Jules Verne imagined a realm of fascinating marine creatures ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea’, but for international award-winning ocean photographer Jules Casey, they exist a mere 10 metres below the surface.
egularly diving along the Peninsula foreshore – often alone, sometimes with a friend – Jules has given thousands of people the chance to experience what it feels like to swim alongside her, thanks to the global publication of her spectacular underwater images.
Jules discovered her passion for freediving using only a snorkel after swimming with whale sharks on a girls’ trip to Western Australia for her 50th birthday. Diving brought a feeling of relaxation rarely encountered in her full-time role as floor manager at Crown Casino, and she soon realised her body was in urgent need of stress relief.
Intent on continuing freediving to counter the pressures of work, she began snorkelling close to home. Swimming among the pylons of Blairgowrie and Rye jetties, she quickly made friends beneath the surface — even naming the octopuses and seadragons she frequently encountered.
Above the water, however, it was a different story. Elderly fishermen trying to land a catch from Blairgowrie jetty cursed her for “scaring away the fish”, so she needed to earn their trust just as she had with the sea creatures below.
To bridge the gap, Jules began walking her dog along the jetty each morning before a dive. The inquisitive pup would pull her towards a fisherman, giving her the perfect opportunity to strike up conversation. With assurances that her dives wouldn’t affect their fishing, the two sides eventually formed a truce — and after seeing her photos, the men became fascinated by her underwater adventures.
Keen to reconnect with a large albino stingray after a previous encounter, Jules asked the fishermen to keep an eye out for Crystal. To her amazement, days later she heard loud shouts of “Pull your lines up, boys!” as the group scrambled to point out the white ray swimming nearby.
One of Jules’s most-watched videos features a majestic Maori octopus appearing to guide her to a stone memorial bearing a photo of a man and a white dog. Known as Lorenz’s Loop, the artificial trail — not marked on any map — was built in memory of a diver’s father and includes a Buddha statue among other objects. Watching octopuses weave through and gracefully drape themselves over these underwater monuments is a surreal, other-worldly experience.
Jules now receives sponsorship from Mares Dive Gear and earns a modest income selling her images and videos to media outlets. Yet, her greatest joy comes from entering international photography competitions — many of which offer travel prizes.
A multi-award-winner, she recently claimed Scuba Diving Magazine’s 2025 Photo Contest for her image capturing the annual aggregation of giant spider crabs gathering to moult in the shallow waters of Port Phillip. The striking photograph shows a bright red crab in the foreground, with mounds of discarded carapaces fading into the distance. The win earned her a week-long trip exploring the Caribbean.
After leaving the gaming floor to explore the sea floor, life is going swimmingly for Jules.
Follow her adventures and see more of her breathtaking photography on Instagram @onebreathdiver or at julescasey.com.
