I was working as a safety diver and ad hoc shooter for the film Chasing Coral when something clicked. I saw these beautiful reefs dying from coral bleaching, and I felt this kuleana (responsibility) to share what is happening in the ocean. A year later, in 2017, I picked up a camera. National Geographic found me from a photo of hammerhead sharks I took on a dive trip to the Galapagos Islands.

My passion is shooting the bigger, more charismatic megafauna for blue-chip documentaries. In the new National Geographic series Incredible Animal Journeys, I worked on a humpback whale sequence shot here in Hawaiʻi that features the first-ever humpback whale birth.

"Modern science tends to gatekeep knowledge, but that’s not the way the Hawaiians did it. They shared knowledge through mo‘olelo.”

I’m not a fan of tail shots, with animals swimming away. You must have patience and persistence before you pursue them. With the humpbacks, a scene can take 47 days on the water to get 10 minutes of footage. There’s nothing better than having an animal accept you in the water and be curious about you the same way you’re curious about it.

The leeward side is great because the mountain blocks the wind, so you get a much greater line of visibility and calmer water. There’s a strong community at the harbor—everyone talks with each other about what’s going on in the water. I do a lot of freediving and spearfishing at a spot close to Kaʻena Point where there’s a population of gray sharks and Galapagos sharks. I’ve been lucky enough to dive with the same Steno dolphins—short for Steno bredanensis, a.k.a. “rough-toothed” dolphins—over and over, and they start to recognize you.

Modern science tends to gatekeep knowledge, but that’s not the way the Hawaiians did it. They were observational. They shared knowledge through mo‘olelo (stories)—like when the wiliwili tree blooms, you’ll see more of the tiger sharks around. This sort of knowledge has definitely guided me through this journey. I’m classically trained in Western science, but most of my success comes from reading the old Hawaiian texts and listening to the stories.

I’m working on a project called Mālama Manō with Purple Mai‘a Foundation to amplify ancestral knowledge of the ocean and sharks through community events, an animated short film, and a documentary about the project. We held a beach cleanup in Nānākuli where the children got to fly drones to learn about spotting animals from the sky. We’re also partnering with the kanaka-owned tour company Island View to take financially disadvantaged families from the West Side up to Hale‘iwa to dive with sharks.

As one of few women—and even fewer mixed-race women—in the industry, I see how we’ve been pigeonholed into thinking that women are the weaker species, but it’s just not true. You rarely see a female captain or instructor with her own boat, and female rebreather divers are still a minority. I started Mana Wāhine Marine to broaden access to the marine world by hosting group diving and boating training trips for women who want to learn but lack the resources.

Outside explorers are constantly coming to our islands to tell Hawaiʻi’s stories. It should be someone local, and maybe it should be a woman, too. I want to help change the narrative and show that women are just as capable as men—we just need the right environment to be able to blossom.

Kimberly Jeffries is a freelance underwater photographer, cinematographer, scientific diver, rebreather/open water/freedive instructor, FAA drone pilot, and holds a United States Coast Guard 100- Ton Master Captain’s License. In 2021, she filmed a distressed humpback whale being aided by another humpback—the first known footage of epimeletic (caregiving) behavior between two unrelated animals. When not underwater, she can be found adventuring with her husky, Marlin.