Notes from the field: At home underwater
The ocean has always been a muse for Sheree Marris, inspiring a career brimming with adventure, discovery and storytelling.
“Growing up on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, I spent my childhood exploring mangroves, rocky reefs and sandy shores,” she says. “My natural curiosity deepened when I began volunteering with dolphin researchers in Port Phillip Bay.”
This experience set her on the path to becoming a marine biologist, award-winning author and science communicator. Her impressive career and passion for marine wildlife made her the natural choice to write and photograph our feature article, Serious sea smarts – the cover story of our January – February 2025 magazine issue. For that she joined world-renowned octopus expert Dr Wen-Sung Chung on Queensland’s North Stradbroke Island, diving deep into the mysteries of octopus intelligence.
“Photographing wildlife underwater is extremely challenging,” Sheree says. “You’re wrangling your dive gear, camera equipment, shifting conditions and a wild animal that sees you as a potential threat – but the results are worth it.
Capturing the octopus cover shot took patience, trust, and persistence. Over five dives, I returned to the same den, waiting for the octopus to feel safe enough to emerge. Each day, it emerged a little more until I captured this image.”
Sheree’s work has taken her across the globe, covering topics as diverse as box jellyfish research on the Great Barrier Reef, to empowering communities in the Philippines to protect their marine resources. Her latest book – Octopuses: Underwater Wonders – was inspired by an encounter with a stranded mother octopus guarding her eggs.
“My happy place is definitely underwater,” Sheree says.
While she dreams of gills and a mermaid tail, for now she’s content sharing the ocean’s magic with the world.
