Hi! I’m Simon.
I’m a marine conservation biologist and ocean wildlife photographer from New Zealand. My research focus is on protecting endangered and little-known ocean animals, particularly sharks and rays. Our species-level conservation work often uses photo-identification to monitor individual animals, and so – since I’ve usually got a camera in hand anyway – I try to get some ‘pretty’ photos along the way!
I co-founded the Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF), a US-registered non-profit, with Dr Andrea Marshall. There, I work as a Principal Scientist and run the Global Whale Shark Program. I’ve been working with these amazing, gigantic fish since 2005, and in 2021 I co-wrote a scientific textbook on whale sharks with Dr Alistair Dove. Since 2023, I’ve also been working as a Research Fellow at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia, where I’m studying the Critically Endangered grey nurse shark.
As a photographer, I work with Sony New Zealand as a Digital Imaging Advocate – I’ve been using Sony equipment since 2018, and love it! – and often act as the ‘expedition photographer’ on scientific research trips. I’ve also worked as a polar wildlife photographer on Arctic and Antarctic trips with G Adventures, which has been rather gosh-darned epic.
My wife Madeleine and I live in the ocean wildlife mecca of Kaikoura, in the northeast South Island of New Zealand, and write about wildlife travel, scuba diving, and whatever else takes my fancy at Nature Tripper.
Thanks for stopping by – if you’d like to know (even) more, you can check out more details on our shark research and wildlife photography here on the site, and my ‘Now’ page should give some updates on our recent escapades :)