Colin Doeg: Passing of u/w photography’s elder statesman

The distinguished British pioneer has died at the age of 96, leaving a legacy to underwater photography that is difficult to over-estimate, says STEVE WARREN

Born on 23 January, 1928, Colin Doeg was a boy reporter during WW2 and turned to full-time journalism after completing his national service in Egypt.

Following a try-dive in France in the early 1960s, he immediately saw an opportunity to sell underwater pictures and feature articles to the national press. So on returning home he joined the British Sub-Aqua Club’s London Branch and started taking scuba lessons. 

By this time, with Aqualunging barely a decade old, he was already an accomplished land photographer, with a special interest in photographing competitive sports. 

With later BSAC chair Mike Busuttilli and two other divers, Colin formed a consortium that would carry their inflatable and outboard engine down winding paths to explore the waters off, as then, undived British shores.

As an underwater photographer shooting film, Colin would process the negatives under canvas at campsites.

Along with providing his photos to newspapers and magazines, he entered the emerging underwater photography competitions organised by scuba magazines and dive-clubs, including the conferences founded by Brighton & Worthing BSAC in 1959 that flourished into the late '80s after partnering with Diver magazine. 

The diving community was still very small and underwater photographers made up a tiny minority within it. They were also disconnected from one another, scattered across the UK – but a fortuitous mistake would change all that. 

Wrong pictures

Following a competition, when the photographs were returned Colin received those of another competitor in error. He obtained that photographer’s address and took it on himself to deliver them by hand.

The other entrant opened his front door, the two started talking and, reputedly, they became so engrossed that hours later they were still out on the porch. 

The other diver was Peter Scoones, then a printer in Fleet Street but destined to become one of the finest and most awarded underwater television cinematographers of his generation.

The two men set about bringing the underwater photography community together. In 1967 they co-founded the British Society of Underwater Photographers in their home city of London, and BSoUP began a sustained period of innovation that was recognised for its success around the world.

Peter, along with early members Tim Glover and Geoff Harwood, who were both working for Kodak at the time, brought imaginative engineering solutions to improving underwater housings, optics and strobes of the period. 

This was crucial to overcoming the problems of very low visibility and dim light common to British diving. Without their technical breakthroughs, the creative advancements that drove forward the art of underwater photography would not have been possible.

Though BSoUP members were fiercely competitive, paradoxically they were also enthusiastic about sharing ideas for the collective good. Colin was one of those who wrote frequently to pass on hard-won tips to others through columns in diving magazines. 

In 1972 Kendall McDonald was joined by Colin, Peter, Geoff, Tony Baverstock, Phil Smith and John Lythgow in co-authoring Fish Watching & Photography to help others progress.

Colin maintained momentum as a competitive underwater photographer until a bout of shingles forced a hiatus in the 1980s. By then he had amassed an impressive collection of medals, even winning the title of Underwater Photographer of the Year at Brighton in 1968. 

What made that achievement so telling was that in an international competition Colin had won with a portfolio shot exclusively in British waters. This came in addition to being named Amateur Photographer’s Sports Photographer of the Year.

Colin was the first to photograph a basking shark in the wild. He also worked closely with his old friend David Bellamy on a kelp research project, and served on the main Marine Conservation Society committee for a number of years, as well as the South-east MCS group in the '90s.

Leaving news journalism to work in PR, he had been instrumental in creating the famous PG Tips chimps commercials for tea brand Brooke Bond.

Colin also reunited with Kendall, himself a journalist, on a promotion for Brooke Bond in 1974. “The Sea – Our Other World” was a marketing campaign that encouraged tea sales by placing one of 50 picture cards in each box. 

Each card covered a piece of diving history, and they could be collected in a 5p album containing further scuba background and a plug for BSAC, with which Colin had a long association – even though its practices didn’t always suit his inclinations as an underwater photographer. He provided the cover photo for the club’s 1970 manual.

In 1975 Colin was hired as a technical advisor for the English-language version of The Guinness Guide to Underwater Life by French divers Christian Petron and Jean-Bernard Lozet.

In 1997 he co-founded the Visions in the Sea underwater photography conference. This ran annually for 10 years, with Colin as MC, welcoming famous presenters such as David Doubilet, Kurt Amsler, Amos Nachoum, Alex Mustard, Tom Peschak, Michael AW and Douglas David Seifert. 

In 2002 Colin was recognised with the inaugural Visions in the Sea Award for Outstanding Contributions to Underwater Photography, and at the 2017 Dive Show Paul Rose presented him with a Diver Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award. 

Celebrating that accolade, underwater cameraman Dan Beecham, known for sequences such as the bird-eating trevally in Blue Planet 2, wrote: “When I think back about the challenges that visionaries like yourself must have faced, I’m filled with both an overwhelming feeling of envy at not being a part of those days of discovery and innovation, but also of course with appreciation. 

“We simply would not be where we are today, in terms of producing images and natural history films, if it weren’t for all the ingenuity, risk-taking and determination of your generation of pioneers. In a very real way, you are and always will be a part of the lifeblood that forms our collective knowledge of underwater image-making”. 

This January BSoUP chair Nur Tucker presented Colin with a Lifetime Service to Underwater Photography award on behalf of the society.

Announcing the news of his death to the membership, Nur wrote: “Colin was a pioneering figure in the underwater photography community, known for his passion, dedication and contributions to the art and science of capturing the wonders beneath the waves with equipment he has built. His leadership at BSoUP helped shape the organisation and inspired countless photographers.”

Always ready to help

With all his accomplishments, Colin Doeg could rightfully have claimed his place as first among equals, but he always remained self-effacing and modest.

Six years ago Nicky Martinez had set his heart on attending Falmouth University to study natural history, underwater photography and film-making. But he lacked confidence in the portfolio he had assembled for his submission.

Separated by eight decades, he sat down with Colin, who assured him that he had genuine talent. Nicky won his place, and Colin wrote to him: “Dream on, Nicky. Without dreams we are nothing. The world is yours and you have achieved so much already. Dreams can become reality.” 

“No question was too stupid or person too insignificant for him to share his experiences with,” says the younger photographer. “This unassuming and humble man was willing to listen and share all his knowledge with an overly excited 18-year-old trying to chase a life in underwater photography. 

“But I and many others would agree that meeting Colin had a huge impact on our lives and for that I thank him. I’m really going to miss him.”

Also on Divernet: Knocking down walls for a better view, The Technical Genius Of Peter Scoones, Senior Moments, The History Boys