Winners Gallery
Finalist Exploration Photographer of the Year
Jason Gulley Mexico
A cave diver enters Little River Spring in Mexico during a flood. “During most floods there is a brief period, typically a few days, when the water level in the river and aquifer are nearly equal and the normally roaring flow of water in the cave slows to a trickle,” says photographer Gulley. “As spring flow diminishes, rolling clouds of orange river water begin creeping slowly into the cave before the spring completely reverses flow and floodwaters pour into the aquifer.”
BEHIND THE LENS
Jason Gulley United States (US)
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- Camera: Nikon Z6
- Housing: Nauticam
- Off camera lighting: Four 33k lumen lights
- On camera lighting: Two 9k Big Blue video lights
Jason Gulley is a research geologist and photographer based in Tampa, Florida. Jason’s research and photography emphasise caves, glaciers and climate change. He has a PhD in geology from the University of Florida (2010) and is a technical diving and rebreather instructor. Jason first picked up a camera (a Pentax K1000) in high school and his first professional job was shooting news and sports photos for the Harrison Press, his hometown community newspaper, in the cornfields of southwest Ohio. Jason’s research and photography career has taken him on expeditions from underwater caves in Florida, the Caribbean and Africa as well as to glaciers in Alaska, the Arctic and the Mt Everest region of Nepal. When not on expeditions, Jason teaches courses in geology and scientific diving at the University of South Florida and spends time with his girlfriend, Pati, and their rescue dog, Peacock.
MORE IMAGES BY Jason Gulley
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.
