It's quite hard to remember ... I grew up on the island of Florianópolis, with beautiful sea and surrounded by more than 80 different amazing tropical beaches.
My brother was hooked to the sea. Since he was little he would go spearfishing and to catch fish for his tank, wich almost made my mother crazy! With him is that I first remember holding my breath in the pool. Only we were totally "Kamikaze" (children and adults please don't try this at home! :) Actually he had instruction and was part of a club at the time. We used hyperventilation, and we compared how long iwe would hold our breasths. Today I know the technique is totally wrong and that instead of helping the athlete to stay longer holding the breath, its very countereffective and should be completely avoid for safety. But this is how it used to be at the timeand this is how we played.
When he was about 12 years old my mother use to make me wake up very early, sometimes around 6 am to catch waves with Body Boards, or "Morey" as we use to call back then.
Getting smashed by a wave in the head, alone in the sea, you end up losing all of your fear and become intimate with the sea . Also, when you ride down your first wave the sesation is unforgettable, and the love of the sea when catchs you, will not let go anymore!
My father, they say, was also passionate about the sea and was a great fisherman and also a sailor. It might be that the love of the sea is in our blood..
Since then along with different friends I practiced surfing, windsurfing, and also sailed, but was in 2004 that I found the greatest identification i could have with the sea: beneath the surface!
Along with my partner at the time took a trip to Egypt, and it was love at first sight.
It was in this time between a course after another, from scuba to technical diver by falling more and more paxionate by the sea, its colors and great beauty that I ended up taking underwater photography as hobby.
And that's where the story changed .....
On one of these trips to the Bahamas between tiger sharks and dolphins I realized I needed more breath hold to photograph some creatures that do not like to be disturbed by the bubbles ...
