Martin Edge
Role: Underwater photography author, educator, photographer First appearance: 2003 ([1]) Location: South coast of England Affiliation: Independent author and educator Website: edgeunderwaterphotography.co.uk
Biography
Martin Edge is the author of The Underwater Photographer (Focal Press / Routledge) — the most discussed instructional book in the Wetpixel community, mentioned in 220+ forum threads. Born in landlocked Staffordshire “with no interest in diving” and from a family “devoid of anyone artistic,” he joined the police force at 19 (1974), started diving around 1977–78 when a colleague suggested it, and began UW photography after his Vice Squad partner taught him f-stops and persuaded him to rent a Nikonos III for a trip to Minorca ([2]).
His first major equipment came from Peter Rowlands at Ocean Optics — then near Battersea power station, London. He borrowed £500 from his mother for a secondhand Nikonos 15mm lens. His first competition success was Brighton Underwater Film Festival 1983, placing alongside Flip Schulke and Jacques Cousteau. He joined BSoUP (British Society of Underwater Photographers) in 1983 and won “Best Beginner” in 1985.
His teaching philosophy centers on “Think and Consider” — emphasizing backgrounds over subjects, body position, and the principle that “over 70% of potential underwater subjects are not in a position to photograph safely.” Not an instinctive photographer: his images are “the result of analysis, planning and calculated execution.”
He has a long-standing teaching partnership with Alex Mustard, who co-presented at events from Imperial College (2010, 240+ attendees) to the UK Dive Show, wrote the foreword for the 5th edition, and contributed a chapter on SLR water contact optics.
The Underwater Photographer
| Edition | Year | Key details | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | 2006 | 392 pages, full color. Released at LIDS. Mustard wrote filter section (10 pages). Stephen Frink wrote foreword. | [3] |
| 4th | 2010 | 500+ pages, entirely digital. Contributors: Mark Koekemoer, Shannon Conway, Mustard, Keri Wilk, Peter Rowlands. | [4] |
| 5th | 2020 | 400 new images, rewritten. Co-authored with Stuart Gibson. Mustard wrote foreword + chapter. Publisher: Routledge. | [5] |
Won DIVER Award 2006 — Publication of the Year (voted by UK Diver Magazine readers) ([6]).
Timeline
- 1983: First competition success at Brighton Underwater Film Festival ([7])
- 1987: Premiered “Imaginations” AV at Brighton; met Hans and Lotte Hass at Antwerp festival ([8])
- 2003-10: Spoke on supermacro at Visions in the Sea ([9])
- 2005-10: Spoke on composition at Visions 2005 ([10])
- 2006-03: 3rd edition released at LIDS; reviewed by Mustard on Wetpixel ([11])
- 2007-03: Won DIVER Award 2006 Publication of the Year ([12])
- 2009-11: In-depth interview by Mustard for Wetpixel “A Conversation With” series ([13])
- 2010-03: 4th edition reviewed on Wetpixel ([14])
- 2010-11: Co-presented with Mustard at Imperial College, London — 240+ attendees, “possibly the biggest turnout of underwater photographers for a single event ever” ([15])
- 2014-03: Led workshop in Ambon, Indonesia; experimented with Retra Prime snoot ([16])
- 2019-11: 5th edition announced for pre-order ([17])
- 2020-04: 5th edition ships; reviewed on Wetpixel ([18])
- 2020-07: Featured on Wetpixel Live episode discussing the 5th edition ([19])
References
Sources
- Wetpixel article, Oct 24, 2003: Visions In The Sea 2003 Coverage ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 3, 2009: A Conversation With Martin Edge ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 27, 2006: Book Review Underwater Photographer ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 30, 2010: Review The Underwater Photographer By Martin Edge ↩
- Wetpixel article, Apr 28, 2020: Review The Underwater Photographer By Martin Edge 2 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 12, 2007: The Underwater Photographer Wins Diver Award ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 3, 2009: A Conversation With Martin Edge ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 3, 2009: A Conversation With Martin Edge ↩
- Wetpixel article, Oct 24, 2003: Visions In The Sea 2003 Coverage ↩
- Wetpixel article, Oct 23, 2005: Visions Conference Report ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 27, 2006: Book Review Underwater Photographer ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 12, 2007: The Underwater Photographer Wins Diver Award ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 3, 2009: A Conversation With Martin Edge ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 30, 2010: Review The Underwater Photographer By Martin Edge ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 6, 2010: Martin Edge And Alex Mustard On Underwater Photography ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 5, 2015: Martin Edge Ambon ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 2, 2019: Pre Order Discount The Underwater Photographer Edition Five ↩
- Wetpixel article, Apr 28, 2020: Review The Underwater Photographer By Martin Edge 2 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jul 25, 2020: Wetpixel Live Martin Edges The Underwater Photographer ↩
- Visions in the Sea 2003 (article) ↩
- 3rd edition review — Alex Mustard (2006) (article) ↩
- DIVER Award 2006 (2007) (article) ↩
- A Conversation With Martin Edge (2009) (article) ↩
- 4th edition review (2010) (article) ↩
- Edge and Mustard at Imperial College (2010) (article) ↩
- 5th edition review (2020) (article) ↩