At barely 23 years old, Nicolás Marín Benitez works as an underwater photographer for
National Geographic
and has just been recognized for his work as an explorer of the prestigious channel by "
Our Ocean
", an international environmental protection organization that is in charge of raising awareness, inspiring and informing young people on the fight against climate change and also promote sustainable tourism.
The young native of San Miguel is on one of the prestigious list of people who will participate in the "
Our Ocean Panama 2023
" conference, between March 2 and 3, 2023, under the motto "Our ocean, our connection."
There,
100 young world leaders
meet in a conference for the oceans.
And Nico is the only Argentine among those summoned.
It will be within one of the 6 action areas that the event has: "Marine pollution", that is, marine contamination.
"
It is a chance to defend the oceans in front of the whole world
," says the young man from San Miguel with great emotion for his new challenge.
This is how Our Ocean presents the only Argentine among the 100 young world leaders.
"It is unavoidable to create a general awareness of ocean conservation to stop considering it the
great dumping ground for humanity
," they explain from the ocean protection group about the area in which Nicolás will participate.
And they define the main objectives in this regard: "Strengthen all efforts aimed at reducing the degree of pollution, recovering the appropriate natural conditions and taking preventive and corrective measures to clean the ocean and keep it free of waste and harmful chemical products."
"
The great challenges of oceanic decontamination, such as plastic islands, require a wide range of proposals along with a comprehensive solution
," they conclude.
Nicolás will have the challenge of raising awareness among other young people in the area of Marine Pollution.
In addition, the international conference will have five other themes:
Marine Protected Areas, sustainable blue economies, climate change, marine safety and sustainable fishing
.
Although the presence of environmental activists such as Greta Thunberg is not confirmed, from the open invitation to the community they assure that "
Representatives of governments, presidents from around the world, industries, civil society
and
science
will attend to discuss measures to protect the oceans ".
A family of dolphins captured by Nicolás's camera.
His photos of gray whales and giant tortoises
Nicolás became today's world-renowned environmental leader based on an extraordinary career as an underwater photographer, which began at a very young age and progressed very quickly.
This call to the Our Ocean conference comes shortly after fulfilling a professional dream: being part of an underwater mission for a National Geographic documentary.
In turn, that possibility came to him after two of his underwater photos were recognized among the best in the world and received a prestigious award.
That ended up catapulting him to work with a documentary giant.
The leap of a gray whale that Nicolás captured on one of his expeditions for National Geographic.
In 2022, Nicolás ventured into the depths to record images of the most difficult marine animals in the ocean: white sharks, gray whales, manta rays and giant tortoises are some of the inhabitants of the depths that he captured with his lens to gather information, as part of from a team of 25 specialists like him, from all over the world, seven of them from Latin America.
Nicolás was the
only Argentine in the mission
named Migrantes del Pacífico
, alluding to the species involved.
The young photographer dove into the waters of Hawaii, Aruba and the Galapagos Islands.
He has already managed to register giant Galapagos tortoises, gray whales and some sperm whales and orcas.
But there is still one last step left: diving into the depths of Bath, California, to meet one of the most dangerous species: white sharks.
"That's a dream of my whole life," he says.
The image chosen by the environmental organization Our Ocean to present the Argentine as an outstanding world leader.
The objective of National Geographic with this work is to demystify, based on the images recorded by Nicolás and his colleagues, the ideas that exist about the behavior of those beings often described as sea monsters;
and also find out more and spread their migratory routes.
"There are two ways to do what I do. Alone, or as part of a team like National Geographic.
In this case, it's my first experience of this kind and I do it with my own camera
. I'll meet the people I go there. to interview and whom I have already been contacting by mail", explained the young photographer at the end of 2021, shortly after starting his great adventure.
Face to face with one of the Giant Tortoises of the Galapagos Island.
His work for the international documentary chain -as he explained- has three edges.
Visually, he wants his photos to convey the "
relationship
" that is generated in the water when he comes into contact with these peculiar animals, which are very difficult to capture.
But also, from a
more scientific aspect, it
has the difficult mission of helping to understand what is seen.
And for that, in parallel with the photos, he conducts
interviews
with specialists who are in the area.
It is about
understanding the biology, behaviors and migratory routes
, to be able to interact with these marine specimens and
show them through their lens.
The third leg of his task has to do with something that mobilized him from the first moment he dreamed of dedicating himself to underwater photography:
environmental activism.
He wants his work to make people aware so that they can be part of the
solution
and not the problem, and once and for all care
for the ocean and the waters of the world,
together with the species that are immersed in them.
From the fear of water to the friendship of octopuses
Nicolás began to dedicate himself to his profession in 2018, as a teenager, when he was called to manage the networks of a complex in Cozumel, Mexico and to begin photographing the animals of the Caribbean Sea.
Several years before that, when he was little, he was afraid of water and did not dare to swim.
But that was lagging behind bigger.
And finally the passion was stronger.
Already of legal age, with diving and photography classes he was polishing his technique to obtain images under water, without brakes.
One of the two photos of Nicolás that were among the 25 best in the world: the Cozumel coral.
His bond with marine creatures is very peculiar since that first experience.
"Since I started, I've been
looking for a connection that goes beyond the photos
. Before they escaped me quickly, now I'm looking for a dialogue with the senses: it's like when you chat with someone," she explains.
And he elaborates: "In this case I cannot use words, but I can still
perceive if a marine animal really wants me to come up and play with me, or if it is not interested
. It is very important to observe its attitude."
That is his big secret.
That allowed him, for example, to achieve a deep affinity with unthinkable beings.
"
The funniest are the octopuses.
You realize their presence because their shelters are made of marine crusts, the same ones that their tentacles leave behind," she reveals.
A selfie of Nicolás Marín in the depths.
"They make a game of you as a detective. At first they let you see just one eye, but when they get into confidence you can see them.
They are the chameleons of the water: they change color according to where they are quickly.
They look like one of the Fantastic 4. They are on a red stone and they turn red, it's impressive
", he says to explain how difficult it is to see them, let alone record them with the camera.
One of the octopuses that Nicolás managed to capture in his adventures under the sea.
Although, according to the National Geographic explorer, "entering the ocean to photograph and have the best photos is the same as on land and large fields, with the big difference that in the water you see very little, whether it's day or night." night".
The target is large animals, although they are the hardest to find
.
According to this explorer, it is something like a bit of luck to find them.
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