David Fleetham

Aliases: fleetham, FLEETHAM, davidfleetham
Role: Professional underwater photographer
First appearance: 2002 (^[1])
Location: Maui, Hawaii (since 1986)
Website: davidfleetham.com
Affiliation: Ocean Artists Society (founding member)

Biography

David Fleetham is one of the most published underwater photographers in the world, with over two hundred magazine covers to his credit. He began diving and photographing underwater in 1976 in Ontario, Canada. He learned to dive in his last year of high school, diving in what he described as “a man-made mud hole that someone tried to pass off as a lake.” For his first Caribbean trip, he purchased an Ikelite housing for a Minolta SLR, choosing an SLR over the Nikonos rangefinder that everyone recommended: “Everyone told me to get a Nikonos back then, but I stubbornly knew I wanted an SLR, and I never looked back” (^[2]).

After four months in the Grenadines, he moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he was born. He spent a decade photographing in the cold, rich waters of British Columbia, working as a PADI Instructor and USCG Certified boat captain in various dive businesses in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii. In 1986, he relocated to Maui, Hawaii, where he has been based ever since (^[3]).

From Hawaii, Fleetham has been on assignments to Indonesia, the Galapagos Islands, South Africa, the Bahamas, Micronesia, Australia, the Sea of Cortez, the Red Sea, the Socorro Islands, numerous locations in the South Pacific and Caribbean, and back to British Columbia (^[4]).

LIFE Magazine Cover

Fleetham’s most celebrated single image appeared on the cover of LIFE magazine in 1991 — a photograph of a sandbar shark. It remains the only underwater image to ever appear on the cover of LIFE (^[5]).

Publications and Exhibitions

His award-winning work has been published by National Geographic (multiple assignments), The Cousteau Society, and every North American diving publication. Galleries and agents in over 50 countries reproduce his images. His work is displayed at the American Museum of Natural History, The Smithsonian Museum, The North Carolina Museum of Natural History, The London Zoo, Hong Kong Museum, The Maui Ocean Center, The Waikiki, Vancouver, Monterey Bay, New Jersey State, Ripley’s, and the Aquarium of the Americas (^[6]).

The Ocean Artists Society

Fleetham is a founding member of The Ocean Artists Society, whose members include James Cameron, Wyland, David Doubilet, and Al Giddings (^[7]).

Early Digital Adoption

Fleetham was an early adopter of the Canon D60 digital SLR for underwater use. He participated in the landmark July 2002 Bahamas expedition aboard Jim Abernethy’s Shear Water with Eric Cheng, Jim Watt, and Andy Sallmon, where five Canon D60s were in use simultaneously (^[8]). Eric Cheng met Fleetham in March 2002 while visiting Maui on a Kona dive trip hosted by Jim Watt, and they had a great encounter with squid in Molokini crater (^[9]).

Personal Connection to Wetpixel

Eric Cheng described Fleetham as “the second professional underwater photographer I ever met,” and credited him with teaching him a great deal during his first few years as an aspiring photographer. In a comment on the Full Frame portfolio feature, Cheng wrote: “Dave Fleetham, Andy Sallmon, and a few others were aboard. It was quite the power group! I was a total newbie” (^[10]).

Equipment and Technique

As of 2013, Fleetham shot Canon 5D Mark II cameras in Ikelite housings with Ikelite 161 strobes featuring built-in LED movie lights. He is notably one of the few professional underwater photographers who shoots almost exclusively on TTL (through-the-lens) metering, citing Ikelite’s refined TTL circuitry: “I now shoot 99% of my images on TTL and I know that I am the exception here. The cameras TTL eye has come such a long way that they work great, even with wide-angle. I can have a turtle or shark in blue water, filling only 10 or 15% of the frame, and TTL will still nail the exposure” (^[11]).

He carries two complete systems when traveling and uses Photo Mechanic for initial file management, Lightroom for cataloging, and Photoshop for final TIFF production with layers (^[12]).

Favorite Locations

When asked about his all-time favorite destination, Fleetham chose the Galapagos Islands: “If someone told me I only have one more dive trip in my life, I would go back to Galapagos. It is such a unique destination with fantastic critters, big and small, both above and below the waves.” He named Komodo, Indonesia as a close second for macro and reef scenics (^[13]).

White Shark Photography

In the 1980s, Fleetham traveled to Australia three years in a row attempting to photograph great white sharks. After two failed trips and a first 10-day segment of the third trip without seeing a single shark, he finally had success on his second back-to-back trip: “on the second trip that year we had sharks in the first hour of the trip and they were around the boat every day for the 10 days” (^[14]).

Mentoring Philosophy

On advice for aspiring photographers: “Shoot what you love… A number of years ago I took David Doubilet out in Hawaii and watched him miss shot after shot trying to get something unique, something he had in his mind. I kept thinking to myself, what kind of shooter is this? The guy doesn’t even pull the trigger with what seemed obvious to me. But then I figured it out. He didn’t want the obvious. It helped me to turn a corner and try things I may not have” (^[15]).

Contributions

• Pioneer of digital underwater photography: One of the earliest professionals to adopt digital SLRs for underwater work, using the Canon D60 in 2002. Confirmed by fellow forum member yahsemtough as using “Canon D30/60’s” alongside Jim Watt (^[16], ^[17]).
• LIFE magazine cover: Only underwater photograph to appear on the cover of LIFE magazine (1991) (^[18]).
• Wetpixel Full Frame: Subject of Wetpixel’s first-ever Full Frame portfolio feature, launched alongside the 2013 site redesign (^[19], ^[20]).
• Competition judging: Served as judge at multiple international competitions including Our World Underwater 2012 and 2013, Deep Indonesia 2012 and 2013, the Digital Shootout (Bonaire 2008), and the Fiji Shark Photo/Video Shootout 2008 (^[21], ^[22], ^[23], ^[24], ^[25]).
• Wetpixel photo contest judge (2004): Part of the jury for Wetpixel’s inaugural bi-monthly photo contest alongside Alex Mustard, Andy Sallmon, Chris Bangs, Douglas David Seifert, James Watt, and Stephen Frink (^[26]).
• “Ask the Pros” contributor: Shared expertise in Wetpixel’s Ask the Pros series on wide-angle photography, split shots, macro techniques, housing maintenance, and backup strategies (^[27], ^[28], ^[29], ^[30], ^[31]).
• Digital Shootout instructor: Led photo workshops at the Digital Shootout Bonaire in 2008 and 2009 alongside Berkley White (^[32], ^[33]).
• Education: Collaborated with Marty Snyderman and Newmediasoup on the “Histograms Explained” educational app and other photo training tools (^[34], ^[35]).
• Conservation: Contributed images to the Bite Back shark conservation calendar multiple years (2008, 2010, 2014) alongside photographers like David Doubilet, Doug Perrine, Brian Skerry, and Eric Cheng. His January 2011 calendar entry featured a manatee image. Actively advocated for marine conservation, supporting the Bunaken Marine Preserve and Malaysian protections at Sipadan (^[36], ^[37], ^[38], ^[39], ^[40]).
• International Shark Photo Exposition (2007): Contributed images alongside Howard and Michele Hall, Rob Stewart, Jeff Rotman, Eric Cheng, and others for the Protect the Sharks Foundation’s touring exhibition (^[41]).
• Kona Classic: Participated as photo pro at Sport Diver’s Kona Classic events in Hawaii (2006, announced for 2008) (^[42], ^[43], ^[44]).
• DEMA: Work displayed at the Art Innovation Center at DEMA 2006 alongside Stephen Frink and Todd Essick (^[45]).
• Manta Fest: Presenter at Manta Fest 2019 in Yap (^[46]).
• UwP Magazine: Featured in an interview in Issue 124 (Jan/Feb 2022) of Underwater Photography magazine (^[47]).
• Mentoring: Inspired other photographers through his work. Marty Snyderman named Fleetham as one of his two favourite underwater photographers, “more because of our friendship than their skill… They’re better people than they are photographers” (^[48]).

Forum Activity

Fleetham participated in Wetpixel forums under the username “fleetham” with 24 posts across 13 threads from 2007 to 2021, primarily in gear discussions focused on Canon cameras in Ikelite housings. His top threads included “Canon 40D in an Ikelite housing” (8 replies) and “Canon 5D mark3 and Ikelite housing” (5 replies). He also commented on front-page articles, praising DEMA coverage and congratulating fellow photographers like Stephen Frink (^[49], ^[50]).

In the early Wetpixel forums (2002), Eric Cheng recommended the same lenses Fleetham used — the Sigma 14mm/2.8 and Canon 15mm full-frame fisheye — noting “Jim Watt, David Fleetham and I all use those two lenses” for the Canon D60 in Ikelite housings (^[51]).

Timeline

• 1976: Begins diving and underwater photography in Ontario, Canada (^[52])
• ~1977: First Caribbean trip with Ikelite-housed Minolta SLR; spends four months in the Grenadines (^[53])
• ~1977-1986: Photographs in British Columbia; works as PADI Instructor and USCG boat captain (^[54])
• 1980s: Three trips to Australia pursuing great white shark images; success on final attempt (^[55])
• 1986: Relocates from British Columbia to Maui, Hawaii (^[56])
• 1991: Sandbar shark photograph published on cover of LIFE magazine — only underwater image ever on the LIFE cover (^[57])
• 2002-03: Meets Eric Cheng during Cheng’s Kona/Maui trip; encounter with squid at Molokini crater (^[58])
• 2002-07: Participates in Bahamas shark expedition aboard Shear Water with Eric Cheng, Jim Abernethy, Jim Watt, and Andy Sallmon using Canon D60 digital SLRs (^[59])
• 2004-03: Judges Wetpixel’s inaugural bi-monthly photo contest (^[60])
• 2004-03: Attends Beneath the Sea 2004 expo (^[61])
• 2006-03: Participates in Sport Diver’s Kona Classic 5 (^[62])
• 2006-06: Participates in Kona Classic 2006 (^[63])
• 2006-11: Work displayed at Art Innovation Center at DEMA 2006 (^[64])
• 2007-10: Contributes to Bite Back 2008 shark conservation calendar (^[65])
• 2007-11: Contributes to International Shark Photo Exposition (^[66])
• 2008-02: Added to workshop staff for Digital Shootout Bonaire 2008 (^[67])
• 2008-06: Staff member and instructor at Digital Shootout Bonaire 2008 (^[68])
• 2008-07: Judges Digital Shootout Bonaire 2008 (^[69])
• 2008-11: Judges Fiji’s first annual Ultimate Shark Photo/Video Shootout (^[70])
• 2008-11: Announced as photo workshop leader for Digital Shootout Bonaire 2009 (^[71])
• 2009-08: Participates in Maui Photo Festival (^[72])
• 2009-11: Contributes to Bite Back 2010 calendar (featured at DIVE 2009 UK show) (^[73])
• 2010-11: Featured as January photographer in Bite Back 2011 calendar with manatee image (^[74])
• 2011-12: Collaborates with Snyderman and Newmediasoup on photo training app (^[75])
• 2012-01: Announced as judge for Our World Underwater and Deep Indonesia 2012 (^[76])
• 2012-12: “Histograms Explained” app released with Marty Snyderman (^[77])
• 2013-01: Returns as judge for Our World Underwater and Deep Indonesia 2013 alongside Vincent Laforet, Alex Mustard, Berkley White, and Keri Wilk (^[78])
• 2013-02: Subject of Wetpixel’s first-ever Full Frame portfolio feature and in-depth interview by Eric Cheng, launched with the site redesign (^[79], ^[80], ^[81])
• 2013-12: Contributes to Bite Back 2014 calendar (^[82])
• 2015: Contributes to five “Ask the Pros” articles on backup strategies, wide-angle, split shots, housing maintenance, and macro (^[83], ^[84], ^[85], ^[86], ^[87])
• 2017-02: Named by Marty Snyderman as one of his favourite underwater photographers; joined Snyderman’s Philippines expedition with Howard and Michele Hall, Douglas Seifert, and others (^[88])
• 2019-03: Presenter at Manta Fest 2019 in Yap with Tim Rock, Frank Schneider, and others (^[89])
• 2020-06: Featured in “From the Archive” republication of the split shots article (^[90])
• 2022-01: Interviewed in Issue 124 of Underwater Photography magazine (^[91])

References