Oktay Calisir, 1977

I was born and grew up in southern Germany, discovered my love for the sea in very young age. By the age of 8 would take frequent walks over 7 km to get to the beach with my snorkelling gear, and would spend a day in the water by exploring the sea bed and the local reefs… By the age of 11 I had learned to windsurf and a year later - catamaran sailing, which became my favourite hobby for many years to come. Photography has also been an important part of my life since childhood. Later I embraced underwater photography as the perfect medium for expressing my vision and love for the ocean.

After school I continued my education as a CNC Programmer. Upon graduation worked in that industry, but soon realised that was not what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be in life; the sea was calling…

During one of my holidays where I spent a lot of time windsurfing & cat-sailing, I had a talk with one of the Instructors at the water sports base, confiding in him that working as a CNC Programmer gave me no sense of fulfilment, and I was thinking of new direction in life, which would resonate with my inner calling. That conversation proved life-changing. Upon completing a Windsurf and Catamaran Sailing Instructor course with the German Federation VDWS, I started my new career in the water sports, working in various destinations internationally and being recognised and valued for my skills and professionalism. Working as a Base Leader for Water Sports in the Maldives in 2007 has introduced new opportunities into my life. It was then that I first thought about a new challenge by combining my photographic skills and my love for the sea. During the years of work in the water sports I had learned to scuba dive, but now I saw the potential to expand that skill to a professional level, where my love of photography could perfectly combine with my love for the ocean. Today I am a PADI certified Rescue Diver and specialize in Digital Underwater Photography and endeavour to share the amazing underwater world with everyone who shares my passion.

My next project is to promote and organise diving trips and tourism to a relatively unknown area of Turkey, Saroz Bay, Dardanelles, Gelibolu, which has a great potential for both divers and underwater photography enthusiasts. In the 1970's Jacques Cousteau visited for a expedition Saroz Bay, and named it the "Northern Red Sea".

Also one of my project's is a Dive Guide for Turkey, which has all together 4 different sea's, The Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Aegean Sea & The Marmara Sea...

Life is beautiful! Let’s cherish and preserve the beauty of our planet for generations to come.

clear waters to everyone...

-->