Tim Priest

Forum username: tdpriest
Real name: Tim Priest (from profile website/email)
Location: Solihull, UK
Posts: 2,018
Threads started: 79
Comments on articles: 32
Active years: 2005—2020
Camera: Nikon D200, Nikon D800
Housing: Nauticam NA-D800
Primary forums: Photo/Video Showcase, Photography Gear and Technique, Trip Reports and Travel, General Chat, Shooting Technique/Workflow/Editing
Specialization: Image sharing, workshop participation, wreck photography, community engagement

Community Role

tdpriest was a broadly engaged Wetpixel community member with 2,018 posts across 1,439 threads from May 2005 through March 2020. Unlike many prolific posters who concentrated in gear forums, Tim spread his activity across multiple categories — Photo/Video Showcase (23%), Photography Gear (18%), Trip Reports (14%), General Chat (13%), and Technique/Workflow (13%) — reflecting a well-rounded engagement with both the technical and social sides of underwater photography.

Tim was closely connected to the Wetpixel workshop circuit, particularly those led by Alex Mustard. When he posted his “half-life” retrospective gallery of 100 favorite images in May 2015, Alex Mustard commented “Really nice collection, Tim. Top class and I even spot myself photobombing one shot!” — to which Tim replied, “I do have to thank you for inspiring and even suggesting a fair number” (^[1]).

His most memorable community moment may have been the April 2010 flooding of his Nikon D200 — “2 inches of water in my housing” — which generated an outpouring of sympathy and practical advice. The thread (40 replies) revealed the community’s supportive nature, with fellow member Nige Wade immediately offering a spare D200 body (^[2]). Tim later upgraded to the Nikon D800 in a Nauticam housing.

Notable Contributions

• “Need sympathy…” (40 replies): Documented flooding a D200 with 2 inches of water, killing the camera and damaging a 10.5mm fisheye lens. The thread became a community support moment and cautionary tale about housing maintenance (^[3])
• “The heart of the matter” (33 replies): Started a constructive image critique thread encouraging members to share photos that “almost work, but not quite,” posting his own Red Sea wreck image and inviting feedback on lighting and composition. He explained his technique of using a slave strobe on the diver while showing wreckage context (^[4])
• “James Cameron borrows from life” (20 replies): Started a thoughtful cultural thread observing that Avatar’s alien world of Pandora was built by “transplanting marine animals (spiral fanworms, medusae, coral fluorescence and colonial organisms) into his terrestrial forest,” connecting underwater photography to popular culture (^[5])
• “My half-life as an underwater photographer” (15 replies): Shared a curated gallery of his 100 favorite images on Flickr, drawing praise from Alex Mustard and other community members. Tom Meyer noted “I have always enjoyed your pictures on here and Flickr” (^[6])
• Workshop participant: Active in Wetpixel workshop threads — Lembeh Workshop 2013 (^[7]), Red Sea Workshop (^[8]), Dolphin Dream 2013 (^[9]), Raja Ampat 2014 (^[10])
• Nauticam D800 set-up for sale (2015): When Tim sold his complete Nauticam D800 system, Alex Mustard commented “Knew this post was coming, but sad to see it. Hope it won’t make you a stranger from gatherings of underwater photographers” (^[11])
• Active in the Beginner Forum (180 posts) mentoring newcomers
• 32 comments on Wetpixel articles — one of the more engaged article commenters

Activity Profile

• Forum focus: Showcase (23%), Gear (18%), Trips (14%), Chat (13%), Technique (13%), Beginner (9%)
• Thread participation: 1,439 threads, averaging 1.4 posts per thread — a broad commenter rather than deep-thread contributor
• Destinations mentioned: Lembeh, Red Sea, Raja Ampat, Bahamas, Chuuk

References