One of my hobbies is scuba diving, and I had saved up for two years to take a trip to the Socorro Islands — about 24 hours by boat from Mexico in the Pacific Ocean. We were a group of about 30 divers, split into smaller teams of 6–8.

Many of our dives took place “out in the blue,” just floating and waiting — hoping for sharks, manta rays, or other marine life to appear. While hanging in the open water one day, I noticed another group of divers to my left. It looked amusing, almost surreal, so I quickly snapped a photo.

Later that evening, when I reviewed the image and showed it to others on the boat, the first reaction was, “That has to be Photoshopped.” But it’s not. In fact, this is one of the few images I’ve never cropped or rotated — it’s pixel-for-pixel as shot. I only made a slight contrast adjustment and lifted the shadows at the bottom to make the divers more visible.

Yes, I do a lot of concert photography — not just live shows, but also behind-the-scenes work. I often follow musicians backstage with a small, unobtrusive camera (a Leica Q2 Monochrom).

For the diving trip, I wanted to bring a “real” camera underwater — before this, I had only used a GoPro. Most underwater setups involve big rigs and lights, which I wanted to avoid. I wanted to approach underwater photography the same way I shoot concerts: small, agile, and responsive. The Q2 Mono turned out to be perfect, especially with its fast lens and compact form.

I do love color photography, but black and white has a kind of honesty to it — there’s no way to hide behind it. It’s just you and the subject.

I had already decided a year in advance that I would only bring the Leica Q2 Monochrom underwater. Its tonal range is incredible — the gamma curves are beautiful. When I processed the images each evening (even just on my laptop), I was completely blown away.

With Hanging Divers, I think that’s what makes the image so striking: the smooth greyscale from the light at the surface to the deep blacks below, with the divers just suspended there. And then, of course, the oceanic manta ray appears in the background, perfectly mid-turn — it was a lucky, funny, and surreal moment.

I recently took over a picture framing shop in Copenhagen called Passepartout.dk, which is keeping me quite busy. But this summer, I’ll also be photographing some of the big music festivals — something I’m really looking forward to.

There are many, but I’ve been very lucky to have two amazing mentors: Lars Bartelsen and Robert Eliasson. I’m also deeply inspired by Jacob Aue Sobol, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Dorothea Lange, and many others.