Spokane Man Wins Award For Marine Life Photos

As a college student, Brandon Cole tried to dream up some sort of legitimate career that would enable him to be a scuba bum as much as possible.

“I didn’t even own a camera at that time,” said the former student of marine biology. “But marine photography seemed interesting.”

At 25, the Spokane man has won international recognition in the British Gas Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards for the Natural History Museum in London.

Cole won the Eric Hosking Award for the best portfolio of six images taken by a photographer under age 26.

Cole presented a theme of marine photographs, including dolphins, harbor seals, humpback whales and other sea life.

“Some of the biggest names in wildlife photography have been involved in this competition at one time or another,” Cole said. “For me, this is a tremendous honor, especially now while I’m still trying to get my work recognized.”

Even though Cole lives nearly 300 miles from the nearest saltwater, he specializes in marine photography.

“It doesn’t matter so much where you live because the work tends to take you halfway around the world anyway,” he said.

“I do a lot of whales and dolphins in Puget Sound, but I might also end up in Indonesia. The main thing is to have a phone and a fax and be close to an airport.”

Cole says he enjoys playing with creatures big and small. Photographing marine life is as thrilling as it is exciting, he said.

“Shooting in an underwater environment is unforgiving,” he said. “You don’t have any flexibility. You can’t change lenses underwater. You have to go down with a plan.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo