Chase Darnell is an award winning ocean photographer, videographer and filmmaker. Chase has a deep passion for recording and depicting ocean environments and those enjoying their elements in order to show their natural beauty and lasting yet fragile place on this earth and in people’s hearts.
For the last 5 years of my life, I have put myself into the environment that I wish to experience and document as much as I can. Currently residing in Grand Cayman surrounded by some of the clearest water in the Caribbean it's not hard to wake up in the morning for ‘work’ knowing you're heading out on the water. With a camera in hand and some type of aquatic environment to explore, I cannot help but have this feeling deep in my soul, that something amazing, something rare, or something life changing might happen at any given moment in front of my lens. Does this always happen? No and that’s what keeps me so hungry for more. The wait, the preparation, the time spent and experience earned.
Chase was born into a family of divers in landlocked Jolly, Texas. Now at age 27, he has a decades worth of diving under his belt and has found his way to Grand Cayman, where he lives with his loving Girlfriend and their two Boston Terriers, Ebbie and Nollie. After all this time in the water, it was a natural transition to start documenting his encounters. Starting with video, Chase began to film his diving adventures and quickly became interested in stills. Having only been shooting stills underwater since October 2013, he has been able to take advantage of the ease and abundance of diving in his backyard to hone his skills. Chase accounts his encounters and images to a simple theory: More hours in the water = more life changing experiences.
Awards + Achievements
- Honourable Mention – Creative Vision the WYLAND Award of Outstanding Achievement 2016 | Ocean Geographic POFY
- Gold – Surf Category, Deep Indonesia 2016
- Brone – Surf Category, Deep Indonesia 2016
- 3rd Place – Animal Behavior, Deep Indonesia 2015
- 3rd Place Lions and Legends 2015
- 2015 Cayfilm Finalist
- Published on DivePhotoGuide.com
- Published on AlphaUniverse
Connect with Chase
Instagram @chasedarnellphotography
Facebook @chasedarnellphotography
