Dive deeper with Daan - freediver and underwater photographer

It is a rather close and personal talk with a ‘water man’, a freediver and underwater photographer whose turbulent life story brought him to overlooking the sea, house on the cliff. Living simple life while having the biggest and richest of all things - passion.

Let’s start with a small introduction for those who don’t know, what exactly is free diving? How did you start to be interested in it?

Freediving in the broadest sense is any type of underwater activity done on breath-hold. So it can include snorkeling and exploring reefs, or spearfishing, or underwater photography. Competitive freediving is when you strive to hold your breath for a maximum time, distance or depth.

I think most freedivers were already freediving without knowing it - I was always swimming underwater as a kid. It was how I learned: I was afraid of water but my stepfather let me ride on his back, which felt very safe. The best thing was when he pushed off the wall and went underwater, and we would fly. I would hold onto him long as I could and let go when I needed to, and float back to the surface. I loved that. Years later I was reminded of it when I was on a scuba trip and we did a snorkeling excursion.

A friend and I had fun trying to get as deep as possible, touching a wreck at 15 meters, and it felt much more free than having them big tanks on your back. When we got back home my friend saw there was a documentary called ‘Ocean Men’ playing in the Imax theatre, and it showed these men diving deeper than imaginable. I couldn’t quite relate to the competitive bit, but then one of the guys dove down to a wreck at maybe 10 meters, something I could relate to, and he went in it! That moment I decided I would like to train for that, it seemed achievable.

Within a year I had stopped smoking and started training. I was an average freediver on an international level but because the sport is so small in the Netherlands I quickly set a few national records. There are 6 competitive disciplines and I have had records in 5 of them at various points. After a while it became too much about records and ego and I was losing my love for it, so I decided to focus more on safety freediving; the main part of freediving safety is to never dive alone, and in competitions there are dedicated safety divers who can make sure the competitors make it to the surface in case of trouble. A big part of what I find so appealing in freediving is also the community; we depend on each other in the water, and it creates a strong bond. I feel a real connection not just to the water, but to every being in it, and as a safety diver, I could stay part of the community. I really enjoyed it and was very glad when I was awarded safety diver of the year. I’ve also set some world records: nobody’s been deeper in a tutu on breath hold than I have, I have worn Superman underwear to 65 meters deep, and taken a bite out of an apple at 20 meters.

Between photography and freediving, what is your biggest love?

Oh, that’s a difficult question! They are so intertwined! Maybe it’s photography because I am rarely in the water without a camera these days, and I always bring a camera when I go out the door. They are two passions that slowly and separately grew around the same time, but when they met, the moment I first held a DSLR in an underwater housing, the shutter clicked, and so did something on a cellular level in me. That was 5 years ago and I can recall that moment and that sound very vividly. Things came together and to separate them into which one I love more is a bit like taking the cheese off a pizza.

Taking underwater photos usually doesn’t feel like an effort at all, until afterward, when I realize I am quite tired. It’s like playing - water is a very playful element, it lifts you and lets you sink, it sets you free to go in any direction you like, it plays with light and light plays with it, and you get to play along.

The challenge is often the duration - I am in the water for 6 to 8 hours. I need to stay hydrated and safe. I might not realize it completely but at the end of the day I have done 40, 50, 60 dives and I might be near the end of my energy and accidents are more likely to occur then. Plus the sea is unpredictable: there are currents, weird little stingy beasts, visibility issues, waves - it’s a challenging element.

How does it feel there deep in the water? Most people are terrified of such places.

It’s tricky to describe, but for a lot of people, it’s very peaceful. Part of that is caused by what is called ‘the mammalian dive reflex’, which is a set of responses your body goes through as soon as you submerge your face underwater and which become more pronounced the deeper you go. One element of it is that your heart rate drops significantly. You notice that, and everything sort of feels like it slows down with it. You move slower, you think a bit slower. If you’re really lucky, you dissolve into the pressure and become part of the water.

This might sound very strange, but I have found most people can relate to another phenomenon which is similar: when you’re laying in bed with your lover and you’re holding each other, you’re sometimes not entirely aware whose arms are on which body part, you’re just an entangled mass of limbs and bits. That feeling of unity, but then with an element as powerful as water, is pretty magical. Then again, if you’re not relaxed it can feel as though an elephant is sitting on your chest.

What would you say about your relationship with water?

Strictly Platonic! Platonic water... maybe a splash of gin? I kinda fall into grace when I enter the water. Or so it feels, graphic evidence suggests otherwise, but I feel a lot less cumbersome when submerged, to the point of being near-graceful.

Water is such a wonderful element, it is hugely powerful yet it plays like a child, it can lift us and crush us, nourish us and starve us, it feels like home and entirely alien all at once. You know how the old views of elements were of earth, water, air, and fire? I feel I’m mostly water and air. Often hot air, so there must be some fire in me as well, but I’m not much of an earth man. Earth is all the way down there, it takes forever to bend down to it, it’s harsh on the joints, drags you down, gets under your nails. Water buoys you,

engulfs you, sets you free. Of course, I have been around water long enough to know that it will also chew you up and not even spit you out if you mess up or disrespect it - I’ve lost friends to the sea. I’m not naïve, and part of the thrill I feel when seeing a large body of water is that old fear I felt when I was a kid.

Passions are often built out of conquered fears. I use that fear now, to stay aware of dangers while letting the waves lull me into relaxation. It’s like my father said: “Water is innocent of the temptations that well up from it; it even washes away its own sins.”

What about your private life? What and who you surround yourself with to live this ‘water’ life?

Was it always your dream?

My dream was to become a writer, like my father. He was a philosopher and the deepest man I have ever met - yet he couldn’t swim. So I wanted to be a writer like Roald Dahl. But writing petrifies me - the bar is set too high.

Then when I didn’t get into photography school I was a bit lost. I studied communication arts in New York, thinking about maybe going into advertising, but I found that field too manipulative. When my father was diagnosed with cancer I moved back to Den Bosch, The Netherlands, to be with him, and then I stayed to take care of his legacy. I was struggling with depression until I found freediving and photography, my own passions, which helped me pull myself out of a bit of a dark hole I had dug for myself.

Then in 2010, I lost my job in the economic depression, and I drifted a while. At a freediving event, I got closer to a girl I had met at events before. Within a year I was working for her gardening business and getting the occasional photography job. Then I first held a real underwater camera and things really clicked. After a year or so, I started making a living solely doing underwater photography and films.

But London life is tough, landscaping and gardening are bad for your back and we wanted a life more filled with the sea. Plus by that time we’d gotten a dog and she yearned for more runs in fields than London could provide.

We were on a trip to Cornwall when we saw a house on a cliff overlooking the sea, and we just fell in love with the place. The house was almost derelict, but it had a lovely vibe to it and the view was endlessly beautiful, so we sold the place in London and bought the place in Cornwall. We’re rebuilding it right now - the scariest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s shaping up to be a real warm and gorgeous home, better than anything I could have ever dreamed up. I often find this with reality - it’s so much better than anything we can think up. I have the same with photography; I come up with ideas but I try not to hold on to them too much, as reality usually is much better. Letting go of your ideas and dreams and letting reality take over is one of life’s scariest joys.

In my case, that means also that I am rich in experiences and people, but I don’t think I’ll ever be rich monetarily. I drive a 14-year-old car, don’t have a TV, don’t a vacation, don’t do watches or fashion or have any extravagances other than that camera. My girl is the same. We have suits, but they’re wetsuits.

The thing I’m looking forward to most is sitting with my girl and the dogs by the fire-place and looking over the bay in our new house, maybe going of to the study room to be surrounded by my dad’s books and working at his desk, or going down to the sea for a dip, enjoying that green-blue, the kelp, the carps, maybe a seal. That’s my dream these days - I finally found what I want to be when I grow up. I can do this, travel from here, photograph people and beasts underwater, and be happy until the day I die.