BECKY KAGAN SCHOTT

Driven by passion

ecky believes the biggest secret to successful underwater photography is passion. When shooting something she is interested in and feels inspired by, she believes that it shines through in the imagery. She began diving 28 years ago with big dreams of traveling around the world, but she had no idea how to achieve that. Becoming a professional underwater photographer and cinematographer was not an easy road, but it was a rewarding one. Becky literally learned to shoot in the dark when she picked up a camera and began underwater photography in Florida caves. She enjoyed the challenges involved in trying to capture more extreme environments, and she found that there were unique opportunities for telling stories about historic shipwrecks or cave www.liquidproductions.com

Bexploration. Her biggest passion is shooting haunting images of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes. She likes to combine art with powerful stories of tragedy, mystery, survival, and exploration to ignite viewers’ imaginations. Each wreck has a story to tell, and combining powerful imagery with a compelling story helps bring that shipwreck to life.

– I continue to push the limits of technology and try new creative lighting techniques to capture the beauty of the underwater world, and I never stop growing. In the past few years, I’ve been producing high quality photogrammetry models which also showcase shipwrecks in a way divers and non-divers can explore. When I dreamed of a career as an underwater photographer, I never imagined I’d be shooting in the Arctic to Antarctica or helping to document expeditions on deep wrecks or ice diving, but these environments and stories have captured my heart, and I hope they capture yours, too, says Becky.

TITLE Ghost Ships

LOCATION Isle Royale, Lake Superior CAMERA Nikon D850

HOUSING Aquatica Digital LENS Nikkor 16mm EXPOSURE 1/60, f6.3

FLASH 3 x Light & Motion Sola Pro

15,000 lights and a Sola 9600

COMMENTS The SS Kamloops sits preserved with intact wheel, telegraph, and binnacle on the stern in Lake Superior’s deep water.

LOCATION Bimini, Bahamas

CAMERA Nikon D700

HOUSING Aquatica Digital

TITLE Underground palace LOCATION Abaco, Bahamas

CAMERA Nikon D850

HOUSING Aquatica Digital

LENS Nikkor 16mm

EXPOSURE 1/60, f7.1

FLASH 2 x Ikelite 161s and 3 x video lights

COMMENTS Diving Crystal Palace in the Bahamas feels like swimming through a fairytale world.

LENS Nikkor 14-24mm

EXPOSURE 1/400, f11

FLASH Natural light

COMMENTS Waiting to hit the shutter when you feel and see that perfect moment.

TITLE A Leopard seal’s sinister smile

LOCATION Antarctica

CAMERA Nikon D850

HOUSING Aquatica Digital

LENS Sigma 15mm

EXPOSURE 1/500, f8

FLASH Natural light

COMMENTS Patience pays off while freezing in -2°C/29°F water, waiting for Antarctica’s apex predator to pass by.

TITLE Sharky Sunsets

LOCATION Grand Bahama

CAMERA Nikon D800

HOUSING Aquatica Digital

LENS Nikkor 14-24mm

EXPOSURE 1/200, f13

FLASH 2 x Inon Z-240s

COMMENTS Waiting for an underwater sunset and for sharks to swim by.

TITLE Rio de Janeiro Maru engine room

LOCATION Truk Lagoon

CAMERA Nikon D850

HOUSING Aquatica Digital

LENS SIGMA 15mm

EXPOSURE 1/80, f7.1

FLASH 6 x Light & Motion Sola 9600s and 2 on-camera Sola 8000s

COMMENTS This shot was the first of its kind and took me 50 minutes to set up and tweak before taking only a few shots on the dive.

TITLE Ice caves LOCATION Alaska

CAMERA Nikon D850

HOUSING Aquatica Digital LENS Nikkor 14-24mm

EXPOSURE 1/125, f6.3

FLASH 2 x onboard Light & Motion Sola Pro 15,000s

COMMENTS Exploring a glacial moulin for the first time.

LOCATION Lake Huron, USA

CAMERA Nikon D800

HOUSING Aquatica Digital LENS Sigma 15mm

EXPOSURE 1/40, f7.1

FLASH Natural light

COMMENTS I like having a diver in my images to show scale and allow the viewer to connect with the wreck.

TITLE SS Cedarville LOCATION Lake Huron, USA

CAMERA Nikon D850

HOUSING Aquatica Digital LENS Sigma 15mm

EXPOSURE 1/30, f7.1

FLASH 5 x Light & Motion Sola

9600s and 2 x Big Blue 15k

COMMENTS This shot took three years to achieve due to the shallow depth, turtled wreck, and harsh shadows and lighting