Michele is a 2011 inductee into the Woman Divers Hall of Fame. Much of her imagery has appeared in national and international publications. Matt Weiss is the owner, publisher and editor-in-chief of DivePhotoGuide.com, a leading underwater photography media publication with over 50,000 worldwide monthly readers.
Michele Westmorland is a freelance photographer with a variety of photographic skills. Westmorland Images, LLC operates from her home in Redmond, Washington. Michele has created a vast library of imagery from around the world. Her commercial work is a large part of her portfolio and covers beautiful travel locations, resort properties and lifestyle. She is also passionate about conservation and is proud to be a Founding Fellow of International League of Conservation Photographers. Her underwater and cultural photography has gained international recognition. Michele understands the need to tell a visual story, whether it covers exotic holiday locations or the wonders of the natural world.
She is also a Fellow National of the prestigious Explorers Club, a member of the Society of Woman Geographers, Wings WorldQuest, ASMP and NANPA. Michele is a 2011 inductee into the Woman Divers Hall of Fame. Much of her imagery has appeared in national and international publications. Michele has won several awards for her imagery including, Grand Prize in the Papua New Guinea Underwater category, the Environmental Photography Invitational, Photo District News, and many others. She is proud to be included in the book “Adventurous Dreams-Adventurous Lives” by Jason Schoonover. Her book “Ocean Duets” was published in 2006 and is focused on the beauty of the underwater world. As a speaker, Michele has given a variety of lectures on culture, the marine environment and photography workshops. Her recent speaking engagements were held at Explorers Club in San Diego, the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California and as a keynote speaker at the 2011 NANPA Summit. A documentary film and book project, Headhunt Revisited, is currently in post production. To see more on this project, visit www.headhuntrevisited.org.
Michele’s personal website is www.westmorlandimages.com
Email: michele@westmorlandimages.com
Matt Weiss is the owner, publisher and editor-in-chief of DivePhotoGuide.com, a leading underwater photography media publication with over 50,000 worldwide monthly readers. Matt has been working full time at DPG since 2009, and for years was the world’s only full time underwater photography editor. Matt also helped found the New York Underwater Photographic Society, where he currently serves as the president.
Matt spends over a third of the year in the field shooting assignments and running workshops for numerous print and digital publications. He is also a special correspondent for Sport Diver, where he co-authors the underwater photography column "Images." In 2011, Matt co-founded Scuba Diver Through The Lens, the world’s first international underwater photography print magazine that will be published quarterly beginning in 2012 and distributed in New York, Munich and Singapore.
Matt has been passionate about the ocean and photography for as long as he can remember. He is among the dying breed of people under 25 that know how to change a roll of film and work in a darkroom. Matt graduated from Skidmore College with a degree in Biology in 2009.
