I’m Oliver Knopken,

Scuba Diver @ Herten Germany

“Since my early childhood I am absolutely fascinated by the ocean. Because of the movies from Hans Haas and Jaques Cousteau, I had the dream one time that I will discover oceanlife on my own. I am totaly interested in all knowledge about oceanlife as I absorb every single fact like a sponge”

“It began with some snorkeling experiences in Egypt. But suddenly in one of our trips, the conditions for snorkeling were bad. We met some divers who told us they did not care about the surface conditions. So we took our credit card and signed up for a Scuba Diving course. One week later we were “Open Water Divers” and our adventure just began”

“Life everywhere has become so hectic, loud and stressful. But if I put my head under the water adn breathe slowly the compressed air, hearing myself breathing, hearing my heartbeat, the world stops for a short time. Weightless floating, watching all these beautiful wonders of nature, so peaceful without thinking at all with my heart wide open. For me, it’s like meditation and therapy rolled into one.”

“Diving has taught me some important lessons about life. It has changed my life and behavior in relation to my environment. I got sensitized. I am more compassionate and caring, considerate and thoughtful, reverent and attentive. In summary, I am a better person because of Scuba Diving. I give more importance to each and every little tiny living being. I feel myself responsible to take care of things around me. We are all guests in these beautiful places and we should all behave as such. It is like a kind of mission to let people see what I see. I want to explain oceanlife and how everything is related”

“Every part of the ocean has it’s own kind of magic. Especially for me, I like wrecks and their special mystique. I love sharks which should be more protected. I am fascinated by night dives and their mixture of darkness, quiet and adventure. The most impressive experience I’ve had so far is diving in the Indo-Pacific with it’s unbelievable diversity of species and with the topographical peculiarities of the different diving areas”

~ You can see more of Oliver’s amazing photos and videos via links to his social media at the bottom of this page.