Mark Spencer has been diving since 1975 and taking photographs underwater since 1978. He originally took up a camera in order to identify the strange new creatures he was discovering and learn more about them. Eventually, he found he could rarely enter the water without his camera, for fear of missing out on that once-in-a-lifetime encounter with some new creature. Mark eventually found that photography was not only a means of sharing his experiences with others, but of conveying his feelings of the sea and our special relationship with it. A dental practitioner for 23 years, Mark now divides his time between the practice of dentistry and the pursuit of his love and dedication in life ... diving and underwater photography.

Mark also produces multi-projector audio-visual presentations to enhance the entertainment value of his slide shows. One of his biggest audio-visual presentations used 19-projectors and was about his project to photo-document a shipwreck, the S.S. Catterthun, in deep water off Seal Rocks, NSW -- a challenging adventure partly-sponsored by Australian Geographic, and published in their magazine in (July-Sept) 1992. In 1996 Mark completed the two year documentation of a flooded limestone cave in Wellington, NSW. This project also partly sponsored by Australian Geographic, and an article was published in their magazine in (Jan-March) 1997. He has also explored and photographed the flooded sumps of Jenolan Caves in NSW.

He is an assignment photographer for Australian Geographic and was also production photographer for the Adventures of the Quest television series.Mark has been published in other major journals, including National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, GEO and Living Planet magazines and in 1997, he was elected a Fellow International of the Explorers Club, based in New York. He is a frequent speaker at diving congresses, specialty seminars, film festivals and community service groups such as Rotary, (Mark is a member of the Rotary Club of Sydney). In 1997 and 1998, Mark led an Australian contingent on two expeditions to Turkey to examine the alleged discovery of the Australian WW1 submarine AE2. This project received Government imprimatur with some financial assistance from the Royal Australian Navy. In 1998 his team confirmed the wreck as indeed the AE2, and a full report of this project has been submitted to appropriate Government and Defence departments, as well as major maritime museums and archaeological establishments (www.navy.gov.au/history/AE2). He is currently concentrating his efforts on a series of panoramic posters called The Australia Downunder Series. All half-in and half-out of the water, these images depict popular seaside regions of Australia.

Mark Spencer is considered one of the leading underwater photographers in Australia and has won numerous awards in photography competitions.