Jon Anderson

I grew up in landlocked Colorado but was fortunate to get certified to dive at age 12 in Cozumel, Mexico. Until moving to San Francisco, CA in 2015, I dove infrequently only during family vacations.

Shortly after arriving in California, I bought my first regulator and BCD to be able to explore Monterey’s kelp forests on the weekends. Despite low-visibility, cold water with strong surge, I became fascinated with the life in the kelp forests and wanted to share what I was seeing with others. Before long I was diving in Monterey several times a month with the sole purpose of taking photos. Regularly diving in the same environment gave me the opportunity to revisit shots of certain subjects that I wanted to improve or try a new technique on. My passion for underwater photography really blossomed during this time.

I lived in Central Mexico for 1.5 years which was a great jumping off point for exploring the Mexican Pacific, Sea of Cortez and the Caribbean.

Outside of my photography I am an engineer, currently designing and building stereo underwater cameras for Aquabyte to improve aquaculture sustainability.  Other projects I have worked on as an engineer include moon rovers, earth observation satellites, driverless cars, immersive driving simulators and delivery robots. Using my engineering skills, I have also designed my own dive computer housing mount, a travel-ready downline for blackwater diving, strobe extension knobs, torch snoots, and other gadgets.

My images have been awarded in numerous competitions and have been published by a variety of well-known outlets. You can see a list here.

I am a member of the Kraken Sports Pro Team and use their high-quality optics, lights, and accessories for making my images.

Please reach out to me if you are interested in small group workshops, prints, licensing, or collaboration.

Photo Credit: Mike Chalup/Backscatter/NCUPS (top), Michael Alyono (bottom)