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For Riley the coastal town is the ideal spot to complete his PhD
research of the endangered blue shark, which means frequent
excursions beyond the Aldermens and to Castle Rock, where
he free-dives and tags sharks with satellite transponders. The
data he gathers will raise awareness and understanding of blue
sharks, and ocean sustainability in general.
Amber shares Riley’s love of the water, and she is
also a qualified free diver and professional underwater
camerawoman. She joins Riley on his shark expeditions to
capture his experiences on video.
HOW DID THEY MEET?
It was this mutual love of the ocean and its inhabitants that
brought Amber and Riley together three years ago. “Riley
approached me on Instagram and suggested we might
work together, as we had a common passion for ocean
documentaries,” Amber shares.
“So we arranged to meet. I’ll never forget the moment he
showed up on my doorstep – it took my breath away and I
almost had to shut the door again to catch myself! I’ve always
considered myself to be super independent, so this sort of
girlish reaction was foreign for me.”
From there, Riley took Amber on a friends’ launch “where we
sat under the stars and watched the fireworks – coincidentally
it was Guy Fawkes – and the rest is history.”
Main: Amber captures this amazing
synchronised swimming performance by
Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis).
They were part of a pod of 70-80 off the
Aldermen Islands near Tairua.
SHARED INSPIRATION AND WORKING TOGETHER
The couple now enjoy a different kind of ‘board meetings’
where they meet in the surf to discuss their work and plan
their fun future of working and playing ...together!
Amber is a professional photographer and videographer
who works with a number of tourism and lifestyle clients.
She also sells prints of her photographs through her
website,
www.amberandfriends.netHer favourite photo subjects occur on or in the ocean,
including water sports and sea animals. “Watermen and
women are usually very passionate people, so I love
capturing that passion as they take part in their activities,
and, of course, I also love getting shots of the sea’s
fascinating inhabitants too.
“Every time we are out free-diving with the animals, I learn
even more about the environment,” Amber notes.
“The ocean is our constant source of inspiration.
Our mutual muse.”