October 18 Program:  UNDER THE SURFACE

Photography underground and underwater

Erich Schlegel

Erich Schlegel is an award-winning freelance photographer based in Austin. Erich was born in Mexico to American parents and grew up speaking English and Spanish while growing up throughout Latin America. He received an international business degree from SMU, but his passion for photography led him to a career in photojournalism. Erich was staff photographer at The Brownsville Herald, The Corpus Christi Caller-Times, then The Dallas Morning News. While at the DMN, his assignments ranged from high school football to Winter and Summer Olympics, long documentary projects and conflicts around the world.

In 2008, Erich left The Dallas Morning News to pursue a successful freelance career, and ever since, his client base changes constantly. Current clients include Texas Highways magazine, Austin Opera, USA Today Sports, Texas Water Foundation, Colorado River Land Trust and the Edwards Aquifer Authority. He has also done several assignments for National Geographic magazine, including documenting a source-to-sea paddling expedition on the Amazon River in 2012.

Recently, Erich has been working underground and underwater. Caving and underwater photography for different clients. This is the focus of his presentation, and both are amazing worlds that he is looking forward to sharing with our club!

Atlantic Bottlenose dolphin dives from the surface at Gladden Spit Marine Reserve off the coast of Placencia, Belize. The dolphin has shark bite marks around its head. Photo by Erich Schlegel
Dr. Molly Cummings of the University of Texas at Austin fishes underwater for small grouper around the supports of an offshore oil rig in Gulf of Mexico, east of Port Aransas, Texas. The fish will be used for research on underwater camouflage. Photo by Erich Schlegel

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