Money Shot

The WHOI crew left today with most of the gear except for the bare essentials to keep the 3D rigs rolling (which would fill a pickup). The Woods Hole 3D all-star, Marryann also agreed to stay on a couple days. Either she saw the potential of this wonderful place and wanted to capture it in 3D when the sun was out…or she simply had pity for me and the bad weather we have been stuck under until now. Either way, I’m just pleased she is still here and we are still shooting.

We finally got the money shots for the Tortugas part of the documentary on a shipwreck site called the Windjammer. The visibility was better than I have seen in it in years and we were there rolling in the soft afternoon sun to capture it. This particular site is the iconic Tortugas shot. A steel hulled windjammer type vessel called the Avanti that sank in 1907. Because of its structure which spans the sea floor to just above the waters surface, the marine life, both corals and millions of fish, make it the most visited site in the park to those who have boat access. This is the shot I have seen in my minds eye for so long. I have to say, to see it in 3D for the first time was a reminder of my first dive on it 16 years ago. Finally, its only day 11 of a 10 day expedition.

Sun!

Dry Tortugas NP - Today, the Tortugas finally returned to its hot muggy miserable summer self. I was smiling from ear to ear as I slathered myself in 45 weight sunscreen. Technically this is the last day of the shoot, however I have concocted a plan to keep the 3D cameras and Maryann Keith, the 3D specialist from Woods Hole, hostage through the weekend to pick up a couple more days of shooting. I kept telling the team that all the tape stock we have already burnt under the grey skies was merely scouting for these next couple days. This crew is far experienced to believe a word of it but I don’t care, at least the sun is shining and we are rolling!

Making It Look Good.

John Roark and Maryann Keith from the Woods Hole Advanced Imaging and Visualization Laboratory below deck on our camera/dive boat.

Celebrating our Independence at a Civil War Prison…Sort of

Dry Tortugas NP - Today the grayness which has plagued this shoot continued, except we were also blessed with high winds and rain. The perfect mixture if you don’t want to shoot underwater. The production crew attended a small cookout hosted by the Park Service staff that reside and work on the island. There has always been a certain deserted island mentality to working here over the years. If you need it and I have it, its yours. Relying on a sense of community takes on a whole new meaning in the middle of the Gulf. Something that seems to be lacking in the typical US neighborhoods of today.

Here on a tiny rock 90 miles from Cuba surrounded by a very big ocean there were very few reminders of the 4^th of July. When your working 12-14hrs a day, every day of the week you tend not to recall what month it is, much less what day. Holidays are something that happen somewhere far away with parades and family cookouts. Even here, I had two very brief reminders of independence. First I thought about how much it would have absolutely sucked to be a be here during Fort Jefferson’s construction or its use as a civil war prison, as a prisoner or guard. Everything I have ever seen about the way of life during that period seemed difficult enough without being cut off from the world in the middle of the ocean wearing wool uniforms. The second salute to the 4^th was some random visitor belting out the star spangled banner with an operatic twist from a distant casemate within the fort. Considering the distance from the mainland and how depressing its been not being able to generate good footage, he actually sounded quite good. I guess everything in life is relative.

Long Days...Good Light

Traveling Lite

Key West, FL - One of our five pallets of camera gear being loaded onto the MV Fort Jefferson in Key West.

MV Fort Jefferson

Our base of operations, the MV Fort Jefferson docked at Dry Tortugas National Park.