Marty Snyderman

If you care to do so, by reading this document you can learn about Marty Snyderman’s career and some of his professional history and accomplishments. But first and foremost, Marty wants to be sure you know that he realizes that using a camera well and being able to teach others to improve their underwater photography requires different skills. Marty has been teaching underwater photography in person and offering instruction as a magazine columnist for more than four decades, and he takes a lot of pride in his ability to teach others. Marty’s classes are about helping you improve your skills. The classes are not about him or his photography. 

Honored with the 2018 NOGI Award in the Arts by the Underwater Academy of Arts and Sciences, an EMMY Award winning cinematographer and author, a recipient of DEMA’s prestigious Reaching Out Award in 2008, and a widely published, award winning still photographer, Marty has worked to conserve and share the magic of the undersea world for more than four decades. He serves as the Marine Life Editor of Dive Training magazine, producing at least three columns in every issue including a photography column entitled Behind the Lens, and is the Senior Editor of California Diving News

Marty’s still photography has also been used by the National Geographic Society, Nature Conservancy, National Wildlife Federation, Sport Diver, Diver, Ranger Rick, Smithsonian, Ocean Realm, Discovery books, Discover Diving magazine, Scuba Times magazine, and Skin Diver magazine, where he served as the photography columnist for all three magazines, and many major publications, natural history museums, and aquaria including the Monterrey Bay, Shedd, National, Seattle, and Miami aquaria. Marty has worked with Nikon Inc. teaching courses at destinations around the world and authored a camera course for Sea&Sea USA. 

Marty’s cinematography has been used by National Geographic, Howard Hall Productions, the PBS series Nature, BBC, Discovery Channel, Audubon, Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, Hardy Jones Productions, ESPN, and many other networks and entities around the world. Marty has been honored with an EMMY award for his cinematography.

He served on the Board of Trustees of the Reef Environmental Education Foundation from 2010 until 2019. 

Marty is the author of ten books that delve into a variety ocean-related topics. In the late 1990s, he produced Depth Perception, the first online course on underwater photography. Marty is one of two on staff Photography Ambassadors at the Philippines-based Atlantis Liveaboard and Resorts, an Aqua Lung Ambassador, and NAUI's designated Photography Professional.

A Bit about the Rest of Marty's Life