Aaron Wong is a professional underwater photographer who lives in Singapore. Wong loves the creative aspect of underwater photography, and it shines through in his work. We talked to him about the artist's eye for capturing stunning images.

Sport Diver: How long have you been diving? Where did you start?

Aaron Wong: I’ve been out at sea for as long as I can remember, but my official open water certification was done in 2002, on a neighboring island in east Malaysia.

SD: When did you start shooting underwater?

AW: I started shooting underwater in 2000, even before I got my open water certification. I was already doing commercial photography work for a couple of years, so it was sort of a natural progression for me to bring my camera underwater, as my passion for the ocean has always been there. It was a Nikonos V, which I brought along for snorkeling trips. It may sound like overkill, but in those days, we did not have small point and shoots in neat little housings.

SD: Yes, the landscape for underwater photographers has really been transformed. What camera system do you use now?

AW: I’m working on a Nikon D3 now in Seacam housing and Sea & Sea YS250 strobes.

SD: Have you had a particularly memorable moment underwater?

AW: This is a really tough question to ask anyone who had spent half his adult life at sea! But if I had to pick one, I’d say my first dive in a cenote in Mexico while on assignment. The visibility was unreal, 60 meters or more. It was so clear and void of any sediment, that it looked like there wasn’t any water at all. And when the sunlight penetrates through the canopy and rocks, you get the most spectacular dancing light show ever. It was so beautiful I almost forgot to do my job … Shoot!

SD: The gallery of images you shared with us has a few examples of your cenote photography, and they are spectacular. But you also shared some lovely macro images, too. Do you have a favorite type of photography?

AW: I like creative work, both wide-angle and macro. A great picture of the most common subject can beat a normal image of the rarest species anytime — this is what I have always believed in and I teach my students this all the time.

SD: With as much time as you spend in such interesting environments, have you had any scary or funny moments underwater?

AW: Let's leave the scary ones out. I’ll tell you a classic funny moment. I was conducting a workshop on a liveaboard, a "lesson" when I emphasize how important it is to double check your system before a dive. Shortly after that, we geared up for our night dive. Once at the bottom, I turn on my camera and strobes as usual and started looking around for subjects. It wasn’t long before I found one, and as I brought my camera to my eye, I couldn’t see a thing. It was pitch black. Considering that I was on a 60mm with a 2 x converter, I simply thought that my focus light was aiming at the wrong place, which would explain why I couldn’t see anything. I adjusted it perfectly, looked through the finder and still saw nothing. I immediately turned the camera around to look at my lens through the port. The word NIKON greeted me … I had forgotten to remove my lens cap after switching from wide-angle to macro for the night dive! And it happened right after I told everyone, “It is important to DOUBLE CHECK your system!”

SD: Well, despite that misstep, you have had some awesome assignments. Your work has been published widely — Scuba Diving (USA), Sport Diver, Fifty Fathoms, Wetpixel Quarterly, Unterwasser (Germany), Asian Geographic, and Scuba Diver Australasia — to name just a few publications. What are you proudest of?

AW: My second book The Blue Within, published in April 2012. It showcases the best of my underwater images from a decade of underwater exploration. The foreword was written by David Doubilet, which was a great honor.

SD: Oh, that is nice. David is one of the world's most recognized and admired underwater photographers.

AW: His work inspires me simply because he pushes boundaries. His images not only speak a very unique creative language but are also timeless. Many of his great work done in the '70s is still relevant and admired today. Which is why I was humbled when he agreed to write the foreword for my book.

*SD: What advice do you have for beginning photographers?

AW: Think outside the box … be different. See beauty in the most common of things.

SD: That's good advice, and it certainly informs your work. What can we expect next from you?

AW: Apart from all the usual destinations in Asia Pacific where I have assignments for, I am planning an Antarctica expedition.

Wong has photographed some of the most beautiful animals in the sea. Whip corals are also known as sea fans and sea whips. Tiny polyps form colonies that are normally flattened and branching, resembling a fan. Others may be whiplike, bushy, or even encrusting.

Pairs of male and female harlequin shrimp (Hymenocera picta) are usually found together where they work to reproduce and get food. At their largest, they are only about 2 inches long. Take care when photographing — they are very sensitive to any changes in their environment.

Finding a goby on a sponge often means the spot is a cleaning station.

Freshwater crabs are small scavengers that can be fascinating to photograph. There are around 1,300 species of the freshwater variety, and they tend to be endemic to local waters.

Known for their stout bodies and large mouths, grouper can be difficult to approach — be patient and let the fish come to you. Snap the photo when it opens its mouth.

Reef cuttlefish are typically found on shallow reefs. Their average life expectancy is only one to two years. Cuttlefish have sophisticated eyes. Some scientists have theorized that their eyes develop completely before birth, and that they start seeing their surroundings while still in the egg. As a result, the scientists say, they may prefer to hunt the prey they saw before hatching.

Green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) migrate long distances between feeding grounds and hatching beaches. This one is coming up for a breath of air. Like all other sea turtles, the green is listed as endangered.

To view more of Aaron Wong's underwater photography, visit Aaron Wong's Marine Fine Art Images.