Douglas Seifert

Aliases: Douglas David Seifert, douglasseifert
Role: Professional underwater photographer, magazine editor, writer, expedition leader
First appearance: 2003 ([1])
Affiliation: DIVE Magazine (World Editor), Shark Savers (board member)

Biography

Douglas David Seifert is a professional underwater photographer, writer, and the World Editor of DIVE Magazine (UK), the official publication of the British Sub Aqua Club and the largest circulation English-language dive magazine in Europe. Known for his distinctive yellow wetsuit and his expertise in shark photography, Seifert is widely regarded as one of the premier shark photographers in the world. DIVE Magazine editor Simon Rogerson described him as “probably the best shark photographer in the world” when the magazine published its first all-digital cover in May 2003, featuring Seifert’s Canon D60 image of a whale shark off Belize ([2]).

Early Career and Digital Photography Pioneer

Seifert’s first published underwater photograph appeared around 1994 (the specific publication is unverified from primary sources). His transition to digital was early and influential — in 2003, his Canon D60 whale shark image became DIVE Magazine’s first all-digital cover, at a time when many questioned whether digital cameras were suitable for magazine publication. The following month, Eric Cheng’s loggerhead turtle photo became DIVE’s second digital cover, with Cheng’s article explicitly noting that Seifert’s image had been the first ([3]). By 2004, Seifert’s digital underwater images appeared in the New York Times Science section (featuring whale sharks from Belize) and in Nature’s Best magazine, using both the Canon D60 and Canon 1Ds ([4]).

DIVE Magazine Career

Seifert worked for DIVE Magazine for approximately 18 years, initially as a contributing editor before being named World Editor in approximately 2008. In that role, he launched “Water Column,” a monthly feature column devoted to ocean natural history, phenomena, destinations, adventure, and conservation issues worldwide. Alex Mustard praised the appointment, calling Seifert someone “you could hardly find a better columnist than” ([5]). The column reached its 50th installment in 2014, with DIVE publishing a retrospective anthology to mark the occasion ([6]).

When DIVE celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2015, the special edition featured Seifert’s 20 favourite images and 20 contributors’ favourite moments in diving. The anniversary also marked DIVE’s return to print publishing with a quarterly edition ([7]).

Personal Life

Seifert grew up in the southern United States and learned to swim at the age of two near his hometown in South Florida, where the Blue Heron Bridge is located ([8]). He is married to Emily Irving, who accompanies him on many of his field assignments and serves as his dive buddy and spotter ([9]).

Seifert first dove with great white sharks in South Australia in 1986, on a Sea and Sea Travel expedition led by Carl Roessler and hosted by Rodney Fox and his son Andrew, when cage diving with great whites was “a very extreme adventure” with “probably less than 100 people in the world who had done it” ([10]).

He is a board member of Shark Savers, and his conservation advocacy is reflected throughout his writing ([11]).

Contributions

Pioneer of Digital Underwater Photography

Seifert’s Canon D60 images provided DIVE Magazine’s first all-digital cover in June 2003 and his subsequent digital images in the New York Times in 2004, at a time when the viability of digital for professional underwater photography was still being questioned ([12], [13]).

Wetpixel Expeditions

Seifert participated in and led multiple Wetpixel expeditions throughout his career:

Writing and Series

“Ask the Pros” Contributor

Participated in Wetpixel’s professional advice series covering wide-angle photography, split shots, macro techniques, housing maintenance, and backup strategies ([33], [34], [35], [36], [37]).

Competition Success

Conservation Advocacy

Seifert’s Water Column frequently addressed conservation issues, including shark finning and manta ray protection. He noted that DIVE’s coverage of “World Without Sharks” and “Killing the Golden Manta” exemplified editorial philosophy prioritizing conservation over advertising revenue. As a board member of Shark Savers, he was appalled by senseless sport fishing for sharks and used his platform to advocate for protection of apex predators ([41], [42]).

Relationships

Seifert developed a close friendship with [43] and Valerie Taylor over decades, having first met them during a South Australia white shark expedition over 20 years before 2014. He described them as having “informally adopted me as a nephew” and said Valerie “gave her approval when I first met Emily” ([44]).

He was a close collaborator of Eric Cheng, co-leading dive events in Seattle ([45]) and multiple Wetpixel expeditions. Marty Snyderman cited Seifert as one of the photographers whose work he studies and admires ([46]).

Timeline

Sources

  1. Wetpixel article, May 15, 2003: Dive Magazine First Digital Cover1 ↩
  2. Wetpixel article, May 15, 2003: Dive Magazine First Digital Cover1 ↩
  3. Wetpixel article, Jun 18, 2003: Dive Magazines 2nd Digital Cover ↩
  4. Wetpixel article, May 31, 2004: New York Times Digital Underwater ↩
  5. Wetpixel article, Oct 20, 2008: Water Column Is Coming ↩
  6. Wetpixel article, May 3, 2014: Water Column Turns 50 ↩
  7. Wetpixel article, Sep 12, 2015: Dive Celebrates 20 Years ↩
  8. Wetpixel article, Jan 28, 2014: Douglas Seiferts Illustrated Notes From The Field2 ↩
  9. Wetpixel article, Jan 26, 2014: Douglas Seiferts Illustrated Notes From The Field1 ↩
  10. Wetpixel article, Jan 26, 2014: Douglas Seiferts Illustrated Notes From The Field1 ↩
  11. Wetpixel article, Feb 18, 2014: Douglas Seiferts Illustrated Notes From The Field3 ↩
  12. Wetpixel article, May 15, 2003: Dive Magazine First Digital Cover1 ↩
  13. Wetpixel article, May 31, 2004: New York Times Digital Underwater ↩
  14. Wetpixel article, Sep 28, 2007: Wetpixel Solomon Islands 2007 Slideshow ↩
  15. Wetpixel article, May 27, 2008: Oceanic White Tip Shark Expedition Trip Report ↩
  16. Wetpixel article, Oct 14, 2009: Wetpixel Sperm Whale Expedition Update 1 ↩
  17. Wetpixel article, Jan 22, 2011: Howard Halls Sperm Whale Video From Dominica ↩
  18. Wetpixel article, Mar 30, 2011: Expedition Whale Shark Aggregation Near Isla Mujeres August 2011 ↩
  19. Wetpixel article, May 30, 2012: Wetpixel Ultimate Indonesia 2012 ↩
  20. Wetpixel article, Dec 10, 2012: Wetpixel Ultimate Indonesia Trip Reports ↩
  21. Wetpixel article, Dec 13, 2016: Wetpixel Raja Ampat Expedition 2016 ↩
  22. Wetpixel article, Nov 1, 2011: Dive Publishes World Without Sharks ↩
  23. Wetpixel article, May 3, 2014: Water Column Turns 50 ↩
  24. Wetpixel article, Jan 23, 2014: Douglas Seiferts Illustrated Notes From The Field ↩
  25. Wetpixel article, Jan 26, 2014: Douglas Seiferts Illustrated Notes From The Field1 ↩
  26. Wetpixel article, Jan 28, 2014: Douglas Seiferts Illustrated Notes From The Field2 ↩
  27. Wetpixel article, Feb 18, 2014: Douglas Seiferts Illustrated Notes From The Field3 ↩
  28. Wetpixel article, Jul 12, 2017: Close Focus The Manta Ray World By Night By Douglas Seifert ↩
  29. Ron Taylor (article) ↩
  30. Wetpixel article, Sep 9, 2012: A Tribute To Ron Taylor 1934 20120 ↩
  31. Wetpixel article, Dec 29, 2007: Review Of Bret Gilliams Diving Pioneers And Innovators ↩
  32. Wetpixel article, May 31, 2017: Opinion How To Achieve Great Imagery ↩
  33. Wetpixel article, May 18, 2015: Wetpixel Asks The Pros Wide Angle Part 1 ↩
  34. Wetpixel article, Jun 30, 2015: Ask The Pros Split Shots ↩
  35. Wetpixel article, Aug 18, 2015: Ask The Pros Housing Maintenance ↩
  36. Wetpixel article, Nov 19, 2015: Ask The Pros Macro Part 1 ↩
  37. Wetpixel article, Apr 19, 2015: Wetpixel Asks The Pros Backup Strategies ↩
  38. Wetpixel article, Oct 25, 2007: Shell Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2007 ↩
  39. Wetpixel article, Oct 16, 2013: Nhm Wildlife Photographer Of The Year Awards ↩
  40. Wetpixel article, May 13, 2013: Full Results Ocean Views 2013 ↩
  41. Wetpixel article, May 3, 2014: Water Column Turns 50 ↩
  42. Wetpixel article, Feb 18, 2014: Douglas Seiferts Illustrated Notes From The Field3 ↩
  43. Ron (article) ↩
  44. Wetpixel article, Jan 26, 2014: Douglas Seiferts Illustrated Notes From The Field1 ↩
  45. Wetpixel article, Jul 14, 2008: Dive With Eric Cheng And Douglas Seifert In Seattle ↩
  46. Wetpixel article, Feb 26, 2017: Interview With Marty Snyderman ↩
  47. Wetpixel article, Jan 26, 2014: Douglas Seiferts Illustrated Notes From The Field1 ↩
  48. Wetpixel article, May 15, 2003: Dive Magazine First Digital Cover1 ↩
  49. Wetpixel article, Jun 18, 2003: Dive Magazines 2nd Digital Cover ↩
  50. Wetpixel article, Oct 28, 2003: Antibes Festival 2003 Coverage ↩
  51. Wetpixel article, May 31, 2004: New York Times Digital Underwater ↩
  52. Wetpixel article, Sep 28, 2007: Wetpixel Solomon Islands 2007 Slideshow ↩
  53. Wetpixel article, Oct 25, 2007: Shell Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2007 ↩
  54. Wetpixel article, May 27, 2008: Oceanic White Tip Shark Expedition Trip Report ↩
  55. Wetpixel article, Jul 14, 2008: Dive With Eric Cheng And Douglas Seifert In Seattle ↩
  56. Wetpixel article, Oct 20, 2008: Water Column Is Coming ↩
  57. Wetpixel article, Oct 14, 2009: Wetpixel Sperm Whale Expedition Update 1 ↩
  58. Wetpixel article, Jan 22, 2011: Howard Halls Sperm Whale Video From Dominica ↩
  59. Wetpixel article, Oct 21, 2010: Inon Bug Eye Lens Produces Cover Image For Dive Magazine ↩
  60. Wetpixel article, Mar 30, 2011: Expedition Whale Shark Aggregation Near Isla Mujeres August 2011 ↩
  61. Wetpixel article, Nov 1, 2011: Dive Publishes World Without Sharks ↩
  62. Wetpixel article, May 30, 2012: Wetpixel Ultimate Indonesia 2012 ↩
  63. Wetpixel article, Dec 10, 2012: Wetpixel Ultimate Indonesia Trip Reports ↩
  64. Wetpixel article, Sep 9, 2012: A Tribute To Ron Taylor 1934 20120 ↩
  65. Wetpixel article, May 13, 2013: Full Results Ocean Views 2013 ↩
  66. Wetpixel article, Oct 16, 2013: Nhm Wildlife Photographer Of The Year Awards ↩
  67. Wetpixel article, Dec 20, 2013: Spaces Available Douglas Seiferts Jetties Of South Australia Traip ↩
  68. Wetpixel article, Jan 23, 2014: Douglas Seiferts Illustrated Notes From The Field ↩
  69. Wetpixel article, May 3, 2014: Water Column Turns 50 ↩
  70. Wetpixel article, Nov 9, 2014: What Makes For A Great Black And White Image ↩
  71. Wetpixel article, Sep 12, 2015: Dive Celebrates 20 Years ↩
  72. Wetpixel article, Dec 13, 2016: Wetpixel Raja Ampat Expedition 2016 ↩
  73. Wetpixel article, Feb 26, 2017: Interview With Marty Snyderman ↩
  74. Wetpixel article, May 31, 2017: Opinion How To Achieve Great Imagery ↩
  75. Wetpixel article, Jul 12, 2017: Close Focus The Manta Ray World By Night By Douglas Seifert ↩
  76. Wetpixel article, Nov 2, 2017: Show Report Dema 2017 ↩
  77. Wetpixel article, May 15, 2020: Planning Your Next Trip How To Get The Images You Want ↩
  78. DIVE Magazine first digital cover (article) ↩
  79. Dive Magazine’s 2nd digital cover (article) ↩
  80. Antibes Festival 2003 coverage (article) ↩
  81. New York Times, Digital Underwater (article) ↩
  82. Solomon Islands 2007 slideshow (article) ↩
  83. Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2007 (article) ↩
  84. Oceanic white-tip shark expedition trip report (article) ↩
  85. Water Column is coming (article) ↩
  86. Wetpixel sperm whale expedition (article) ↩
  87. Howard Hall’s sperm whale video (article) ↩
  88. Whale shark aggregation expedition (article) ↩
  89. DIVE publishes World Without Sharks (article) ↩
  90. A tribute to Ron Taylor (article) ↩
  91. Wetpixel Ultimate Indonesia trip reports (article) ↩
  92. Full results: Ocean Views 2013 (article) ↩
  93. NHM Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013 (article) ↩
  94. Douglas Seifert’s Illustrated Notes from the Field (article) ↩
  95. Illustrated Notes Part 2 (article) ↩
  96. Illustrated Notes Part 3 (article) ↩
  97. Illustrated Notes Part 4 (article) ↩
  98. Water Column turns 50 (article) ↩
  99. DIVE celebrates 20 years (article) ↩
  100. Close Focus: Manta Ray World by Night (article) ↩
  101. Opinion: How to achieve great imagery (article) ↩
  102. Interview with Marty Snyderman (article) ↩
  103. Diving Pioneers and Innovators review (article) ↩