Portrait of underwater photographer/cinematographer, Chuck Davis — photographed by his son, Cole Davis, Pacific Grove, CA.
Chuck Davis is a world-renowned artist, natural history photographer, and filmmaker. In a career that spans over 40 years, he has filmed in worldwide locations, including Arctic Alaska, Greenland and the frigid waters of the Antarctic, as well as the humid climate of the Amazon. Earning degrees from UMass Amherst and Brooks Institute in fisheries biology and filmmaking, respectively, Davis has combined his love and knowledge of art and science to bring the underwater world to people in a more artistic way, one that gives them a new appreciation and understanding for the majesty of the underwater world.
His filming credits include work on several IMAX productions, including two Academy Award-nominated films, Alaska: Spirit of the Wild and The Living Sea. Davis also worked as a cinematographer and still photographer on numerous expeditions with the Cousteau filming teams aboard vessels Alcyone and Calypso, working with the late Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his son Jean-Michel on a variety of projects over the years. Davis’ still photography has been widely exhibited in museums and galleries and published in magazines such as LIFE, Lenswork, B&W, Silvergrain Classics, National Geographic, ORION, and BBC Wildlife, and he is the author/photographer of California Reefs (Chronicle Books).
Widely known for his analog still imagery, Chuck Davis brings complexity and nuance to each subject he photographs. A master of light, line, and tone, Davis brings viewers to a deeper understanding of environments and subjects such as California kelp forests, smacks of sea nettle jellyfish, or migrating mobula rays. In addition to his excellence behind the lens, Chuck is also a master of the darkroom, known for spending hours perfecting single prints. Utilizing a variety of advanced developing techniques, he masterfully adjusts the tonal and granular compositions within his images, creating visual art that challenges what we think we know about the underwater world, and illuminating those beliefs to truly artistic levels. Recently, Davis’ work was included in a ground-breaking exhibition, Vital Waters, curated by Ansel Adams’ daughter-in-law Jennean F. Adams, that also featured images from other acclaimed and revered photographers, including Ansel Adams, Ernie Brooks and Ryujie Douglas. One of Chuck’s images was a humpback whale as it breached off the shore of Monterey Bay, in which Davis expertly interpreted the available light and, as the sun settled beneath the clouds, captured an image that is more reminiscent of moonlight rather than daylight.
Chuck Davis is a true pioneer of the underwater world, creating visual masterpieces that not only capture the magnificence of the ocean and its’ inhabitants, but also conjure spiritual refuges that inspire all of us to better understand, and protect, this delicate ecological habitat for the health of our planet.
Chuck is a member of the Boston Sea Rovers, and we are honored to present him with our highest award. The inscription on the Paul Revere silver bowl reads:
Chuck Davis
Passionate Master Image Maker
Majestically Capturing & Preserving
The Mystique of the Underwater World