Cathy Church has been photographing the beautiful underwater world since 1967. She has a Masters degree in Marine Biology, and is recognized as one of the world's foremost teachers and authors on underwater photography. She received the NOGI award for the arts (a national U.S. award) in 1987, the DEMA "Reaching Out Award" in 2000 and was inducted into the Woman Divers Hall of Fame in 2000. She is on the founding board of governors of the newly established International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame to be housed in the Cayman Islands, and was inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame in March 2000. She was also admitted to be a member of the Explorers' Club in 2000.

A versatile photographer, she is well known for many styles of photography from documentary and editorial to the gallery art you see here. She shot the award winning Cayman Islands underwater poster "Wonderland," and has done extensive work for such clients as Kodak, Nikon, Dolphin Cruise Lines, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands. She was a photo editor for Skin Diver magazine for 15 years and her work has appeared in dozens of books and magazines, including five of her own popular books (co-authored with the late Jim Church) on photo technique and an instructional video. She has expanded into serious black and white photography, spending long days in the darkroom to make her limited edition fine art black and white prints. Her coffee table book "My Underwater Photo Journey" was published in 2004.

Cathy and Herb Rafael were married in Grand Cayman in 1991. They teach underwater photography and operate Cathy Church's Underwater Photo Centre and Gallery at Sunset House Hotel. Herb's photos have appeared in Skin Diver Magazine, the cover of Scuba Times, and several other publications as well as advertising campaigns for the U.S. Virgin Islands. Herb handles the marketing and sales, while Cathy concentrates on the photography, teaching and technical side of the photo centre. They both are dedicated to making sure that each customer is best served in whatever way they can.

Detailed bio of Cathy Church
Long Version: Childhood and college

A short version follows at the end

Cathy Church (nee Catherine Neal Hoffman) was born of Sarah and Paul Hoffman on June 22, 1945, in Altoona, Pennsylvania and moved immediately to southeastern Pennsylvania, remaining in Woodlyn, Ridley Township, until she was 16 years old. She has brothers Denis, Stephen and Matthew Hoffman and sisters Martha Williamson and Elizabeth Bollinger. She was an honor student and participated in Girl Scouts, music (piano, violin, chorus and can play two melodies on a Ukulele) and many sports, including basketball, Lacrosse and field hockey.

Her father, a Navy officer in WWII and then a mechanical engineer for Burroughs in Paoli, moved the family to Michigan to work for Brunswick. Cathy attended Grand Haven High School in Michigan, active in debate, thespians and music and graduated in 1963. Due to lack of funds she spent one year at Eastern Michigan until she found a financial sponsor (Leopold Schepp Foundation) so that she could continue for three years at the University of Michigan (continuing to play field hockey for U of M women’s varsity) where she earned her B.S. in biology in 1967.

She was introduced to SCUBA diving during summer courses at the U of M biology station at Pelston, MI and took a YMCA class in Ann Arbor with Dr. Lee Sommers, also a NOGI recipient. She attended Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Biology Station in Monterey, Ca. for a summer course in Marine Invertebrate Zoology in 1965. During that time she met Jim Church who was just starting to write for Skin Diver magazine and taught her how to take photographs underwater using a Calypso camera and a twin lens reflex Rollei camera in a Rolleimarin housing, both with flashbulbs. In 1966, she and Jim attended a course in underwater photography at the Brooks Institute of Photography. She completed her Master’s Degree in Marine Zoology at the University of Hawaii in 1970. She married Jim Church in 1969 (he came to Hawaii on sabbatical from teaching high school business classes in Gilroy, Ca.) Since women were not allowed overnight on the research ship nor at any research station, she dropped out at the masters level rather than pursuing a PhD.

Starting a Career

With a degree in marine biology, she wanted to work in an underwater job in California, but women were not being accepted to work at such places as California State fish and Game. Since Jim Church was teaching in Gilroy, she was recruited there as a substitute teacher. Since no other work was available, she went to San Jose State College to get a teaching certificate. She taught 7th and 8th grade science in Gilroy from 1971 to 1978.

She and Jim pioneered new techniques for teaching underwater photography. Jim was excellent at organizing the teaching material so that it was clear to their students and readers. Cathy’s interest and skill in science made possible their careful research to make sure that everything they wrote was accurate. For example, she was the first to identify and write about the common mistake that underwater photographers made of aiming a strobe erroneously at the apparent image. It was a simple concept, unknown then, but it is now common knowledge—made clear by their interest in sharing their findings in hundreds of magazine articles.

Jim and Cathy wrote primarily for Skin Diver Magazine, for which they were the contributing photo editors for fifteen years, (from 1970 to 1985). They also wrote four books, “Beginning Underwater Photography” (five editions from 1972 to 1987), “Choosing and Using Strobes”, “The Nikonos Book” (1979) and “The Nikonos Handbook” (1986). Not only did they write the books, they produced the camera-ready layout in their home, and published the books themselves.

In 1974, they wrote and produced the first underwater photography course for use by a major certifying agency, regrettably NASDS, where John Gaffney usurped the copyright and the course was never updated. Since there were already several major lawsuits against this unscrupulous man, they decided not to pursue their case in court. (Ed Brawley, for example, won his lawsuit against Mr. Gaffney proving that he actually stole the entire “Gold Book," a complete instructor-training course from Mr. Brawley.) Soon afterward, Jim and Cathy also had difficulty with a photo agency distributing their photos without recognizing the amount payable to them. These bad experiences set the Church duo back quite a bit, and discouraged them from pursuing the use of large agencies as an outlet for their work.

The first SuperCourse

In 1971, Cathy and Jim went to Grand Cayman to visit with friends Ron and Nancy Sefton, who were preparing to build a dedicated dive resort (to become Spanish Bay Reef). The next year the hotel was completed and the Seftons invited them to help the guests at their hotel and Cathy and Jim could stay at no charge. During the first course students shot their first roll of film in black and white, (and then used color slide film), Cathy processed the film, and each student made their own “black and white” studio proof by holding their film and special paper out in the sun until the images showed. The students had access to Cathy and Jim’s only Marker Buoy extension tube, one housed strobe, a Nikonos and a few other items. They dove morning and afternoon, (divers were towed by rope to the nearby dive site at first) and lecture was in the evening. As larger boats were added, the format improved and classes ran in this format for several years; classes were always full and wait-listed. Thirty years later, Cathy’s SuperCourse offered 15 Nikonos systems with many sets of lenses and strobes, the use of a housed system as well as use of a digital system, long three-hour dives from a boat loaded with tanks, nitrox, and snacks. With the advent of digital systems whereby everyone had a different camera, the Super Courses were discontinued in favor of smaller, shorter classes that could concentrate on more individual needs.

Accomplishments and goals

Teaching is Cathy’s true love and she has opened the door to underwater photography for thousands of divers. She organized and taught underwater photography seminars in Seattle, New York, Philadelphia, Miami, Houston, Denver, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, Boston, Monterey, CA and more. Cathy has taught more students how to enjoy underwater photography than anyone in the world. She has taught her week-long photo classes yearly in the Cayman Islands (except for four years in the U.S. Virgin Islands) since 1972. Her first lessons, even in 1972, stressed buoyancy control and preservation of the reef. In 1986, she separated from Jim and they were divorced a year later. During the separation, she and Jim continued to teach one last summer session of about six week-long photo courses, assisted by Mike Mesgleski. In the first class in 1987, she met Herb Rafael, whom she married in 1991.

Cathy established her own U/W photo center at Sunset House in Grand Cayman in 1988. Her primary efforts still revolve around teaching underwater photography and making sure that divers enjoy their underwater experience. She has superb insight into how the students think and works to teach them individually in ways to which each student can relate.

Always looking for new directions, she is especially concerned that although many people are interested in learning to dive they are too apprehensive and even too afraid to keep up with normal SCUBA instruction. She recently wrote an extensive article for her web site (www.cathychurch.com/fearful.html) about helping the fearful student learn to dive. She has shared it with many who have been excited at what she taught them and are now trying to learn to SCUBA.

In another direction, she is developing her skill at producing fine art black and white prints. Again, it is her background and love of science that guides her through the complexities of the craft of black and white. Mixing chemicals and working through the zone system is an enjoyable challenge. She truly enjoys mixing the craft with the art of underwater photography in black and white. Her darkroom was damaged during Hurricane Ivan in Sept. 2004, and she exploring printing from a digital format.

Her photography has graced the pages of many underwater and non-diving publications. She has produced beautiful underwater images for numerous advertising clients, including the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, Kodak, Nikon, various cruise lines, US Virgin Islands, and more. She was awarded the “Creativity Magazine” certificate of Distinction, 1991 for best travel poster with her image on the Cayman Islands poster “Wonderland.” Her underwater prints are available on line and through her gallery in the Cayman Islands. Her coffee table book "My Underwater Photo Journey" was published in 2004.

She was honored with a NOGI award for the Arts in 1985 from the Underwater Academy of Arts and Sciences and was the President of this academy for 1999 and 2000. She was on the founding Board of Governors of the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame, hosted by the Cayman Islands, was inducted into the Woman Divers Hall of Fame in 2000, and received the prestigious “Reaching Out” award from DEMA (the Diving Equipment and Marketing Association). At the age of 61 she is looking forward to expanding into the digital way of taking pictures. She says that she is looking forward to another thirty years of helping others take better photographs underwater.

Summary Biography

Cathy Church has been photographing the beautiful underwater world since 1965. She has a master’s degree in Marine Zoology and taught seventh and eighth grade science for six years in California. She was the contributing photo editor for SKIN DIVER magazine for fifteen years (1970 to 1985). She was married to Jim Church from 1969 – 1985, with whom she co-authored over two hundred articles, three books on underwater photography, including the Nikonos Handbook. She has been teaching underwater photography in Grand Cayman (and briefly in the US Virgin Islands) since 1972. She has taught underwater photography seminars in most major cities in the USA. She continues to write for numerous magazines and made a video on the basics of underwater photography. Her coffee table book "My Underwater Photo Journey" was published in 2004.

She is recognized as one of the world’s foremost teachers and authors on underwater photography. She received the prestigious NOGI award for the arts in 1987 and is past President (1999 and 2000) of the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences. She was admitted to the Explorers Club in 2000 and was inducted into the Women Divers' Hall of Fame.

At her Underwater Photo Centre & Gallery, which she manages with husband Herb Rafael in Grand Cayman, she and her staff teach underwater photography, rent underwater still and video cameras and sell her color prints and her new limited edition black & white. Herb also manages "their" new store "The Camera Store" in Georgetown, Grand Cayman.

Cathy still teaches regularly and runs U/W photo tours to the tropical Pacific. (If you want to know more about this amazing photographer, visit her web site www.cathychurch.com.) When she is not doing all of this, she is available for private underwater photography instruction and advertising photo assignments. At the age of 61, she says that she is looking forward to another thirty years of helping others take better photographs underwater.

(Updated August 1, 2006.)