Canadian Maxwel Hohn is an Emmy Award-winning cinematographer, director and underwater photographer with a passion for revealing the extraordinary diversity of the natural world. Equally at home on land, in the air and underwater, Maxwel has built a career combining cinematography, exploration and a deep curiosity about the places and creatures he films.

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His cinematography has appeared in productions for some of the world’s leading broadcasters, platforms and entertainment companies, including Netflix, Apple TV+, Disney+, National Geographic, BBC, IMAX, CBC, Arte, Sky, NHK, History and Red Bull, as well as immersive productions for FlyOver Canada and the Las Vegas Sphere. His work has taken him into challenging and remote environments, where his technical experience allows him to capture images that few cinematographers can access.

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Maxwel is a certified commercial diver with qualifications in both surface-supplied diving and occupational scuba, and is also an experienced technical, rebreather and cave diver. His professional diving background gives him the skills to work safely and effectively in demanding underwater environments, from commercial and industrial settings to remote natural-history locations. Above the water, he is a highly certified and experienced drone operator, bringing aerial cinematography into his work and allowing him to move seamlessly between underwater, ground and aerial perspectives.

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Maxwel’s work gained particular attention with his 2020 documentary Tadpoles: The Big Little Migration, a short film exploring the remarkable journey of tadpoles in Canada’s mountain streams. The film attracted international attention from production companies, newspapers and online publications, won a Jackson Wild Award and received the Best Underwater Cinematography award from the Canadian Cinematography Awards. It continues to be screened in schools across Canada and the United States, introducing new audiences to the hidden world beneath the surface of freshwater streams.

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In 2023, Maxwel was part of the Emmy Award-winning cinematography team behind Netflix’s Island of the Sea Wolves. He has also twice received the Best of Show award at the Monterey Underwater Shootout, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society in recognition of his contribution to exploration, geography and storytelling.

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His photography has been published internationally, including in The Province, The Vancouver Sun, Canadian Geographic, DIVER, DeeperBlue, Nature’s Best, Digital Photography Guide, Wetpixel and Scuba Diving Destinations. He was a regular column contributor to DIVER magazine and has written and been interviewed for publications in Canada, the UK and internationally. His underwater photography has also appeared in commercial campaigns for brands including BARE, Suunto, Divesoft, Light & Motion, Sthalsac and Oceanic, while his large-scale images have been installed as murals at the Vancouver Aquarium.

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Maxwel is particularly interested in using photography and film to make the unseen visible. His work often takes audiences beneath the surface, whether that means following the migration of a tiny tadpole, exploring underwater ecosystems or documenting the people and environments connected to them. He brings together the technical demands of specialist cinematography with an instinct for finding images that tell a story.

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In 2026, Maxwel established Wild Film Productions Ltd., an independent production company focused on developing original film and television projects while providing specialist cinematography, underwater production, equipment and creative services to other filmmakers and production companies. Through Wild Film Productions, he continues to combine his experience behind the camera with a growing slate of original stories inspired by the natural world.

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Alongside his production work, Maxwel licenses a wide range of underwater and natural-history stock footage for television, film, advertising, editorial and other productions. Footage is available for both exclusive and non-exclusive licensing, with rates available according to usage.

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From award-winning documentaries and major international productions to still photographs published around the world, Maxwel’s work has always been driven by the same idea: to take audiences somewhere they cannot easily go themselves and show them something they have never seen before.