Charles Maxwell is an underwater cinematographer living in Cape Town, South Africa. He has been diving for over 40 years and therefore has an excellent knowledge of the South African marine environment as well as contacts in the documentary and scientific communities.

Charles began his career in underwater filming in 1987 while assisting Swiss filmmaker, Gerald Favre with his production Le Souffle du Dragon,a story about the discovery and exploration of the world's largest underground lake in Namibia. Since then he has worked with many production companies worldwide.

"South Africa is one of the sharkiest coasts on earth" Sir David Attenborough in his narration for the BBC's "Shark Coast"

Working with the sea can be frustrating and sometimes dangerous but mostly rewarding. It is not all about tropical islands and warm water and sometimes involves spending many cold hours underwater often on your own. While Charles specializes in documentary films about sharks, whales, dolphins and the Cape fur seals that are abundant in the cold water near Cape Town where he lives, he spends a lot of time along the coast between Cape Town and Mozambique.

Charles was a 2002 Primetime Emmy Award winner in the category Outstanding Cinematography for work done for The Blue Planet: Seas of Life, produced by the BBC / Discovery Channel. In 2006 Charles filmed rays feeding on squid for the BBC's Planet Earth: Shallow Seas.