KNYSNA NEWS - Consider yourself lucky if you happened to come across the photographic masterpieces of Geo Cloete, an architect-cum-underwater photographer with an international, multi-award-winning merit. 

Cloete has spent the past five years diving the depths of the Knysna lagoon, documenting its marine life in all its forms and arrays of striking colour, which culminated in his first solo exhibition during this year’s Knysna Oyster Festival, at The Lofts on Thesen Islands.

Having a diving history of 17 years, Cloete has become well-adapted to photographing the tiny creatures of the ocean floor, choosing to highlight the fragility and vibrance of the Knysna estuary, in contrast to the devastation of the fires, which has left Knysna in a monotone. Knysna was an important location to him because of the diversity of marine life in the lagoon – a type of site known to underwater photographers as "muck-diving".

After photographing these waters for the first time, Cloete learned that there was much more to the Knysna estuary than the seahorse, and wanted to capture this diversity.

"I went diving here and I saw so much more… When you enter the water, at first you will notice that it is barren, it is like a desert, and when you start looking around, you will see that there is actually a lot, but on a much smaller scale," he says.

Diverse subject matter
The subject matter in this exhibition ranges from anemones to octopuses, nudibranchs (sea slugs) and seahorses, focusing on the smaller creatures of the lagoon, as opposed to larger marine animals. Sometimes Cloete is unaware of the subjects that he photographs until he is out of the water. Some of Cloete's subjects are 5mm in size, but courtesy of his macro lenses and lighting equipment, he is able to capture these minute specimens in perfect detail.

For Cloete, diving is like experiencing a free and open wilderness. There are no fences, and one never knows what one may encounter on a given day. It is obvious that his work is very much "conservation-orientated". 

Throughout his career he has made discoveries that few scientists have known about, owing to the amount of time he spends in the water, and how much marine life he is exposed to, particularly in relation to the Knysna seahorse. 

For example, he has discovered that in the height of boating season, seahorses tend to migrate upriver to find refuge from the noise, something very unusual for a nonmigratory animal.

Boosting Science
Cloete never studied marine biology, but through his work – observing the behaviours of the underwater animals, and his experience of diving in such diverse marine ecosystems – he has been able to assist scientists with their research. 

Another fascinating discovery he made is how one multicoloured species of nudibranch that is found in the Knysna lagoon is sensitive to light. Cloete believes that "sometimes you learn things by observing and spending time in nature", and through his work he aims to show how beautiful and important each marine animal is to the ecosystem, despite its tiny size.

Underwater photography is a fine art which Cloete has come to master over the years. Unlike normal photography, he has to choose which lenses he will use before he enters the water, and when he dives he has to move with absolute control so as not to disrupt the bottom. If he touches the floor, the visibility is gone and he has to find a new location. So far, he has dived around the SANParks jetty, the Thesen Islands canals and The Heads. 

He wants to explore further up the Knysna lagoon and further upriver, past the Red Bridge. He says that it is important that boat drivers respect the laws on the water, especially the no-wake zones, as the marine life in these areas is highly sensitive to the sound of the engines.

Making a career out of underwater photography has become multifaceted for Cloete: he has twice placed top 100 in the Natural History Museum and BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, where his work travelled around the world, reaching thousands of people and spreading awareness of marine conservation. Through his recent exhibition at Thesen Islands, he aimed to shed light on the diversity of life within the Knysna lagoon so that the local community takes ownership of the marine ecosystems. And with such captivating evidence of what lives in the murky depths of the lagoon, it is hard not to feel a sense of pride for all the natural beauty Knysna has to offer. 

ARTICLE:  GABRIELA ORZECHOWSKI