THE DIVEQUEST TEAM

 divers to make your dreams come true

Gavin Anderson has dived all over the world and his work as an underwater photo-journalist is increasingly in demand. Since winning a British Society of Underwater Photographers Beginners Award' he has never looked back. His work, some of which has appeared in national newspapers, includes studies of Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and Thailand, and he was one of the first journalists to write the story of the Thistlegorm . Gavin still enjoys diving nearer home, particularly in his own Scottish waters and in Ireland.

Mark Beaman is the Managing Director of Birdquest Ltd. After graduating from Cambridge University he spent some time in ornithological research before becoming involved in birding and wildlife tourism in 1978, going on to found his own company in 1981. His love of the natural world led him to take up scuba diving and, following on from his many years of experience in the field of environmental travel, it was a natural progression to create the Divequest programme together with Hilary Lee.

John Boyle has been diving around the world for over 30 Years. Since 1990 he has produced 20 underwater documentary films that have sold to television stations worldwide and that have won over 50 international awards. His book A Step by Step Guide to Underwater Video has become the best selling work on the subject. In addition to his underwater work, John has produced promotional films for tourism in the Seychelles and is International Co-ordinator of the Seychelles' annual underwater image festival, SUBIOS. He lives alongside the harbour of a West Cornwall fishing village and still finds time to return to his original profession, law, from time to time.

Gary Clarke lives in Bedfordshire and is a senior manager with Asda. Gary's passion for underwater photography began in 1996 when he met his photo guru' Martin Edge. He is a member of the British Society of Underwater Photographers and won their Best Beginners Portfolio' competition in 1998. Gary is addicted to warm water diving and has explored the Caribbean, Mozambique, The Maldives, Southeast Asia and the Solomons.

Martin Edge lives in Dorset and has been diving for over 25 years and taking underwater photographs for almost as long. He is widely acknowledged as one of Britain's leading underwater photographers and one of the finest teachers of underwater photography skills. Over 1000 of his photographs have been published in magazines, books and journals and his book The Underwater Photographer (1996) is a best seller. Martin has dived around the world and has guided groups for Divequest since its beginnings. Martin's wife Sylvia often accompanies him and adds a helpful extra element for those participating in Martin's trips by assisting with modelling, equipment setup and photo critique amongst others.

Malcolm Hey lives in North Yorkshire, has been diving for over 25 years and is an experienced Divequest leader, photographer and writer. He is a regular contributor to British and international magazines and well over 750 of his images have been published (including a 16-page feature portfolio in the prestigious Photography Yearbook ). A British Gas Wildlife Photographer of the Year prize-winner on several occasions, he has won many national and international awards with his underwater images, and is a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society. Malcolm is a highly experienced traveller, having visited over 60 countries and dived in no less than 35!

Charles Hood lives in Wimbledon and caught the underwater bug' in the 70s whilst living in the Middle East and using his mother's Minolta Weathermatic camera! After returning to the UK he qualified as an advanced instructor and also as a diver coxswain and coastal skipper. Much of the 80s saw Charles leading expeditions to far flung corners of the world. More recently Charles has concentrated on his underwater photography, winning several domestic and international prizes, the most recent being Dive's Underwater Photographer of the Year 2001. Charles currently works part time for Dive magazine and also as a freelance journalist and underwater photographer.

Hilary Lee is co-founder and Managing Director of Divequest. After a successful career in science teaching, she changed direction to work in the environmental travel business. Hilary now combines her passions for long-distance travel, the natural world and scuba diving in the administration, research and planning of the Divequest programme. She even manages to get away from her desk occasionally to explore the underwater realm.

Alex Mustard lives in Hampshire, holds a Ph.D. in marine biology and works as a freelance marine biologist, author and photographer. He took his first underwater pictures aged nine, has had his images widely published and has won first prizes in both the prestigious Festival Mondial de L'Image Sous Marine in Antibes and the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the year competition. His main diving interest is observing and photographing the everyday behaviour of marine life, something that many divers miss. Alex is the digital officer of the British Society of Underwater Photographers and co-administrator of the digital photography website Wetpixel.

Gavin Parsons has been a wildlife photographer since he was 11, was the editor of Sport Diver from 1994-2000 and is now a freelance photo-journalist specializing in underwater, travel and wildlife subjects. His work is published around the world and he is a regular contributor to Diver and OE magazines. He started diving in 1991 and picked up his first underwater camera in 1993. Since then he has traveled extensively to both warm and cold climes, where his primary aim is to photograph specific marine life and events. He is passionate about recording and protecting the marine environment and is the London Area Coordinator for British Divers Marine Life Rescue, which rescues marine mammals such as whales and seals. In addition, Gavin is a supporter of the Marine Conservation Society and provides images to many wildlife rescue and research charities.

Derek Whittaker is the Flights Manager for Divequest. Derek has worked in the travel industry since 1991, including a spell at Los Angeles Airport. After joining the Divequest team in 2003, Derek was lured into the water at the Bunaken Marine Park, Manado and went on to qualify as a scuba diver. Flying, airports and all things flight-related are what makes Derek tick. Seat pitch, aeroplane models and types, terminal facilities, airlines or who flies when and where are all fascinating topics to Derek, whose favourite fish is, of course, the flying fish!