum thread: Film Vs Digital Redux ↩
  16. Wetpixel article, Oct 25, 2004: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year Doug Perrine ↩
  17. Wetpixel article, Oct 25, 2004: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year Doug Perrine ↩
  18. Wetpixel article, Oct 22, 2009: Bbc Wildlife Photographer Of The Year Winners For 2009 Announced ↩
  19. Wetpixel article, Jun 8, 2005: Wetpixel Sardine Run Expedition 2006 ↩
  20. Wetpixel article, Jun 8, 2005: Wetpixel Sardine Run Expedition 2006 ↩
  21. Wetpixel article, Feb 13, 2010: Randall Benton Wins Wetpixel Picture Of The Year 2009 ↩
  22. Wetpixel article, Feb 22, 2009: Support Legislation To Protect Manta Rays In Hawaiian Waters ↩
  23. Wetpixel article, Oct 15, 2007: Bite Back 2008 Calendar For Marine Conservation ↩
  24. Wetpixel article, Nov 17, 2008: Bite Back Calendar 2009 ↩
  25. Wetpixel article, Nov 30, 2009: Bite Back Calendar 2010 ↩
  26. Wetpixel article, Nov 30, 2010: Bite Back Launches 2011 Calender ↩
  27. Wetpixel article, Dec 6, 2011: Bite Back 2012 Shark Calendar Released ↩
  28. Wetpixel article, Dec 4, 2013: Bite Back Calendar On Sale ↩
  29. Wetpixel article, Dec 26, 2012: Study Published About Cetacean Gift Giving ↩
  30. Wetpixel article, Feb 28, 2008: Book Review A Divers Guide To The Art Of Underwater Photography ↩
  31. Wetpixel article, May 3, 2011: Spring Issue Of Alert Diver Released ↩
  32. Wetpixel article, Aug 28, 2007: Kona Honu Divers Announces 2008 Kona Classic Package ↩
  33. Wetpixel article, Nov 2, 2007: Dema 2007 Art Innovation Center ↩
  34. Wetpixel article, Apr 16, 2018: Show Report Adex 2018 By Drew Wong ↩
  35. Wetpixel article, Jul 19, 2019: Atlantis Imagemakers 2019 ↩
  36. Wetpixel article, Feb 14, 2021: Announcing The Discovery Passage Underwater Photo Shootout ↩
  37. Forum thread: Pros And D60s Coincidence ↩
  38. Wetpixel article, Oct 25, 2004: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year Doug Perrine ↩
  39. Wetpixel article, Jun 8, 2005: Wetpixel Sardine Run Expedition 2006 ↩
  40. Wetpixel article, Aug 28, 2007: Kona Honu Divers Announces 2008 Kona Classic Package ↩
  41. Wetpixel article, Oct 15, 2007: Bite Back 2008 Calendar For Marine Conservation ↩
  42. Wetpixel article, Nov 2, 2007: Dema 2007 Art Innovation Center ↩
  43. Wetpixel article, Feb 28, 2008: Book Review A Divers Guide To The Art Of Underwater Photography ↩
  44. Wetpixel article, Nov 17, 2008: Bite Back Calendar 2009 ↩
  45. Wetpixel article, Feb 22, 2009: Support Legislation To Protect Manta Rays In Hawaiian Waters ↩
  46. Wetpixel article, Oct 22, 2009: Bbc Wildlife Photographer Of The Year Winners For 2009 Announced ↩
  47. Wetpixel article, Nov 30, 2009: Bite Back Calendar 2010 ↩
  48. Wetpixel article, Feb 13, 2010: Randall Benton Wins Wetpixel Picture Of The Year 2009 ↩
  49. Wetpixel article, Nov 30, 2010: Bite Back Launches 2011 Calender ↩
  50. Wetpixel article, May 3, 2011: Spring Issue Of Alert Diver Released ↩
  51. Wetpixel article, Dec 6, 2011: Bite Back 2012 Shark Calendar Released ↩
  52. Wetpixel article, Dec 26, 2012: Study Published About Cetacean Gift Giving ↩
  53. Wetpixel article, Dec 4, 2013: Bite Back Calendar On Sale ↩
  54. Wetpixel article, Feb 26, 2017: Interview With Marty Snyderman ↩
  55. Wetpixel article, Jun 10, 2017: Latest Issue Of Dive Magazine Available ↩
  56. Wetpixel article, Apr 16, 2018: Show Report Adex 2018 By Drew Wong ↩
  57. Wetpixel article, Jul 19, 2019: Atlantis Imagemakers 2019 ↩
  58. Wetpixel article, Feb 14, 2021: Announcing The Discovery Passage Underwater Photo Shootout ↩
  59. Wildlife Photographer of the Year - Doug Perrine (article) ↩
  60. Wetpixel Sardine Run Expedition 2006 (article) ↩
  61. Kona Honu Divers announces 2008 Kona Classic package (article) ↩
  62. Bite-Back 2008 Calendar for Marine Conservation (article) ↩
  63. DEMA 2007: Art Innovation Center (article) ↩
  64. Book Review: A Diver’s Guide to the Art of Underwater Photography (article) ↩
  65. Bite-Back Calendar 2009 (article) ↩
  66. Support legislation to protect manta rays in Hawaiian waters (article) ↩
  67. BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year winners for 2009 announced (article) ↩
  68. Bite-Back Calendar 2010 (article) ↩
  69. Randall Benton wins Wetpixel Picture of the Year 2009 (article) ↩
  70. Bite-Back launches 2011 calender (article) ↩
  71. Spring issue of Alert Diver released (article) ↩
  72. Bite-Back 2012 shark calendar released (article) ↩
  73. Study published about cetacean gift giving (article) ↩
  74. Bite Back calendar on sale (article) ↩
  75. Interview with Marty Snyderman (article) ↩
  76. Douglas Seifert turns 100 (article) ↩
  77. Show Report: ADEX 2018 by Drew Wong (article) ↩
  78. Atlantis ImageMakers 2019 (article) ↩
  79. Announcing the Discovery Passage Underwater Photo Shootout (article) ↩
  80. Pros and D60s - coincidence? (forum) ↩
  81. Film vs. Digital redux? (forum) ↩