Nicki Meharg
Underwater & topside assistant camera, second camera & dive safety.
Commercial diver, CCR rEvo Diver, Freedive instructor & coach, Open Circuit Tech Diver, Dive Medic
Marine conservation activist.
Skills and experience
I have been a professional diver for over a decade. Working in several countries from polar to tropical. I’m experienced in a wide range of conditions. Cold water/low visibility , open water, tropical waters, strong currents, large and small aquatic animals. I have a good knowledge of a range of animal behaviours and 3 dive disciplines to work with for the best results with different shoot requirements. I have worked as a wildlife tour operator and guide, dive instructor (Freedive and Scuba) and been a voluntary science diver for marine conservations zones in the UK and abroad.
I have assisted on blue chip wildlife documentaries, adventure programmes, music videos, dramas and commercials. This has exposed me to an array of equipment and added to my in water expereinces with different animals and environments. I have held staff positions in Esprit and Silverback Films developing, maintaining and preparing all their specialist kit.
I am active in a number of conservation groups and am an experienced wildlife guide in the UK and globally. Each one of these experiences has equipped me with a variety of skills and knowledge from managing the lifting of ghost nets to carrying out species surveys. I continue to grow a global network of conservation projects. Looking for new learning opportunities and putting my dive skills to use for projects who need them.
“A very reliable pair of hands to trust your camera and housing with!
Always learning, applying and expanding her knowledge of both diving and cameras, and with a genuine excitement and wonder of new experiences and the world, she’s a great member of any team.”
About me.
Born and raised by the sea in Northern Ireland and then in adult life living in Wales in the heart of the Skomer Marine Nature reserve.
I am an active member of a number of marine conservation initiatives and have worked as a wildlife guide for over a decade periodically in the UK, Mediterranean, Middle East, Asia and the Polar regions.
I work as a camera assistant, second camera and dive safety for tv productions.
These have ranged from corporate videos, music videos, commercials, film, adventure tv, presenter led tv and blue chip wildlife docs.
I like to keep my work versatile so I learn more and can offer a wider knowledge base to those I work with.
I am fluent in Freediving, Scuba and CCR. however I believe ‘fluency’ is an ever evolving thing. We all learn more with each dive and each experience.
I try to dedicate at least 2 months a year to pure training for improvement of knowledge and skills base.
I am an active conservationist, working with NARC, Ghost diving, Skomer Marine reserve, Project Seagrass, Seasearch, MCS and the Waterloggers project by We Swim Wild.
Im a great believer in proactivity, continuous learning and grafting. I take dive safety extremely seriously and know how to balance safety with getting the shot.
Most of all I love meeting and working with new and inspiring people and growing my dive and land family of incredible folk. I hope to meet new faces and have new experiences as much as possible.
I continue to offer freediving lessons and wildlife tours to small parties of experienced people so as to reduce the impact on the wildlife and encourage people to learn and prepare before getting out of their depth and safety.
Testimonials
“Nicki has worked with us at Silverback a number of times as an U/W kit technician, an U/W AC and a Dive Safety Supervisor. She is hardworking, knowledgeable, reliable, and passionate about the work she does. Nicki stepped in to our U/W kit dept in the chaos of Covid and waved her magic wand to get things sorted and on track without fuss or bother. I would highly recommend Nicki for any job in the U/W world, as a you can rest assured that the job will be done safely, skilfully and with great team spirit.”
— Elly Salisbury, Deputy Director of Production, Silverback Films
“Any production would be lucky to have Nicki as part of the team! Her positive and proactive approach creates a great working environment whether she's looking after the kit or the safety of the dive crew.”
— Katie Marie Goodwright, KMG managment
“I have dived with Nicki almost 50+ Hours underwater on training dives, scouting and exploration or on conservation projects. What makes her a valuable team member is her well rounded set of skills, leadership attitude, her passion towards learning and safety oriented mindset. I fully trust that whatever job will be thrown at her, she will do it in the most professional way.”
— Mahmoud Esmat, Scuba Seekers CCR GUE Tech diver and recreational Instructor, Dahab
“I am lucky enough to be surrounded by professional underwater crews who are at the top of their game, making some visually outstanding, memorable and cutting-edge productions, I count Nicki as one of these guys and it’s a great privilege to work with her”
— Neil Brock, Bristol Channel Divers
Travel and my global dive family network
I have lived and dived around the world, though this I have an extensive network of knowledge and skilled people at my fingertips.
I have an Irish EU and a UK passport, am triple covid vaccinated and all my other vaccinations for travel are kept up to date.
