Freediver swimming alongside an adult humpback whale in clear open ocean water

William Drumm — Selected Work

Life Through Water

Underwater wildlife, the human figure beneath the surface, and commissioned work. Every frame came off a real expedition or a real job.

19 photographs 3 series 5 continents Scroll

The animal decides how close I get.
Everything else is my problem.

Scuba, freediving, or whatever the shot takes — the technique gets picked for the animal and the conditions, not the other way around. That decides the rest of it: the distance, the angle, the light I get and the light I don’t. Prints are available from most of these frames, and five percent of every sale goes back to the ocean.

01

The Encounter

Wild animals in open water. These come from expeditions I go back to year after year, and every frame here came down to the animal choosing to stay.

01 Intake A whale shark feeding with its mouth fully open, and a remora riding out the current inside it.
02 Heat Run Two male humpbacks competing in a heat run.
03 Green Turtle A green sea turtle over pale sand, seen from directly above.
04 Reflection One whale shark feeding at the surface, doubled by the underside of the water.
05 Wingspan A manta ray passes overhead, backlit against the surface.
06 Ascent A humpback rising toward the light.
07 Split A manatee at rest in a clear spring, the treeline held above the waterline.
08 Close Two humpbacks near the surface, close enough to fill the frame.
02

Liquid Form

The human figure underwater, in cenotes, flooded caves and Florida springs. Freshwater holds light differently than the ocean does, and this series is built on that.

09 Descent Dropping into a cenote through green filtered light.
10 Shaft A diver descending through a single beam in dark freshwater.
11 Cathedral A freediver in a flooded cave, sunbeams cutting the water column around her.
12 Mouth A cave entrance, with open blue beyond it.
13 Threshold A freediver held in the mouth of a Florida spring.
03

Commissioned

Commissioned commercial and editorial work. Product, athlete and environment, all of it shot on location in the water rather than built afterward.

14 Hit Me Hard and Soft The cover of Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft.
15 Promaster Dive watch on the wrist, whale shark passing behind.
16 Exit Coming out, at the end of a dive.
17 Column A diver held in a column of sunlight.
18 Waterline Dive watch at the waterline during a commercial shoot.
19 Wreck A diver over a sunken deck.
Selected clients Citizen WatchCressiSDI Billie Eilish — Hit Me Hard and Soft Golden RockTurneffe Island Resort

Take one home

Most of these frames print at large sizes on Hahnemühle German Etching paper, canvas, or ChromaLuxe metal. Every print ships with a certificate of authenticity, and five percent of every sale goes back to the ocean.

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Commercial and editorial commissions, underwater and topside. Existing frames are available for editorial, commercial and personal licensing.

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