william gladstone
“I’m fascinated by the day-to-day lives of marine animals.”
William (Bill) Gladstone started scuba diving when he was 13 and began taking photos soon afterwards. It all started because he wanted to share his experiences, and the beautiful marine life he saw, with his friends and family.
Bill went on to use photography a lot in his work as a marine biologist to document his research, and the places he worked and explored.
“I’m fascinated by the day-to-day lives of marine animals, in particular their complex social and mating behaviours, and I enjoy telling their stories with photos, videos and words.”
Sydney’s spectacular
marine species
Bill’s favourite part of the Great Southern Reef are the coastal reefs around Sydney.
“While being on the doorstep of Australia's largest city and experiencing the pressures of human usage, these reefs have an impressive diversity of animals, plants, and habitats”.
Seasonal changes
Bill especially likes watching and documenting the changes that occur throughout the year.
“From the mating seasons of Australian giant cuttlefish, mourning cuttlefish, Port Jackson sharks, whales, White's seahorse and weedy seadragon; the comings and goings of tropical species, grey nurse sharks, dusky whaler sharks and smooth rays; and large storms that leave a trail of stranded marine life on our beaches.”
Moray mates
There is a sieve moray eel that lives in a hollow in an old wharf pile under the wharf at Chowder Bay, Sydney Harbour. Bill always visits her when he dives there. She’s usually alone, but sometimes shares the hollow with a green moray eel.
“These two moray eels often share the same hole: the sieve moray on the left and the green moray on the right. It’s cramped but they look comfortable and relaxed with one another. It’s unusual for fishes of different species to hang-out together like these two are doing, especially two moray eels that probably compete for the same food.”
”Perhaps they understand that ‘four eyes are better than two’ when it comes to noticing predators, and each eel’s chances of survival are improved if it can live with another, even when the other is a different species.”
Care and conserve
Bill is inspired by people caring for the marine environment and feels optimistic and encouraged by the willingness and continuing energy of those people who give up their time to work for the environment.
Looking ahead, Bill would like to deepen people's appreciation for the rich lives of marine animals by showing how they deal with the challenges in their never-ending quest to survive and reproduce.
“I believe this awareness can enrich people's experiences in the ocean and deepen their motivation to protect and conserve the ocean and its inhabitants.”
Make sure to head over to his page to check out more beautiful imagery and wonderful insights.
Learn about more passionate photographers and artists inspired by the Great Southern Reef.
