Virginia Bria

Virginia has been scuba diving for 24 years and actively taking underwater photographs within a month of her initial scuba certification. After moving to California in 1977, she attended an underwater photography seminar out of curiosity, having studied photography at Pratt Institute, NY and teaching art professionally. She immediately was awed by the underwater work presented and quickly learned to dive and take her cameras underwater. She started with a 35mm Nikkormat in an Ikelite housing and a single strobe and a Nikonos III and has been upgrading and changing equipment ever since. Currently, she uses a Nikon N90S in a Subal housing with dual Sea & Sea strobes. She prefers macro, 60mm and 105mm, although she is learning wide angle as her next endeavor. Her film of choice is Kodak, Elitechrome 100, although much of her old shots were taken with Fuji Velvia and Kodachrome 64.

She has worked as a divemaster and dive instructor aboard the liveaboard dive boat DON JOSE, for Baja Expeditions for several years and considers Baja a second home. She has camped along the Sea of Cortez for 13 years, exploring and diving from Loreto to La Paz. Her photographic adventures have also taken her to Indonesia, Palau, Hawaii, Europe, Greece, French Polynesia, Bonaire, Turks & Caicos, Cozumel, Philippines, Thailand, and our own California coast.

Virginia was club president in 2001!

Click on the thumbnails below to see a larger version of Virginia's images.

Virginia was the NCUPS featured photographer for November, 2001.

Note: All images on these pages are copyright of the respective photographer.

Last Updated on Jan. 30, 2002/RHH