Daniel Botelho

Role: Brazilian underwater photographer, National Geographic contributor Website: danielbotelho.com First appearance: 2015 (Wetpixel coverage)

Biography

Daniel Botelho is a Brazilian underwater photographer and National Geographic contributor known for his conceptually bold, visually striking work that often combines underwater subjects with above-water elements. He began his professional career at age 24 and is described by Wetpixel as a “National Geographic photographer and Wetpixel contributor.” ([1])

Botelho has experience with some of the world’s most demanding subjects — blue whales, Nile crocodiles, great white sharks (free-diving outside the cage), and narwhals at the North Pole — making his “swimming with jets” project stand out even against that background. ([2])

Swimming with Jets (St. Maarten)

In 2015, Botelho conceived and executed what he described as the hardest assignment of his career: photographing a model underwater at Maho Beach, St. Maarten, while KLM Boeing 747s made their final approach directly overhead at 180 knots. The beach sits beneath the runway threshold of Princess Juliana International Airport, where jets pass at extremely low altitude.

He approached Boeing and KLM to get them involved before traveling to St. Maarten — keeping the concept secret in the meantime. The technical challenge required simultaneously achieving a fast enough shutter speed to freeze a jet at 180 knots while maintaining sufficient depth of field to keep both the underwater model and the aircraft in focus. The three variables — weather, wave height and direction, and subject/aircraft positioning — had to align simultaneously.

Botelho spent days mapping the optimal underwater positions using rocks and sand as reference points. The primary subject was the Monday, Friday, and Sunday KLM Boeing 747 service, the same aircraft famous in topside photography of the beach. “It took us many frustrating days and many unexpected and frustrating trials,” he wrote. “The only consolation was the amusement it caused for other people on the beach.” ([3])

Wetpixel published the resulting images in a Full Frame feature in April 2015.

Louvre Exhibition (2015)

In May–June 2015, Botelho exhibited a retrospective of his underwater photography at the Louvre Museum in Paris. Titled “Art from the SEVEN Seas”, the show celebrated his first ten years of professional image-making. He was 34 years old at the time of the exhibition.

Botelho wrote: “I am super thrilled to announce my exhibit at Louvre Museum, Paris, celebrating ten years of my career. I have never dreamt that one day I would be featured at the amazing Louvre Museum… I will be representing wildlife and underwater photography in the same place that Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is exhibited.” ([4])

Other Contributions

Botelho was among the professionals featured in Wetpixel’s “Ask the Pros: Wide-Angle” series (May 2015), sharing his wide-angle technique alongside photographers including Douglas Seifert, Tony Wu, Franco Banfi, Steve Jones, and Alex Tattersall. ([5])

Timeline

References

Sources

  1. Wetpixel article, May 7, 2015: Daniel Botelho Exhibits At The Louvre ↩
  2. Wetpixel article, Apr 30, 2015: Daniel Botelho Swimming With Jets ↩
  3. Wetpixel article, Apr 30, 2015: Daniel Botelho Swimming With Jets ↩
  4. Wetpixel article, May 7, 2015: Daniel Botelho Exhibits At The Louvre ↩
  5. Wetpixel article, May 18, 2015: Wetpixel Asks The Pros Wide Angle Part 1 ↩
  6. Wetpixel article, Apr 30, 2015: Daniel Botelho Swimming With Jets ↩
  7. Wetpixel article, May 7, 2015: Daniel Botelho Exhibits At The Louvre ↩
  8. Wetpixel article, May 18, 2015: Wetpixel Asks The Pros Wide Angle Part 1 ↩
  9. Daniel Botelho: Swimming with jets (article) ↩
  10. Daniel Botelho exhibits at the Louvre (article) ↩
  11. Wetpixel asks the Pros: Wide-angle 1 (article) ↩