TRADEWINDS covers 3D shoot

Tradewinds, the local paper on St. John USVI, did a great job promoting the 3D shoot at Virgin Islands National Park. 

 

Shooting 3D

This shot was taken by my colleague and fellow underwater photography Susanna Pershern. We recently hired her on at the Submerged Resources Center and judging from both her shooting ability and the locations she put us on while filming she looks like a great investment in our future. In this image, I am shooting an isolated, but very healthy patch of elk horn coral. 

A Family Adventure

Last year I wrote a blog about my family being able to travel with me to the Bahamas for a catalog shoot I did for Ocean Technologies Systems. I said something like "would it be possible to run every assignment like this???". Well, lighting does strike twice (an hopefully many more times in my career) because Elizabeth, Cameron and Chase are able to join me and the NPS team here in the Virgin Islands for two weeks as I run the 3D shoot with Woods Hole. Although I haven't get to spend much time with them these past two weeks, it has been an awesome thing to come home to their waterlogged tales of high sea adventure and exploration at the pool or beach. Seeing the world through there eyes makes my life seem quite mundane.

Hawksnest Bay, USVI

3D Cinematographer Evan Kovacs from the Advanced Imaging and Visualization Lab at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution checks the setup on the underwater 3D camera system. One of the primary objectives on the shoot was to document the endangered species of elkhorn coral found at Virgin Islands National Park.

Underwater Wonders of the National Parks - 3D

Although most of my post here deal with underwater photography, for the past couple years I have been working with the Advanced Imaging and Visualization Lab at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to develop 3D HD films for the National Park Service. Together we have shot 3D in Yellowstone NP, Lake Mead NRA and the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor.

Currently we are shooting underwater 3D in Virgin Island NP as part of a production titled “Underwater Wonders of the National Parks” that I am producing for the NPS. The concept is to bring the underwater world of the of the NPS to the public in an informative, engaging and most of all immersive experience though the use of 3D. Together with WHOI we have developed portable 3D viewing systems to bring into classrooms and conferences to reach a wide and diverse audience. Stay tuned to the blog for upcoming shoots in Dry Tortugas NP in July, Isle Royale NP in September and Channel Islands NP in November. 

Fun on St. John, US Virgin Islands

While working on the 3D shoot in the Virgin Islands National Park, Cameron, Chase and Elizabeth had some fun at the world famous Trunk Bay, St John.

Reflections of Vietnam

Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam - I honestly had no pre-conceived notion of what the Vietnamese culture, people or landscape would be. Sure, I have seen Vietnam portrayed through the lens of films, but as a student of medium I tend not to build my worldview on that which is spoon fed to me by Hollywood. The culture was a fascinating mix of incredibly industrious individuals who lived against an ancient backdrop of pagodas and rice paddies. The urban settings of Ho Chi Min, Da Nang and Hanoi were frantic and energized with motor bikes, shops selling all manner of consumables and large billboards promoting socialist agendas. Yet just outside these mecca’s were rural communities struggling to exist and support each other. On any corner, on any roadside there were individuals making the most of what they were given. If they lived by a river and could catch fish, it was fish they would sell. If they lived by mountain made of marble, they carved and sold elaborate statues made of marble. Everywhere I traveled, someone was selling something. At times I would simply think, who is buying? Then I realized it’s the local community that’s buying. There is no “one-stop” shopping in the Vietnam I visited. If you want building lumber you go where the wood is. If you need the nails, that’s next door. A hammer or saw, that’s down the road a bit. Each one of these stops supports individuals, not the stock options of shareholders or overseas mass produced products. While the American viewpoint would simply dismiss this shopping “inconvenience” as annoying, to the masses around the world this is life. To them, this community is their lifestyle. As an outsider looking in, this community seems to instill a greater sense of purpose among the individuals. Sure they are poor. Sure they want to improve their quality of life for their family, but so many were grateful for what they had – and most did not have much. It made me think when America reflected this sense of individual industriousness and community and how in our great quest for convenience we seemed to have lost it. We always seem to refer to countries like Vietnam as “developing” - it makes me question the end goal if America is the model of “developed”.