Diving into the deep, Gishani Heaton narrates why she chose to be an underwater watch photographer
Words: Tina Edward Gunawardhana
Photographs: Courtesy of Gishani Heaton
Gishani Heaton began diving 10 years ago. Equipped with an Advanced Open Water Diving certification Gishani dives alongside her husband Jason photographing him as he tests out new state of the art underwater watches. Juggling her career as an IT project manager, Gishani who lives in Minnesota, USA has visited some of the most exotic locations in the world and her underwater photography has been featured in The New York Times, Hodinkee, Revolution and Gear Patrol.
What made you want to become a diver?
My husband, Jason, was certified in 2008 and it was his enthusiasm for the sport that got me intrigued. We were visiting Hikkaduwa in 2009 and he was out diving and I decided to take lessons. I now hold an Advanced Open Water Diver certification. We’ve been diving together ever since.
How difficult is underwater photography?
Diving is a skill of its own, and then you add photography to it, and it can be challenging. You have to be a proficient diver, with good buoyancy, and then know how to expose and compose a picture in an environment where light and colour are filtered out and your subjects are always moving. And then you have the housing, which keeps the camera sealed against the water, and the use of powerful strobes to light the subject. I have specialised in dive watch photography, which can be tricky since it involves shooting a tiny, shiny object on a person’s wrist with all the challenges of being underwater.
