Underwater photographer Wesley Skiles dies

[Dennis Donovan]

The Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Wesley Skiles, a well-known underwater photographer, cinematographer and explorer, has died.

The Palm Beach Sheriff's Office on Thursday said Skiles died the day before while on a dive. He was 52.

Authorities say Skiles motioned to one of his divers that he was ascending because he was out of film. Several minutes later the rest decided to ascend and they saw Skiles' body lying motionless on the ocean floor. They rushed him to the surface and administered CPR. He was transported to a hospital and pronounced deceased.



Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/22/1742336/underwater-photographer-wesley.html#ixzz0uShT1HcN

[Rhiannon12866]

1. Obituary: Famed Florida underwater photographer Wes Skiles

HIGH SPRINGS — Photographer Wes Skiles, whose work will soon grace the cover of the August 2010 National Geographic, loved water and braved countless dangers filming it.

He survived hurricanes, escaped collapsing caves and fended off sharks.

Peers compared him to Jacques Cousteau, another undersea photographer and environmentalist.

Mr. Skiles, an Alachua County adventurer with an international reputation, died Wednesday in a diving accident off Boynton Beach. He was 52. The cause of his death is unknown.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/obituaries/famed-florida-underwater-photographer-wes-skiles/1110545


Wes Skiles specialized in scenes such as this: Divers enter a large room inside Silver Glen Spring for a program about the St. Johns River shown on PBS.