I
t’s often said we know more about the vast space of the surrounding universe than we do of the ocean on our own planet, and that is true to a certain extent. Perhaps if there were a few more cinematographers like Tobias Friedrich, that wouldn’t be the case.
The German has committed his life to exploration of the deep blue – uncovering not just knowledge and insight, but shooting some of the most stunning sub aqua photography you could wish to see.
Friedrich grew up in Wiesbaden, in the Hessen region of German, a city whose nearest coastline is some 350km away; this, not an obvious start point for a career that would see him spend so much time under the waves. In fact, the nearest thing his home could offer to a watery wonderland is the Kochbrunnen, a famous hot spring that bubbles up 360 litres every minute. It shares around 85% of the most prevalent ions in the seawater, chloride and sodium. While the fountain is scant consolation to expanses of sea, it did provide an unlikely catalyst for a fascination of what lies beneath.
“I was always interested in underwater life, and the oceans of the world,” he tells ONBOARD Magazine. “There was just something so special and mystical about it.
“When I was a child, I followed the stories of Jacques Cousteau, and while as a teenager I became distracted by other things, I soon grasped again a passion for the sea.”
When Friedrich finished school he worked for a year in Germany’s social sector. At the time, it was a mandatory requirement, and designed to connect school graduates with communities and industry. “I worked at the Red Cross as a paramedic, and one of the other guys there was a diving instructor. He offered cheap courses for people who were doing the social year.”
Wiesbaden’s somewhat inconvenient location meant lessons took place in the local swimming pool, but the setting was perfect for him to build competence across practical lessons. “It was a very safe place to begin - we learned how to breathe underwater in small groups, and later
ONBOARD | SPRING 2023 | 67
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