Sergi Escandell | Underwater Filmmaker | Menorca
Sergi Escandell has always been drawn to water. His excitement and enthusiasm often overcame him and, at only three years old, he ran away from home to jump in the family pool, despite not knowing how to swim.
He took his first underwater images when he was just a child, because his father was a producer of wildlife documentaries and needed an underwater camera operator.
22 years later Sergi Escandell works on wildlife documentaries, advertising and fiction projects for renowned top-level production companies.
Sergi has achieved mastery in this very particular discipline, which unites the art of photography with a deep knowledge of the aquatic environment and diving techniques. He captures and produces extraordinary pieces, reflecting on and recognising his contributions to something much bigger than himself.
When did you first start your storytelling journey?
I took my first shoot when I was thirteen years old, but it was from the age of eighteen that I always carried the camera with me.
What are the fondest memories from your upbringing that you feel impacted your life choices and lifestyle today?
I can remember the joy I felt in the water when I was only three years old. The excitement was so great that sometimes I ran away from home to jump into the pool in the garden, I still didn't know how to swim. I remember that my brother pulled me out of the water, I could have drowned.
When I was very young I watched and admired Jacques Costeau's films, I think those adventures were stored somewhere in my subconscious until my adolescence when I decided to take a diving course with my first salary.
My first experience with an underwater camera was thanks to my father (nature documentary filmmaker). I used a camera that had been lent to him and took some images of fishes in a cove of crystal-clear water, in Menorca.
A long time later I had the opportunity to help in very important cinematographic productions, where I could see what this work was really like. I was lucky to see the best underwater cinematographers in the industry at work. At that moment it was clear to me, that's what I wanted to do.
There are many memories, but somehow the sea has provoked very strong reactions within me from very early on. Sometimes I think it wasn't a choice, I think I had no choice but to follow my heart.
What path did you choose after leaving school?
Travelling around the world working as a diving instructor.
What/who currently inspires you?
Big names in the industry like David Doubilet, Paul Nicklen, or Peter Zuccarini.
What do you value most?
Family and friends.
What would you most like to change in the world/environment today?
The sixth extinction, climate change, and overfishing.
Are there any books/documentaries that have guided your thinking, and that you'd like to recommend to other ocean lovers?
The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus: Exploring and Conserving Our Natural World by Jacques Yves Cousteau and Our Oceans by Jacques Perrin.
What advice would you give to anyone looking to follow their dreams as an Ocean Storyteller?
There is no marked path, and there is no guide that will take you to what you dream of, but if you do not embark on the journey that you really want, one day you will regret it.
Be smart, but do it.
What legacy do you hope to leave?
I hope that my images can inspire other people who will also contribute their grain of sand to safeguard our oceans. I don't feel like a protagonist, I see myself more as part of a large gear, of other human teams (researchers, producers, etc.) where we work together to change things.
WEBSITE: https://www.sergiescandell.com
