Grace_underwater

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Jupiter, FL
Grace_underwater

Award-Winning Underwater Photographer
PADI Divemaster
Private dive guide and photo coach in Palm Beach + Jupiter

10/28/2026

Introducing the St. Croix Hawksbill Project!! 🐢🌊
The National Save The Sea Turtle Foundation is expanding its hawksbill sea turtle research to St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands! In 2025, we completed three pilot research trips, and this year we have completed four research expeditions! To date, our team has dedicated 69.5 hours to explore reef sites throughout the island, including Buck Island Reef National Monument. We are excited to develop a robust understanding of St. Croix’s abundant hawksbill sea turtle population, including its distribution, habitat use, and population genetics.
Multiple studies are in development, including genetic analyses and satellite telemetry deployments to better understand hawksbill movements and habitat use. For this work, we are collaborating with Dr. Paul Jobsis and the Coral World Ocean and Reef Initiative - CWORI Coral World Ocean and Reef Initiative (CWORI), as well as the Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge St Croix Sea Turtle Project @ Sandy Point NWR and the Sandy Point Leatherback Project. Through these partnerships and continued research, we hope to fill critical knowledge gaps and strengthen conservation efforts for hawksbill sea turtles throughout St. Croix.
Huge shoutouts to all the volunteers who came diving with us, the wonderful family who kindly provides their home for us to stay in, and our partners at Cane Bay Dive Shop Cane Bay Dive Shop for supporting our research and providing us with a fantastic platform to conduct our in-water surveys.

Head to the link in our bio to donate and help fund this project! Your support will greatly impact our conservation research efforts! 🙌🏻

📸: Grace Pempek Grace Pempek

10/26/2026

Another one from the archives today, this time transporting me back to Lembeh, deep into the belly of a barrel sponge, where an adorable little squat lobster has made its humble home.

10/25/2026

When poor conditions keep you out of the water for too long, you start digging through the archives. Stumbled upon this octopus image from several years ago, shot with my old Olympus system, and wondered why I never processed it.

Can’t wait to get back under the bridge with my favorite subject to shoot - hopefully soon. 🐙 📸

10/15/2026

Some sunsets are best enjoyed underwater.

09/19/2026

Hanging out in a bait ball under a pier, watching massive tarpon dive bomb and hunt, is my idea of a very good time.

09/13/2026

Being published in Scuba Diving magazine has long been a personal dream and milestone for me as an underwater photographer. There is something incredibly special about seeing an image in print and knowing it will find its way into the hands of divers around the world. This publication has held a special place in my heart for years and has inspired so many of my own underwater adventures.

I’m beyond grateful to be recognized alongside so many talented photographers—and especially proud to bring a little fame and glory to a common subject from my favorite local dive site, Blue Heron Bridge.

09/05/2026

A beautiful hawksbill sea turtle, one of my favorite subjects to connect with and to photograph.

So excited for the opportunity to give back to the subjects that provide me so much joy underwater. I’ll soon be headed to St. Croix with my friends National Save The Sea Turtle Foundation to document the amazing work they do in the field. Stay tuned for lots more turtle content!

08/25/2026

A seahorse image I’ve been dreaming of all summer.

I’ve visited this photogenic seahorse several times over the last few months. I knew I wanted to create a close-focus wide-angle image of her, but I also knew a lot of things would have to perfectly line up.

I needed her perched in just the right spot so I could get low in the muck and shoot upward. I needed the sun in the right position above to catch those angled beams filtering through the water. And I needed the right gear to bring the image I had in my head to life.

Then on this particular early morning dive at the bridge with my EMWL in hand, fortunately, it all came together.

I often find I’m most productive when I enter the water with an image in mind rather than simply exploring to see what I can find. There’s something so satisfying about imagining a photograph before it exists—and then finally seeing all the pieces fall into place, even if it takes several dives for it to come to fruition.

I’d love to hear how everyone else approaches shooting: with spontaneous inspiration, or more intentional planning?

08/22/2026

I’ve been getting lots of questions about the annual goliath grouper aggregation happening in Jupiter right now. Yes, the massive fish are here, they arrived right on schedule in late July. And no, we have not yet reached the peak of the action! Over the next few weeks we should see more come in alongside massive schools of baitfish. I’ll be diving out here with them on our deep wrecks weekly to monitor and will share updates - but until then, here’s a few that were stacked up on the Esso Bonaire this past week.

It’s one of my favorite times of the year to dive here locally, and I hope you can join us on Kyalami Divers - Jupiter Scuba Diving & The Scuba Club for some double dip wreck dives, happening every Wednesday. We’ve been so fortunate to have excellent dive conditions for the season so far - great viz in blue water, manageable current and flat seas. I’m particularly excited to go out this upcoming week around the full moon! Who’s going to join me?

07/25/2026

This seahorse was so radiant, it seemed to be glowing from the inside each time my strobe light touched it. I love spending time with these amazing little animals underwater.

Address

Jupiter, FL

Website

https://sfups.org/photo-galleries/grace-pempek/

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