E091 Ellen Cuylaerts - "The Power of Positive"

Speaking Sidemount

Hey, great to bring you Episode 91 Ellen Cuylaerts - "The Power of Positive" with the support of our sponsor XDEEP, and the patrons of Speaking Sidemount. Massive thanks to both for their support :)!

Of all the disciplines associated with diving, photography and videography have always been special to me. The ability to capture that perfect moment, underwater, in often challenging conditions, dealing with lighting and composition along with the technical requirements related to the camera in an underwater environment. Add to that the dive skills to be stable in the water while seeking "the shot".

I love shooting GoPro videos of my dives, clipping images and then editing them into almost a video logbook of where I have been and dived and then sharing them on the Sidemount Pros YouTube channel is satisfying. But like anything there are levels to this, and in photography, to capture images that are worthy of magazine spreads or covers and win awards against their peers is the pinnacle.

There are many great photographers and videographers out there and I've had a few on the show such as Laurent Miroult, Stratis Kas, Philip Lehman, Natalie Gibb and Becky Kagan-Schott. Some have also worked on conservation and wildlife photography in their work.

My guest in this episode is very much in this vein. Ellen Cuylaerts hails from Belgium and is an award-winning photographer focused on ocean wildlife photography. She has a unique perspective on her work as she seeks to develop deeper connections between humanity and nature through her images.

Ellen is also a cave diver and now an explorer. She was part of the all-female Xunaan Ha project under the tutelage of Robbie Schmittner my guest in Episode 85.

As we talk of Ellen's diving and her work we can’t help but touch on the many challenges that she has faced from being a mother to two high-functioning autistic children to losing her partner to suicide and a type 2 DCS incident that left her with paralysis. Through all of this, Ellen has shown extraordinary strength and resilience and most strikingly, an amazingly positive attitude and outlook. She now applies this to her work and to her conservation efforts where she is a leading speaker and voice for the environment.

Sit back and enjoy my conversation with Ellen, in this episode of… Speaking Sidemount.

Cheers Steve