Dave Baxter
Dave is a Melbourne-based underwater photographer, technical diver, and PADI Master Instructor with more than 35 years of experience in scuba diving and instruction. He has certified over 1,500 students and brings a rare mix of field experience, technical diving discipline, and artistic intent to his underwater photography.
His work focuses strongly on temperate-water marine life, especially behaviour, mood, restraint, and emotional connection. Rather than simply documenting marine subjects, Dave aims to create fine-art underwater images that reveal personality, vulnerability, and the quiet drama of life beneath Australian piers, reefs, and coastal habitats.
Dave’s photography has been recognised in Australia and internationally. His awards and recognition include the West Australian Underwater Society portfolio award, East Timor International Shootout placing, underwater.com temperate waters win, Oztek amateur portfolio win, Underwater Photographer of the Year recognition, DPG Masters Highly Commended results, GALATHEA Silver, Northern Beaches Highly Commended, Underwater Australia Awards Highly Commended, and Paris Dive Show amateur category success.
His recent achievements also include:
Five cover images for Sport Diver Magazine
Ocean Geographic Pictures of the Year finalist, twice in 2024
Published in Dive Log Magazine with a 1,500-word feature and six images covering the annual Rye crab moult
South Australian Government tourism flyer featuring six of his cuttlefish images promoting the Whyalla cuttlefish aggregation
Underwater Photographer of the Year semifinalist twice in 2024
Underwater Photographer of the Year quarter-finalist in 2019
Underwater Photographer of the Year finalist in 2025
World ShootOut 2024 macro category semifinalist, the only Australian selected in that category
Dave shoots with a Canon R5 Mark II in a Nauticam housing and uses a highly controlled lighting approach built around snoots, backlighting, negative space, and precise subject isolation. His work often features seahorses, weedy seadragons, octopus, cuttlefish, nudibranchs, gobbleguts, crabs, and other temperate-water subjects that are frequently overlooked compared with tropical reef icons.
His current creative direction is centred on building a world-class temperate-water fine-art portfolio, with a particular focus on the Underwater Australia Awards portfolio category. His aim is simple: to show that southern Australian marine life can stand beside the best underwater imagery in the world when photographed with patience, discipline, and emotional intent.