CHARLES "FLIP" NICKLIN
Widely
regarded as the premier whale photographer of the
world, Flip Nicklin, a National Geographic
photographer, has more than 5,500 dives under his
belt. His ability to free dive to depths of up to
90 feet allows him to swim near enough to record
whale behavior without interrupting it.
Flip Nicklin was born with both diving and
photography in his blood. His father, Chuck, is a
diver and underwater cinematographer, who taught
his sons to become scuba divers. At the age of
fourteen, he was helping his father teach people
to dive off of the coast of Southern California,
in La Jolla.
His first contact with National Geographic Society
came in 1976 when he was signed on as a deck hank
and diving assistant for a three-month shoot with
photographers Bates Littlehales and Jonathan
Blair. Everyday he shot with the photographers, a
life-long dream for him. With the help of his
mentors, two of his images were published, along
with theirs in the Geographic.
The publication of these two shots, began his
career as an underwater photographer. He went on
to shoot sharks and whales for the Geographic
centennial issue. Eight years after his first
publication, he had become the marine mammal
photographer for the National Geographic.
Flip participated on the Balandra RAVE!
Voices behind the Camera with Flip Nicklin
Voices Behind the Camera with Flip Nicklin from Jenny Nichols on Vimeo.
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