The Adventure Called Life

MOVING TO A NEW BLOG FORMAT, NOT UPDATING THIS BLOG FOR NOW

2007-01-29T11:37:00.000-05:00

I decided to discontinue my peronal blog. I just don't seem to have the time to keep it up.

I am starting a professional marketing industry blog soon at www.thedigitalblur.com.

You can find my images and published work at www.jasonheller.com.

Keep up to date on the world of underwater imagery, scuba diving and marine conservation at www.divephotoguide.com

Shark Finning "Shame on You Alibaba.com" Video

2007-01-08T10:05:00.000-05:00

The ongoing saga continues with Alibaba.com supporting the destructive and cruel practice of shark finning.

Our friend, Michael Aw, a professional photographer from Australia, has posted the following video on YouTube.

Although Alibaba is in China, they are owned by Yahoo, a publicly traded US company. I am advocating that you not support Yahoo in any way shape or form until Alibaba.com removes these products! They need to understand that by selling these products, that they are supporting the trade, the cruelty, devastation and degradation of our ocean's ecosystem.

Major Websites Selling Shark Fin Products

2007-01-06T15:29:00.000-05:00

At first I couldn't believe it. Amazon.com selling shark fin soup? Say it aint so! I caught a posting in a scuba diving forum regarding a can of shark fin soup on Amazon.com. Immediately I contacted Amazon and then rallied the troops. Some of the top scuba diving and marine related websites and marine organizations initiated a call to action. Letters are hopefully pouring in to Amazon's investor relations and customer service departments requesting that they act ethically and remove these items from their catalog. Amazon has already pulled one item and I'm sure will remove the second. Thumbs up to Amazon for doing the right thing!

On a grander scale....
Last year, it was discovered that China's online trading giant, Alibaba.com, is supporting the destructive shark fin trade by allowing the continued sales of shark products, much of which is known to be illegally fished in protected waters such as the Galapagos. Protests and bad publicity have begun to permeate the internet, and Sea Shepherd is now involved. Enough bad press may help to bring the website to its senses and do the right thing, following in the fashion of Amazon. How much revenue does Alibaba generate from the sale of shark products? We don't know. But to put Alibaba's size and market position into perspective - they do $4 billion of transactions annually, it has been reported that Alibaba.com accounts for 10% of all the pirated music and movie sales in China, and they own Yahoo China. A prosperous Asian company of this size should make a clear statement to the Asian community that the shark fin trade is bad, and that a sustainable marine environment is important.

Here is a video of shark finning in Raja Empat, Indonesia, one of my favorite diving areas due to the biodiversity and abundance of marine life. This is also where a license to brutally torture these beautiful apex predators costs just $30 per month.

We are slowly (or not so slowly?) destroying the planet. There is a significantly large grassroots movement to elicit change, but at what point is it a little too late? When will we as a global society wake up and begin living life differently? The grassroots actions and voices of the people can only accomplish so much. When will governments and businesses change policies to support the global ethical prerogative? Only then will we make a difference at the scale required...

2007: A Window Into The Future

2006-12-31T21:32:00.000-05:00

As we end another year on this beautiful planet Earth, an underlying combination of sadness, denial, and ignorance lingers in the background. Scientists predict fish populations to be depleted by 2048, and global warming will cause the sea to take more island paradises and effecting the polar bears' ability to survive man's effect on climate change on the planet.

MarineBio.org posted a thought provoking piece entitled "The Case of animal Versus Man". It's a good read.

You'd think that as advanced as we are relative to the rest of the food-web, that we would have evolved to have less reliance on destructive methods of food harvesting, and regulated envronmental outputs - seems like part of the definition of an advanced society to me...did we learn anything from Easter Island?

Over time, we have commoditized animal cruelty, not for sustinance, but for "luxury", an energy that man has projected into the universe around us. A good friend shared this PETA video with me. I warn you, if you are sensitive to animal cruelty, you might not want to watch this, but it will certainly put a new perspective on elements of society that we all support by living on such meat-intense diets. I am by no means a crazy or radical conservationist, or preaching the vegan lifestyle - I love my cheeseburgers, filet mignon and pork chops just like everybody else, but - I'm starting to wake up to the element of animal cruelty that has been created to fulfill the mass demand for meat products at "affordable prices". I just can't turn a blind eye to what we as a society have deemed "acceptable as long as you don't remind us how it's made".

Remember, it was not that long ago when society deemed slavery acceptable too. Is bringing life into this world for the sole purpose of cruelly exploiting it acceptable?

When we say "peace on earth" - are we talking not only about human conflicts with one another, but also how we interact with the rest of our planetary ecosystem?

Let's all go into 2007 with a keener eye for how our own actions impact the people, animals and planet around us. Unfortunately there is a lot of evil, greed, and ignorance in the world today, but the more of us who harness positive energy, and project that energy out into the world around us, the more we can make a difference. Levels of awareness for environmental and planetary sustainability are higher than ever before, but not enough action is taking place to ensure the seamless continuance of our world as we know it, with us being a part of it.

Here's to a happy and safe 2007 to all of us residents of planet earth..

From Guatemala With Love

2006-12-30T15:38:00.000-05:00

We just spent the last week with our little cousins from Guatemala and Wendy's Aunt. This was their first time to the US and we all had a blast.

It was nice to be with such loving family during the holidays. Our home was host to a couple of delicious dinners that Wendy (aka the next Iron Chef) prepared for both sides of our families.

Having the kids We had a holiday breakfast with Elmo & friends at Sesame Place, went ice skating, saw dinosaurs at the museum and sat under the stars in the planetarium, they saw an IMAX movies, were awed by the flare of Times Square, ate at some of our favorite gourmet restaurants...and... they saw snow for the first time, and even built a snowman.

Although there are few better feelings than making kids smile, learn and enjoy themselves, having them live with you for a week puts into perspective just how much work it really is. So we're not having any kids anytime soon. We can just enjoy the cute little kids in our family until we're ready.

Happy Holidays!

Jan 7th Deadline for International Underwater Photo & Video Competition History

2006-12-29T16:43:00.000-05:00

Never before have 2 international competitions associated with dive expos on opposite sides of the world cooperated to establish a complementary series of categories and prizing opportunities. The Jan. 7th deadline is quickly approaching!

The 2nd Annual Wetpixel & DivePhotoGuide International Underwater Photo and Video Competition, in Association with Chicago's Our World Underwater now has a sister competition - The 1st Annual DEEP Indonesia Competition, in association with Indonesia’s first-ever Diving, Adventure Travel and Water sports expo. Photographers will compete in 6 technical categories (OWU), 7 themed categories (DEEP) and 1 video category (OWU), to win photo equipment, dive gear, premium dive travel packages to some of the top photo destinations in the world, and more! Dive packages include trips to Wakatobi, South Africa, Socoros Islands, Vietnam, Raja Empat, Komodo, Malaysia, the Galapagos, Bora Bora, the Solomon Islands, Bali, Palau, Manado, Lembeh Strait, Yap, Cocos (Keeling) Island, Philippines, Grand Cayman, the Red Sea and the Bahamas! The contest includes a categories for images that focus on conservation and the marine environment, one specifically for entries taken by compact digital cameras.

This year, a new website has launched to support the competition at: www.UnderwaterCompetition.com. Entry forms, rules & regulations can be found on the website.

15% of entry proceeds will be donated to marine conservation efforts.

Esteemed judges Eric Cheng (Wetpixel), David Espinoza (Scuba Diver AustralAsia), Steven Frink, Dr. Alex Mustard, Berkeley White (Backscatter) and Tony Wu (Fins), will select winners after the Jan 7, 2007 deadline. Winners will be announced online and displayed during the film festival of the 2007 Our World Underwater show in Chicago and on display at the DEEP Indonesia Expo in Jakarta, Indonesia (February 8-11, 2007).

JasonHeller.com Launches!

2006-12-01T07:16:00.000-05:00

I have finally launched my photography site JasonHeller.com.

The website represents the high color saturation, contrast and emotional impact of my body of work. It allows you to browse through or create dynamic galleries based on specific keywords. You can purchase stock images or prints, stay up-to-date on my features and published work.
In early 2007, I will be adding some of my father's old images to my collection. My father, who passed away when I was younger, must have been a subconscious influence on my creative style and intentions. Many of his images from the '60's and '70's that I have never seen before, share a similar perspective and style to my own. My father was a big influence on my life, and the older I get, the more ways I discover that this is true.

You can always stay up-to-date on my new images by coming back to this blog regularly or checking in at JasonHeller.com.

DEMA 2006

2006-11-20T15:10:00.000-05:00

The dive industry converged on the Orlando convention center for DEMA’s 30th anniversary show from Nov 8th - 11th.. Dive operators, manufacturers of dive, photo and video equipment, retailers, photographers, artists, dive instructors, and dive media companies came out in droves to network and see what the dive industry has to offer for 2007. There were many exciting seminars during and prior to the show, including four by yours truly. The show floor was abuzz from the opening day on Wed Nov 8th, straight through the closing announcement on Saturday afternoon.

You can see the coverage on DivePhotoGuide here:

http://www.divephotoguide.com/demashow06

Additional Wetpixel Coverage: photo and video products -- people and players

Photo above: Legendary marine artist Wyland, the National Geographic photographer we all want to be when we grow up - David Doubilet, Jason Heller, and David's partner Jenn Hayes.

Underwater Photographers Hit the French Riviera

2006-11-01T23:19:00.000-05:00

The 33rd International Festival of Underwater Pictures welcomed local and international representatives of the underwater imagery and art world this week. The setting couldn’t be more inspirational. The multi-million dollar yachts, cobble stone streets and prolific art of Antibes, France were a warm welcome to those who traveled from as far as Papua New Guinea, or in my case, even New York City.

It's a great time had by all in a picture perfect setting. What more can a guy want? Well - unfortunately, yet again I was in a romantic place, by myself, watching couples walking by hand in hand, and missing my other half.

Thanks to Alex Mustard, Peter Rowlands, Jane Morgan, Steve Jones, Michael Aw, David Pilosof, Noam Kortler and gang, and Joaquin from Minahasa Lagoon resort for keeping this New Yorker in good company. A special thanks to Joaquin also for a quick tour of Monaco and Monte Carlo.

DivePhotoGuide coverage of the 33rd International Festival of Underwater Images:
www.divephotoguide.com/international_underwater_photo_festival_main.php

Galapagos Feature in Xray Magazine

2006-11-01T16:02:00.000-05:00

October's issue of Xray Magazine, an international dive magazine based in Denmark, featured my 9 page article and photos from the Galapagos. You can download the article here:

http://www.underwaterphotos.net/13_22_Travel_Galapagos2.pdf

My friend Bernardo Sambra, from Lima, Peru, also had a feature on the Galapagos in the same issue.

You can download the complete issue of Xray Magazine, which you can also subscribe to for free online, here:

http://www.xray-mag.com/article/217/X-Ray_#13

Marketing Marine Conservation

2006-09-30T18:05:00.000-04:00

Joe Mandese, editor of Media Magazine featured a piece titled "Advertising Ecosystem" in the September issue of the magazine. The piece covered projects and people who are using media and marketing to help the environment. The main focuses are Al Gore's initiatives and the upcoming efforts from Profit the Earth, a Marine Conservation company founded by yours truly, Jason Heller.

You can read the complete article here:

http://underwaterphotos.net/FTR1_Cause1_ME_SE06.pdf

Unfortunately my time constraints have prevented the initial launch of the pilot project for Profit the Earth. However, a recent interest from a large potential media partner may help to expedite the funding of the pilot project in Bali, Indonesia.

Beautiful Guatemala

2006-08-31T21:08:00.000-04:00

We just returned from Guatemala, land of volcanoes, lakes, delicious platanos, and Mayan colors.

Apparently there has been a lot of recent activity on the Pacaya Volcano, but we unfortunately didn't have time to visit. So I'll have to wait to get my shots of lava flowing out of an active caldera. We did however visit some really amazing places, including Coban, Semuc Champey, Lake Atitlan and Antigua.

I can never get enough of the freshness of the air, the visual stimulation of the landscape and the native people in traditional dress, and even the richness of the local coffee and natural cream.

Like most Latin American countries, Guatemala has a drastic polarization between the primarily poor majority and the affluent business and plantation owners. It's an interesting social aspect to observe for someone who comes from a society with an ever growing middle class. Guatemala City is a little sketchy, but traveling outside of the city is much safer and the views are absolutely breathtaking.

Niagra Falls at Night

2006-07-18T00:08:00.000-04:00

As amazing as Niagra Falls are during the day, at night they are equally as impressive and mystical. The falls are painted with colored lights throughout the night. The Canadian side of the falls is abuzz with casinos, resorts, restaurants and attractions. You're only a stone's throw from the most impressive part of the falls. So close in fact, that you can see and feel the mist as you approach within a good distance from the falls themselves.

I can only imagine how impressed the early settlers and native people before them felt when the falls were first discovered. I'm sure they would have never imagined the falls looking like Vegas at night, but nonetheless it adds to the ambience. Granted it is a very "touristy" destination and can get crowded, but one that we had to experience, and well worth the trip.

The day my love was born

2006-07-14T23:50:00.000-04:00

So today was Wendy's birthday. We came up to Niagra falls for 5 days to spend some needed quality time together and also to see some family. We had a great time up there. From journeying under the falls, to jet boating through 12 foot class 5 rapids, to eating at a rotating resturaunt over looking the falls, to picking cherries from cherry trees (eat your heart out George Washington), we had a blast.

It's nice be deeply in love. I sometimes stare at her and reflect on the fact that I am the luckiest man on earth to have her by my side. It's nice to spend quality time together, which we sometimes don't get to do as often as either of us would like. We're one month away from the one year anniversary of our marriage and two weeks away from our 4 year anniversay together. Our love grows every year and every day.
Happy birthday mi amor...

Marine Life in Captivity - Bad

2006-07-13T23:43:00.000-04:00

The Orcas (aka Killer Whales) were at first a beautiful sight against the deep azure blue pool on this hot summer day. However, seeing these beautiful pelagic creatures held in relatively small facilities, strictly for the entertainment of the average tourist and revenue for the owners of the venue (Marineland in Niagra Falls, Canada) truly sickened me - this only days after a report about a mother and pup sea lion dying from heat stroke in the Los Angeles aquarium. Marineland also had about 10 Beluga whales, also restricted to the confines of a relatively small pool. Although there were no educational aspects of the exhibit, you can pet the whale and they can even tell you his or her name for $8. I have mixed feelings about seeing sealife in captivity, especially large pelagic species. On one hand it does provide an educational tool for children and adults alike to help raise awareness of the beauty of the marine environment. Awareness is the first step towards conservation. But this is contingent on educational programs, which seemed absent from the experience I had in Marineland.

My 17 Hours in Cannes...

2006-06-23T18:51:00.000-04:00

Well, I just arrived from Cannes, and I feel like I'm in the twilight zone. I didn't picture my first visit to the French Riviera lasting only 17 hours...I spent more time in cabs, airports and planes than I did in Cannes, which is such a dynamic and energetic atmosphere.

But I was there with a purpose. I could only talk my mom into dog and cat sitting for a day and a half while Wendy was away, so I took advantage of what I could and headed for France. Among the buzzing of the Lions Advertising Festival, a group executives from successful digital media independents from the US, UK, Germany, Russia, Spain, Italy, Canada and France, gathered for a 6 hour meeting of the minds in the Hotel Martinez, on the famous La Coisette. We discussed how to network globally to service major clients in an increasingly digital advertising world.

I must say, in 14 hours (3 of my 17 hours were a combination of cabs, airports and a little sleep), I met a group of solid, impressive people, all with similar values and principles, all preachers of the digital revolution, all of which were a blast to hang out with and all of whom I hope to do business with over the years. I'm glad to be part of such an important global initiative.

Hearing about the societal differences across country borders, and how it effects digital media usage was very interesting. Sometimes we take for granted our sizable population with fluid, albeit limited disposable income, and seemingly endless credit. What we walked away with was a plan to build a model to share experiences, insights and key learnings across borders, in order to maximize our collective knowledge and further earn our place in a competitive market of giants.

Memorial Day BBQ with the Crew

2006-06-01T23:43:00.000-04:00

Monday was our impromptu "El BBQ at the Heller's Crib". It was just our close friends, mostly my boys from uptown. Marcel, aka Bateria came through like a trooper, fresh off a plane from Puerto Rico, where he was promoting his new track EnCima.

We flipped our first burger at 2pm and at close to midnight, it was just the hardcore still hanging, drinking Ron Zacapa Centanario (the best rum in the world - from Guatemala), listening to old school hip-hop and reminiscing about the good old days.

Picture of the last men (and one woman) standing (from L to R): Gil, Buffy, Bateria, Jose, Me, Wendy.

My Dog's Favorite Day - Hotdogs and Squirrels...

2006-05-27T21:46:00.000-04:00

So today we went to my colleague's home in CT, and we brought Luna with us. She was in doggie heaven instantly. A large multi-acre fenced in property, with hills, valleys, streams, and....SQUIRRELS - her favorite! She almost caught one too. I think Luna became one with nature today - and now hates Brooklyn even more than before. I know it's just a saying, but - The grass was literally greener! (SEE PICTURE)

Personally, I would love to move out of the city. But ya' know... there are days in NYC where the traffic getting in or out of the city is mind numbing. It would be nice to wake up to the sounds of nature, versus the local garbage truck or car alarm. One of these days we'll do it, but most likely to another state or more likely another country....but for now we're happy chillin' in Brooklyn.

Asia Dive Expo (ADEX) Report

2006-05-24T21:13:00.000-04:00

You know what they say – better late than never. I usually like to get these show reports up shortly after the shows, but after nearly a month in Bali after the show, flying from Bali to LA for a big meeting, and then flying back to NY on a red-eye flight. It took me a few weeks to get back to normal (ok normal for me isn’t that normal – but you get the idea).

It's funny how many new friends you make in this industry. There are a lot of like minded people traveling halfway around the world for the same purposes, we're all bound to click. Cheers to my new friends in Singapore, Bali and Hong Kong!

Read the ADEX report here.

Rama Hotels & Resorts Photo Shoot in Bali, Indonesia

2006-05-22T17:16:00.000-04:00

While in Bali I did a photo shoot for the Rama Hotels & Resorts Group. The images are being used in marketing campaigns for the various resorts.

The main image in the flyer to the right was taken at night at the Rama Candidasa Resort, a beautiful waterfront property with a great modern restaurant, a cool pool and beautiful grounds. The 'postage stamp' image is a wide angle close up of one of the beds in a bungalow.

Model Shoot in Bali

2006-05-20T20:27:00.000-04:00

Although I'm used to shooting sharks, fish, coral and marine environments, I did one shoot with a model while in Bali. It was a perfect sunny, blue skies day and so I experimented, trying to get the model's "hair flip", freezing the hair and water in the air. This is the end result of that particular shot.

Magical Temples and Crazy Monkeys

2006-05-19T23:56:00.000-04:00

Among the spiritual icons in Bali are some of the most beautiful and intersting temples I've ever seen. Granted, I haven't seen that many ancient temples in my travels, but I've seen a lot of pictures, and these are pretty cool! This one temple was on the top of a cliff at least a thousand feet up or so. You were required to put on a Sorong in order to access the temple grounds, as a sign of tradition and respect. The temple and grounds were sprawled out over an area about half a mile wide, and was inhabitted by monkeys. In order to take photos, I had to hire a guide with a stick to keep the moneys from stealing my sunglasses, hat or camera.

This one angle of the temple at sunset sums up the exotic feeling of this special place.

Manta Ray Experience in Bali, Indonesia

2006-05-18T03:35:00.000-04:00

I just returned from Bali, Indonesia, where among the amazing scuba diving I experienced was one particular Manta Ray encounter that was truly magical.

When we first entered the water, there was a group of divers chasing 2 Mantas, arms outstretched trying to get that "proof shot" to take home to their friends. Such a shame to see such ungraceful divers chasing such a majestic and graceful creature. So I backed off on my own, left the group, as well as the group from my own boat, and tried to predict the direction that one particular Manta was banking in, so I could end up right under him or her to get some great shots. I had my fisheye lens on, so I would have to be less than a few feet away from the animal to get the shot I was looking for. Eventually I ended up in 9 feet of water with this solo Manta Ray, just he (or she) and I, for 40 minutes. The Manta would head out about 30 feet, bank, and come right over my head, turn around and do the same over and over again, sometimes coming within inches of me. I resisted the urge to touch him, and just kept shooting. Eventually my dive guide came to find me and get me out of the water. But not before I got some amazing images and had an even more amazing experience. This is what diving is all about.

Mother's Day in Philly

2006-05-16T00:34:00.000-04:00

We celebrated a weekend full of Mother's day, going to Philly to celebratre with Wendy's mom on Saturday and then lunch with my mom in New York on Sunday.

We were really impressed with the restaurant in Philly called Pod. It came fully equipped with customizable neon lighting inside our "pod". The spot seemed out of place in the middle of Philly. It could've been in NY, LA or Miami and would be very successful.

In NY we at at Les Halles, can't go wrong with good french food. We got to celebrate our mom's this weekend.

We enjoyed our weekend of Mother's day celebration - fine dining and quality time with our families, which we don't get to do nearly as often as we should in our busy lives!

Advertising Age Feature

2006-04-08T16:36:00.000-04:00

Advertising Age was kind enough to run a feature on my underwater photography businesses and my experience in the tsunami of 2004.

I am really trying hard to expose Madison Avenue to the world of underwater photography. Over the next few years as my involvement in digital media takes a back seat to my professional photography carreer, I hope that the advertising and marketing community will embrace an artist who also can speak their language and understand the objectives of marketing, not just image creation. I will coin myself an "an image maker and marketing architect".

Headed to Asian Dive Expo - Singapore April 21-23

2006-04-08T16:21:00.000-04:00

I will be presenting a seminar at ADEX entitled "Marketing to Divers Online: What You Need to Know" on April 21st at the Suntec Convention center in Singapore.

ADEX is the trade show of the Asian and global diving industries, rivaled only by DEMA in the US. This will be my 3rd time at ADEX, and I usually have a great time. There are a lot of good solid people in the dive industry, and a few times a year we get to meet, drink, talk shit and catch up on industry war stories.

After ADEX I will head off to Bali, Indonesia for a week of diving with Bali Hai Divers and Scuba Seraya resort. Images to follow!

Speaking Gig in Hollywood

2006-03-27T16:14:00.000-05:00

I will be speaking at the OMMA Hollywood Digital Marketing Conference and Expo, March 27th and 28th at the Hilton Universal City. I will be on one panel about use of video in online advertising and where it is headed, and another panel about ad marketplaces and the potential automation of various advertising sales across different media, a la Google.

To most people, this is not as exciting as underwater hotography and divign with sharks for example. But to me this stuff is pretty interesting, as it represents vast cultural changes in how information and entertainment is consumed and marketed.

New Underwater Photo "Toys"

2006-03-27T16:03:00.000-05:00

We spent the weekend at Beneath The Sea, the consumer diving show of the tri-state area. Although we had a booth and most of the time we were signing up new members for Divephotoguide.com, we did have some time to walk the aisles and drool ovber the new underwater photography equipment that I've been dying to get my hands on - namely the Nikon D-200 camera with a Nexus housing.

I'll be going on my next photo expedition, to Bali Indonesia, soon, stay tuned for images...

Our World Underwater, Chicago: Wetpixel.com & DivePhotoGuide.com Competition

2006-03-26T17:14:00.000-05:00

Our World Underwater has become a very close strategi partner of ours. We had a great show, where I presented the winners of the first annual international photo competition. Show attendees were welcomed by the Photo Competition display. It was the first display that greeted people near the registration and entrance area. Chicago was impressed with the extremely high quality images adorning the display. The slide show during the evening was outstanding, thanks to my good friend Gene Lewis, one of the founders of Digital Pulp.

The guys from The History Channel's "Deep Dea Detectives" stopped by our booth, and I caught this classic moment with Evan, their cameraman (and fellow New Yorker from Brooklyn).

Read the full report from the show here.

Luna's 3rd Birthday in Valley Forge

2006-03-18T15:55:00.000-05:00

So today we took Luna on a field trip to Valley Forge, PA (one of her favorite places), to celebrate her 3rd birthday. She gives us so much unconditional love and joy that the least we could do is take her to the country for a nice doggie day. She got to run cirlces around an empty tennis court, romp in a stream, play in a field with another dog, and she even got to eat Boston Market for dinner! What a day.

The Perfect Snow Day In NY

2006-02-13T23:27:00.000-05:00

With over 15" of snow in Brooklyn, Wendy and I got to spend some time cooped up in the house togther with Luna. My best friend Alex was in town and staying over, so he helped us dig our car out of a mound of snow that almost burried it up to the roof in some places, and then went to into the city to pick up his girl Margeaux. Wendy and I took Luna to the backyard where she was confronted with a Brooklyn Husky's fantasy - almost 2 feet of snow to play in! She cracked us up, hopping through the snow like a rabbit.

Amid the fun and running around, I saw Wendy sitting there, with just a dusting of snow in her hair, bundled up, with her warm natural beauty shining through. I had to capture the moment. I love this image of her.

Later that night we went to Peter Luger's together with Alex, Margeaux, his sister Stephanie and her husband....and we had some kick ass steak! Only in a blizzard are 6 people able to get reservations on the same night at Luger's. Even Luna got to eat a Luger's bone. The perfect ending to the perfect snow day.

One World, One Universe

2006-02-10T01:40:00.000-05:00

I had a conversation with someone today about how humans need to become part of the global eco-system as opposed to continually trying to work around it.

We are slowly destroying the world around us. It is the same "progression" that may very well lead to our demise. On a macro perspective, society as we know it may be a failure, and we may already be well along the way in the cycle of that failure. The planet is a resilient place, but have we pushed it past it's limit of sustaining our societies and way of being? Quite possibly. It would still take generations for these effects to truely demonstarte the ramifications of our actions, and by then it may be too late to reverse the effects and outcome.

"The world is such a beautiful place - we had to go screw it up."
- Me

First Annual Wetpixel.com & DivePhotoGuide.com Competition Deadline Passes

2006-02-03T00:34:00.000-05:00

Photographers competed in six categories to win more than $25,000 in prizes, including premium dive travel, underwater photography equipment, and more! Dive packages in the prize list include trips to some of the top photo destinations in the world: the Solomon Islands, Lembeh Strait, Raja Ampat, Komodo, the Galapagos Islands, Papua New Guinea, Palau, and the Bahamas! Other prizes include HID lighting systems, camera housings, and other valuable items (see complete prize list below). 15% of entry proceeds will be donated to marine conservation efforts.

Winners will be announced on stage at the 2006 Our World-Underwater festival in Chicago, Illinois (February 24-26, 2006).

Diving in the Galapagos Islands

2006-01-24T22:35:00.000-05:00

I just returned from a week of diving in the Galapagos Islands. It was an amazing experience in an amazing place. The very islands that Charles Darwin himself had visited prior to releasing "Origin of the Species” is still to this day left in the most pristine conditions than any place on earth. However, with the 100,000+ tourists that are now coming to the Galapagos each year, what impact will this have on the environment.

The volcanic islands are of course, absolutely beautiful. They are works of natural art across a textured blue canvas of the ocean.

The diving is other-worldly. Schools of Hammerhead Sharks, Galapagos Sharks and White Tip Reef Sharks abound. The rays and turtles, eels, Dolphins, schooling Barracuda, reef fish, playful Sea lions and the possibilities for the unexpected, are what make diving in the Galapagos some of the best diving in the world.
Being in the epicenter of large marine animal diversity created an impact on my soul, how could it not. It also helped me regain some of the balance that I have lost over the last few months of my stressful life at the office. Nothing a few hundred Hammerhead Sharks couldn't clear up right away!

Happy Holidays 2005

2005-12-28T01:38:00.000-05:00

Pygmy Seahorse, Raja Empat Indonesia

Exactly one year ago - Thailand

2005-12-26T11:33:00.000-05:00

Exactly one year ago, Wendy and I were in Thailand scuba diving the uninhabitted Similan Islands when the now infamous Boxing Day Tsunami sped past us and proceeded to devestate the entire Indian Ocean region, including the coast of Thailand and its outlaying Similan islands. Were it not for our location in the open ocean, we may not be here to recount the events that changed our lives forever.

We did not however "survive" the Tsunami, we merely experienced it. The poor souls hanging bleeding in trees for hours before being rescued survived the Tsunami. The children who were left with no families, or families left with no children, the hundreds of thousands of fishermen, farmers and others who relied on the world around them for sustinence and had to rebuild their lives from nothing - they all survived the Tsunami.

Experiencing the Tsunami was humbling nonetheless. I received an assignment from Asian Geographic Magazine to cover the aftermath in Thailand. The devestation caused by the force of the waves still to this day is unfathomable to me, even after seeing it with my own eyes. Events like these really make you think about the things that matter in life.

Thailand will forever hold a special place in our hearts.

A year later, I understand that Phuket is back in business, although Kaoh Lak, hit hardest by the Tsunami, is still struggling. So much foreign aid and investment flowed in to help restore the economy of some of the hard hit tourist areas. The Phuket and Kaoh Lak region represents roughly 4% of the GDP of Thailand, therefore it was a necessary investment to make in restoring the island and surrounding area as quickly as possible. The coral reefs are in good shape, with some exception of the shallow reefs that felt the full brutal force sweeping past them. The reef life is very resilient and is just as prolific today as it was a year ago. I look forward to going back to do some diving and to visit some friends soon!

Here are links to the archives of my original recounts of the events of Dec 26, 2004.

7 Underwater Photo Competitions

2005-12-22T21:01:00.000-05:00

There are 7 underwater photo competitions with deadlines on December 31st.

You can find information on the contests on DivePhotoGuide.com, here.

I've been so busy lately covering news about underwater photography, photographers, and photo and video competitions at the sacrifice of remembering to enter any lately myself! So I'm going to enter a few images this year into a few of the larger competitions.

Unfortunately I had to cancel my trip to Indonesia scheduled for this month in order to cover the workload at my agency, but I will make a short trip to the Caribbean sometime in January. Not sure where yet. I also will be in Sipadan, Malaysia in April. I miss the peace and serenity of the ocean and it's beautiful reefs.

NYC Transit Strike 2005

2005-12-21T20:25:00.000-05:00

So today, 30,000+ transit workers went on strike and put the city into a snail's pace. Trains and buses aren't running, there are 3 - 4 hours lines for the Long Island railroad and cabs are taking on multiple passengers at $10 a pop flat rate. Drives that before the strike took 15 minutes, now takes 2 hours. you need 4 passengers to drive into Mnahattan and people are riding with strangers just to get to work. And it's freezing outside! I feel bad for everyone who doesn't have the luxury of working from home. To think about the children who missed school and parents who missed work because of this. People are going to lose thier jobs. The city is going to lose millions of dollars for each day of this strike. I understand where these guys are coming from, but I think that the unions are taking advantage of the situation and using their members as pawns in a game. Their must be 30,000+ in NYC dying for these jobs. Does the average working person support their stance? OR would they take these jobs in a heart beat? I understand the hipocracy of the MTA having a cash surplus and not willing to offer decent compensation increases. I underatand the purpose of unions, but to what extent is what is going on just? When it impacts the entire city, the trade off makes the means to an end entirely out of hand.

Wendy had oral surgery yesterday and thankfully is home resting while the chaos is going on out in the streets. She had a widon tooth extraced from the bone in her jaw - OUCH! We missed the strike by a day, and therefore were able to move her around town from the oral surgeon's office back home, without any delays. The same trip would have required an extra hour or so today. Hopefully she'll recover this week in time to enjoy Christmas.

DivePhotoGuide.com is growing!

2005-12-18T02:30:00.000-05:00

Our website is growing! We are now close to 100,000 page views per month and have over 1,500 registered members and over 4,000 dive operators, resorts, and live aboards. We are quickly becoming a staple resource for underwater photographers and videographers. Our calendars offer centralized information on all of the international photo and video competitions in the world, and our photo galleries showcase some of the best underwater photographers on the planet!

We will be launching our RSS feeds this month. We will offer feeds of both our news headlines as well as our competition calendars. Our network of partners is growing and we are looking forward to the launch of the DPG Directory *hopefully* in Q1 2006!

A Demanding World, Technology and Hamster Wheels

2005-12-08T00:36:00.000-05:00

Did you ever have one of those days? Well this last few weeks has been like that for me. We live in such demanding times. There are very few human beings in the big business world. They are mainly drones I tell you. Programmed to live life with the perception of serving oneself, when really serving others. I have the good fortune of working with some select few minds that shine above the rest. The one common element is sense of self. Whether working on a team or alone, the sense of self helps to keep passion and pride burining strong. Thus giving you the power to overcome all obstables and hurdles, to develop solutions for every problem. There's a lot going against us, particularly in America, where our programming is deeply embedded in our minds. It trickles down from the top - the top of society, the heads of companies and the heads of families - to slowly affect everybody (shit always flows downstream). Do we do it to ourselves? Sort of. I am what we in marketing call an "early adopter", or as my friends call me, a gadget freak. However, technology is a double edged sword. We continue to develop technology to make our lives more productive and more efficient, but all we are doing is making ourselves drones to our own tools and technologies. Are we more productive and efficient? Yes. But at the sacrifice of actually living our lives for the fallacy of always evolving to live life "on the edge". One must be careful, or end up running twice as fast in the hamster wheel and getting half as far as you used to. We must all challenge ourselves to strive to be the best we can, personally and professionally... But it must be in that order.

Saturday in New York

2005-12-04T21:23:00.000-05:00

We decided that we had to have the world's best Pastrami sandwich this weekend, so we headed over to Katz's deli, where else....I remember going to Katz's when I was a kid with my father. It was always a special occasion. I guess if you eat at Katz's regularly, you'd most likely die of a herart attack from the grease. But it would be worth it! Now, I can help share that same special feeling of the best Pastrami in on the planet, with my new wife and relatively new New Yorker, Wendy. She isn't new to Katz's anymore, but I guess it sometimes takes someone who didn' have their entire life to take something for granted, to help you remember just how good it is. If you've never had a Pastrami sandwich from Katz's, you're missing out!

Launch of new Horizon Interactive Website

2005-11-29T22:44:00.000-05:00

Today we launched the new website for Horizon Interactive, approximately 6 months after Mass Transit Interactive was acquired.

As consumers become more inclined to consume content over digital channels, the marketing world has been shaken up, and will continue to be, violently. I have been very keen on following consumer trends and helping my clients stay one step ahead of the curve by helping them to connect with consumers in a manner in which is embraced as opposed to forced. We live in the age where we the consumers have the power to cosume media where and when we want, the days of programmed and static content are over. Digital media has helped us share, learn and transact in ways we never have before as a society, and the comapnies who take it head on will have an edge over those with mere toes in the water.

Ok - enough marketing for today. Check out the new Horizon Interactive website.

Snowboard Season is Here!

2005-11-28T11:22:00.000-05:00

I know - my passions in life are in conflict...Diving the tropical waters of remote islands and snowboarding the vast (and often cold) mountains of the west coast. When someone develops that first indoor snowboard park on a tropical island, you'll know where you can find me!

The last few seasons I have bearly been riding, but this year, I think I'm going to make it back out on the slopes of Lake Tahoe (and even some east coast icy riding in Vermont) instead of cruising the reefs of Indonesia. It's a tough decision, but I need to get some snowboarding in, it completes me (hardcore snowboarders and skiers will understand).

This is a photo of me on top of Squaw Valley in Lake Tahoe about 5 years ago - that's the last time I was there, and now my inspiration to get my ass back there before the year is out!

Reggaeton Mania in New York

2005-11-25T12:20:00.000-05:00

Last night we went to see some of the top Reggaeton artists perform in Madison Square Garden. Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Ivy Queen, Tego Calderon, Hector El Father, Wisin y Yandel, Angel y Khriz, Alexis y Fido all ripped it up Thanksgiving night in NYC.

Unfortunately we had to skip out on Thanksgiving with familiy, but we'll make up for it. I've never been a big fan of holiday celebrations. Why are certain days so extraordinarily more important than others? There is something to celebrate each and every day we wake up and walk this beautiful earth. I can apreciate memorizlizing events or people with holidays, but doesn't that to an extent de-emphasize making every day special? Anyway, I digress...

I have some short video clips of Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Ivy Queen and others from the concert, but I haven't uploaded them yet. I will update this post when I do.

Dreaming of Diving

2005-11-22T19:41:00.000-05:00

It just dawned on me today that I haven't been diving since Raja Empat Indonesia in June. The photo to the right is one of the last I shot while in Indonesia, while absorbing my last minutes of remote natural beauty.

The only plans I have to go diving are in April, after presenting at ADEX in Singapore. I'm heading to Sipadan, Malaysia. But I need to get away sooner than that! Hopefully I'll take a quick dash down to the Bahamas or the Caymans, which I have yet to shoot since switching from film to digital cameras.

Either way, I'm inspired to get in the water soon. It has been hard this year becuase I'm focused on my career. Unfortunately I have a business that does not run itself. Although, as any dedicated underwater photographer, it is simply how I spend my time between dive trips.

Dreaming of diving...

Insomnia

2005-11-22T01:40:00.000-05:00

I seem to always notice the time at about 2AM. I have been sleeping very little lately because I have been working too hard. Hopefully I'll have some time to rest soon. No rest for the weary I tell ya!

I started planning a trip today to go diving in Malaysia today after spoeaking at the Asian Dive Expo in Singapore in April. I should be able to come back with some amazing underwater photos. Stay tuned...

Even Brooklyn Can Be Beautiful

2005-11-20T14:30:00.000-05:00

Image of the day, a Brooklyn Sunset.

I don't often have the opportunity to take pictures of New York, one of the more interesting places in the world, and of course my backyard.

The other day I was walking to the bank at the perfect time when the sun's light was being broken into its various color spectrums, and thankfully I had my camera with me.

Shark Fin Soup, Media and Society

2005-11-20T12:27:00.000-05:00

I was recently at a friends wedding, a Chinese wedding in New York, where they served Shark Fin soup. It is amazing to me that we as humans have such a drive for status, that we would both torture animals and destroy the environment that we need to sustain our very lives, for the perception of status or to carry out old and outdated traditions. The shark fins in that bowl of soup were cut off of a live shark that was then thrown back in the ocean to die a slow and painful death. And we as a society are so blind to it because CNN would rather report about the war in Iraq and trivialities of celebrities' lives, rather than help the world. Helping the world just doesn't get ratings, and without ratings, the media become less attractive to advertisers, and without a large revenue stream from advertisers, the media can not afford its infrastructure to cover the ongoing demand for global breaking news. Ultimately advertisers just want to reach as many people as possible with their messaging. Therefore, the fact that educational and important environmental news is only marginally covered by the major media is more of a statement of our society, than of the media itself.

Anyway, it's a sad state of the world that we live in. This is why I travel as often as I do. I want to see the world before we destroy more of it. For years now, scientists have been claiming that coral reefs may not be here for our grandchildren to see. Some species of sharks and turtles may end up being so rare that they become mystical sea creatures of the "good old days". We as a society can prevent this. Through simply being concious about it....but on a whole, as a global society, we are not. So it will be the bold and noble gestures of the few to educate and save the rest of the world that may be our saving grace.

Guatemala Wedding

2005-11-19T09:31:00.000-05:00

Guatemala has become a special place to me.

Our wedding down there was such a memorable time, one of the most memorable and meaningful I will ever remember, for many reasons. Obviously, first - I married the love of my life, the most beautiful and special woman I could have ever imagines. Second - Some of my closest friends and family were all together on an adventure in Central America for my wedding. I finally got everybody to see some more of the world. It's therapy I tell you! And I now have a large extended family in Guatemala. It's really a beautiful place.

Here are the photos:
http://guatemalawedding.shutterfly.com

Underwater Photo Competition

2005-11-19T09:07:00.000-05:00

Together with Eric Cheng from Wetpixel.com, the team at DivePhotoGuide.com has organized the first instance of an annual international underwater photo competition.

Details can be found here: www.divephotoguide.com/contest06

Imagery

2005-11-19T00:03:00.000-05:00

Photography has been an insipration to me over the last few years.

I have been insipired by the amazing images I have seen of the colors, shapes, patterns and textures of the natural wonders around us, above us and below us.

I started a site, in part to showcase some of the best underwater imagery from some of the top profesional underwater photographers in the world. I hope that everyone can enjoy it as much as I do. http://www.divephotoguide.com/

Random Shot...

2005-11-18T23:50:00.000-05:00

I was looking through some photos while organizing my computer and found this image I took with my crappy camera on my cell phone. As I woke up halfway through one of my earlier 30 hour flights to Indonesia, I realized that we were flying right over the middle of Afghanistan. Mind you, this was during a time when there was still some conflict. So there we were, halfway between Kabul and Gandahar - two names made infamous by CNN and every other media outlet in the world. It's amazing to have thought of what was going on 40,000 feet below me.

Life is an adventure...

Welcome to My Blog

2005-11-18T23:44:00.000-05:00

So I finally decided to start my own blog. Now I can spew my opnions and thoughts about all sorts of things from scuba diving to photography to media to economics to the universe to love to life and more...

Stay tuned as I find the time to post. The adventure begins...