Takako Uno is a full-time underwater photojournalist. She’s been diving for more than 25 years, but was a casual photographer — first using a disposable underwater camera — until she borrowed an SLR from Stephen Wong (who is now her husband!) in 1997. She’s never looked back.

Sport Diver Asia Pacific: Where did you first start diving?
Takako Uno: I am from Japan and began diving in Izu Peninsula, Japan.

SDAP: We know that your first camera was a housed disposable film camera. What camera system do you use now?
TU: I have been using a Nikon D90 with a Nauticam housing and Inon Z240 strobes. Not big megapixels, but the camera and housing are compact and light enough for me.

SDAP: You shoot both macro and wide-angle. Do you have a favorite type of photography?
TU: I love all kinds of marine photography; however, I concentrate more on macro critters (until my eyesight gets worse).

SDAP: What is your most memorable moment underwater?
TU: I have quite a number of good memories underwater and don’t have a single best one. However, I can share one. I was in Tonga, and one big humpback mama pushed her tiny calf towards me. It was like mama was showing off her baby and saying, “Look. Look at my beautiful baby, please.” I dropped my camera and enjoyed this heartwarming experience.

SDAP: Have you had any scary moments underwater?
TU: Not really underwater, but two incidents that affected my ability to dive. In 2003, I dived so much in December that I suddenly couldn’t close my right eye while diving. After that, my face shifted towards left, and I had a loss of facial muscular control, loss of high frequency in hearing, etc. Later, back in Hong Kong, I was diagnosed as having Bell’s palsy (a disorder of the nerves that control the movement of facial muscles), plus inflammation of tissues in the middle ear pressing against the a nerve, which induced all the facial paralysis issues. I couldn’t dive for six months, until the face and ear were back to normal. Then in 2006, while on a live-aboard around Komodo, two of my fingers were crushed by a wind-slammed door (my fingers were at the hinge part) and had to go through five hospitals (four in Indonesia and one in Hong Kong). Now, my two fingers do not have bone stems anymore, as the powdered bones have been fused with the faster-growing flesh. I can use them, but with very weak power.

SDAP: Your work is so lovely — have you received any awards or honors?
TU: I have received some awards in a few competitions, including Blue Earth (Japan), Los Angeles UPS (USA), British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), British Gas (UK), and Nature Best (USA). In March 2009, I was inducted as a member into the Ocean Artists Society.

SDAP: Where have your images been published?
TU: My work has been published in more than 150 journals in more than 20 countries, including National Geographic Magazine (worldwide), National Geographic Explorer (USA), BBC Wildlife (UK), Unterwasser (Germany), Tauchen (Germany), GEO (Germany & internationally), Smithsonian (USA), Scuba Diving (USA), Sport Diver (USA), WetPixel Quarterly (USA), Fathoms (USA), DIVER (UK), Diver (Canada), Diver (Japan), Diving Photography (Japan), Marine Photo (Japan), Dive the World (Denmark & Scandinavia), Sportdiving (Australia), Asian Diver (Singapore), Scuba Diver Australasia (Singapore), EZDive (Singapore Taiwan), HK Discovery (Hong Kong), Chinese National Geographic (China PRC), and ProDiver (China PRC).

SDAP: We understand you’ve been credited with discovering some new species — what are they?
TU: I have been very lucky — I've found five species of nudibranchs, one octopus, one snappy shrimp and one crab.

SDAP: Are there any underwater photographers you admire?
TU: Stephen Wong (my husband), as he tries hard to achieve the images that he intends to (though he often does not succeed, hahaha). Honestly, without him, I would not be where I am in my photography.

SDAP: What advice do you have for beginning photographers?
TU: Develop good diving skills, especially good buoyancy control; practice respectful behaviour towards the animal and its environment, and maintain the passion for what you are doing.

SDAP: Where are you going next?
TU: By the time you read this, I will be in Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

For more of Takako’s work, visit her website.