Matthew Oldfield started his career as a Zoologist, graduating from Worcester College, Oxford University, with a degree in Biology. However, academia soon lost its attraction and since leaving university in 1993, Matthew has been heavily involved in both photography and diving. He acted as Science Officer for a reef-survey expedition to Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, in 1994, before joining Science Photo Library as a Picture Researcher. In 1996 he worked for one year as a dive guide on the fabled island of Sipadan in the Celebes Sea, where he finally realised that life in the UK was no longer for him. After a short stint back in the UK with Corbis as a picture researcher in 1997, he returned to Sabah and the island of Mabul to join Scubazoo as a photopro.
For the last 10 years, Matthew has worked for Scubazoo - the world’s largest underwater imaging company - based on the island of Mabul and in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. During his time with the company, he worked as a cameraman, filming on projects such as ‘Survivor’ and ‘Killer Shark Live’ and a ‘fixer’ and location manager for ‘Austin Stevens’, the BBC’s ‘Life in the Undergrowth’ and ‘The Jeff Corwin Experience’. Matthew has had articles published in Asian Geographic, Asian Diver, Scuba Diver Australasia, FiNS Magazine and Scuba Globe, and photo credits in a huge variety of publications through his stock agent in the UK, Science Photo Library. He has also written and provided images for both books published by Scubazoo - ‘Sipadan, Mabul, Kapalai - Sabah’s Underwater Treasure’ and ‘Reef’ - as well as been commissioned to shoot for two books published by Dorling Kindersley, ‘Go Dive’ and ‘Go Surf’. During his years with Scubazoo, Matthew traveled extensively throughout SE Asia and beyond, diving and exploring locations as diverse as West Papua, the Maldives, Mexico, New Zealand and Australia.
Matthew Oldfield is now a freelance photographer and available for commissions anywhere in the world. His experience shooting underwater, adventure, travel, natural history and promotional photography, combined with his extensive knowledge of locations and subjects throughout SE Asia, means he is capable of delivering stunning imagery, whatever the brief, and wherever the location.
If you interested in hiring Matthew, please email with details and dates of your project.