Welcome to Ocean Focus. The materials displayed in this website are a sampler of my works after having dedicated half of my life to working in the ocean and for the ocean. I have a genuine passion for the sea, and this is a showpiece of my accomplishments in the professional fields I embrace: Photography, Mapping, Writing and Guiding. All about the ocean.


WHAT'S NEW?

New book on Raja Ampat

After many years diving this extraordinary region, I have compiled a brand new book titled “Underwater Paradise, a diving guide to Raja Ampat”. Presented in ADEX Singapore in April 2012, it was acclaimed with rave reviews.



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Sperm whales


I have been fascinated with Sperm whales since early childhood. In 1999 I went to the Azores to write a story on how in the past century they have gone from hunting them to sustainable whale watching, but wasn’t allowed to go in the water with them. Finally in 2014, while guiding a super-yacht off the north coast of Bali my dream came true!




Shooting up the reef


Latest article I published on Scuba Diver Australasia: A controversial story on manipulating wildlife underwater to get a good picture.

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Reef Rehabilitation


14 years after my first visit in 2001 to The Nature Conservancy’s reef rehabilitation project in Komodo, consisting of piles of rocks to hold the rubble left after a reef has been bombed, the project shows a high degree of recovery!








The Forgotten Islands


The group of islands on the southern end of the Maluku has gone unnoticed for decades. Taking a team of scientists from WWF there to assess the quality of the reefs and the marine life yielded impressive results: some of the highest biomass in the entire region!

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South East Asia Pilot


The new edition of the Southeast Asia Pilot has just been released, featuring a new chapter on Raja Ampat that I have authored, with maps and information on a choice of anchorages in the region.




Reef Mapping SDAA


Scuba Diver Australasia recently published a story on the process of how I make the maps of the reefs. A step-by-step description from taking notes on the field to the different techniques I used for the finishing, from watercolors to computer-generated imagery.

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Thresher Sharks


An average of 100 female thresher sharks are being fished out every day in the waters in the Lombok strait between June and September, most of them pregnant. The pups are discarded as these magnificent animals are being gutted on the shores of Kusamba, East Bali. The fins then go to feed the greedy shark fin industry in SE Asia, while the rest of the meat is stored in huge walk-in freezers in Benoa...





Portfolio Submerge


The South African diving magazine "Submerge" run a portfolio of my best pictures on its October-November 2013 issue.





Gerald Allen


The process of how prestigious fish expert Gerald Allen finds new species of fish on the field and its subsequent scientific classification was featured in a recent story for Scuba Diver Australasia.

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Whale shark expedition


In early 2012 I travelled to Cendrawasih Bay in West Papua to dive with the whale sharks on board S.M.Y. Ondina. The exploratory expedition was an absolute success, yielding stunning pictures of these gentle giants. This route is now incorporated into the calendar of the Ondina for her guests to enjoy.

SDAA Portfolio


The prestigious Singapore-based diving magazine Scuba Diver Australasia runs a 13-page portfolio of my pictures within the August 2012 issue. An exhibition on a world stage of some of my finest photographs captured in Indonesia over the past 12 years.

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Bomb fishing in Komodo


I took these revealing photographs in July 2012 on Nusa Kode, South Rinca. In spite of being a fully-protected area, with specifically designated no-take zones and backed by the law, these photos expose a Komodo National Park under constant threat from poachers. Destructive activities such as bomb fishing and shark finning are openly practiced due to lack of reinforcement of protective regulations.