ExplorersPhotography

Home
United States
Los Angeles, CA
ExplorersPhotography

UW Photography, Cinematography & Science
Founders:
UW Archaeologists/ AAUS ScientificDivers/ TDI Tech

We co-founded Explorers Photography (EP) with a shared vision—a platform to channel our deep passion for scuba diving, underwater photography, and science. Our mission is to inspire people to explore and intimately connect with the underwater world, making it feel more accessible and relatable. By fostering a deep relationship with the ocean, they aim to increase awareness of its significance and advocate for its preservation.

08/13/2026

So stoked to be a finalist in Ocean Photographer of the Year this year with my shot of the eye of a Giant Sea Bass! Very excited to share a closer look into the marine life of our local waters and the importance of protecting our kelp forests. Shoutout to my lifelong dive buddy Carmen Obied for brainstorming this idea with me and another huge shoutout to the team at Catalina Divers Supply for all of their support. ✌🏽🙏🏽 🤿

~ Steven Lopez
📷: ExplorersPhotography | UW macro shot of the eye of the Giant Sea Bass taken in Catalina Island, California

Finalist in “The Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds” category for the 2026

08/06/2026

Sometimes the moments just come together perfectly. Carmen was filming this batray that happened to swim right by me while I was shooting stills and it turned out to be a moment we each captured of one another.
⚙️
📸 1
🔦 | hybrid flash
🖥️
catalinaisland

08/04/2026

Our recent trip to Monterey was an incredible display of ocean advocacy, polar science, immersive art, music, and community.

A huge shoutout to Faith Ortins, Cristian Dimitrius, George Peterson and Blue Green Expeditions for organizing another beautiful evening of Water Odyssey, and to Berkley White, Becca Boring, and the Backscatter crew for hosting another incredible Monterey Shootout.

These are people who have inspired us and spent years building their lives around ocean exploration, science, storytelling, and advocacy.

We were grateful to support Water Odyssey at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and honored to contribute footage to The Invisible Empire, Andrea Stockert’s documentary exploring the importance of the polar regions and what science, exploration, passion, and art look like on an expedition with Blue Green Expeditions, alongside polar scientists, explorers, and artists. Cristian’s live performance of Water Odyssey continues to flow and evolve in incredible ways. If you missed this one, there will be more.

For those interested in experiencing the polar regions firsthand with Blue Green Expeditions and contributing to polar advocacy, let’s talk. We will be going back to Antarctica with Faith in March 2028 and April 2029 and we can help you get there.

Until then, see you in the kelp! 🌿🧊🌊

~ Steven & Carmen

07/23/2026

Possibly one of our most memorable experiences to date.

It was a dream to spend three days training at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston, a 6.2-million-gallon pool that houses a replica of the International Space Station for astronaut training.

We were there for a specialized Gates STO program focused on their new Immersive Housing for the Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive camera. We trained on the complete system, from underwater image acquisition and immersive shooting to processing in DaVinci Resolve and viewing our own work in Apple Vision Pro. By the end, we became 2 of only 20 certified operators for this housing in the world!

Training in the NBL while astronaut operations were underway was surreal. Here we were learning a new way to capture the underwater world in immersive VR, inside a facility that uses neutral buoyancy to prepare humans for space! INSANE!!

The connection between ocean and space really hit home for us. From the kelp forests of California to the polar regions of Antarctica and the Arctic, we’ve experienced underwater environments that feel almost otherworldly. Looking into the blue beneath polar ice can evoke the same sense of scale and wonder as looking into a sky filled with stars. Both remind us how much there still is to explore, understand, and protect.

Our passion for the ocean runs deep, and immersive filmmaking gives us an entirely new way to share it. It allows us to give people the feeling of actually being there.

Big thanks to Gates, John and Pamela, and the Apple team for organizing this incredible experience, and to the folks at the NBL who were with us every step of the way.

Some very exciting things are beginning to take shape. We can’t wait to bring you with us.
🎥 BTS by Trent Ellis on the RED Raptor in the Gates Pro Raptor Housing.

07/14/2026

The June issue of Scuba Diving Industry Magazine is out! Make sure to check out our article on finding personality in familiar marine life.

🐟 Article here: https://scubadivingindustry.com/finding-personality-in-familiar-marine-life-by-steven-lopez-msc-dr-carmen-obied/
A little prelude to the article

Our favorite lenses to shoot stills on is by far the fish-eye. It truly is a magical lens. It has the ability to show medium and large subject up close within their environment and you can really highlight the personality of different subjects. If you’re a beginner shooting a fisheye and you hate it, stick with it! You will get the hang of it. Practice on kelp, corals, reefs, etc. Things that don’t move and allow you to refine your technique and learn about your camera. Get those strobes above and behind your dome too. It’s also not a bad idea to start with one strobe overhead. Don’t forget to review your images underwater, and fix your strobe placement. If you see a ton of Backscatter, turn the strobe power down and move the strobe back further…yes, back further! We used to practice on rocks in the beginning and that really helped us understand what the strobe was actually doing underwater. You CAN get the image you want in-camera. When it all clicks, don’t stop making beautiful images that advocate for the ocean!

Much love to all. See you in the kelp 🌿 🌊

Steven & Carmen
⚙️ affiliate
📷 1
🔦 Hybrid Flash x2

07/03/2026

🤿 Meet the team that makes it all happen! 🌊

We went out for a staff dive the other night and it was awesome! It’s so amazing to see the passion all of them have for diving. All the rebreathers, doubles, sidemount rigs, and cameras came out! We’re so fortunate to have such a talented team. Little Farnsworth had some great wildlife for us. We saw Giant Black Sea Bass, Bat Stars, Garibaldi nests, and Suzy cracked an egg for us underwater! Check out the faces of all the happy divers! Come hang and dive with us at Casino Point!
📷 Explorers Photography
Meet the team:
Rane Colvin Mark Guccione Jacob Garcia Kylie Phillips Suzy Degazon Christy Coyes Harp Tim Harp Christian Silva Chelsea Karosas Michael Francisco Yafet Mengesha Joel Wilson Jemma Paradise Capt Bob Kennedy Candace Yingling Explorers Photography

06/09/2026

This World Oceans Day, look deeper. 🌊

Push yourself to slow down, observe, and learn something new from the marine life around you. The ocean reveals so much when we give it our time and attention.

“Eyes of the Kelp Forest” is a new series focused on looking closer at the life, behavior, and hidden details that make Catalina’s kelp forests so extraordinary.

We spend a lot of time with Giant Black Sea Bass, and this season we’re taking a closer look at them in a different way. Beyond their size, presence, and iconic role in Catalina’s kelp forests, we’re beginning to understand that their bodies can serve as an entire habitat for other organisms.

The copepods pictured here are one example. These tiny crustaceans are believed to be host-specific to Giant Black Sea Bass, meaning they have only been documented living on this species.

In the second image, there is also a small yellow crustacean-like organism that we are currently working to identify with scientists who specialize in copepods and Giant Black Sea Bass.

Moments like this are a reminder that conservation starts with curiosity. Images can help us notice what might otherwise go unseen, ask better questions, and tell stories that make people care.

Look closer. Learn more. Protect what you love.

Happy World Oceans Day, everyday.
See you in the kelp. 🌿
⚙️
🏠
📷 1
🔦 Hybrid flash x2

06/05/2026

🌿 Sheep crabs and garibaldis 🌊

Two of the kelp forest’s most memorable characters. Sheep crabs always feel like they’re on a mission. Every now and then, you catch one with a claw buried in a meal, moving slowly and deliberately through the reef like it owns the place. This one was stomping its way toward whatever came next.

And then there are the garibaldis. We’ve had such a blast filming them lately, and we have a lot more garibaldi work coming up. From our perspective, they’re one of the foundational characters of California’s kelp forests. It’s hard to tell a complete story of these waters without them.

Beautiful and fiercely territorial, garibaldis bring so much life and color to the reef. They’re native to the California coast and the eastern Pacific, and they’re one of the species that make our home waters feel unmistakably alive.

Always working to advocate for the conservation and protection of the kelp forests we love.

See you in the kelp.
⚙️
🏠
📷 1
🔦
kelpforest californiadiving garibaldi marineconservation oceanconservation

06/04/2026

🌿 Catalina Dreamscapes 🌊

Always working to advocate for the conservation and protection of our home waters.

See you in the kelp!

Address

Explorers Photography
Los Angeles, CA

Website

http://www.bit.ly/bsxt-ep, http://www.explorersphotography.com/trips

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when ExplorersPhotography posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to ExplorersPhotography:

Want your business to be the top-listed Photography Service in Los Angeles?