I’m Stefani Flax,

Scuba Diver @ Monterey California

“For nearly 30 years, I have been an educator, healer and advocate to individuals with moderate to severe cognitive and communication / behavioral challenges. I treated myself to a Scuba Diving course for my 40th spin around the sun. I had to (and still someitmes have to) overcome a phobia of large bodies of water. I’m a strong swimmer but phobias don’t work like that. I remember on my first dive, when I descended and established buoyancy, I experienced an overwhelming feeling of coming home. A sense of oneness and wholeness. Eventually, I brought a camera with me so I could capture and share the magic.”

“Diving and experiencing the ocean has improved the quality of my life in so may ways. It has taught me how to direct my attention to the present moment and provides strengthening activities through dynamic bilateral movement in weightlessness. The photography adds a creative outlet and there are strong Free Diving and Scuba Diving communities. It’s hard not to love kelp and algae. It is especially fun capturing it’s fluidity and movement in a still shot. I also like finding macro worlds bustling inside dark nooks and crannies.”

“The kelp forests and pinnacles along the central coast of California are my favorite. 99% of my dive experiences have been off California as I have much to look forward to exploring.”

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