About Lill Haugen

"For me, the true magic is in the ocean. The wild seas are so close, so familiar, but still like a stranger, keeping its secrets. To divers, there is another submerged world to be explored. Below the surface, a blue liquid planet awaits, where I can soar weightlessly through lush kelp forests and swim with silvery schools of fish, eye to eye with creatures that look like they are from another galaxy – all to the quiet sound of my own breathing. But it is also a fragile and threatened world. Today, more than ever, our oceans must be treated with respect and used with prudence and wisdom." Lill Haugen

Lill Haugen is a PADI diving instructor, underwater photographer and journalist from Norway:

I am originally from Ørsta, on the ragged, stunning Norwegian west coast, but I am normally to be found in the capital city of Norway, Oslo.

Cold water diver
I am a PADI Open water scuba instructor and certified IANTD Advanced nitrox/recreational trimix, after taking up scuba diving in Brisbane, Australia, in 2001. Blown away by the fascinating underwater world of Moreton Bay, and close encounters with sharks, whales, rays and turtles - I simply could not stop, even after moving back to the icy waters of Norway. Armed with a dry suit, big hood and even dry suit gloves, I continued exploring the underwater world in the Norwegian fjords - which luckily offers some of the world's best cold water diving.

Media
My studies focused on media- and communications at Volda University College, and I continued on to complete my Masters of Business in public relations in Australia, at Queensland University of Technology. On a daily basis I work as a public relations adviser and journalist working with health and lifestyle issues in Norway, besides exploring the world as an underwater photographer and freelance journalist - regularly published in the dive magazine of Norway (Dykking) and international dive magazines - as well as travel magazines and newspapers in Norway, and also with a selection of images in the base of NTB scanpix.

Underwater photography
I’m rarely found without my camera when underwater; you never know what amazing creatures or scene you may come across when diving. Every dive is a new adventure. Presently, I am using digital SLR Nikon D300 in a Nexus aluminum housing, with Inon Z-240 strobes. I mainly use my photos to tell stories, but I also do some competing. I have participated in the Norwegian Championship in Underwater Photography in 2007, where I placed 2nd. In 2008, I placed 4th, and in 2010 I was able to land the title Norwegian Champion 2010 and again in 2011 and in 2013 for the third time. I represented Norway in the World Underwater Photography Championship in Turkey in May 2011 and won the silver medal in category "Fish". I placed 9th in the Nordic Championship in Underwater Photography in 2008,  2nd in 2010 and 3rd in 2011. Gold medal in in Ocean art photo competition 2011 "cold water" and bronze medal in Deep Indonesia “animal behavior” in 2012, and 2nd and 3rd place in Ocean art photo competition 2013 in Super Macro and Nudi branchs. Portfolio: View a selection of my images can be viewed here.

Exploring the South Pacific in 2009
Returning to the South Pacific region in 2009, I spent the whole year diving the tropical islands of Fiji, working on a number of dive-related projects. Conveniently located only footsteps away from home base was the world famous Shark Dive in Beqa Lagoon, Pacific Harbour in Fiji. The Shark Dive hosts up to eight species of sharks, including Bull and Tiger sharks, which makes for interesting and very intense photography. I am fortunate to dive regularly with Beqa Adventure Divers, providing photographs of Bull sharks for scientific purposes, and to tell the story of the sharks’ plight. These "shark tales" help the public understand shark behavior and the threats that sharks face, and hopefully support conservation efforts of sharks around the globe. I am also involved in shark conservation in Norway, as adviser of the organization Hjelp Havets Haier.

 Lill in the "Shark Pit", photographing one of the regular bull sharks, "Bumphead". Photo: Robin Nagy