Meet Jesse Stephenson | Real Estate photographer and underwater explorer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jesse Stephenson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jesse, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
The old adage “without risk, there is no reward” pretty well sums up my view on risk. In order to do anything meaningful, you really have to take a risk or chance. I have always felt that I would rather take a risk and fail than to have never attempted something because of fear of failure. From another perspective, my motto in life has always been to “make today an adventure”! So I often look at something I would like to do as an adventure while many others may look at it and call it risky.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Photographer. I joined the Navy to become a SEAL but you have to have another rating or job that compliments your role in the SEAL Teams. I was lucky enough to get a billet as a Navy photographer and was formally trained in photography in their photo school prior to SEAL training. Over the years I have continued my love for photography. I had a small studio and shot lots of family photo sessions as well as quite a few weddings. About 5 years ago we started doing Real Estate Photography. I do the shooting and my wife does the booking, editing, and bookkeeping. Not only do we offer an affordable service, but we are able to quickly get the finished photos/videos back to the Realtors. Our work is so good that we were even hired by the show “House hunters” to shoot some homes and footage around town for one of their episodes.
Diving- I have had a love affair with the water since my early days in the Navy. That has never left me and I still love freediving and snorkeling. I am in the water all the time and also started a You tube channel called “Florida Diving and Lobstering” to inspire others to give it a try. We also created a few products to meet some needs that were lacking in the dive industry. You can see them on my website: www.FloridaDivingandLobstering.com

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If I had a friend coming to visit I would try to show them some of the coolest snorkeling/freediving spots in South Florida. We would dive at Phil Foster park, which is a mile from our place and one of the best shore dive spots in the U.S. We would also go to the Breakers reef, which is relatively shallow and is home to lots of underwater wildlife. We would also dive on the Erojax in Ft. Lauderdale, and Pompano beach drop-off. We live on singer Island so we would probably frequent the restaurant Johnny Longboats, and in the evenings we would stroll along the Palm Beach Shores walking path, which is right along the Palm Beach Inlet

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I believe we were made to connect with others, and when we do, we become more authentic and get inspired to be greater and better. Many people helped shape me along the way, and today I will mention three. Because of my spiritual quest, I see meaning behind everything that happens, even the negative. For this I give credit to God. The second is not a person but the Navy. I was in for 5 years as a Navy SEAL. I went in as a young, irresponsible boy and came out as a reliable, focused man that has the tenacity to see things thru. The third is my wife and true soulmate, Candy. It has been the most important & satisfying human connection I have ever made. She has been there with me through all our crazy adventures.

Website: www.FloridaDivingandLobstering.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/floridadivingandlobstering/

Youtube: @floridadivingandlobstering