The photographer you’re about to meet always seems to find herself in pretty intense places. And lately you could say she’s been “lighting” up the Great Lakes. Corey Adkins explains in this week’s Northern Michigan in Focus.
“I do professional underwater videography for a living and I specialize in extreme underwater environments. I work with National Geographic, Discovery Channel, I just finished a shoot with Red Bull,” says Becky Schott,
Becky Schott’s job takes her all over the world. From diving with bull sharks in Fiji to underwater caves in Florida and even a close encounter with a penguin in the Antarctic. But when she needs to get away she comes here.
“One of my absolute favorite places to dive is here in the Great Lakes because of the state of preservation of the shipwrecks,” Becky said.
You see, Becky is actually on vacation!
“For the last five years I’ve been traveling around all the different lakes and focusing on different areas trying to capture hauntingly beautiful images of some of the, what I consider some of the best shipwrecks in the world,” Becky said.
Her images, stunning.
“The places that I go, you’re really difficult to shoot in, they’re dark, deep and cold. It’s taking me 24 years of dive experience and also shooting underwater to really develop the skills to be able to shoot in these places and come back with really nice artistic imagery so I really look at the lighting and lighting is everything underwater and it can really make or break photos. So I’m using all kinds of different lighting techniques to get my shots.
“I absolutely adore her images and she’s gotten a lot of experience to build up to take these images for sure. Always try new techniques and thinking outside of the box,” says Jitka Hanakova with Shipwreck Explorers.
Jitka of the shipwreck explorers and Becky are dive buddies on the Great Lakes. They work together to get these pictures.
“She’s actually my inspiration, I look up to her and I try to get close to her images as well,” Jitka said.
“It gives you this haunting feeling. That’s also what I’m trying to convey in the photography. These wrecks and their stories really touch me personally and I want to share that in the photos so I’m not just down there trying to shoot a wreck, I’m trying to create a feeling and maybe bring interest to these places,” Becky said.
Eventually Becky wants to put together a book of her Great Lakes dives, but not just for herself.
“Just yesterday I was on something from the late 1800s and to be able to go down photograph that and bring it alive and share those stories, I think it’s important because we forget a lot of the history. And many of the ships help build America and they’ve just sort of been forgotten in time and I sort of enjoy bringing that back and inspiring others to visit them read about them,” Becky said.
What a cool way to spend your vacation!
“I don’t do it because I’m getting paid or make a lot of money, I do it because I absolutely love it and I would die with the camera in my hands whether not it was a job for me,” Becky said.
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