Karim Iliya

Founder / Trip Leader / Guide

Karim Iliya is a professional underwater photographer / filmmaker / whale swimming guide based in Reykjavik, Iceland. Karim’s passion is in documenting whales, elephants, big cats, and other threatened animals & habitats in an effort to help protect the delicate ecosystems of Earth. His film and photography has been licensed by the BBC, Netflix, National Geographic Magazine, and other outlets around the world.

At 33 years old, Karim has had over 18 years of photographic experience and puts a heavy emphasis on environmental and wildlife conservation, and founded the non profit Kogia in 2022. Karim also worked closely with The Maui Ocean Center on their humpback whale cultural educational exhibition. He has spent over 250 days in the water documenting various whale species of whales since 2014, from humpbacks to blue whales, sperm whales, orca, fin whales, sei whales and more.

Kelsey Williamson

Trip Leader / Guide

Kelsey is an underwater and adventure photographer and cinematographer, SCUBA, and free diver living her best nomadic life in Hawaii and French Polynesia. She is a true adventurer at heart with a passion for underwater photography, and marine life. She has multiple years of experience guiding trips swimming with whales and other marine life.

Cedric Dageville

Trip Leader / Guide

Cedric is a French-American freediver, divemaster and photographer working in ocean conservation. He has a passion for being underwater, and alongside his wife Rachel spends most days free-diving along the Kona coast with his camera in hand. In early 2023 he stepped away from the corporate sphere to focus his efforts full-time on protecting the ocean by helping organizations on the front lines of conservation. Cedric specializes in diving diving with large animals such as humpbacks, sperm whales and oceanic mantas.

Arzucan Askin

Trip Leader / Guide

Arzucan is a conservation scientist, sailor /skipper and National Geographic Explorer specializing in the intersection where human societies meet megafauna. She holds an MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management from the University of Oxford, where her research assessed the impacts of human activities on marine megafauna in the Maldives. A Fellow of the RGS-IBG Arzucan has led multiple research projects and remote marine expeditions examining both the beauty and complexity of human-ocean relationships across the globe.

Her scientific work has enabled her to have uniquely intimate wildlife encounters in some of the world's most remote corners from the Equator all the way to the Polar regions. As part of the Barba Norway Arctic Sense Expedition she was part of a pioneering field team that sailed into the uncharted waters beyond 80 Degrees North to conduct acoustic surveys of elusive and understudied blue whale populations.

Arzucan is both a freediver and Extended Range Trimix CCR diver and has recently returned to land after a year of marine research supported by a scholarship from Rolex. She loves to connect people with wildlife through sharing her scientific knowledge and passion for the wonders of our world’s marine megafauna.

Jono Allen

Trip Leader / Guide

Jono is an Australian underwater photographer, environmental scientist, wildlife guide and filmmaker driven by a desire to capture powerful visuals and catalyse change. Jono’s work is guided by one motivation: to inspire action by facilitating meaningful connections with wildlife. He has gained extensive experience working with both terrestrial and marine megafauna across the world including; Kenya, Tonga, Mexico, Maldives, Indonesia, Azores, Fiji and the vibrant reefs of his ocean home. With a deep love for non-intrusive forms of research and expeditions, he is a passionate freediver and scuba diver. His work has been featured in world-class underwater photography competitions and publications.

Jono’s life changed when he helped rescued an entangled whale shark in the Maldives together with “Lonu” one of the island’s local dive legends. Shortly afterwards he co-founded the Fuvahmulah Marine Foundation to address plastic pollution and wildlife entanglement on the island and has since then also become the Media Director of the Miyaru Programme. Jono is also a freedive instructor and has been documenting whales and marine megafauna since 2016.