Paula Butler
Here in Central California, I live in the midst of some of the very best underwater and terrestrial photographers in the U.S., if not the World. There is always a wealth of lectures, seminars, classes, and advise available throughout the year here locally as well as destination courses and expeditions where you can learn a lot about photography and the newest photographic and video equipment available. Within a few years of getting my Open Water certification, I attended my first Northern California Underwater Photographic Society meeting. Within about a minute, I became completely obsessed with the marine environment and u/w photography. For four and a half years, I served on the board of NCUPS as the Marketing Director. My love of both the sea and photography were major factors in my decision to leave my job as a corporate vice president and make diving a central focus in my life.
I consider myself very lucky to have dived in some extraordinary locations, including the Caribbean, Hawaii, Bali, Komodo, Alor, Raja Ampat, Ambon and other locations around the Banda Sea. Joining Salaya Beach Houses in 2017, proved to be a good decision, Dumaguete offers a wide variety of underwater dive sites.
After 10 years with Wakatobi Dive Resort, I enjoyed working in another part of the “Coral Triangle” or Earth’s center of bio-diversity. This boutique resort has lovely accommodations as well as spectacular tropical diving with everything from the smallest creatures in the sea to the whale sharks at Oslob. The near proximity to Apo Island, which is on any short list of the best dive sites in the world should make any divers list of “must-dive locales.”