{"id":26618,"date":"2024-04-22T09:44:48","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T13:44:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/?post_type=dan_alert_diver&#038;p=26618"},"modified":"2024-04-22T09:44:53","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T13:44:53","slug":"gerald-nowak-extreme-environments","status":"publish","type":"dan_alert_diver","link":"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/fr\/alert-diver\/article\/gerald-nowak-extreme-environments\/","title":{"rendered":"Gerald Nowak: Extreme Environments"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Over the years I have often admired Gerald Nowak\u2019s underwater photos. There is so little overlap between the markets available to European versus North American photographers, however, that I did not know the backstory of his career. A recent phone call rectified that.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I discovered that personal strategies for leveraging marine photography into a lifestyle might be similar, but the magazines and clients tend to differ. It is strange that photography markets are not more homogenized in this age of digital image transmission and the ubiquitous internet. Nowak has successfully navigated this disjointed environment for the past three decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jacques Cousteau or a fantasy of underwater exploration often defined the early passion of many underwater photographers. But for Nowak it was not being quite good enough as a soccer player. That sport was his first love, but by the time he was 14 he knew he needed to find a new sport in which he could truly excel. He shifted from the terrestrial to the aquatic, becoming a rescue swimmer \u2014 a variant of what we call a lifeguard.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The small riverside Bavarian village where he lived was idyllic in many ways. There were enough accidents on the river, however, that they needed rescue swimmers. In a twist of fate, one of his water-rescue instructors was Stefan Michl, now an executive with Mares, who at the time was a dive instructor from the neighboring village. You might say something in the water there set both of them on their dive industry trajectories, which brought them together again later in life when Mares sponsored Nowak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:55%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_97_Shooter-450x675-1.jpg\" alt=\"Lepard Seal\" class=\"wp-image-26621\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_97_Shooter-450x675-1.jpg 450w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_97_Shooter-450x675-1-240x360.jpg 240w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_97_Shooter-450x675-1-8x12.jpg 8w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Leopard seals are one of my favorite animals. People often portray them to be dangerous, but I have had only beautiful and harmonious encounters with them. They are large and impressive, however, and you can see why they are formidable predators. \u00a9 GERALD NOWAK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:45%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"301\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_96_Shooter-450x300-1.jpg\" alt=\"Colorful Stiliger ornatus nudibranch, commonly known as a sap-sucking sea slug\" class=\"wp-image-26620\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_96_Shooter-450x300-1.jpg 450w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_96_Shooter-450x300-1-360x241.jpg 360w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_96_Shooter-450x300-1-18x12.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This tiny, colorful Stiliger ornatus nudibranch, commonly known as a sap-sucking sea slug, lives on small green algae in the sand off the coasts of the Philippines. \u00a9 GERALD NOWAK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_98_Shooter-450x300-1.jpg\" alt=\"Sperm whales\" class=\"wp-image-26622\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_98_Shooter-450x300-1.jpg 450w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_98_Shooter-450x300-1-360x240.jpg 360w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_98_Shooter-450x300-1-18x12.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sperm whales are very intelligent animals that live in family groups. There are several places in the world where you can experience them up close, but they are particularly accessible in the warm waters of the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean. \u00a9 GERALD NOWAK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>By age 20 Nowak was ready to try something new beyond the small-town life. He moved to the city and became a dental technician in a lab his father owned. The next chapter of his life, however, drew him closer to his eventual career.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Travel began calling to him, so at 25 he became a flight attendant for the German airline LTU S\u00fcd. Aviation was intriguing enough that he got his pilot\u2019s license, but he eventually bristled at the airline\u2019s control over his schedule. Those years took him to dive destinations such as Thailand and the Maldives. By age 29 he had quit the airline to take a trip around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nowak had been taking photos to document all his travels, so it wasn\u2019t a massive leap to try underwater photography, although his early gear was fairly rudimentary. He had a Sea &amp; Sea Motormarine II \u2014 an amphibious film camera \u2014 but with only the standard lens and a macro accessory. While diving in the Maldives, he found a wide-angle wet lens for the Motormarine on the seafloor to complete his system. He lost the wet lens on a dive only a year later, but it was time for an equipment upgrade anyway, so he got a Nikon single-lens reflex camera in a Hugyfot housing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:52%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"492\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_99_Shooter-490x300-1.jpg\" alt=\"The fastest shark in the sea, the shortfin mako shark\" class=\"wp-image-26623\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_99_Shooter-490x300-1.jpg 492w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_99_Shooter-490x300-1-360x220.jpg 360w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_99_Shooter-490x300-1-18x12.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">We saw this shortfin mako shark north of Faial and Pico islands in the Azores. Large predators such as blue and mako sharks may come near the surface when baited with fish blood. As the fastest shark in the sea, the shortfin mako shark can be quite frenetic when swimming around the bait box, so you have to be quick to get a photo of one. \u00a9 GERALD NOWAK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:48%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_100_Shooter-450x300-1.jpg\" alt=\"My daughter, Lucie, freedives with the mobula rays\" class=\"wp-image-26624\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_100_Shooter-450x300-1.jpg 450w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_100_Shooter-450x300-1-360x240.jpg 360w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_100_Shooter-450x300-1-18x12.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">My daughter, Lucie, freedives at the Princess Alice shallows in the Azores. The mobula rays regularly do laps around the underwater mountain, reaching from the depths up to within 100 feet (30 meters) of the surface. \u00a9 GERALD NOWAK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"675\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_101_Shooter-675x450-1.jpg\" alt=\"European sturgeon in a small lake in Bavaria\" class=\"wp-image-26625\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_101_Shooter-675x450-1.jpg 675w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_101_Shooter-675x450-1-360x240.jpg 360w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_101_Shooter-675x450-1-18x12.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">I photographed this European sturgeon in a small lake in Bavaria that is one of the most beautiful bodies of water in my home region. It hosts dozens of sturgeon and other native fish and is one of my favorite places. \u00a9 GERALD NOWAK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"338\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_102_Shooter-338x450-1.jpg\" alt=\"American saltwater crocodiles off the coast of Yucat\u00e1n\" class=\"wp-image-26626\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_102_Shooter-338x450-1.jpg 338w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_102_Shooter-338x450-1-270x360.jpg 270w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_102_Shooter-338x450-1-9x12.jpg 9w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 338px) 100vw, 338px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Crocodiles are not to be trifled with, but there are places where you can get up close for good photos without worrying about being harmed. These American saltwater crocodiles off the coast of Yucat\u00e1n are used to tourists getting near them. I wouldn\u2019t call them trained, but they are acclimated.  \u00a9 GERALD NOWAK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>His next film-era equipment acquisition was the Nikonos RS. He eventually owned four of them but flooded three. By the time digital photography came around, he had started using Subal housings during his progression from a Nikon D200 to the D300, D700, and finally a D800. He has been fully immersed in the Seacam line of underwater housings and strobes since 2015 and now shoots with a Nikon D850.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Travel remained a fundamental aspect of his life, and he became an expedition leader for the tour company Sch\u00f6ner Tauchen. Being on the road, leading travel, and taking underwater photos led him to supply photos for dive publications. By 1994 he had published his first article, one about the Cook Islands, in the German dive magazine&nbsp;<em>Tauchen<\/em>. Other European dive publications followed, including&nbsp;<em>Aquanaut<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>Unterwasser<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>Silent World<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>DiveMaster<\/em>, et&nbsp;<em>Sporttaucher<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Six years later Nowak was contributing images to big stock photography agencies such as Getty Images. With the industry rife with mergers and acquisitions, he once participated in a network of 150 worldwide stock agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_103_Shooter-450x300-1.jpg\" alt=\"Jellyfish Lake in Palau\" class=\"wp-image-26627\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_103_Shooter-450x300-1.jpg 450w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_103_Shooter-450x300-1-360x240.jpg 360w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_103_Shooter-450x300-1-18x12.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Palau is known for its Jellyfish Lake, but many other lakes worldwide are teeming with jellyfish. These lakes have a few things in common: The jellyfish do not sting, and the water always has a low salt content from being connected to the sea via underground fissures. \u00a9 GERALD NOWAK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_104_Shooter-450x300-1.jpg\" alt=\"Thousands of mobula rays gather here and migrate together along the coast\" class=\"wp-image-26628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_104_Shooter-450x300-1.jpg 450w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_104_Shooter-450x300-1-360x240.jpg 360w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_104_Shooter-450x300-1-18x12.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Baja California is known for the thousands of mobula rays that gather here and migrate together along the coast. The perfect time to see them is between April and July. \u00a9 GERALD NOWAK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_105_Shooter-450x300-1.jpg\" alt=\"a thresher shark\" class=\"wp-image-26629\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_105_Shooter-450x300-1.jpg 450w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_105_Shooter-450x300-1-360x240.jpg 360w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_105_Shooter-450x300-1-18x12.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An encounter with a thresher shark is always something special. For many years in the Philippines, you could dive with them at Monad Shoal near Malapascua Island. They were always at a reef early in the morning to visit cleaning stations. The sharks have now moved to a neighboring reef, but you can still reliably find them there every morning. \n\u00a9 GERALD NOWAK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_106_Shooter-450x300-1.jpg\" alt=\"Diving in and on ice is one of my passions\" class=\"wp-image-26630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_106_Shooter-450x300-1.jpg 450w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_106_Shooter-450x300-1-360x240.jpg 360w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_106_Shooter-450x300-1-18x12.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Diving in and on ice is one of my passions. This photo is from a beautiful iceberg in Antarctica. Diving on the icebergs is particularly interesting because you begin in salt water but enter the fresh water that surrounds the icebergs.\n\u00a9 GERALD NOWAK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_107_Shooter-450x300-1.jpg\" alt=\"Scuba diving in Echinger Weiher lake near Munich, Germany\" class=\"wp-image-26631\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_107_Shooter-450x300-1.jpg 450w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_107_Shooter-450x300-1-360x240.jpg 360w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_107_Shooter-450x300-1-18x12.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Echinger Weiher lake near Munich, Germany, is another of my favorites. It is tiny and not far from where I live. As a headwater lake, it is home to an incredible variety of plants and fish and is a paradise for underwater photographers to create images of beautiful animals such as this pike. \u00a9 GERALD NOWAK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_108_Shooter-450x300-1.jpg\" alt=\"South African sea lion in the kelp off Cape Town\" class=\"wp-image-26632\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_108_Shooter-450x300-1.jpg 450w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_108_Shooter-450x300-1-360x240.jpg 360w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_108_Shooter-450x300-1-18x12.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">I encountered this South African sea lion in the kelp off Cape Town. The animals are now incredibly trusting and barely fear the now-scarce great white sharks. \u00a9 GERALD NOWAK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps the most significant milestone in his life and career happened in 1996 at the Boot D\u00fcsseldorf watersports trade fair. \u201cI met my wife, Sibylle Gerlinger, at the Sch\u00f6ner Tauchen booth,\u201d Nowak explained. \u201cA year later I met her at the fair again. Soon after, we started living and working together \u2014\u00a0\u00a0she as a journalist and I as a photographer.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nowak and Gerlinger became a perfect team. They freelanced together for&nbsp;<em>Unterwasser<\/em>&nbsp;starting in 2000 and added more work as the years went on, contributing to German dive magazines and various travel and outdoor publications (Nowak is also a whitewater kayak instructor and travel photographer). They published three to five magazine articles a month at their busiest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They still work together but have slowed their pace. The couple and their daughter live in a little village called Landsberied, which is west of Munich, Germany, and has \u201cmore cows and horses than humans.\u201d Nowak also works as a freelancer for the Austrian dive tour operator Waterworld Tauchreisen. He does seven or eight big photo tours a year but enjoys returning home to the quiet little village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Something that differentiates Nowak\u2019s work is his love for extremes, whether technical, cave, or coldwater diving. He is a dive instructor certified by Conf\u00e9d\u00e9ration Mondiale des Activit\u00e9s Subaquatiques (CMAS) and Scuba Schools International (SSI) in both rebreather and trimix and has made almost 6,600 dives.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nowak is especially committed to coldwater environments. \u201cThe tropics have been photographed 10,000 times,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is easy and comfortable there.\u201d He is also drawn to places such as South Georgia\u2019s kelp forest, where he has had several great encounters with leopard seals, penguins, and other animals.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He also finds Russia extraordinary \u2014 very few people dive in the White Sea far to the north and experience its vivid winter colors under the thick ice cover. He sometimes ventures under the 3-foot-thick (1 meter) ice in Lake Baikal, far to the east and in the middle of Siberia. Lake Baikal is 395 miles (636 kilometers) long, with a maximum depth of 5,387 feet (1,642 meters), making it the world\u2019s deepest lake and the world\u2019s largest freshwater lake by volume, with almost 23 percent of the world\u2019s fresh surface water. \u201cThe atmosphere under and above the water is extremely calm because few people live there,\u201d he said, \u201cand you won\u2019t meet anyone underwater except your dive buddy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nowak effused about his love of diving in cold water: \u201cI have no problem if the equipment is thick and heavy. As long as I can still hold my camera, I\u2019m happy. The main thing is that I can experience my passion: diving.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"599\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_109_Shooter-900x600-1.jpg\" alt=\"Beluga whale in Russia\u2019s White Sea\" class=\"wp-image-26633\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_109_Shooter-900x600-1.jpg 900w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_109_Shooter-900x600-1-360x240.jpg 360w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_109_Shooter-900x600-1-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_109_Shooter-900x600-1-18x12.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">I had an extraordinary encounter with a beluga whale in Russia\u2019s White Sea. These animals were locked up in a bay until 10 years ago, and you could dive with them under the ice only by special request. Due to many protests from me and several colleagues, the animals have now been released, and belugas are no longer kept in captivity there. \u00a9 GERALD NOWAK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_111_Shooter-450x300-1.jpg\" alt=\"big hammerhead shark during a checkout dive at the harbor exit of Hulhule Island in the Maldives\" class=\"wp-image-26635\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_111_Shooter-450x300-1.jpg 450w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_111_Shooter-450x300-1-360x240.jpg 360w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_111_Shooter-450x300-1-18x12.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">We encountered this big hammerhead shark during a checkout dive at the harbor exit of Hulhule Island in the Maldives. To our great fortune, it swam right in front of my wife while I was still descending and could capture their proximity from above. \u00a9 GERALD NOWAK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_112_Shooter-450x300-1.jpg\" alt=\"Artificial reef is off the east coast of Borneo in Malaysia\" class=\"wp-image-26636\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_112_Shooter-450x300-1.jpg 450w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_112_Shooter-450x300-1-360x240.jpg 360w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_112_Shooter-450x300-1-18x12.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This artificial reef is off the east coast of Borneo in Malaysia, not far from Sipadan Island. There was only sand here just 15 years ago, but the constant current around the sandbank has developed a beautiful reef that has given many animals a new home. \u00a9 GERALD NOWAK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"467\" src=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_110_Shooter-900x467-1.jpg\" alt=\"sockeye salmon in British Columbia\u2019s Adams River\" class=\"wp-image-26634\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_110_Shooter-900x467-1.jpg 900w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_110_Shooter-900x467-1-360x187.jpg 360w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_110_Shooter-900x467-1-768x399.jpg 768w, https:\/\/world.dan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Q1_110_Shooter-900x467-1-18x9.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The sockeye salmon in British Columbia\u2019s Adams River return from the Pacific Ocean in October to reproduce. A big salmon run occurs once every four years, and we are there every time. \u00a9 GERALD NOWAK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-dan-light-gray-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-dan-light-gray-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">\u00a9&nbsp;<em>Alert Diver<\/em>&nbsp;\u2014 Q1 2024<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over the years I have often admired Gerald Nowak\u2019s underwater photos. There is so little overlap between the markets available to European versus North American photographers, however, that I did not know the backstory of his career. A recent phone call rectified that.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":26619,"template":"","dan_alert_diver_categories":[67],"dan_alert_diver_issues":[489],"class_list":["post-26618","dan_alert_diver","type-dan_alert_diver","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","dan_alert_diver_categories-imaging","dan_alert_diver_issues-q1-2024"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.0 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Gerald Nowak: Extreme Environments - DAN World<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Over the years I have often admired Gerald Nowak\u2019s underwater photos. There is so little overlap between the markets available to European versus North American photographers, however, that I did not know the backstory of his career. 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