The Deep Blue

Phuket-based photographer, Pete Atkinson has enjoyed a globetrotting life most of us can only dream of - island-hopping across oceans to follow his passion for marine life and photography. Later in his travels, Britishborn Pete also met and married the Thai photographer Darin Limsuansub.

"I’d always wanted to be the French underwater explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau."

"After graduating with a degree in Marine Zoology, I bought and renovated a derelict house and used the proceeds to buy Eila, an 11 metre classic yacht. In 1983, with no training in sailing, navigation or photography - although I’d read a lot of books - I sailed from England to the South Pacific where I spent the next 20 years exploring the remote islands of Polynesia, writing articles for magazines, diving and taking photographs, such as this one of Darin exploring Swallow's Cave, Vava'u, Tonga."

"I sailed alone from Panama to the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia, a passage of 34 days, with plenty of time to experiment photographing dolphins who frequently came to the bow of Eila. The downside was having to wait months before seeing the processed films."

"In the Central Pacific lies the huge Republic of Kiribati, 33 islands scattered over 5 million square kilometres of ocean. Outside the pass at Fanning Island I discovered huge congregations of manta rays in the plankton-rich sea, sometimes seeing a dozen in a single eyeful."

"Darin and I spent weeks on the atoll of Cocos (Keeling), a seldom-visited Australian outpost in the Indian Ocean where we enjoyed the clear lagoon water and pristine palm-fringed islands. On the beach, I encountered this curious horn-eyed ghost crab."

"In French Polynesia, I was captivated by the traditional dance, the Tamure. In the red light, coffee brown skins glistened with sweat, the dancers’ faces frozen in some hypnotic trance with percussion guiding them like marionettes to the visceral beat of the tall tiki drum, the Marquesan rhythms finely tuned to trigger a thrilling euphoria."

Continue the adventure: peteatkinson.com