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Constantinos Petrinos - "Realm of the Pygmy Seahorse"
Constantinos Petrinos is a full time professional underwater photographer. He was born in Athens in 1961 and spent his early childhood in Cameroon, Africa. While growing up he aspired to become a marine biologist but more practical considerations led him to business studies. A while ago he decided to free himself from business suits and suffocating ties and dive the world's oceans. His photographs have won awards at many competitions, including the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year. He has spent months in Sulawesi, Indonesia, to take photos for his new book.
Charlotte of Dive Global talks to Constantinos Petrinos about the making of his latest book:“Realm of the Pygmy Seahorse”.
Charlotte: How did you get into underwater photography as a full time professional?
Constantinos: I have an MBA from the Tuck school at Darmouth College in the USA. I used to work wearing white shirts and suffocating ties. I wanted to get rid of all this junkand devote myself to my true passion: underwater photography. I made the transition slowly. Afterworking as a manager for several years, I started a small English bookshop in Athens, Greece. I thought this would give me enough time to go diving and alsoto have a “real” job as a fall back in case things went wrong. Unfortunately the bookshop was verysuccessful and demanded more and more of my time. In the end I was doing a poor job both in photography andin running the store. In 1996 I made the big decision to sell the bookshop and move to full time underwater photography. Many of my friends thought that I would not last a year but I am still around and kicking.
Charlotte: Why did you choose the Lembeh Strait as the subject
of your first book "Realm of the Pygmy Seahorse"?
 Constantinos: In 1997, the Lembeh Strait was, and I believe it still is, one of the hottest dive destination with numerous articles in print. Most divers, whether they had been there or not, were talking about it. I had already visited Kungkungan Bay Resort in the Strait and had conceived of an idea to try to document the behavior of marine life by spending a lot of time in one area. Something similar to what land photographers do whenthey decide to spend one year in Kenya, for example. Putting the dream into reality was a bit more complicated but I was fortunate to get assistance from the right people. I presented my book project plan to Mark Ecenbarger, the owner of Kungkungan Bay Resort. Mark was very generous in offering his support and in December 1999 I arrived at the resort, stayed for 6 months and took 25,000 slides. My book “Realm of the Pygmy Seahorse” was published in 2001 and there was a second edition in 2002.
Charlotte: Your specialty/favorite photography is macro?
Constantinos: Not really. I love to dive and take all kinds of photos. The type pictures I take, is dictated by the project that I am involved in and not by what I like. My firstbook project involved the Lembeh Strait which is currently the top macro destination in the world.Therefore, I had to concentrate on macro and, if you want, specialize in this type of photography. This specialization, led to another macro centered book called “Nudibranchs: Flamboyant Butterflies of the Sea”. David Behrens is the author and I share the photos with Carine Schrurs. This is a work in progress and Kungkungan Bay Resort is once more the major sponsor.
 Charlotte: How do you like Kunkungan Bay Resort?
Constantinos: The Lembeh Strait had remained a well kept secret for years. Divers visited the Bunaken Marine Park and totally ignored the little jewel that was right next door. Divers came to the Lembeh Strait only when weather conditions made it impossible to dive the Bunaken Marine Park. Divers hated the place with its “boring and lifeless” sandy substrate. They swam fast and saw nothing of the treasures that were right in front of their eyes. When Kathryn Ecenbarger and Helen Staples conceived of Kungkungan Bay Resort, they did not think about it as a dive resort. During construction, Mark Ecenbarger decided to make a few dives to relax. The substrate looked like a desert but as he swam leisurely around, he started noticing weird animals. One of the world’s top dive resorts was born. Scientists and professional photographers came from everywhere and a new era started. I like KBR because its total conception is to assist the diver. From the comfort of the rooms to the excellent dive guides. I tis located right in the Lembeh Strait and there is easy accessibility (five to ten minutes) to more than 30 dive sites. KBR is located in Kungkungan Bay and they rent the bay from the community. As a result there has been no fishing for the last 10 years. The house reef is fabulous and I have done numerous excellent dives right in front of the resort. Last but not least, I would like to mention that there are only 16 rooms and the whole construction was done respecting the environment.
Charlotte: How did they assist you in producing these exquisite images?
 Constantinos: Michael Aw called me “The Behaviorist” in a recent feature he had about me in Australasia Scuba Diver.This translates in only one thing: a lot of time spent underwater. Nowadays everybody has access to good equipment and there are a lot of excellent photographers even among amateurs. The difference is in who can spend more time underwater. I believe that my development as a professional underwaterphotographer would have been impossible without the continuing sponsorship from Kungkungan Bay Resort (known among divers as KBR). Singapore Airlines and Silkair have also played a crucial role since they carry about 250 kilos of equipment whenever I travel.
On location, I usually work closely with the diveguides and other guests. The KBR dive guides have been crucial in assisting me to locate subjects and also to make sure that I ascend from every dive. Several guests have pointed unusual photo opportunities. There is a special acknowledgement section in my book for the dive guides and the guests that have assisted me.
 Charlotte:
How do you deal with spending days and days underwater?
Constantinos: I love it but it is also tiring. I do not have the luxury to swim along and enjoy the scenery. Once I find a potential photo opportunity, I stay on the spot for the rest of my dive or dives until something happens. Most often nothing happens but I am after this once in a lifetime opportunity. To capture the moment you need time, a lot of time underwater and that is what I do. When I get tired from multiple dives over many days, diving becomes like any other job and I know I am in trouble. I usually leave the cameras for a day or two and simply make fun dives studying the environment and the animals or I guide guests. Other than diving, I rarely engage in any other sport or recreation.
Charlotte:
Can you tell us about the camera equipment you use?
Constantinos: I usually dive with three or four cameras and I carry them myself. Most of the pictures in my book were taken with two Subal F4 cameras and two Nikonos RS cameras, with Nikon SB-105 strobes. Nowadays I also use two Seacam F5 housings and Hartenberger strobes.
 Charlotte: Do you use a rebreather as well?
Constantinos: No. I do not know how to use a rebreather. I plan totake a course this summer and I will start using the Dolphin by Draeger.
Charlotte: Do you think you'll venture into film eventually or do you prefer still photography? How about digital cameras?
Constantinos: I like to shoot video. I have the Sony VX-1000 and I would like to upgrade. The Greek national and cable TV has shown short documentaries that I shot underwater. However, I cannot do both so I will concentrate on photography for the time being. I think that digital cameras are fantastic. I am waiting for the new generation of digital cameras and housings to switch to digital photo equipment.
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