Combine one man's passion for diving
and photography with his fascination
fot fashion and beautiful women.
The stunning amalgamation is Mick
Gleissner's Underwater Fashion
Photography.
Mick's revolutionary form of underwater
photography - which showcases
dreamlike images of daredevil models
called "mermaids" - has captured the
attention of international acclaimed
media, and among those that have
featured his work are Elle, Maxim,
Photo, Photographie, Seaster and
Duiken's magazines.
Truely, the surrealism of Mick
Gleissner's photographers continues to
give the human ee a visual treat.
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Mick’s Mermaid
Posted: 1/21/2010
YouTube Link: Mick’s Mermaid
Additional Links:
hannah Fraser
myspace.com
byron-bay.com
Just came up from shooting our latest underwater extravaganza, and I’m pumped! I’m still dripping wet, but I felt like I just had to get this down.
Had a really good day here, everything went so smoothly. The Angel Stalker is utopia central!
Two hours later
Just had a chance to review in detail the footage from today, and I have to say I’m more than pleased. It’s even better than I expected.
It has an ethereal, mystical quality to it, in the backlighting, with the sun filtering through the clear turquoise waters of Cebu... calling it an extravaganza just doesn’t do it justice.
If I can get the right music for this, I think it will have ah kind of sensual, otherworldly beauty, especially when our model, Hannah, disappears into the murky depths… I think I’ll make that my ending, the last shot…it will leave us with a feel of the visionary, the splendor of nature, a kind of unearthly enchantment.
Hannah’s a natural mermaid! She is extraordinarily graceful and supple under water. Watching her elegant roundabouts, classy turns and liquid cartwheels past the corals and nautical wildlife, she must’ve been born for this!
Hannah’s an Australian model in her late 20s, tall, willowy and lithe, with bright green eyes and a flair for the camera. She hails from the east coast down under, from a place called Byron Bay, not too far south of Brisbane, on the northern border of New South Wales. I’ve never been there, but she swears it’s a heavenly paradise.
She’s a very independent woman, sort of a self-made girl. She manufactured her own mermaid costume and also does her own upkeep of it. It fits her perfectly and is very easy on the eyes. She can do her own make-up and hair styling, but today we had our own people on board to help out with that.
I find myself thinking if mermaids really did exist, they’d look like Hannah.
I dream about all the old legends of seafaring men, and I wonder… Maybe mermaids do exist after all, somewhere, sometime...
If I think about it long enough, I might end up devoting myself to finding that actual mermaid...
Some where… some time…
Posted: 1/21/2010
YouTube Link: Mick’s Mermaid
Additional Links:
hannah Fraser
myspace.com
byron-bay.com
Had a really good day here, everything went so smoothly. The Angel Stalker is utopia central!
Two hours later
Just had a chance to review in detail the footage from today, and I have to say I’m more than pleased. It’s even better than I expected.
It has an ethereal, mystical quality to it, in the backlighting, with the sun filtering through the clear turquoise waters of Cebu... calling it an extravaganza just doesn’t do it justice.
If I can get the right music for this, I think it will have ah kind of sensual, otherworldly beauty, especially when our model, Hannah, disappears into the murky depths… I think I’ll make that my ending, the last shot…it will leave us with a feel of the visionary, the splendor of nature, a kind of unearthly enchantment.
Hannah’s an Australian model in her late 20s, tall, willowy and lithe, with bright green eyes and a flair for the camera. She hails from the east coast down under, from a place called Byron Bay, not too far south of Brisbane, on the northern border of New South Wales. I’ve never been there, but she swears it’s a heavenly paradise.
She’s a very independent woman, sort of a self-made girl. She manufactured her own mermaid costume and also does her own upkeep of it. It fits her perfectly and is very easy on the eyes. She can do her own make-up and hair styling, but today we had our own people on board to help out with that.
I find myself thinking if mermaids really did exist, they’d look like Hannah.
I dream about all the old legends of seafaring men, and I wonder… Maybe mermaids do exist after all, somewhere, sometime...
If I think about it long enough, I might end up devoting myself to finding that actual mermaid...
Some where… some time…
--Mick
Christmas Card Shoot
Posted: 12/21/09
YouTube Link: Making of Mick Gleissner's Christmas Card 
What a day this has been!
Ten o’clock this morning, we’re loading all our gear into my yacht, the Angel Stalker. Today we’re going out into the sea off the northwest coast of Mactan island to do a photo shoot on my Christmas card! Santa and his sleigh underwater with a couple of golden mermaids! What a great idea!
The hotel has been very cooperative. (Of course, we are paying them for that cooperation!) We’re shooting in the Shangri-La Mactan marine sanctuary. My trusty executive assistant has made all the arrangements.
We’re shooting the still for the Christmas card with a Nikon D2X and taking two Red cameras down in their protective underwater housing. The idea is to cover all the behind-the-scenes action, and believe me, there’s plenty of it. Later, when we’re done, we’ll post another one of our behind-the-scenes videos on YouTube.
It’s a fairly simple idea, this underwater Santa, but there’s a lot of thought and preparation that goes into it.
For one thing, the two girls who are doing the mermaids have to undergo diving certification, and that takes several days, but they come out of it with flying colors. They also practice swimming at a depth of about 5 meters in our underwater production tank on the Bigfoot lot.
Today we’ll be working at a depth of six to eight meters. Our dive captain emphasizes all the safety measures, the hand signals and so forth, and everyone works together so well.
The sea is rough today, and I feel sorry for some of the girls on the crew who aren’t used to it. Some of them are getting a little seasick. But they’ll get over it.
We add some weights to the sleigh in the form of hidden cinder blocks and lower it into the water. We’re down there for a long time, but finally it seems like we’ve gotten all the stuff we need.
We might want to come back tomorrow if for any reason the footage hasn’t come out right, so we decide to leave the sleigh where it is on the bottom overnight.
But back on the surface, we look at a video playback and the whole thing looks fabulous to me! We call it a day at about 5 o’clock and retire to the Shang for a round of well-deserved drinks and finger food! What a time we had!
Next day:
We thought we might head out again and get some other shots, but we had an unexpected development when we discovered the overnight currents out there are very strong. We found the sleigh was broken apart when we got down there. The seas were even rougher today than they were yesterday, so we decided to cancel the additional shoot. Anyway, I’m very happy with the images that we got.
PS: We were able to salvage the sleigh, so it may live to see another day before the cameras!
Posted: 12/21/09
YouTube Link: Making of Mick Gleissner's Christmas Card
Ten o’clock this morning, we’re loading all our gear into my yacht, the Angel Stalker. Today we’re going out into the sea off the northwest coast of Mactan island to do a photo shoot on my Christmas card! Santa and his sleigh underwater with a couple of golden mermaids! What a great idea!
The hotel has been very cooperative. (Of course, we are paying them for that cooperation!) We’re shooting in the Shangri-La Mactan marine sanctuary. My trusty executive assistant has made all the arrangements.
We’re shooting the still for the Christmas card with a Nikon D2X and taking two Red cameras down in their protective underwater housing. The idea is to cover all the behind-the-scenes action, and believe me, there’s plenty of it. Later, when we’re done, we’ll post another one of our behind-the-scenes videos on YouTube.
It’s a fairly simple idea, this underwater Santa, but there’s a lot of thought and preparation that goes into it.
For one thing, the two girls who are doing the mermaids have to undergo diving certification, and that takes several days, but they come out of it with flying colors. They also practice swimming at a depth of about 5 meters in our underwater production tank on the Bigfoot lot.
Today we’ll be working at a depth of six to eight meters. Our dive captain emphasizes all the safety measures, the hand signals and so forth, and everyone works together so well.
The sea is rough today, and I feel sorry for some of the girls on the crew who aren’t used to it. Some of them are getting a little seasick. But they’ll get over it.
We add some weights to the sleigh in the form of hidden cinder blocks and lower it into the water. We’re down there for a long time, but finally it seems like we’ve gotten all the stuff we need.
We might want to come back tomorrow if for any reason the footage hasn’t come out right, so we decide to leave the sleigh where it is on the bottom overnight.
But back on the surface, we look at a video playback and the whole thing looks fabulous to me! We call it a day at about 5 o’clock and retire to the Shang for a round of well-deserved drinks and finger food! What a time we had!
Next day:
PS: We were able to salvage the sleigh, so it may live to see another day before the cameras!
--Mick
Model Jean
Posted: 10/15/07
YouTube Link: Photographer Mick Gleissner with Model Jean Santos 
Had a great time today on sound stage 1 on a still shoot with model Jean.
A controlled studio environment with some fog effects.
I had Jean posing next to one of our most expensive, high-end motion picture cameras.
To me it’s a compelling image…a slender, striking model in a fabulous one-piece wrap-around bikini--a one-piece bikini? That sounds like a contradiction in terms! But wait till you see it, and you’ll know what I mean. A fantastically designed swim suit! And a very inviting hue of blue.
Jean’s also got on high heels and leather straps wrapped around her shapely legs…a continuation of the wrap-around theme.
And she’s on the dolly where the camera’s mounted.
Throw some low-angle primary colors on her and drape her and the camera with fog and the result is intriguing, I think.
I told her to give me some insouciance and she threw me some great looks I was able to capture with the touch of my finger.
I feel like we got some hot stuff today.
Posted: 10/15/07
YouTube Link: Photographer Mick Gleissner with Model Jean Santos
A controlled studio environment with some fog effects.
I had Jean posing next to one of our most expensive, high-end motion picture cameras.
To me it’s a compelling image…a slender, striking model in a fabulous one-piece wrap-around bikini--a one-piece bikini? That sounds like a contradiction in terms! But wait till you see it, and you’ll know what I mean. A fantastically designed swim suit! And a very inviting hue of blue.
Jean’s also got on high heels and leather straps wrapped around her shapely legs…a continuation of the wrap-around theme.
And she’s on the dolly where the camera’s mounted.
Throw some low-angle primary colors on her and drape her and the camera with fog and the result is intriguing, I think.
I told her to give me some insouciance and she threw me some great looks I was able to capture with the touch of my finger.
I feel like we got some hot stuff today.
--Mick
Capturing the Moment & Bebe
Posted: 11/16/06
YouTube Link: Bebe Pham Nautical Angels Underwater Photo Shoot 
I was thinking today about our shoot two days ago. This model, Bebe, she’s quite something. She’s one of the best I’ve ever worked with. I think she’s got that something extra.
Tall and willowy, she’s from a small farming community in Vietnam. Thai Binh it’s called.
The best models don’t just sit there and wait for you to mold them. The best ones come to you while you’re shooting and they help you, they make a contribution, they become a part of what you’re creating, rather than passively reclining there, letting you be the sculptor.
Bebe’s like that. She senses what it is I’m looking for and gives it to me very generously. She can go from sultry to sweet and playful in the bat of an eye. She’s at her ease and goes with the flow, wherever it’s taking us. And she has fun while we’re getting there. She lets herself go, there’s nothing holding her back. She’s smart, engaging, about as unpretentious as a person can be. I think all that comes through in the shots. And she looks great, whether she’s in a swimsuit or an ao dai.
I predict a shining future for her. I look at her and I see star quality.
Posted: 11/16/06
YouTube Link: Bebe Pham Nautical Angels Underwater Photo Shoot
Tall and willowy, she’s from a small farming community in Vietnam. Thai Binh it’s called.
The best models don’t just sit there and wait for you to mold them. The best ones come to you while you’re shooting and they help you, they make a contribution, they become a part of what you’re creating, rather than passively reclining there, letting you be the sculptor.
Bebe’s like that. She senses what it is I’m looking for and gives it to me very generously. She can go from sultry to sweet and playful in the bat of an eye. She’s at her ease and goes with the flow, wherever it’s taking us. And she has fun while we’re getting there. She lets herself go, there’s nothing holding her back. She’s smart, engaging, about as unpretentious as a person can be. I think all that comes through in the shots. And she looks great, whether she’s in a swimsuit or an ao dai.
I predict a shining future for her. I look at her and I see star quality.
--Mick
Capturing the Moment & Bebe
Posted: 11/15/06
YouTube Link: Bebe Pham Nautical Angels Underwater Photo Shoot 
The thing that appeals to me the most about still photography is the moment that moment that everything’s been leading up to all your prep-work, all your plans and designs Everything leads up to the moment when your finger is on the button you feel the tension rising, your finger hovers over the trigger And when the timing is just right
And the moment that moment the moment you’ve been waiting for is preserved forever. For me, that’s what the art of photography is all about. Capturing that indelible moment. It’s unforgettable.
And for me, there’s something I connect with when I’m in the water. Something elemental, something primal.
I especially connect when we do an underwater shoot, like we did yesterday.
For me it’s almost mystical, like we’re floating through the clouds of heaven. There’s an ineffable beauty under the water. It’s almost beyond description. We’re apart from our everyday humdrum lives, we’ve entered a magical kingdom where we can’t stay for long. We’re at our ease down here, we can feel the layers of stress peeling away and melting into nothing. It’s sheer pleasure.
But at the same time, we don’t belong here. Our moment is short-lived in these realms. So we have to enjoy it while we can.
I think’s it’s possible to find something here something you can’t find anywhere else.
And I have to say, these waters in Cebu so clear, so deep, so vivid. I’ve taken a lot of pictures all over the world, and I’ve never found anything so lovely as these Philippine waters.
Posted: 11/15/06
YouTube Link: Bebe Pham Nautical Angels Underwater Photo Shoot
And the moment that moment the moment you’ve been waiting for is preserved forever. For me, that’s what the art of photography is all about. Capturing that indelible moment. It’s unforgettable.
And for me, there’s something I connect with when I’m in the water. Something elemental, something primal.
I especially connect when we do an underwater shoot, like we did yesterday.
For me it’s almost mystical, like we’re floating through the clouds of heaven. There’s an ineffable beauty under the water. It’s almost beyond description. We’re apart from our everyday humdrum lives, we’ve entered a magical kingdom where we can’t stay for long. We’re at our ease down here, we can feel the layers of stress peeling away and melting into nothing. It’s sheer pleasure.
But at the same time, we don’t belong here. Our moment is short-lived in these realms. So we have to enjoy it while we can.
I think’s it’s possible to find something here something you can’t find anywhere else.
And I have to say, these waters in Cebu so clear, so deep, so vivid. I’ve taken a lot of pictures all over the world, and I’ve never found anything so lovely as these Philippine waters.
--Mick
Photographer Mick Gleissner with Hiromi Oshima
Posted: 11/06/06
YouTube Link: Photographer Mick Gleissner with Hiromi Oshima 
A day at the beach!
Had a great time shooting Playmate Hiromi Oshima. (And as for her last name, the accent is on the first syllable! Just in case you didn’t know.
She looked fantastic in that gorgeous pink bikini I picked out for her myself.
I especially love the leaping shot I got of her with that gossamer pink tail trailing behind her!
I think it gives the shot that extra something to make it more than just an ordinary photograph. It’s part of the photo-grapher’s art to imagine something more than simply what meets the eye. It’s the art of suggestion and what the mind associates when you’re looking at a beautiful girl...
The fun part is that Hiromi is really a shy little thing. I don’t think it ever shows when the camera is clicking away, but when I stop shooting and lower the camera, she lowers something too, without really thinking about it, and what she lowers is her guard. And I can see a shy little girl inside her eyes.
On second thought, I think it’s still there when she’s posing for a shot, but it shows itself in a different way, a kind of understandably human way. But it’s very subtle.
I would say maybe she channels her shyness when the shutter clicks, channels it in a way that’s really engaging for the lens.
I also love the way she flirts with the camera!
She’s a bouncy kid and I really had fun with her today.
I also like those shots of her we got in front of those craggy rocks at the water’s edge.
Those rocks are calcified coral, and you find a lot of it around the shores of this magnificent little island called Cebu in the Philippines!
Posted: 11/06/06
YouTube Link: Photographer Mick Gleissner with Hiromi Oshima
Had a great time shooting Playmate Hiromi Oshima. (And as for her last name, the accent is on the first syllable! Just in case you didn’t know.
She looked fantastic in that gorgeous pink bikini I picked out for her myself.
I especially love the leaping shot I got of her with that gossamer pink tail trailing behind her!
I think it gives the shot that extra something to make it more than just an ordinary photograph. It’s part of the photo-grapher’s art to imagine something more than simply what meets the eye. It’s the art of suggestion and what the mind associates when you’re looking at a beautiful girl...
The fun part is that Hiromi is really a shy little thing. I don’t think it ever shows when the camera is clicking away, but when I stop shooting and lower the camera, she lowers something too, without really thinking about it, and what she lowers is her guard. And I can see a shy little girl inside her eyes.
On second thought, I think it’s still there when she’s posing for a shot, but it shows itself in a different way, a kind of understandably human way. But it’s very subtle.
I also love the way she flirts with the camera!
She’s a bouncy kid and I really had fun with her today.
I also like those shots of her we got in front of those craggy rocks at the water’s edge.
Those rocks are calcified coral, and you find a lot of it around the shores of this magnificent little island called Cebu in the Philippines!
--Mick