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How Mabul Island Brought a Renowned Photographer Back to Diving

Nick Melidonis hadn't dived in seven years after a near-fatal fall. A trip to Mabul and Sipadan changed that.

Meet Nick Melidonis: teacher, traveller, sailor, diver, author, musician, and a renowned landscape photographer. Born in Alexandria, Egypt to Greek parents, he moved to Australia at the age of six and now lives in Perth.

Nick Melidonis on a photography trip.
Nick Melidonis on a photography trip.

He spent an earlier career as a corporate lecturer before becoming a professional photographer in the late 1990s. His work has taken him across the world, and as a certified NAUI scuba diver, he's explored dive sites across Indonesia as well.

Nick also leads photo and cultural tours, taking small groups of photographers to destinations around the world and coaching them on getting better shots. He's led groups to the Greek Islands, and more recently to Sarawak on the island of Borneo.

The Accident

In 2010, on a photography shoot at Karijini National Park in remote Western Australia, Nick suffered a seven-metre fall near Knox Gorge. It was a near-fatal accident and took him a long time to recover. He made a full recovery, but stayed out of the water for seven years afterward.

You can read an account of the incident from those who were there with him.

Getting Back in the Water

Nick was planning to lead a small group through Borneo, the third largest island in the world, and wanted to visit some of the islands off Sabah at the end of the tour.

He asked us about visiting Mabul Island as a non-diver, planning to spend his time swimming, snorkelling and exploring rather than diving. Having not dived for seven years, he was hesitant about getting back in the water. But he still had all his dive gear, and eventually the temptation to use it again won out.

Since he'd be staying on Mabul Island, not far from Sipadan, the plan expanded: macro life around Mabul, then oceanic pelagics at Sipadan. We arranged a refresher course and a private divemaster to accompany him on every dive.

We were glad to see Nick back in the water. Talking to him after the trip, his enthusiasm was obvious. Here are some of his shots from the trip, taken on an Olympus Tough TG-4.

A panoramic view of the resort jetty at Mabul Island.
A panoramic view of the resort jetty at Mabul Island.
Reef life photographed on Nick's return dive.
Reef life photographed on Nick's return dive.
Underwater scene at Mabul Island.
Underwater scene at Mabul Island.
Macro subject on the reef at Mabul.
Macro subject on the reef at Mabul.
Reef scene, Mabul Island.
Reef scene, Mabul Island.
Underwater landscape near Mabul.
Underwater landscape near Mabul.
Reef subject photographed at Mabul Island.
Reef subject photographed at Mabul Island.
Macro life on the Mabul reef.
Macro life on the Mabul reef.
Reef scene from the return dive at Mabul.
Reef scene from the return dive at Mabul.
Underwater subject at Mabul Island.
Underwater subject at Mabul Island.
Reef life, Mabul Island.
Reef life, Mabul Island.
Macro subject photographed at Mabul.
Macro subject photographed at Mabul.
Underwater scene, Mabul Island.
Underwater scene, Mabul Island.
Reef subject, Mabul Island.
Reef subject, Mabul Island.
Underwater life photographed at Mabul.
Underwater life photographed at Mabul.

Since then, Nick has already returned to Mabul Island a second time, with even more new gear.

If you enjoy landscape photography, take a look at his gallery of images from around the world.