15/09/2026
The work vs the process 📷
This was an editorial project of many firsts.
Swipe to found out why➡️
Olympic athlete ✔️
Cook island reserve ✔️
Green sea turtle colony✔️
Front cover of luxury lifestyle magazine ✔️
24 hours to nail the brief after 10 days of torrential rain and storms🫠
Sea sickness⚠️
Olympic athlete Zoe Poulis was only back from training to the Gold Coast for a few days before heading away again for Christmas. I was in the middle of a busy summer work season in Sydney. We had 24 hours to make this shoot happen. But that window was also after 10 days of torrential rain and storms. IYKYK🤪
With no way of checking the viz, I was so grateful to the GC ocean community that Instagram has connected me to, who helped me plan this shoot. Special mention to @ who put me in contact with legend Dave from Dave Jaeger ✌️so I packed up the kids, the car and my gear and we headed up the highway on a strike mission to the GC 🎢
There was a rolling swell out at Cook island reserve that day. Zoe and I spent over an hour diving and dancing with the turtles of Cook Island Reserve. 🐢 We even saw our first leopard shark of the season. 🦈
When we hopped back into our charter, Dave spotted a pod of dolphins, so we jumped back in the ocean in the bluest of water and were blessed with the most beautiful ocean conditions.
But hopping back in that second time, geeze I felt ropey. I actually thought I maybe had heat stroke, or was over tired from the amount of time in the water.. then came the sickness 🤣🤢
I felt like an incompetent fool but we nailed the brief and now I always take medication on ocean shoots.
Forever grateful to Zoe Poulis and the team for this bucket list opportunity 🙏
Dave Jaeger
Charms Baltis
Salty Magazine | Salty Living
AQUATECH
Canon ANZ
