By james art Childhood trips to Durham and the North East coast helped hone a lifelong interest in the sea for a young photographer who won a major international award for his photograph of a rare underwater creature.
Jacob Guy’s image of a kelp octopus in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, capturing the intense gaze of its yellow eyes, has won him the 2024 Young Ocean Photographer of the Year title.
His fascination with the sea began during his childhood, with frequent trips to Durham and the North East coast.
He said: “Throughout my childhood I was always lucky enough to live by the coast.
“I spent a lot of time with parts of my family who are based in Durham exploring the coast of Whitley Bay and I first learned about tides from the stories my grandparents told me about St Mary’s Lighthouse and the rapidly changing tides and ebbs and flows.
“Durham is like a second home to me as a lot of my immediate family live there.
“I just hope one day I can highlight the underwater world around the Northeast.”
Jacob’s journey in photography began with a passion for surfing and surf photography.
He said: “While studying photography I continued to specialize in aquatic subjects and with my love of nature I graduated with a Diploma in Marine and Nature Photography which then pushed me to start my diving and ignited my love for underwater photography.”
His education and training provided him with a solid foundation for his career.
He said: “The training and education really helped me get started with my skills in the industry.
“Around the age of 18 I started my diving training which led me to become a dive master.
“But for me, one of the most valuable educational aspects of my career was when I volunteered at a dive resort, and being able to dive every day really allowed me to dramatically advance my photography and learn a lot.”
Having spent most of his recent years in Indonesia, Jacob has also worked on several conservation documentaries in the UK and enjoys diving in British waters.
He said: “The themes in my images and videos depend on the story I’m trying to tell, most of them are tropical, which has led me to spend most of my recent years in Indonesia, but I’ve worked on a few conservation documentaries back in the UK and I really enjoy diving in British waters and the variety of marine life is often surprising to people.”
Describing his winning photo, Jacob said: “The winning photo is actually one of my favorite photos I’ve taken in my entire photography career.
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“This image is of a rare octopus called a kelp octopus that can only be seen after sunset on shallow reefs.
“It took me a few dives to find it, and I love this image so much that it’s been edited very little, so what came out of the camera was something I was extremely happy with right away.”
Looking to the future, Jacob hopes to continue capturing images and stories of the underwater world and work in the wildlife photography industry specializing in the underwater world.