Ocean Culture Life (OCL), a visual storytelling project started by renowned British Royals photographer Matt Porteous, was born from an organic collaboration of writers, photographers, scientists, and activists who care deeply about delivering ethical solutions to restoring healthy oceans around the world.
Matt Porteous has loved photography from a young age and was inspired to build an ocean-loving community of ambassadors and storytellers dedicated to creating beautiful, inspiring, and educational content. Matt and his studio believe that by sharing positive stories about the earth’s guardians — the people who work tirelessly to deepen our understanding of the oceans, clean our shorelines, and live their lives in rhythm with the waves — we can help shed light on the urgent need to restore our oceans and inspire real, meaningful change.
Often, those who understand marine health most deeply are the people who spend their days in and around the water: marine biologists, divers, surfers, underwater photographers, and sailors whose lives are intimately shaped by the ocean.
Through inspiring, beautiful content, OCL hopes to inform and motivate more people, whether they live along the coast or far inland, to care about ocean health, help protect species around the world, and restore our beautiful natural spaces by supporting initiatives and individuals like our Guardians.
It is estimated that within ten years, there could be more plastic than fish in our seas. While this is an alarming prediction, OCL hopes to help prevent it from becoming reality. Through their network of ocean activists, they aim to raise awareness, reduce plastic pollution, and support meaningful efforts to protect marine life. Captivating storytelling has the power to inspire change, and our work is rooted in sharing practical, tangible solutions that move us closer to healthier oceans.
As humans, we learn through storytelling. Oral and visual stories are how we gain knowledge, share information, spread news, and bring attention to both global and local campaigns. OCL is unique in that they do more than share information: they encourage support for specific causes, individuals, and organizations, working to increase recognition and inspire action for future generations.
Matt and his team are committed to showcasing the beauty and fragility of our oceans across the globe. They hope to expand their network into a platform of collaboration, supporting hot topics, pressing issues, and beautiful imagery and filmmaking for those who lack the resources to create their own, and to support cause-worthy individuals and organizations.
Follow along as we share stories and images from the Ocean Culture Life initiative. Together we can shine light on the ever-growing urgency of restoring our oceans.
Matt Porteous is a Director of Studio M, a creative photography studio based on the island of Jersey. Matt’s love and delight in his surroundings is evident in his work as he captures and reveals the expression and detail that is seldom evident to the naked eye. His images are alive with emotion and movement; he enters the world of that image and allows us a glimpse of his excitement, his humor, his soul. From underwater shoots to commercial airlines, all the way through to photographing the most famous family in the world, Matt has experience working with an extensive range of environments and personalities. The love he has for his work, the people and places that he encounters along the way is apparent in the detail and perspective. There’s a cinematic quality to Matt’s ideas, and his daring nature lends itself to a harmonious relationship with emotive and raw photography and film. He demonstrates great sensitivity to the environment he is shooting in, whilst trusting his instinct to seek out unusual compositions and out of the ordinary ideas.
