MEET ONIKA

THE GIRL BEHIND THE LENS

I’m a freediver, a commercial vessel master and mate, and a photographer who loves everything below the surface.

I grew up at the Abrolhos Islands, a chain thirty nautical miles off Geraldton. It wasn’t until I was older that I realised how many people never get to see what I’ve seen out there.

My love for photography started at sixteen. I saved up from a casual job at the local supermarket and bought myself a GoPro, and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world, swimming around the islands filming everything and turning it into little YouTube videos. (Do a sneaky search and you might still find them.)

That GoPro came with me everywhere as I got older, crayfishing, windsurfing, spearfishing, exploring further around the islands. I loved photographing my partner windsurfing, and eventually I wanted more than the GoPro could give me. Enter my first mirrorless camera, the Sony a6400, and what a learning curve that was. The cheap housing that promised it could handle both diving and surfing… could not. Learning the camera, the housing, and editing all at once was a lot, but I stuck with it and slowly got better.

These days I shoot a mix of water sports, underwater wildlife, and lately some underwater portraits. I like working both ways: up close, to catch the detail in a single creature, and wide, for the whole scene around it. Mostly I’m after photos you wouldn’t usually find in a print shop.

All of it is done on a single breath. No tanks, no scuba gear, just freediving. I love being able to move without all that weight, and with no bubbles I can get far closer to the creatures than I otherwise could.

You can see my work in person at markets around Geraldton and Dongara. Check my Instagram for the latest times and places.