Featured Photographer - Scott Campbell

Just a little less than two decades ago there was only a handful of freedivers that were capturing moments underwater that were focused on large marine life.  Aside from the Nikonos V, u/w cameras were bulky, expensive, and did have the high resolution as they do today.  And freediving was just starting to go through a revolution and become more popular.

One of those freedivers / photographers is Scott Campbell.  While I am not sure what gear he uses, all his photography is black and white and his subjects include sharks, whales, pelagic fish among others.  I remember seeing his images in the early 2000s - the ones that struck a cord was that of a oceanic white tip (he was doing it before it was "in").  His photographs are raw, rough, yet beautiful - a direct result of the ocean he mostly dives in - The Pacific.

The fact that Scott spent 5 years competing on the US Freediving Team and set numerous records for depth and duration have worked in his favor - being comfortable in the ocean have allowed him to approach animals in ways that a SCUBA diver could never.

Have a look at his gallery / website: http://www.on1breath.com 

Scott definitely was a trail blazer...

View fullsize

Scott Campbell freediving with Oceanic White Shark.  Photo by: Unknown

Freediving...

There is nothing more pure, nothing more beautiful than freediving.  To truly become immersed in the ocean and connect with it, you have to strip yourself of the one thing that makes you comfortable on earth - breathing.  For as long as you are connected to oxygen you are disconnected to the world down below.  Add any marine animal to the mix, be it a dolphin, shark, grouper, or damselfish - and they too will immediately sense the disconnect...

Beyond the athletic aspect of freediving - the mental state takes each freediver to a place within themselves in which they find peace (which will vary for each) and calmness even when working (spearing / photographing / etc).

Freediving and having the privilege to interact with animals, no matter their size is something that cannot be replicated on SCUBA.  Of course that is some work that requires all the pesky gear --- but I would dare to say that a lot of it, particularly photography / videography can be done on your own breath.  Some of the best u/w photographers I know freedive only - some are old and some are young (there is no excuse).

With all the shark material that is being pumped out - there is nothing more beautiful than capturing a moment between sharks and freedivers (no direct interaction even necessary)...

And while you see guys getting more and more complex in what they do on SCUBA...in freediving you think about simplifying everything. 

Freediving with juvenile tiger shark and lemon shark.  Photo by Wolfgang Leander (freediving)

Freediving and filming tiger shark.  Photo by Raul Boesel (freediving)

Every shark scientist knows "Doc Gruber" - but what do we, the general public, really know about him and his work?...

Not much probably, other than some basic facts of his achievements as one of the most, if not the most prominent and illustrious shark science pioneer he has been during the last half century.

The "Doc" is now retired, a professor emeritus of the University of Miami, but he is still going strong, academically and otherwise, continuing his research with graduate students in his Shark Lab in Bimini. He does his job energetically and with all the enthusiasm of a curious and adventurous youngster. Folks like him age as everybody else does, all right, but they never grow old...

The "Doc" in his early twenties (1963) - with looks like that he could have also become a dashing movie star back then... Do I exaggerate, ladies?... :-)  :-)

Same "Doc" -  fifty years later...

I have the privilege to know "Doc" Gruber (I call him "Docman"; he calls me "Wolfman") as a friend, and we are drawn to each other mainly by our love of sharks and old WWII airplanes, which he, lucky Doc-Duck,  actually flies as some sort of a co-pilot every now and then.

Not exactly a rather common hobby for a retired university professor, huh?

As stated in the title of this blog, I didn't really know that much about his background as a distinguished marine biologist myself - until now, that is. Now, shark ethologist and conservationist Ila France-Porcher has published Part 1 of an in-depth biography of "Doc" Gruber in the latest issue of the X-Ray Magazine of which she is a regular contributing editor in shark related matters. This on-line dive magazine has been ranked best in the world  ("The best ranked scuba publication in the world on Alexa.com since 2009 - Winner of the MTA Press Awards 2011"). 

 Ila's  article will most certainly captivate all those who know the "Doc" or heard about him - a very large international fan club, no question about it.

Just as one would expect from Ila as a multi-talented editor and accomplished book author, she has produced a beautifully written and extremely well-founded story of Doc's life as a professional.  Here it is, enjoy the read:

http://www.xray-mag.com/pdfs/articles/SharkTales_IlaFrancePorcher_64_locked.pdf

Part 2 and possibly Part 3 of Ila's article will appear in the next two issues of the magazine.

Some of you may have seen the Helson Shark Diver Watch before - in Surgical Steel.

Now Helson came out with some incredibly attractive models in bronze (left on the above image). To me, they don't look like regular watches anymore - they look like submarine instruments, and their appearance is reminiscent of hard hat diving helmets which means a lot to me: It's helmet divers back in the mid-forties that ignited my lifelong passion for the underwater world. 

Thus, apart from being extremely tough, masculinely heavy and dependable pieces of horology engineering at its best,  just looking at the Helson bronze watches evoke intense feelings of pure nostalgia in my sea of early memories.... To this day I regret not having dived with a dry suit, led boots, and an air hose attached to one of those glorious bronze helmets...  :-)

Back to the topic: As any other bronze object, the Helson bronze watches tend to acquire an incomparably beautiful patina after a short while, which is what makes them so very special.

Have a look at Helson's website:

http://www.helsonwatch.com/watches.php

And read what I wrote about the regular Helson Shark Diver watches before:

/fleander/2010/07/you-dont-have-to-be-shark-diver-to-own.html

As I stated in that blog, because of the very affordable price at which these watches can be bought, I got  myself a total of four (yes: four!) Shark Diver versions in different colors. Needless to say, very soon I will be the owner of the bronze model....  :-)

I know Peter Helson, and asked him whether he would offer my blog readers a special "OceanicDreams Discount" of 10%. He gallantly said: "My pleasure!"

So, in case you want to buy a Shark Diver watch in bronze, order it online, and simply mention the "OceanicDreams" code to get your discount.

http://www.helsonwatch.com/watches.php

In case you would like to have additional information, contact the Helson people:

http://www.helsonwatch.com/contact-us.php

Best wishes, and have the most memorable shark dives of your lives in 2015!!

Wolf