Post by Kelly Jessop on Apr 20, 2010 17:31:28 GMT -5
www.gainesville.com/article/20100418/MAGAZINE01/100419415?Title=Underwater-Wonders
When underwater videographer Wes Skiles graduated from high school in 1976, his father sat him down to talk about his plans for college.
Wes SkilesAge: 52
Education: Englewood High School, Jacksonville
Occupation: Owner of Karst Productions, underwater film and videography company headquartered in High Springs
Personal: Married to Terri Skiles; two children, Nathan, 22, and Tessa, 16.
Related Links:Finding Refuge In Cedar Key
In his own words: Shingle Creek
A man on a mission
Why I Love Where I Live: Newnan's Lake
Protecting Her First Love
More Stories
"I told him I didn't want to go to college," Skiles says. "I wanted to spend my life exploring and diving and taking pictures and making movies." So Skiles' father used part of his college fund to buy him a van instead.
Skiles, 52, now owns the film production company Karst Productions in High Springs, whose client roster and film credits include National Geographic, The Discovery Channel, PBS, Sony Pictures, IMAX and others.
A native of Jacksonville, Skiles took his first skin/scuba diving lessons through a YMCA program when he was 8 years old. He became certified as a diver at age 13 — the youngest age an individual can become certified.
Within a year, Skiles was shooting his first underwater movies with the family's super-8 film camera encased in waterproof housing made by a neighbor, who was a bit of an inventor.
By the time he was 16, Skiles had earned his cave-diving certification and he had a real underwater camera in hand.
"I had saved up lawn-mowing money to buy a Nikonos underwater camera," Skiles says.
Skiles didn't just dive into his chosen profession right after high school, though. There were a few detours along the way. He spent a couple of years in Haiti developing and managing a dive program for a resort there.
"When I went to Haiti, I had about $40 in my pocket. When I came back a couple of years later, I had less than $40 in my pocket. I had to call my parents and ask them to send me the bus fare home from Miami."
When underwater videographer Wes Skiles graduated from high school in 1976, his father sat him down to talk about his plans for college.
Wes SkilesAge: 52
Education: Englewood High School, Jacksonville
Occupation: Owner of Karst Productions, underwater film and videography company headquartered in High Springs
Personal: Married to Terri Skiles; two children, Nathan, 22, and Tessa, 16.
Related Links:Finding Refuge In Cedar Key
In his own words: Shingle Creek
A man on a mission
Why I Love Where I Live: Newnan's Lake
Protecting Her First Love
More Stories
"I told him I didn't want to go to college," Skiles says. "I wanted to spend my life exploring and diving and taking pictures and making movies." So Skiles' father used part of his college fund to buy him a van instead.
Skiles, 52, now owns the film production company Karst Productions in High Springs, whose client roster and film credits include National Geographic, The Discovery Channel, PBS, Sony Pictures, IMAX and others.
A native of Jacksonville, Skiles took his first skin/scuba diving lessons through a YMCA program when he was 8 years old. He became certified as a diver at age 13 — the youngest age an individual can become certified.
Within a year, Skiles was shooting his first underwater movies with the family's super-8 film camera encased in waterproof housing made by a neighbor, who was a bit of an inventor.
By the time he was 16, Skiles had earned his cave-diving certification and he had a real underwater camera in hand.
"I had saved up lawn-mowing money to buy a Nikonos underwater camera," Skiles says.
Skiles didn't just dive into his chosen profession right after high school, though. There were a few detours along the way. He spent a couple of years in Haiti developing and managing a dive program for a resort there.
"When I went to Haiti, I had about $40 in my pocket. When I came back a couple of years later, I had less than $40 in my pocket. I had to call my parents and ask them to send me the bus fare home from Miami."