“Welcome to 2012…”
“…see you underwater!”
Archive for Musings 
Happy New Year!
“Welcome to 2012…”
“…see you underwater!”
My Top 10 Underwater Photographs for 2011
Putting together Top 10 lists is a popular thing for websites to do at the end of the year.
I generally avoid trends, but I like this one, because the process of stepping back and getting perspective on what you’ve experienced and achieved over the preceding 12 months is an excellent way to set goals for the upcoming year.
It’s also a nice opportunity to recap and share some highlights of the year…to recall the good times, as well as the challenges.
I’ve just skimmed through my blog posts from 2011, and picked out ten of my favourite photos, listed in chronological order.
The first is this image of Ron Leidich and Terry Ward in the entrance of one of the hidden lakes in Palau’s Rock Islands:
Ron and Terry in a tunnel leading to a hidden lake in Palau’s Rock Islands
I like this picture because it encapsulates everything about the unique and educational experience I had in February of exploring Palau by kayak. Getting into and out of concealed lakes was often a logistical challenge, to say nothing of the difficulty involved in documenting the experience with photos.
To capture this image, I had to swim several times between our mother boat and the island in order to haul my gear up and over sharp rocks and hydroids into the narrow opening, then get Ron and Terry into position and set up the lighting before ambient light levels fell and the incoming tide trapped us.
We were on a tight schedule and only had one try, with a window of 20, no more than 30, minutes, so I was elated (shocked almost!) when the shot actually worked.
The second photo I picked from the trip is a more traditional underwater image of a coral reef in shallow water.
Thriving coral reef in an area that was devastated by
El Niño in 1998 and crown of thorns thereafter
It’s not technique, lighting, composition, etc. that makes this photo stand out for me. It’s the fact that this reef is living testimony to the tremendous self-healing and recovery capability of Mother Nature. It’s a symbol of hope…a reef system that defied all the doom-and-gloom, end-of-days pronouncements by experts in the wake of the massive El Niño in 1998. It’s cause for optimism.
Next up are two photos of Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea), the first of a friendly young sea lion coming in to give my camera a neighborly nuzzle and kiss:
Young Australian sea lion coming in for a kiss
…and the second of two sea lions play-fighting:
Two male sea lions having a friendly discussion
I love interacting with pinnipeds, and these two photos taken together show the extremes of their behaviour. If you’re a dog-lover like me, you’ll have no problem imagining what it’s like to swim with these precocious animals. It’s like being surrounded by hyperactive labrador retrievers…except that you’re in the water, and they can swim (a lot!) better than you.
A shadow hung over my time with the sea lions this year, as the earthquake+tsunami+nuclear reactor meltdowns in Japan took place just as I arrived in Western Australia, but the fact that I was with great friends (including three terrific kids who had an absolute blast with the sea lions) helped to balance things out.
I’m planning a return visit in March 2013, so let me know if you’re interested.
Pretty soon after playing with the sea lions, I took an exploratory trip to Sri Lanka, where I had some amazing luck. Among the highlights was an encounter with a manta ray that head-butted me twice:
Rear view of a manta ray feeding at the ocean surface
I like this angle, because it’s different from most manta images. It took a lot of swimming and a number of attempts to get the manta’s tail lined up just right, when the tips of both of the animal’s wings were out of the water.
The back story of this head-butting manta is interesting, and worth a read if you like enigmas. Naturally, there was some debate about whether the manta really made a sound or not before colliding with me.
I’m 100% certain of what I heard, and there was another person in the water with me who heard/ saw the exact same things. Capt. Craig of Golden Dawn also reported a similar sound from a manta in PNG; I’ve appended a note to my original blog post with Craig’s comments. Have a read, and please let me know if you come across mantas (or other rays) making odd sounds.
Also during that trip, I managed to swim through the biggest cloud of sperm whale poo I’ve come across so far. You gotta admit, it’s impressive!
This is the biggest dump I’ve ever seen from a sperm whale.
You might think it odd that I’d pick such a photo for my ten favourites of the year, but c’mon, no one can resist gawking at that enormous effluent emission.
As if batoid head-butts and odontocete defecation weren’t amazing enough, I had the mind-blowing experience of having two blue whales swim toward me, slow down to make eye contact, wish me a good day, then merrily carry on with their official whale business:
Blue whales(!) swimming in blue water
In case there was any doubt, I can confirm that blue whales are…big!
Then it was off to Papua New Guinea, where I spent a month aboard MV Golden Dawn, harassing Captain Craig and Bob Halstead.
I didn’t do much macro photography this year, but on this trip, I nailed a super-macro shot of Dinah’s goby (Lubricogobius dinah), a fish I’ve been wanting to photograph for a decade or so:
Super-macro shot of Dinah’s goby (Lubricogobius dinah)
Photographing Dinah’s goby involved using a rebreather, lugging an elaborate camera set-up, and putting in some deco time, but it was worth the effort. Bob and Dinah Halstead documented this fish and had it described, so it was an honour to have Bob find the fish for me, and to be able to help Bob get a print made for Dinah!
My final two picks for the year are from Tonga. It was such an amazing season, with a record 48 humpback whale mother/ calf pair IDs, that it’s extremely difficult to select just two photos.
This picture is special because the adult female is one that I first photographed and ID-ed in 2009. I recognised her immediately on sight. She had the same even-keeled temperament that she did two seasons ago, and her calf was playful, confident and friendly, just like her calf in 2009.
Toluua, humpback whale calf #32 of the 2011 season, with mommy
And last but not least, I am quite fond of this photo of a male humpback whale singing:
Fluke of a humpback whale singer
I’ve spent time with and photographed a lot of singers, but this had to be the most cooperative one ever. From the moment we made eye contact, I could tell that the whale didn’t mind my presence. The white along the sides of its body, and the curly, twisty scar on the right side of its fluke really give the whale character, making for a beautiful portrait of a beautiful animal.
Well…there are certainly many more photos that I liked, but a Top 47 list doesn’t have quite the same ring to it as Top 10 does.
All of these images are more than just pictures to me. They are reminders of incredible experiences, of memories and lessons learned that no amount of money can buy, of another year well spent exploring the world, making friends, and…hopefully…becoming a better photographer and person.
A Christmas Tail
Here’s a happy holiday story for you. This has nothing to do with underwater photography, but I hope it inspires some appropriately warm, mushy feelings for the festive season.
The protagonist in this tale is Muji, a feline friend I made in 1999, pictured here sunning himself in the swank London apartment where he now resides:
Muji sunning himself at his London residence
Muji started life as a homeless street kitty in Holland Village in Singapore, where, one balmy evening, he decided to enlist my assistance to better his lot in life.
I was standing on the sidewalk, talking with a friend after dinner. Just as I was about to head to my car, I felt something rub my ankle. I looked down and saw a scrawny little kitten, barely big enough to cover the palm of my hand, rubbing itself against my ankles, wrapping its tiny tail around me while making that low-pitched, deep-throated gurgling sound that furry felines specialise in.
Kneeling down, I picked the kitten up by the scruff of its neck and did a quick visual inspection. Male. Ears, nose, eyes, paws, teeth…all clean. No scratches or wounds. No fleas. No ticks. Perfectly normal, other than the fact that it was far too small to be on its own.
I spun around several times in search of a mommy cat or sibling kittens. No luck. There were no homes nearby, so it probably wasn’t lost.
Growing anxious, I held the kitten out to passersby and asked if it belonged to them. All I got were strange looks. More than a few people hurried away, with callous disregard for the plight of an increasingly desperate man, standing in the middle of the pavement, at night, holding a kitten, calling out to anyone who would listen.
After a while, my muscles started to fatigue from holding said kitten out at arms length, so I placed it in the crook of my left arm. Kitty pushed and pulled, shifted and shoved to make a few adjustments to my limb position, then snuggled in, gurgled, purred…and fell asleep.
That was how I came to be the owner of a cat.
This is how Muji got me to adopt him
When I first took Muji home, Pasta (my golden retriever) sauntered over for a salutory sniff, as amiable goldens are wont to do. Tiny though he was, Muji hissed and growled up a storm, leaving no room for doubt about who was top dog now (so to speak), giving poor Pasta a considerable fright in the process.
Muji’s less-than-cordial initial greeting made Pasta a nervous wreck for a few days, until the two reached an inter-species détente of sorts and learned to like one another (meaning Muji used Pasta as a fluff pillow while Pasta accepted her fate with stoic canine dignity).
Somewhat unusual for a cat, Muji stayed with me 24/7. He followed me everywhere. His favourite activity (besides sneaking up on Pasta and snickering when she jumped) was sitting on my shoulder, going along for the ride wherever I walked, drove or sat.
Instead of a footloose and carefree pirate with a multi-hued parrot on his shoulder, picture a Chinese guy with scrawny stray cat on his shoulder.
Muji and I shared many (mis)adventures together…far too many to relate here…but one in particular stands out…the day I gave Muji a shower.
It seemed like a good idea at the time. Pasta, after all, was enjoying her weekly shower, basking in the spray of water as I hosed the suds off her in our driveway. It was sunny; sparrows were chirping. It was the perfect day to shampoo one’s four-legged friends.
When the first drop of water touched Muji, he screamed. Literally so loud that I’m sure everyone within a kilometre heard him. Up until then, I wasn’t aware that cats were capable of screaming, but it seems that they’re pretty good at it when the occasion warrants. Go figure.
Anyway, Muji was still a tiny tyke, so I was able to hold him down during his involuntary ablution, suffering only a thousand or so scratches on my forearms in the process.
When all was said and done, I had the cleanest, best smelling cat in Singapore. It was therefore somewhat unfortunate that Muji was far too incensed to appreciate the faint bouquet of lilac that wafted up whenever he slunk by.
For many days thereafter, Muji wouldn’t come near me, much less sit on my shoulder. He scowled, snarled and sulked, refusing to acknowledge my existence (except at meal times of course).
It took a contrite apology and sincere promise from me never to inflict such an indignity upon him again (along with a good chunk of catnip) for Muji to let bygones be bygones and re-establish his quasi-permanent perch on my clavicle.
Muji on a cabinet in his new home
Along came the day when I had to prepare for an extended trip. Pasta had quite a few friends she could go stay with, but I needed to find someone to take care of Muji. Fortunately, Yoko-san, a friend who lived not too far away, agreed to take him in.
I have to confess that when I dropped Muji off, I felt a pang of separation anxiety, exacerbated by a nagging concern that my little kitten might suffer trauma at being abandoned…especially given his origins as a stray.
To make a long story short…Muji and Yoko-san got along famously. In fact, they got along so well that when I went back to pick Muji up and was about to leave with kitten (and kitty bed, kitty food, kitty litter, kitty toys, kitty treats, kitty blankets, kitty pillows, etc.) in tow, I saw a tear forming in the corner of Yoko-san’s eye.
Now…here’s the thing. Fond as I was of the young lad, it wasn’t never my intention to have a cat. My dog was responsibility enough, and the most important thing to me was to ensure that Muji had a good home.
In fact, the reason I named Muji Muji was that the term is a contraction of “Mujirushi” (無印), the name of a brand in Japan, which literally translates to “no name”. In other words, I didn’t want to name Muji, because I didn’t want to get attached.
Sensing opportunity, I asked Yoko-san if she wanted to adopt a kitten. The answer was obvious.
So that was how Yoko-san came to be the owner of a cat.
Yoko-san eventually became the owner of two cats
After Muji settled in with his new family, another stray kitten joined them, and they’ve been living the good life ever since.
From his humble beginnings as a homeless street kitty, Muji has come a long way. After enjoying a peaceful, pampered life in Singapore (with the minor exception of the aforementioned shower incident) and Japan, Muji has most recently taken up residence in London (via cross-continental flight Tokyo to Paris, hotel in Paris to recover, car ride to Calais, ferry to Dover, car ride to London), where he’s looking forward to many a new adventure, good English food (or maybe not), and lots of lazy afternoon naps.
On that happy note, permit me this opportunity to wish you a happy holiday season, and a wonderful new year ahead.
Muji surveying his new domain
Santa Claus(e)
I guess I’ve been a good boy this year. Santa Clause just added me to his Google+ Circles:
Santa Clause added me to his Google+ circles
Update: Requests for Free Photographs
One thing that I forgot to mention in my post yesterday was the time I’ve been spending on maintaining the Reasons Why Professional Photographers Cannot Work for Free site that I set up a few weeks ago.
What started as a small project to give my friends and me an easy link to send out and save time when we receive requests for free images has mushroomed into a major(!) undertaking.
There are now hundreds of signatories from around the world, representing many different types of photography, and the text has been translated into 11 languages so far. Many photographers have written to tell me that the text has already worked for them, and I know the template has been reproduced and/ or modified and posted on a bunch of major photography forums and sites.
I’ve spent a lot of time updating the site, answering emails, and looking through URLs featuring amazing images created by the photographers who’ve written in. (If you have a bit of free time, click a few of the signatory links to peruse the sites.)
Form letter for photographers to respond to requests for free images
From this experience, one thing has become extremely clear…the explosion in requests (sometimes demands) for free or dirt-cheap images is a global phenomenon that affects photographers in all areas (and other creative artists as well). I of course knew that this was a growing problem, but I didn’t really appreciate how extensive and insidious it’s already become.
I’m certainly not naive enough to believe that one template letter will fix this problem, but I’m pretty sure that it will improve the lives of many photographers.
If nothing else, it’s much easier to send a link to a form letter with hundreds of signatories than it is to type a response to every request. It’s also much easier to be polite when all you’re doing is sending a link than it is when you’re responding while feeling irritated about getting yet another request.
There are a number of recurring themes in the communications I’ve received from fellow photographers, but two really stand out.
First is the sentiment that: “It’s much worse here than anywhere else,” or words to that effect. With so many photographers all around the world telling me the same thing, it stands to reason that everywhere can’t be “worse”. But since so many people feel that the problem is really bad where they are, the only logical conclusion to draw is that it’s bad just about everywhere. Sucks, huh?
Second is a sense of relief expressed as: “I thought I was the only one.” Perhaps more than the text itself, the sense of community and mutual support arising from having a common response to this all-too-common problem is something that has value.
So basically, though this has taken up far too much of my time, I’m happy that the template is up on the web for everyone to use, and it’s been great “meeting” so many photographers I probably would never have otherwise communicated with.
Oh…one additional bonus is that the site has been attracting its fair share of comment spam (all of which has been caught by WordPress’s spam filter). Most are just inane gibberish with links to libido-enhancing pharmaceutical sites and other cyberspace flotsam. Some are entertaining though.
Here’s an example of a spam comment that’s highly complimentary of my “substantially passion” and massive statement:
“This is a intelligent weblog. I mean it. You have got so significantly information about this concern, and so substantially passion. You also know the best way to make people rally behind it, certainly from the responses. Youve got a style here thats not too flashy, but makes a statement as massive as what youre saying. Fantastic job, indeed.”
I was feeling rather chuffed after reading that (for non-Poms, “chuffed” in UK-speak roughly translates to “stoked” in normal-speak).
The risk of my chuffed-ness getting out of control escalated with the following unsuccessful attempt to use flattery to get me to approve a comment (I took exception to the “probably” qualification):
“I’ve been surfing on-line greater than 3 hours today, yet I never discovered any fascinating article like yours. It’s lovely worth enough for me. In my view, if all website owners and bloggers made excellent content as you probably did, the internet shall be much more useful than ever before.”
Fortunately, the next spammer brought my blogging ego back down to earth:
“The next time I learn a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as a lot as this one. I mean, I do know it was my option to read, but I really thought youd have one thing fascinating to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you would repair for those who werent too busy on the lookout for attention.”
Whining? Who me?!
Season’s Greetings…almost
A confluence of circumstances has kept me from posting anything since I hunkered down and cranked out my calf count summary at the end of October.
I’ve answered approximately three million emails (give or take a handful); I’ve caught up on current events (given the way things are going, I kinda wish I hadn’t); I’ve finally rid my site of hacks that were doing all sorts of funky things (in the worst possible connotation of the word funky); I’ve had a bunch of meetings (both physical and virtual); I’ve helped judge a photo contest; I’ve hit the gym and gotten back into decent shape; I’ve organised most of my trips for next year; I’ve read a pile of research papers about cetaceans and other marine life; I’ve managed to sleep at least a few hours a night; and I’ve even gotten some work done. Whew.
By way of proof that I’ve actually been working, here is a video of sperm whales that Smithsonian Magazine posted recently to complement an article about these amazing animals in the December 2011 issue, titled Call of the Leviathan:
The footage is from recent trips I took to Dominica and Ogasawara to photograph sperm whales. I can’t take credit for the excellent editing though. Brendan, the photo editor at Smithsonian Magazine, did a bang-up job of making my footage look decent. (Thank you Brendan!)
And this is a link to an interview I did with Radio Australia recently about the humpback whales in Tonga. It’s short, but important.
Here’s the audio in case you can’t access the link:
There were suggestions by another person in an earlier interview that humpback whales use their pectoral fins to stroke swimmers in the water, sometimes even lifting swimmers en masse into the air out of exuberance. Poppycock.
I’m the first to admit that being in the water with humpbacks can be a magical, almost mystical, experience, but there’s no good that can come of people visiting Tonga and expecting to be stroked by whales. None whatsoever.
Bruce Hill, the presenter of Radio Australia’s Pacific Beat program, was kind enough to give me an opportunity to set more realistic, and safe, expectations for anyone who might be contemplating a trip to Tonga. (Thanks Bruce!)
Anyway, I’m back at the helm, and I’ll be posting more from now on, including information about upcoming trips.
To get back into the swing of things, here is one of my favourite humpback whale fluke photos. It was a stormy day back in 2005, and it’s the only time I’ve ever seen two adult humpbacks tandem tail-slapping. Their slaps weren’t in sync, plus the seas were rocky, so it took quite a few tries to nail the right timing and composition.
Humpback whales tandem tail-slapping in Tonga
How to Respond to Requests for Free Images
From time to time, I get requests for free images. Actually…it happens a lot.
When I’m in a good mood, I write back and explain nicely why asking a photographer to give away images is like asking Toyota for a free car.
The thing is, sometimes I’m too busy to respond, or as is often the case, I receive an avalanche of requests at the same time, and I get overwhelmed.
When this happens, I end up prioritising other tasks and never get around to replying (for which I feel bad later), or worse, send back a snippy response (for which I feel really bad later).
Form letter for photographers to respond to requests for free images
I know that many fellow photographers face the same dilemma, because it’s a frequent topic of discussion whenever we get together, in person or online.
We lament the fact that we’re damned if we respond (it takes time to respond, and people who ask for free photos often take offence if we decline); and damned if we don’t respond (people probably think we’re rude, and most of us feel bad about not replying with a reasonable explanation).
I decided to do something about this, both for myself and as a service to my photographer friends, by drafting a standard response and posting it online: Template for photographers to respond to requests for free images.
If you’re a photographer and find yourself facing the same dilemma, please feel free use this text. I’ve posted it under a Creative Commons license (Attribution, Share Alike) for this purpose.
You can link to the web page, include a link to the URL in an email reply, copy-and-paste the text, amend it to suit your needs…whatever works for you. All I ask is that you somehow link back to/ acknowledge this URL: http://photoprofessionals.wordpress.com
Please also pass this information along to other photographers who might benefit.
I just posted the URL a few days ago, and I’ve already had a chance to use it a couple of times…with the desired result. I’ve received positive replies thanking me for the explanation, coupled with undertakings to get back to me should a budget become available.
If you’d like to add your name as a signatory (strength in numbers, etc.), please use the contact form to send your information. I’m administering the site with my friend Matthew Oldfield, and one of us will get back to you.
Ambitious Mission Statement
You certainly can’t fault this company for having low aspirations:
Now this is an ambitious mission statement!
Sleeping Cat
It’s wet and windy today in Vava’u today, meaning it’s going to be messy out on the ocean…if everyone wants to go out.
This is what I’d prefer to do today.
Charity Photo Exhibit Reception
Last night, I attended the opening reception for the charity photo exhibition organised to raise funds for the people of Northeast Japan who are suffering the fallout from the March earthquake and tsunami.
Though the underlying impetus for the event is nothing to be happy about, it was certainly good to see so many people, particularly from the underwater photo and video community, pulling together and cooperating for the purpose of raising funds.
There was food, drink, a few speeches (No one warned me I had to get up and say something!), and an opportunity to see many people I haven’t been able to spend time with for a while.
Among the highlights of the evening for me was bumping into Tateishi-san, who founded Diver magazine and was the first person in Japan to support my work and help me get established. He has since retired, so it was a rare pleasure to have a chance to catch up with him:
Tateishi-san, who was the first publisher to support me in Japan
Also among the attendees was Ikuo Nakamura, who is one of the most well-known underwater photographers in Japan. I first met him some years ago when he visited Singapore courtesy of a photo exhibit organised by Epson.
Since then, we’ve made it a point to get together every once in a while to brainstorm (i.e., get ridiculously drunk), but my intense travel schedule in recent months has meant that we’re long overdue for another problem-solving session to address the woes of the world.
Me with Ikuo Nakamura
At the end of the evening, the organisers sent the contributing photographers off with a nice present, commemorative sake (rice wine) produced in honour of Dr Hideyo Noguchi.
Commemorative sake in honour of Hideyo Noguchi
The exhibition at Hideyo Noguchi Memorial Hall continues until 31 July, open daily from 12:00 to 20:00. In addition to T-shirts, photo books, and products from northeastern Japan, the photos on display are also available for purchase…with every last Yen being donated to relief and reconstruction efforts.
Five Years Old
Today marks five years since I posted my first entry to this blog. Time certainly flies.
I’m not sure exactly why I started this site, or what I hoped to achieve, but in hindsight, I’m happy that I struggled through my initial ignorance of most things web-related and persevered through the times when I thought: “Why bother?”.
From time-to-time, I look back at the thoughts I’ve written and media I’ve posted. I re-live the good times, have occasion to contemplate lessons learned from difficult times, and of course, take pause to be thankful for how fortunate I am.
Perhaps the biggest benefit to accrue from the time and effort I’ve invested in this site is the friends I’ve made and friends with whom I’ve re-established communication. Many of the people I first met online have since become close friends…people I look forward to seeing, sharing adventures with, or even just receiving an email from.
Right now, for instance, I’m sitting on a boat in Papua New Guinea, preparing to post the photo below of two such friends…Julian from the UK and Jenny from Taiwan. Believe it or not, I didn’t need to coax them into posing like silly tourists when we were at Gona Balu Balu in Milne Bay. It just happened.
Jenny, Julian, and a giant clam in Milne Bay, PNG
The way I look at it…you have to be really good friends to act like hams with a clam. Especially when I have a camera to capture evidence for posterity!
So…here’s to five fantastic fun-and-friend-filled years…and hopefully many more to come.
