Dr Alexander Mustard (Grafton 93)

7 November 2018

Last term, Dr Alexander Mustard (Grafton 93)MBE, visited Stowe to see his underwater photography displayed in the Worsley Science Centre. Alex is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading underwater photographers. He has been taking photographs underwater since he was 9 years old and has worked as a full time underwater photographer since 2004.

His photographs have won many awards including regularly in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year – appearing in 10 different books of winning pictures. He is a four-time category winner in the British Wildlife Photography Awards amongst many others. His 2007 book Reefs Revealed, won the International Grand Prize for the best book of underwater photographs, while his 2016 instructional book Underwater Photography Masterclass has rapidly become the most sought after title on the subject and was reprinted just two weeks after its launch.

His photographs have been displayed in exhibitions around the world and a particular highlight was personally presenting his work to Queen Elizabeth II. In 2003 he received the Visions In the Sea Award for Outstanding Contributions to Underwater Photography and recently was given the ADEX 2016 Award for Extraordinary Contribution to Underwater Photography. In 2013, Alex was named GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year for his image Night Moves. It remains the only time an underwater photograph has won this prestigious award. In 2018 he was made an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in recognition of his achievements as an underwater photographer.