Scuba diving has unexpectedly become part of my life

Somehow I’ve already clocked up 27 dives! Honestly, I’m just tagging along with my husband Honza’s childhood dream — he’s busy taking all the PADI courses. Me? Before each time I dive I’m terrified and when I’m trying to get into my wet suit I’m thinking: What on earth am I doing? But the moment I put my head underwater and a fish swims past, I’m totally captivated.

Underwater filmmaking

I want to share my submersive experiences with you, to give you a sense of how I collect the footage that later appears in my video art.

Sea creatures

Red glazed ceramic wall hanging starfish

I’m so inspired by what I see that I’ve even started sculpting some in clay. This red glazed ceramic starfish is available for sale from my web shop. 10% of each sale supports marine conservation, helping protect the very creatures that inspired this artwork.

Still from a VJ clip of a sea anemone with mirrored effect

At first I was lured by the swaying anemones. Then I got into identifying fish and observing their habits. Now I’m fascinated by the colours of algae and sponges. Ball algae, for example — they look like nothing special but always catch my eye.

Rocks with colourful life

I love watching big salmonetes (striped red mullet) feasting on the seabed whenever it stirs, and schools of tiny salmonetes pulsing in tight formations. Then there are the huge groupers, child-sized and brooding in their sheltered spots, spoon worms laying out their long thin tongues from hidden crevices, red starfish gripping the rocks — even a baby one. One of my favourite recent moments was shining a torch into a little grotto at the bottom of a 17m high cliff wall and finding it absolutely bursting with life and colour.

Scuba health and safety

Emma the scuba diver

I feel vulnerable when I’m down there. What if I have an air leak? Or lose my bearings (I’ve got zero sense of direction underwater)? What if I shoot up uncontrollably when my air tank gets light and then get my head crushed by a jet ski? Plus, I don’t always understand Honza’s hand signals. I have a huge respect for our safety procedures and the sea in general.

Breathing underwater

Emma Plunkett scuba diving

Breathing underwater has always been my dream. As a kid in Northolt swimming pool, inspired by the 1970s Man From Atlantis series, I used to practise “breathing” underwater — choking! Now, with a regulator in my mouth, that childhood dream is pure freedom.

Romantic dives

A couple of scuba divers

I especially love when it’s just the two of us — no dive school, no timetable. Honza guiding me, taking our time, exploring at our own pace. That’s when the big blue feels magical. After gearing up we do up to 70 minute dives together.

I get distracted

Two different schools of fish

A big fish glides past and I’m compelled to identify it. Then I spot a young dusky grouper or an octopus barricading its den with rocks. Sometimes I’m amidst a school of fish — filming them from below, the surface glittering above and then I spot Honza’s elegant calm silhouette and film him.

Not exactly cave diving but…

Sky lights in an underwater cave

Inside the caverns, sunlight pours in through rocky skylights. Bubbles collect like chandelier crystals in the roof. Large fish hold steady formations in their favourite spots or singles confidently glide by solo. I’m no longer scared of them because I have become familiar with their behaviour. But I’m always aware of what lurks deeper.

Caretakers of the oceans

Emma the scuba diver

It’s funny — diving began as Honza living his childhood dream and my hesitation. But now, after a few required safety courses and a lot of practice, each dive feels like our extraordinary quality time together. I’m filming, learning, practising buoyancy, even dancing weightlessly for the fish. We’ve also become aware of the need to support sea conservation and the mess humans are still making is obvious (litter picking is a small task amongst many). But honestly? Once I’m down there, I don’t want to come back up.