Wes Skiles

Full name: Wesley C. Skiles
Role: cave diver, underwater cinematographer, explorer, photographer
First appearance: 2003 (^[1])
Affiliation: National Geographic; Karst Productions; PBS
Born: Florida, USA
Died: July 21, 2010 — Boynton Beach, Florida

Biography

Wes Skiles was a renowned explorer, cave diver, underwater photographer, and cinematographer based in Florida. He produced, directed, and filmed over 100 television films for PBS and National Geographic, many of which won international awards and acclaim (^[2]). He worked as a freelance photographer contributing to National Geographic and was considered one of the foremost cave diving cinematographers in the world (^[3]).

Skiles was profiled in Bret Gilliam’s book Diving Pioneers and Innovators (2007), which placed him alongside figures such as Stan Waterman, John Chatterton, Zale Parry, and other icons spanning the entire history of scuba diving (^[4]).

Cave Diving and Lighting Innovation

Skiles was a pioneering figure in cave diving photography and cinematography from a young age. Phil Rudin, who met Skiles when he was nineteen years old, recalled that even at that early age Skiles was developing innovative techniques for diver-mounted strobe lighting in caves. He used sections of old vehicle inner tubes to secure large Ikelite strobes to divers’ tanks — a system that was updated over the years as strobe technology evolved and became more compact (^[5]). This technique of mounting strobes on dive models became a standard approach in cave photography.

Skiles also worked with IMAX camera systems in cave environments, a feat that fellow cave photographers regarded as extraordinary given the extreme logistical challenges of bringing such large equipment into underwater caves (^[6]).

Fathom Imaging and HD Cinematography

By 2003, Skiles was among the early adopters of high-definition underwater video technology. He and Jean-Michel Cousteau were using Fathom Imaging’s HD products for their underwater cinematography work, placing them at the forefront of the transition from standard-definition to HD underwater filming (^[7]). This was during a period when underwater HD cinematography was still in its infancy, with only a handful of professionals — including Howard Hall and Bob Cranston — working in the format.

Bahamas Blue Holes

Skiles’s most celebrated project was his exploration and documentation of the Blue Holes of the Bahamas, carried out alongside environmental anthropologist Kenny Broad. Broad was a professor at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and director of the Leonard and Jayne Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, as well as co-director of the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions at Columbia University (^[8]).

Their work was featured as the cover story in the August 2010 issue of National Geographic, with Skiles’s cover photograph showing two divers exploring a beautifully lit limestone cave (^[9]). The article appeared in the same month as his death, making it a poignant final publication.

Film Festival Appearances

Skiles was a regular presence at major diving industry events. At the Boston Sea Rovers 52nd Clinic in March 2006, he was featured alongside other industry luminaries including Emory Kristof, Stan Waterman, Howard Hall & Michele Hall, and Bret Gilliam in an evening film festival hosted by Philippe Cousteau. Skiles showed footage described as “insane” of cave diving, followed by a long documentary tracing the path water takes along Florida’s St. Johns River (^[10]).

Community members who encountered Skiles at dive shows consistently noted his approachable personality. He had “a fantastic sense of humor and wit” and “didn’t act as if he were a dive god above everyone else” despite his stature in the industry (^[11]). He was also known as a skilled harmonica player — one community member recalled him playing harmonica during downtime at dive events (^[12]).

Published Writing

Skiles continued to be published posthumously. X-Ray Magazine issue 44 (August/September 2011) featured an article by the “late Wes Skiles” on deep diving motivation (^[13]).

Death

Wes Skiles died on July 21, 2010, while diving off Boynton Beach, Florida. He was filming Goliath Grouper using a rebreather at approximately 70 feet depth (^[14]). According to reports, he signaled to other divers that he was ascending but was later found at the bottom of the reef, motionless (^[15]). The official cause of death was ruled “accidental drowning,” with authorities unable to determine the specific cause of the incident (^[16]).

The death was noted as deeply ironic by the diving community — Skiles had spent decades pushing the limits of cave diving, one of the most dangerous forms of diving, only to die during what should have been a comparatively straightforward open-water reef dive (^[17]).

Bob Cranston, a fellow underwater cinematographer who had worked in IMAX alongside Skiles, was described by steve douglas as “one of the good guys in this industry” — paraphrasing Cranston’s sentiment (^[18]). NPR produced a story about Skiles following his death, including a slideshow of his photographs from the National Geographic issue (^[19]). A memorial celebration and service was held on July 28, 2010, at Ginnie Springs, a Florida spring site closely associated with cave diving (^[20]).

Axel Sproul produced a video tribute to Skiles posted on Vimeo, featuring film shot of and by Skiles during cave diving projects, as well as interviews with him. Adam Hanlon of Wetpixel described it as conveying “the sense of utter passion in Wes as he talks about the diving” (^[21]). Stephen Frink contributed a tribute published in DAN’s Alert Diver magazine, which appeared in the fall 2010 issue (^[22], ^[23]).

Wrongful Death Lawsuit

In 2016, Skiles’s widow, Terri Skiles, filed a $25 million wrongful death lawsuit against Dive Rite Express (owned by Lamartek Inc.), claiming the manufacturer was negligent in testing the safety of the rebreather her husband was using when he drowned. A 45-minute video from the fatal dive was presented as evidence during the trial (^[24]). On May 20, 2016, the jury returned a defense verdict, clearing the equipment maker of liability (^[25]).

Posthumous Recognition

In June 2011, National Geographic posthumously named Skiles and Kenny Broad as “Explorers of the Year” at the “Evening of Exploration” event, in recognition of their extraordinary achievements in exploring and documenting the Blue Holes of the Bahamas (^[26]).

Skiles continued to be cited by underwater photographers as a primary inspiration. In Wetpixel forum discussions about favorite photographers, multiple community members named Skiles as the first person who came to mind (^[27], ^[28]).

Timeline

• 2003: Using Fathom Imaging HD products for underwater cinematography alongside Jean-Michel Cousteau (^[29])
• 2006-03: Featured at Boston Sea Rovers 52nd Clinic film festival, showed cave diving footage and St. Johns River documentary (^[30])
• 2007: Profiled in Bret Gilliam’s Diving Pioneers and Innovators (^[31])
• 2010-07: Featured in National Geographic cover story on Bahamas Blue Holes (^[32])
• 2010-07-21: Died while diving off Boynton Beach, Florida, filming Goliath Grouper on a rebreather (^[33], ^[34])
• 2010-07-28: Memorial service held at Ginnie Springs, Florida (^[35])
• 2010-08: Video tribute by Axel Sproul posted on Vimeo (^[36])
• 2010-11: Tribute published in DAN’s Alert Diver fall issue (^[37])
• 2011-06: Posthumously named National Geographic “Explorer of the Year” alongside Kenny Broad (^[38])
• 2011-09: Posthumous article on deep diving motivation published in X-Ray Magazine issue 44 (^[39])
• 2016-05: Widow Terri Skiles’s $25M wrongful death lawsuit against Dive Rite Express goes to trial; jury returns defense verdict (^[40])

References