Chuck Kopczak, Ph.D.
I became seriously addicted to photography in the late 1970s. By 1980 I had combined my photography with my SCUBA diving to take photos of the marine life below the surface along the Southern California coast. At the same time I had graduated from California State University Long Beach (CSULB) with a degree in Marine Biology. Then I began using my underwater (U/W) photography in support of my research projects while pursuing a Masters degree at CSULB. I continued in marine ecological research and U/W photography while earning my Ph.D. from the University of Southern California studying kelp forests from Monterey, California south to Bahia Tortugas (Turtle Bay) in Baja California Sur.
I switched to digital photography in 2003, and have been hooked on it ever since. A native of southern California, most of my photography has been of the wildlife and landscapes of the Pacific Coast of North America. Besides U/W photography, I also do nature, wildlife and landscape photography above water. Even though I am a marine ecologist by training, I am deeply in love with California's deserts, and the mountains that surround the Los Angeles Basin. I also spend time exploring the seashores, oak savannas, and mountains of the coast ranges in central California. As budgets and time allowed I have been fortunate to make trips to photograph the wildlife and landscapes of Alaska in the north, and the marine life at the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula.