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Finalist Exploration Photographer of the Year

Fred Buyle Reunion Island

21°10'09.2"S 55°32'07.9"E

A researcher operates a 360-degree camera and sound recording system as waves and fish move around him, photographed off Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. The equipment was being tested for a cetacean communications research programme that hopes to decode the language of sonar and clicks. 

BEHIND THE LENS

2020 EPoY finalist, Fred Buyle

Fred Buyle Belgium

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ABOUT THE IMAGE

  • Camera: Nikon D810
  • Housing: Seacam
  • Taking during a 360-degree-camera test
  • Rough sea, rainy day

Fred Buyle is a freediver explorer and a photographer born in 1972. Spending several months per year on the family sailboat he discovers freediving as a child. Between 1994 and 2004 as a pro athlete he sets 4 freediving world records. In 2002 he starts underwater photography working only with a wide angle lens and natural light. Concerned by conservation and environmental issues, in 2005 he starts to work with marine biologists around the world to assist them in their fieldwork. He uses his freediving skills to approach the animals and perform tasks such as acoustic and satellite tagging or DNA sampling. Fred provides his practical knowledge and his extensive experience in the water with large marine life. Fred documents the fieldwork to contribute to conservation on a larger scale through talks and conferences. NGO’s are using his material for their conservation campaigns. His approach to conservation pushes forward the concept of positive imagery versus the catastrophism widely used in the media nowadays.

IMAGES BY Fred Buyle

ExplorationPhotographer of the Year

2020 French Polynesia

2020 EPoY finalist, Fred Buyle

Reconnect. Immerse yourself. Be inspired.

Enjoy the vibrancy, beauty and impact of each year's finalist photography, celebrated in our Ocean Photographer of the Year coffee table book collection.

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