William Tan is a violinist with the Singapore Symphony
Orchestra and accomplished marine life photographer.
Between concert seasons, he spends his time studying and
photographing marine animals throughout the Asia Pacific
region. His patience and determination has resulted in
many rare images such as his sequence of a male jawfish
releasing its brood of hatching eggs into the sea. Jawfish
practice an interesting form of reproduction. After the
female deposits her eggs in a burrow, the male fertilizes
them and carries them in his mouth, protecting them as
they develop. Catching the extremely shy fish at the
moment it is releasing its hatching eggs is quite an
accomplishment.
William Tan has been fascinated with the creatures of the
sea since childhood. While studying at the Johns Hopkins
University (USA), much of his spare time was spent gazing
at the extensive marine collection of the National
Aquarium in Baltimore. A violinist with the Singapore
Symphony Orchestra, William earned his scuba diving
certification in 1994.
Thereafter, without his prized antique Italian violin, he
travels extensively between concert seasons throughout the
Pacific region photographing marine life for tourism
organizations, dive magazines and resorts.
His
most recent book, Gorontalo: Hidden Paradise,
published under the commission of the Indonesian
government, is a collaboration with Hong Kong's leading
underwater photographers Stephen Wong and Takako Uno.