Tony Wu&#039;s Underwater Photography Blog

Archive for Life

A Christmas Tail

Fri, Dec 23rd, 2011 | Musings 5 Comments

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)

Fri, Dec 9th, 2011 | Funny Stuff, Musings No Comments

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

Sun, Dec 4th, 2011 | Musings, Photography 4 Comments

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

Sat, Dec 3rd, 2011 | Audio, Interviews, Marine Life, Musings No Comments

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

Photo Chat: Jon Cornforth

Sat, Oct 15th, 2011 | Audio, People 3 Comments

I had a chance to catch up with my friend and fellow photographer Jon Cornforth yesterday.

It’s the first time that we’ve had a chance to talk since July, as I was in Tonga for all of August and September, and Jon was also away for several trips during that time.

A polar bear cub and mother walking on Barter Island
in Alaska, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

We mainly caught up on recent events and coordinated a bit for our upcoming Alaska + Tonga Megaptera Mania humpback whale trip next year, but also told each other about a few of the respective highlights of our recent adventures:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Jon told me about his quick trip to the Bahamas to swim with Atlantic spotted dolphins, as well as two trips up north to spend time with brown bears and polar bears.

As a result of our conversation, I now know what bear spray is.

I haven’t the slightest notion of when such knowledge will ever be of use to me (I am sane. I have no immediate plans to stand in front of a hungry, 800-pound bear.), but hey…I learned something new.

Moreover, Jon also taught me that it’s possible to talk in a stern, but not aggressive, voice to brown bears, in order to show them who’s boss.

I should’ve asked Jon to demonstrate for your listening pleasure, but it didn’t occur to me until later. Drat.

Injured humpback whale calf with its mother, long-term escort following closely behind

Injured humpback whale calf with its mother,
long-term escort whale following closely behind

In return, I told Jon about the amazing humpback whale season I had in Tonga, with at least 45 mother/ calf pairs ID-ed. In case it’s not obvious…that’s a lot of baby whales!

I also prattled on for a bit about some interesting, perhaps unique, observations I had this season with humpback whale escorts.

Finally, we spent a few minutes chatting about the open letter that I posted recently as a template for photographers to use when responding to requests for free or dirt-cheap images.

In the few days since I posted that text, I’ve literally received hundreds of emails and other messages from photographers around the world expressing frustration, anger and disappointment with respect to their own experiences.

Responding to all of the communication has taken lots of time, but it’s been educational and rewarding. In particular, I’ve seen lots of mind-blowing photography from viewing everyone’s sites. (Major thanks to Matthew Oldfield for helping out with updating the site!)

From the high number of responses across all areas of photography, it’s clear that this issue is one that resonates across the entire photographic community, as well as other creative professions.

If you’re a photographer, whether well-established or just getting started, it’s an issue you’ll probably have to face, so it might be worth a listen.

Finally, here’s a video Jon posted of himself shooting the polar bear photo above. And no, that’s not automatic weapon fire. It’s the super-amazing shooting speed of the Canon 1D MkIV.

How to Respond to Requests for Free Images

Tue, Oct 11th, 2011 | Featured, Musings, Photography 11 Comments

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.

Me At Work

Tue, Aug 30th, 2011 | Funny Stuff, Places, Adventures 3 Comments

This is me. At work. In Tonga. Looking for whales.

Me at work, surrounded by saluting manga amphibians

I’m sporting my oh-so-stylish whale-watching attire comprising the only pair of sunglasses I’ve ever managed to keep intact for more than a few days ($14.99 polarised pair I picked up at Target); a hat with a built-in back-flap to minimise sunburn on my ears and neck (I have sensitive skin); and my custom-made neoprene coat to keep me warm after prolonged immersion (I get cold easily).

Chic, no?

Vania, one of the six people who joined my first trip in Tonga this season, took this photo. And then embellished it.

From what I gather, I remind her of a Japanese manga character named Keroro…a green frog who, like me, is at the cutting edge of fashion.

I’m not actually familiar with this animated character, but since it appears that Keroro-san merits salutes from an entire phalanx of multi-hued two-dimensional amphibian shock troops…I’ll take it as a compliment.

Thanks Vania!

Ambitious Mission Statement

Wed, Aug 24th, 2011 | Funny Stuff, Musings No Comments

You certainly can’t fault this company for having low aspirations:

Now this is an ambitious mission statement!

Sleeping Cat

Wed, Aug 17th, 2011 | Musings, Places, Adventures No Comments

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.

Sleeping cat at Mounu Island Resort Tonga

This is what I’d prefer to do today.

Back in Tonga

Sat, Aug 6th, 2011 | Food, People, Places, Adventures No Comments

I’ve just arrived back in Tonga after a really long trip to get here. It was raining when I arrived in Vava’u, but the weather has cleared up. My head is still foggy from the journey, but fortunately, I didn’t have any issues with jet lag. I slept 12 hours last night!

Though my settling-in process has just started, it’s been great seeing friends and saying hello.

For example, the photo below is of little Moses, one of my friend’s sons. We grabbed lunch together in Nuku’alofa just before I caught the flight to Vava’u. He’s a precocious little tyke, as you can see from his exasperation with the talkative adults.

Little Moses telling the adults to keep it down

And of course, I went to the Chinese restaurant in Vava’u last night to check-in and say hello to my favourite dish, fried roasted eggplant:

Roasted eggplant at Golden Lily restaurant in Vava’u

I’m delighted to report that dinner was…delicious.

Interview with Flip Nicklin

Thu, Jul 28th, 2011 | Audio, People 2 Comments

One of the people I looked up to when I was growing up is a man named Flip Nicklin.

He is National Geographic’s top cetacean photographer, the person who was responsible for many of the wild-eyed dreams of my youth, those in which I ventured into the deep-blue ocean to swim among whales and dolphins.

That’s pretty much what Flip has been doing for his entire adult life, and yesterday, I had a chance to talk with him, thanks to the magic of the internet.

Flip has recently launched a new book called Among Giants, A Life with Whales, which contains photos and stories from his countless adventures with cetaceans.

During our 20-minute chat, Flip tells me about how he got started (turns out that cetaceans are sort of a family business!), relates a few of the tales from his book, and shares some perspective on how the relationship between humans and cetaceans has evolved over time.

If you’re as much of a fan of cetaceans as I am, it’s worth taking a bit of time to listen:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

And of course, if you’d like to purchase a copy of Flip’s book, it’s available at book stores and via online retail outlets, but I’d recommend purchasing via the Whale Trust site, as the highest amount of money ends up going toward whale research.

The book is also available as an iPad App on the iTunes store: Among Giants iPad App.

Photo Chat: Jon Cornforth

Thu, Jul 28th, 2011 | Audio, People No Comments

It’s been a hectic few weeks for both Jon and me. Jon was away in Alaska until just a few days ago, while I was in Papua New Guinea for the entire month of June.

And…as it turns out, both of us are headed out on trips in the next few days that will see us on the road pretty much until October.

Jon’s headed to the Bahamas soon, where he’ll be trying out a new Aquatech housing for his 5D Mark II with the wild Atlantic spotted dolphins there, and I’m going south on my annual trip to Tonga to photograph humpback whales.

So it was good that we were able to find a little time to catch up over Skype yesterday, just before I was fortunate enough to have a chance to have a brief conversation with Flip Nicklin (see next post).

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Among other topics we discussed, Jon told me about how he (accidentally) dumped(!) his dad into the water in Alaska. Talk about a unique father/ son bonding experience.

We also shared our experiences with weather during our respective trips. Even though we were in totally different parts of the world, the weather patterns were off…basically we both had a lot rain.

Despite difficult conditions, Jon came back with stunning images like this:

Dwarf fireweed (Chamerion latifolium) covering the old Columbia Glacier
moraine bar on Heather Island at sunset in Prince William Sound, Alaska

Not to be outdone by Jon, I whined a bit about how bad the weather was in PNG during June and about the dearth of critter life. Again, not to be outdone by Jon, I came back with photos of large aggregations of fish like this:

Countless hardyhead silversides (Atherinomorus lacunosus) swarming under
the jetty at Samarai Island in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea.

Oh…if you’re looking for an adventure in the fall, Jon still has some spaces available for his trips to photograph polar bears with Steve Kazlowski later this year.