Every time he goes to work, Mr Fred Buyle takes a very deep breath. He then descends into a silent, underwater world where he captures remarkable images with no tools other than a simple camera, the available light and the almost superhuman capacity of his highly trained lungs. Buyle, you see, is one of the world’s leading free diving photographers. Now approaching 50 years of age, he began deep diving without the aid of scuba equipment when he was just 10, leaping from the side of his family’s sailboat during extended summer vacations. By the age of 18 he was teaching the sport, and claimed the first of his four world records in 1995 before turning professional the following year – and then becoming only the eighth person in history to descend to a depth of 100 metres on a single breath. But it was around a decade ago when Buyle truly found his niche by combining his fish-like diving abilities with the artistic skills that run in his genes (his great-grandfather was a pioneer lensman during the 19th century, his grandfather was a painter and his father was a fashion photographer).

And now, sea-rooted watch brand Ulysse Nardin – which made its name by supplying ship’s chronometers to more than 50 of the world’s navies – has adopted Buyle as the perfect person to promote the capabilities of its new, 300-piece, limited-edition Diver Lemon Shark watch. Water resistant down to a gulp-worthy 300 metres, this 42mm diver features fizzing yellow highlights on its dial, bezel and eco-friendly strap (which is made from salvaged fishing net material), while the case back is stamped with an image of a trio of prowling lemon sharks that – we are assured – prefer eating crustaceans to humans. But, like many other shark species, they are currently under threat – and Ulysse Nardin has set out to help the lemon shark and their kind by supporting the ocean data-research charity Ocearch and Miami’s Florida International University (FIU), which runs a unique underwater research station in the Keys called the Medina Aquarius Programme. Ocearch is currently following sharks of all species in a bid to compile data that will ultimately go towards attempts to re-establish the healthy balance of the oceans, a programme that includes the launch of the Shark Tracker app with which scientists and the public can follow tagged sharks in real time.

Meanwhile, Buyle will continue to dive down to as much as 60 metres below the surface in order to capture his remarkable images of hammerhead, ferox, lemon and great white sharks as well as sperm, humpback and orca whales. By not using a protective cage or air tanks, he can get far closer to the creatures than regular divers, meaning he can also take DNA samples and carry out acoustic and satellite tagging in order to help research teams in locations as far afield as Colombia, Mexico, France and South Africa. On one occasion, recalls Buyle, he even saw a sperm whale calf arrive into the world while diving with his camera – which certainly lends a whole new meaning to “being there at the birth.”