Michelle Manson

Area of Residence: Santa Cruz, CA

Michelle Manson is a Santa Cruz resident that travels the short distance to Monterey, CA to dive regularly. She loves cold water diving and particularly enjoys diving in the local lush kelp forests. After college Michelle decided to get Scuba certified in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and has been hooked ever since. After attaining her PADI instructor certification through a local dive shop she taught diving for years in Phoenix, Catalina Island and Monterey. Starting out in film photography with a Nikonos V, she now shoots digitally with a Nikon D850 but still has a passion for film. Although she has traveled globally to dive, her favorite sites still reside off the California coast amongst a dense kelp forest. Michelle has published works in Mozaic Underwater Cameras, NatureTTL, Scuba Diving Magazine, Santa Cruz Waves, Oceanographic Magazine and Scuba Diver Life. And has placed in multiple competitions including the Monterey Shootout and National Marine Sanctuaries.