As a child growing up in Chile I spent long summers in the north of the country, near a city called Iquique. My friends, brother and cousins and I spent hours in the water - I loved staying under, holding my breath for as long as I could.

I remember the first time I scuba dived. It was with my father and I must have been about 10 years old. It was an incredible sensation - the bubbles, the sound of my breathing and of course not having to come up for air so often. We spear fished a lot as we grew older and diving became second nature. I knew that my life will always be centered around water.

I attended college, jumping from course to course, finding it impossible to envision myself working in an office or even in the city. I close friend introduced me to photography and film. He was doing a course at the film institute in Santiago. It wasn´t long until I joined him. I had found something I really enjoyed doing. Some years later, unable to settle and eager to see the world, I left Chile and moved to Miami, Florida. Speaking virtually no english I found work at the marina, servicing and maintaining boats. I literally spent hours underwater. It was a liberating experience and I enjoyed the independence. Systematically I completed my PADI instructor course. I had spent over two and a half years in Miami when I decided to go to Mexico.

The first time I saw double tanks I knew I wanted to cave dive. I spent three years working in Mexico. I did my full cave course with Kate Lewis. At that time, without a car, going cave diving was a little difficult. I didn´t do many cave dives, but I was working as a underwater photographer and videographer for many different dive centers. I returned to Chile for two years. Although there were many career path ahead of me, I really missed the caves. I traveled a lot during that time, and spent a few months traveling and diving in places like Hawaii, Tahiti and Easter Island. Benjamin, a sports photographer and really close friend, who still lives in Hawaii, showed me some tricks in photography. I was hooked. I ended up back in Mexico - determined to specialize in underwater photography in the caves.

One of the first things I did when I returned was cave dive as often as possible. I bought a truck and dived several times a week, after work, with close friends. I bought my first SLR Digital camera, a Nikon D100 and started shooting every time I was in the caves. Getting good pictures very much depends on my dive team. It requires a lot of patience and setting up the lights and strobes and at the same time, making it safe for everyone. I could not have taken the pictures I have without the help and assistance of friends.

After years of drowned cameras, flooded strobes, leaking housings, faulty gear and a grey cloud following me where I went - I managed to get some good shots. I gained valuable experience, not something you learn from people or read in books. The experience of the moment. Those moments that will last forever if you capture them just right. Photography is a great passion of mine. I hope to never lose it and am always looking for the next great picture!

Since starting Karst Diving, I have been focussing a lot of my efforts in underwater video - specifically in the caves. Cave diving is notoriously considered a dangerous sport, with many hindrances and technicalities to consider. Caves are devoid of light. Any video or camera will simply not prove effective without the necessary light and lighting techniques. Due to this factor, taking pictures and filming inside the caves is very difficult without assistance. Now, with some help, I am able to capture much better images. Technology is improving so much that we can hardly keep up. Fortunately, cameras, housings and lenses are becoming so much more affordable. With HD (high definition) everywhere, it is an exciting time to work in underwater video.

I am continuously looking for better ways to film and shoot and am always working on essential cave diving skills and techniques to improve my images. When work and time permits, I love to go cave diving and very rarely leave my camera behind.