Phil Colla
Posted By Cliff Etzel on 1 March 2000
I first became aware of Phil Colla from his images that grace Terry Maas' latest book "FREEDIVE". There were many great images of marine life throughout the book. What struck me as unique was the fact that all of his images were created while freediving. Since this is not the norm by which to create images of this caliber, I decided to chat with him a little about his work and his philosophy of image making while freediving. I caught up with Phil just after getting back from photographing whales in Hawaii.
Deeper Blue:What kind of training do you do for your freediving photography.
Phil Colla: Running and swimming primarily, and of course freediving itself. Decent aerobic fitness helps when a particular dive includes a lot of swimming, perhaps because of a current or covering ground. Good relaxation in the water can somewhat make up for a lack of conditioning, especially when it comes to breathhold time, but I still like to feel I am in decent shape aerobically before doing any type of diving.
DB: How did you get started in the sport?
PC: I've always enjoyed the ocean, mostly bodysurfing when I was a teenager. My wife and I took up tank diving after we were married and out of school. I quickly realized, though, that many in many situations tanks are cumbersome, unnecessary and counterproductive, and began looking for opportunities to hop in the water where I didn't need SCUBA equipment.
DB: Have you seen a change in the quality of your images since you started freediving with your camera?
PC: Most definitely. There is no way on earth I would be able to get many of the marine mammal shots that I've gathered had I been constrained to SCUBA diving. Quick-moving animals and spontaneous, short-lived encounters are situations that demand freediving if you want to even see the animal, not to mention try to photograph it. The limited amount of time I have underwater while on a single breathhold dive has forced me to be more efficient in how I shoot.
DB: What got you into underwater photography in the first place?
PC: The challenge of trying to capture top-notch photographs of subjects, and their behaviors, that most people don't even know exist. What is more exciting than getting a good shot of a whale? For that matter, what is more exciting than just seeing a whale in the first place?
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