Photographer & Filmmaker
An ethereal underwater ballet at twenty fathoms
…Firstly, apologies for missing a week with my posts to this blog. It was probably a little ambitious of me to expect a decent internet connection from the middle of the South China Sea. That’s not to say that such a thing is impossible, just extremely inconvenient and quite tricky when you’re living on a small out rigger, equipment perched perilously close to the surf and a plug extension block shared amongst 7 voltage hungry colleagues.
I’m back on terra firma now with a fresh case of land sickness after our amazing time at sea. It’s tempting to say that I’ve just experienced one of the most memorable weeks of my life, but then again I’m well aware that I keep saying things like that on this blog, so I’ll just tentatively mention that the exceptional people that I’ve met these last days and the things I’ve seen here have affected me very deeply.
To understand the full story of our time here in the Philippines, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until Human Planet hits the screens next year. Needless to say, I’m sure you’ll be as amazed as I was at what you will witness happening 120 feet below the surface of the sea. This particular segment of the Oceans program will also be accompanied by a ‘Making of’ film that will show you how our underwater cameramen managed to capture the astonishing footage contained in the sequence.
The meeting of two diving traditions
My next port of call with be Mongolia again, to the mountains this time. Stay tuned.
. . .
To see a video clip from our time at sea in the Philippines click HERE
For more stories about people who work under extreme conditions, take a look at Human Planet‘s Mekong fishermen or African honey gatherers.
Wow Tim! I’ve been reading your blog; interesting stuff! I enjoy living vicariously through you! I admire your work.
Thanks for the compliment. It’s worth mentioning though, that many of the places that we visit for Human Planet are quite accessible if you want to experience them for yourself. You don’t have to be that intrepid, really. In fact, I have a friend who is backpacking right now in the Philippines where this story was shot. He’s having an amazing time.
How’s it going?
I like your site. It’s a great site for travelers. I was wondering if you wanted to do a link exchange with my site. We are a new site trying to spread the word so we can build a useful vacation website for all.
Please let me know if this is possible.
Sincerely,
Jason
Timothy, great pictures! Now I found your site in the future back to visit often.
I really enjoy whats going on in the image “An ethereal underwater ballet at twenty fathoms.” I like the shapes the flippers make along with the legs of the divers as well as the netting and how it takes up half the image. The title suits this image as well.
Cannot wait to see your photos of the mountains in Mongolia as this is where i really want to go next. For now I am just off to Argentina to soak in the cultural experience and of course some hiking in the Northern forests.
There is this “thing”in the blogworld called the Kreativ award, and I just nominated you for it.
Have a great time in Argentina and thanks for the nomination.
Timothy, I love your latest underwater pics. May I ask what housing you are using for your Mark II? (I’m assuming you’re using that camera..?)
Yes, I’m using the 5D Mark II. The housing is made by Ikelite. I have an 8″ dome port attachment with it using a Canon 16-35 f2.8 Mark I lens. The dome is huge and therefore makes it very easy to shoot those half in, half out of the water images. I’ve been shooting down as deep as 40 metres and have had no problems with this housing. Would definitely recommend it for the money.