Frequently asked questions

I am Margaux Le Brun, a marine biology graduate (2016), a French professional diver (CAH1B qualification), an underwater camera operator and a naturalist guide. I lead educational and citizen-science expeditions to meet the ocean's flagship species, I shoot photo and video both on land and underwater, and I give talks on the marine environment. I co-founded Blue Mind Expeditions with Anthony Le Floc'h.

CAH1B is the French class 1, category B hyperbaric aptitude certificate: the qualification that allows diving in a professional setting, for underwater work, filming or research. Level 1B covers operations down to 30 metres. It is what separates a professional diver from a recreational one: insurance, legal framework and safety procedures suited to paid assignments.

No. Sharks and marine megafauna are my home ground, but I also work on land: film sets, talks, portraits, product photography, events, macro and landscapes. I spent a month as mission photographer and second camera on the documentary series “Un océan en héritage” (An Ocean Legacy), backed by UNESCO, alongside Alexis Rosenfeld and Roberto Rinaldi.

I am based in Finistère, Brittany, and I work all over France and internationally. My expeditions regularly take me to the Azores, the Galápagos, the Maldives, South Africa, the Philippines and the Bahamas.

Blue Mind Expeditions runs educational, citizen-science diving trips with marine conservation as their purpose. I co-founded it in 2025 with Anthony Le Floc'h. The idea: stop merely observing, and start understanding and contributing. Every trip combines guided dives, talks by naturalist guides and data-collection workshops whose results go to researchers.

It means involving divers in collecting scientific data. In practice you photograph and measure the animals you meet — sharks, rays or cetaceans, for instance — take part in replanting, or carry out biological sampling. The data then goes to universities, associations and local scientists, who use it to study populations, movements and conservation status. 100% of the data collected on our dives goes to local organisations.

Every animal carries unique markings: the spot pattern of a whale shark, the belly pattern of a manta ray, the shape of a dolphin's dorsal fin, the trailing edge of a whale's fluke. Photographing those markings identifies individuals like a fingerprint, and lets us track their movements over time.

It depends on the destination. Some expeditions happen mostly at the surface, snorkelling or freediving, and are open to anyone comfortable in the water. Others call for an experienced level, such as PADI Advanced Open Water or CMAS**, sometimes with a minimum number of logged dives. The exact requirement is stated on each expedition page on the Blue Mind Expeditions website.

Not at all. Our expeditions are for curious enthusiasts, beginners and experienced divers alike. The naturalist guides train you on site: biology of the species you will meet, photo-identification techniques, how to behave around large predators. The whole point is to turn every diver into an ambassador for the ocean.

The Galápagos from 20 to 27 November 2026 (8 days / 7 nights, from €5,099), the Deep South Maldives from 7 to 14 February 2027 (8 days / 7 nights, from €3,590) and the Sardine Run in South Africa from 30 June to 10 July 2027 (from €4,950). Places are limited and bookings are made on the Blue Mind Expeditions website.

Bookings are made directly on the Blue Mind Expeditions website, where you will find the detailed programme, the required level, the dates and the price of each trip. The trips are sold through Collectif My Way, registered with Atout France under number IM059190009, so you have the legal guarantees of a package holiday under French law.

Diving incidents involving sharks are extremely rare, and almost all of our encounters are calm. Safety rests on preparation: understanding the behaviour of the species, reading the signs of a relaxed or a tense animal, and following simple rules about positioning and movement. That is exactly what we teach before every dive.

Underwater camera work and filming, photography (brand, product, event, portrait), professional diving on field assignments, UGC content creation for brands, talks and seminars, collaborative projects and stock footage sales. Expeditions are a large part of my work, but not all of it.

Yes: sample collection, species monitoring, photo-identification, laser photogrammetry, ecosystem documentation. I bring my own professional equipment and adapt the procedures to your field conditions, down to 30 metres.

Yes — it is one of the services covered by my CAH1B qualification: supporting productions in the water, safety for actors and technicians, and supervising underwater filming.

Yes, in person or by video call, for schools, dive clubs, companies, festivals and trade shows. Topics include: sharks between facts and myths, how to dive with them safely, ecotourism as a conservation tool, citizen science for the oceans, expedition debriefs, and shark diving as a woman.

Yes. I keep a library of professional underwater footage that grows with every expedition and shoot: sharks and rays, marine mammals, fish, birds and reptiles, invertebrates — sorted by behaviour, habitat, dive site and shot type. You preview in low resolution, then buy the high-resolution files in 1080p or 4K. Colour-grading preset packs are in the works.

Write to contact@margauxlebrun.com or use the contact form, telling me the type of assignment, the dates, the location and the deliverables you need. I answer every enquiry personally, with a quote to match.

Blue sharks and makos in the Azores, scalloped hammerheads and whale sharks in the Galápagos, tiger sharks in the Bahamas and the Maldives, pelagic thresher sharks in Malapascua, porbeagles in the North Atlantic, plus cetaceans: sperm whales, common dolphins and pygmy blue whales. Every species card on this site gives the habitat, depth, size, distribution and conservation status.

It is the global reference for the conservation status of species, published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Categories run from LC (least concern) to CR (critically endangered), via NT (near threatened), VU (vulnerable) and EN (endangered). One species can hold different global and regional statuses: the blue shark is near threatened worldwide but critically endangered in the Mediterranean.

Mainly because of habitat destruction and the fishing industry: targeted catch, bycatch in nets and longlines, and the fin trade. Their biology makes them especially vulnerable: slow growth, late sexual maturity and few pups per litter, so populations cannot rebuild at the rate they are being taken.

A living shark, watched by divers year after year, is worth far more to the local economy over time than a shark caught once. Ecotourism gives conservation an economic value, funds local jobs and produces scientific data. It is one of the most concrete levers for changing protection policies.