Hello everyone! My name is Bill Hawthorne. I am a biologist and passionate underwater photographer. I am especially interested in freshwater animals but love diving and taking photos in the ocean as well. I have been perusing these forums for a long time and am hoping to start making contributions.

A little more about me: I have been snorkeling my whole life and SCUBA diving since I was 11. I studied biology in school and have been working in conservation biology since.

I first started taking photos about 8 years ago and quickly moved underwater. I am an Ikelite ambassador and am currently using a Sony A7CR in the Ikelite DLM/A housing with dual Ikelite DS232 strobes. I mainly shoot close-focus wide angle but am starting to expand into macro. I am very passionate about the conservation and protection of wildlife so I try to focus my photography on interesting animals that most people may not have the chance to see. I am particularly interested in freshwater animals including turtles, fish, and crayfish and am always looking for the next interesting behavior to capture.

Hi Bill,

Welcome aboard!

We miss a freshwater passionate!

Looking forward to your contributions.

Ciaooo

Welcome to the forum! Are you back? It looks like you had a good adventure.

Bryce

On 9/30/2025 at 7:26 AM, Pebbleworm said:

Welcome to the forum! Are you back? It looks like you had a good adventure.

Bryce

Hey Bryce! Yes, we just arrived back home a couple weeks ago. It was a spectacular adventure, can't wait to share more photos soon.

Aloha and welcome @Bill Hawthorne ! Do you post photos to iNaturalist? Pretty much every photo I make of a creature ends up there.

Cheers,

Craig