PADI Dive Guide recently caught up with Nick Hope who shoots underwater video on Santana Diving's boats. Santana is one of the oldest dive shops in Phuket. Nick does video on liveaboards in Thailand and Burma, and local one-day trips around the Phuket area. He shoots digital video for diving customers on the boats and for various publications and shows around the world. He took time from his busy high-season schedule to answer a few questions for the PADI Dive Guide and to show off some of his work. Interview by John Williams.

How did you get started doing underwater video?
I'm originally from near Liverpool, England. I started diving at University in London in 1986. It was tough because there were only a couple of instructors and about 50 students - not much personal attention unfortunately, but it got me my start. It took a long time to qualify through the BSAC system, but know better now. Following that I struggled with a couple of BSAC clubs where club politics seemed to come ahead of actually diving. In 1991 I discovered a group of like-minded divers and spent a few years doing some very heavy-duty technical diving. We dived the Lusitania in 1994 and HMHS Britannic, Titanic's sister ship at 119m in 1998.

I used to work as a product designer, but I packed that in to go travelling in 1999, and began teaching diving through the PADI system in Koh Samui at the end of 2000. In 2001 I brought my video setup out from England. I was planning to go to Indonesia, but 911 happened and the bottom fell out of their tourism industry there. I asked around for a video position here in Phuket and I've never looked back. The place kind of grows on you. And the diving is great.

What kind of video equipment do you use these days?
I use a Sony VX2000 in a Gates housing with Light and Motion halogen lights. I've used cheaper setups in the past but this 3CCD setup allows me to manually white balance underwater. The colours are so much richer because the red end of the spectrum is boosted. The VX2000 is a great workhorse. It's good in low light so I can get away without lights for more shots. The new VX2100 is apparently even better in low light, but that's technology for you - it's hard to keep up with the changes that are happening in the industry. The Gates is fully manual so it doesn't give me any hassle. The last thing you need in the middle of nowhere in Mergui - or anywhere else for that matter - are electronics going wrong.

Yes, one of the biggest problems photographers face is equipment breaking down. The marine life doesn't wait for camera problems.
That's right. Knowing me I'll probably trash it on the staghorn coral at Racha Yai while chasing a trumpetfish or something equally foolish!

With advances in computer technology, more and more people are editing their own videos at home or right on the boat. What kind of editing equipment and software do you prefer?
I have a Sony Vaio laptop. I love the 1600-pixel resolution screen which allows me to see more of the timeline than on smaller screens. For video capturing I use the wonderful Sclive which chops my footage into clips as it captures. For editing I use Adobe Premiere. I still have stability issues, so during low season I'm hoping to benchmark Premier Pro, Avid Xpress DV and Ulead Media Studio. The software is getting better all the time.

I know it's hard to compare and rate dive sites, but what are some of your favourites in the area?
There are so many great dive sites in both Thailand and Burma, but I think my favourite would have to be Black Rock in Burma's Mergui Archipelago. It always has a surprise in store. Recently I dropped in for a solo dive and encountered a stunning school of about 20 black-splotched stingrays surrounded by cobias. For sheer diversity, however, you can't beat Burma's Shark Cave, north of Great Swinton Island ['In Through the Out Door', and 'Three Stooges' are some other names]. I have all sorts of species in my archive that I've only seen there and nowhere else. It's that special.

Yes, Burma has some stunning dive sites. It's too bad more people don't make the time and effort to get up there. There's nothing like it anywhere else. I say if you get bored diving in Burma, then you should try another sport, like golf. What kind of marine life do you enjoy photographing most?
I love manta rays. They are so graceful! Nothing brings gasps from my customers like a nice manta sequence from Koh Bon with some grand music. Size matters! They're no piece of cake to video either. Being able to hold one's breath comes in very useful with these guys. If you're a good snorkeller it's easier to get great footage. Scuba divers often forget this.

What is the most difficult type of marine life you've photographed?
Trumpetfish are a pig because the camera tends to focus on the background if it's in auto mode. They're difficult to compose and frame too because of their shape. Tuna and the like are a challenge because they move so fast. Some smaller groupers are incredibly shy. However, whalesharks are undoubtedly the most difficult because I've still never seen one! They hate me. In fact I'm convinced they don't actually exist. They're all computer generated or glass fibre mock-ups.
Yes, whalesharks hate me as well. It took me 15 years of diving before I saw my first. I've been luckier since. Maybe it just takes that first one to get over the hump. I had beginning students who saw them before I did. Life isn't fair. But I think mantas are still much more interesting.
I hope to one day decide for myself!

Obviously the personal satisfaction you get from shooting video is an important motivator - not to mention the needed income from selling videos to punters. However, being published probably brings the most satisfaction. Have you been published, and if so, where?
Video grabs from my Britannic expedition appeared in Time Magazine and the diving press; and the footage was on the History Channel and the BBC News, amongst others. Now that I'm more into marine life, there is a little more competition. Recently my main focus has been in making great, personalised movies for Santana Diving's customers. And it helps to offset some of my expenses for the video and computer equipment I own. It's not easy to make a living doing what I'm doing, but it's very satisfying and a lot of fun. It gives me opportunities for diving I never thought I would have when I was sat back in Liverpool.

My website www.bubblevision.com features a huge library of free online pictures and movies from the Andaman Sea. Feel free to visit it and download some things. During low season from May until October, I'm working on a 'Best of Bubble Vision' DVD. However choosing the best 75-minutes from my 13-hours of stock footage is no easy task!

Thanks for your time, Nick. We wish you good luck with your video and diving, and look forward to seeing some more of your stuff on TV.