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Whale Video Clip |
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Profiles
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AlexAlex Nicolson lives in Canberra, Australia, 183 miles, 273 yards and 18 inches from the sea. He is a psychologist by training but only worked in that capacity for a year before deciding that there was more to life than teaching first year students statistics. Since then he has worked with Aboriginal people in urban and remote environments, on multicutural policy issues, resource economics in forest issues, geological marketing and as Director of Australia's smallest Parks and Conservation Service. He has contributed to briefs for the Australian delegation to the International Whaling Commission. The Australian delegation has taken a leadership position in support of protection of the southern hemisphere humpback whale. He also worked for six years in Fiji and has a range of Fijian swearwords to keep the crew entertained. He joined this expedition based on his past great experience with the Nai'a and her superb crew. As he is allergic to cameras and vice versa his contribution to this expedition has mostly been frolicking with the whales, asking to do more diving and editing text for the website. He hopes the Imaging Foundation project will provide ready access for people with good web access to information on an important conservation and political issue. His favorite moment of this trip was the hard to beat experience of snorkelling with two friendly humpbacks on the first day! His favorite quote is "Is it time to dive yet?" |
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AnaAna Martin comes from Olympia, Washington where she is a manager at Wells Fargo Bank. She loves golf, although admits she still needs a lot of practice. Ana has been scubadiving for over 34 years and taking pictures underwater for almost as long. She was both a PADI and NAUI Scuba Instructor, had her USCG Captain's license and ran a successful Scuba Charter business in Maui, HI for 10 years, Sundance Scuba Charters. When not diving or working, Ana is very much involved in community service, especially with Muscular Dystrophy, The Arthritis Foundation and the American Cancer Society. As CFO for Imaging Foundation, she mostly handles the money end of things and communicating with the participants once they have signed up. She hopes the Imaging Foundation's imagery will encourage people to take better care of such wonderful resources as the oceans and the wildlife in it; to protect our resources and our environment for future generations to come. Ana was not able to join us in our maiden voyage to Tonga, although she was there in spirit. Her favorite quote is Jimmy Buffett's, "we are the people our parents warned us about". |
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BruceBruce Elliott Rasner lives in Laguna Niguel, California and has been photographing marine life around the world for 18 years. His underwater photography emphasis in recent years has been on close-up abstacts of design elements, patterns and textures for exhibit in art venues. With this unique opportunity to return to his former experiences with larger marine animals, Bruce "jumped at the chance" to join the Imaging Foundation's expedition to Tonga. He hopes his photographs and contributions will assist the Foundation's efforts to bring public awareness of the need to create the South Pacific Whale Sanctuary. His favorite moments on this trip were making eye to eye contact with the magnificent Humpback whales which migrate to these warmer waters on an arduous journey each year from Antarctica. |
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CarolynCarolyn Winter is originally from Zimbabwe but now lives in Washington D.C. where she works for the World Bank. She began diving in Cape Town, South Africa over 20 years ago and has since dived in many beautiful locations, including the Red Sea, Galapagos Islands, Cocos Island, the Banda Sea and the Barrier Reef. She is greatly concerned about the depletion and destruction of marine resources and the lack of concerted efforts being made to address these problems. She saw this trip as an opportunity to raise awareness about the need for the continued protection of humpback whales and for the establishment of the much-needed South Pacific Whale Sanctuary. Her favorite moments on the trip included seeing the evident curiosity in a humpback whale's eye as he swam past her about 6 feet away, and going for evening runs along the beautiful beaches of Tonga's many uninhabited islands. |
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ChardChard Nelson is a technology developer based in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he lives with his wonderful wife and delightful daughter. Chard has degrees in Environmental Science and Rhetoric from the University of California at Berkeley and has worked over two decades in software development and the Internet. He has a lifelong fondness for marine mammals, including sea otters, manatees, and whales, so the opportunity to join this expedition was the chance of a lifetime. Chard began scuba diving about a decade ago, when his then-girlfriend (now wife) went diving with friends in Fiji, and he decided that next time he should go along. Swimming with the humpbacks and exploring some of Tonga's pristine reef systems has been a wonderful adventure. Chard's favorite quote, courtesy of Jimmy Buffett: "Want what you have." |
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DanielDaniel Behrman is a free-lance video and web designer based in Santa Monica, California. Daniel has worked with Bradley-Ireland productions for 6 years, and has worked with the Imaging Foundation since its inception. He got certified to scuba dive after then Imaging Foundation laid the groundwork for the Tonga trip, and about a week prior to boarding the boat. Daniel hopes this expedition will provide a wealth of photographic images on Tongan humpback whales to further the Imaging Foundation's goal of creating a database of wildlife images for nonprofit organizations to use free of charge. Daniel's favorite moment on this trip was witnessing a boatload of photographers lined up facing the direction of the whales' descent, only to have the whales breach behind them on the other side of the boat. He also enjoyed capturing on video the remarkable ability of whales to outmaneuver skiffs and people. His favorite quote is: "The consciousness of your own consciousness is an illusion created by your own subconscious." |
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DaveDave Walker resides in Laguna Beach, California. He first strapped a scuba tank on his back at the tender age of 14 and got certified in 1968 when it was finally required. He is a retired middle school shop teacher who also briefly taught basic photography to kids. He has a passion for the sea and loves all contact with the water including: surfing, sailing, diving, and swimming. He feels that life is people and nature, and saw this expedition as an opportunity to get closer to nature and work with others to contribute to the preservation of whales. He hopes that this expedition will lead to preservation of the Tongan humpback whales, much as public awareness in the United States has lead to preservation and protection of the California Grey Whale. His most memorable moments in the water include: scuba diving with manta rays, snorkeling with an oceanic white tip shark, and his first interaction freediving with the Tongan humpback whales. His favorite quote comes from a divemaster in Roatan: "The pool is open, get off my boat." |
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GeorgienneGeorgienne (Ya Ya) Bradley lives in Santa Monica, California. She owns and operates a production company and image stock house, founded the American Society of Media Phogtographers' Underwater Specialty group(which she chaired for six years), and is currently the chairperson for the Nature Photographers of America Specialty group. Having logged thousands of dives, Georgienne's passion is the ocean. She believes the Imaging Foundation will bridge the gap between the need for quality images and the work being done by other non profit educational and environmental organizations. Georgienne hopes to use the images produced by the Imaging Foundation to develop innovative, engaging, and educational productions. Georgienne launched the first Imaging Foundation expedition in Tonga for a variety of reasons. Delegates at the recent IWC Conference came dangerously close to allowing international whaling to resume. "Many people are unaware that if whaling practices continue today, the danger of worldwide quotas increasing is a strong possibility if pressure is not applied to target countries. Rob, Cat, Alexx and Todd, the NAI'A owners, have a strong history of environmental advocacy. Tonga is one of only two places in the world where humans are allowed to snorkel with whales. It seemed natural that our first effort should take place upon the NAI'A in currently protected Tongan waters." "My favorite moment on the trip? I think it was when the website components were combined and it was presented to the entire group after dinner. Casual individual comments rang out reflecting delight, excitement, pride, and a strong sense of hope. George's favorite quote is borrowed from Margaret Mead who said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." |
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JackieJackie Walker resides in Southern California with her husband Dave. She is newly retired from the medical field. She enjoys traveling, computers, skiing, biking, yoga and gardening. She was recently certified as an open water diver, and enjoys snorkeling, scuba, and photography. She joined this expedition with the Imaging Foundation at Dave's urging, and was excited by the opportunity to see humpback whales very close-up. She hopes her photography and website skills will be helpful in advancing the goals of the project. Her favorite moments on the trip were swimming close to the whales, and from topside watching the whales breach, spyhop, barrel-roll, and flap their massive pectoral fins to slap the water. Her favorite quote is "If you're lucky enough to be here, you are lucky enough." |
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JanJan Berman is a Director at the Pacific Gas and Electric company in San Francisco, California where she has worked for 18 years. She's been scuba diving for almost that long, and is currently taking a couple months off work to travel the world and dive. Jan has been concerned about the deterioration of coastal reefs and ecosystems and the depletion of marine animals she has witnessed since she started diving. She sees this expedition as an opportunity to contribute to the preservation of an amazing and endangered animal, the southern humback whale, by creating more public awareness. She hopes that her 4-year old daughter will be able to enjoy the fantastic experience of swimming with these gentle 40-ton giants when she grows up. Her favorite moment on this trip was watching from in the water as three adult whales clustered together approached her from the right, each looking at her with one eye, while two other twined adults approached her from the left. Her favorite quote at the moment is: "Most of the time important moments happen when they will, not when you decide you want them to." |
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JohnJohn Monk is a retired middle school teacher. He resides in Richland, Washington with his wife Linda. John has been scuba diving for 30 years, bought his first underwater camera 20 years ago, and has been a serious underwater photographer for 5 years. John was excited about the opportunity to come to Tonga with the Imaging Foundation to learn more about humpback whales with the goal of developing an educational program to share information about humpback whales with children. His favorite moment on this expedition came within the first few hours of the trip when two humpback whales repeatedly came within 15 feet of him while he swam in the water. John hopes the excitement generated by this expedition creates interest in more similar projects in the future. His favorite quote is from John Lennon: "Life's what happens while you're busy making other plans." |
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JudyJudy Bennett is a native and life long resident of New Orleans. Her chosen career has been in the medical profession, spending nearly 29 years as a clinical laboratory technologist. Judy has been diving for over 15 years attaining PADI instructor status. She is also an accomplished underwater photographer. Judy is considering a career change that would allow her to indulge her passions for diving and travel. While not actually on the Tonga expedition, Judy was there in spirit. In her spare time, she researched and collected much of the data that was brought aboard the NAI'A. Judy's first IF expedition will be to Cocos Island in November. Her favorite quote is pulled from a high school memory : "Today is the first day of the rest of your life." Considering the current status of her home town, this is the best place to begin. |
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LarryLarry Glover lives in Houston, Texas, where he provides computer, programming, piping, electrical, instrumentation and structural support for an engineering design group. Larry has been diving for more than 30 years, and owned both a scuba instruction company and a commercial dive operation. He sublimates his long-held desire to travel into space by scuba diving. He was struck by the intelligence of dolphins when he free-dove with them, and was excited to join this expedition as an opportunity to have close encounters with humpback whales, another seemingly intelligent marine creature. He appreciates the opportunity to contribute the project's objective of creating public awareness of humpback whales through photographic imagery. His most memorable moment on this trip was being in the water with two humpback whales as they approached and rose vertically in front of him and spread their pectoral fins as if they were trying to communicate. His favorite quote speaks to his motivation for joining this expedition and is from a Star Trek Movie: "Captain, there be whales." |
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LindaLinda Bascom is a endodontist in private practice in Kennewick, Washington. Her passion is to travel and experience new places and people. She decided to embark on this Imaging Foundation trip because she was excited about the opportunity to join together with a team to make a statement that would contribute to the protection of humpback whales. Her favorite moment on this trip occured on the first day. She jumped in the water alongside two large humpbacks. She was amazed at how curious they were about us. They kept spyhopping, coming out of the water, and staring right at us. Linda hopes this website will further the appreciation and understanding of these magnificent mammals. Linda's favorite quote is "It's not how many breaths you take, but how many moments leave you breathless." |
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RandyRandy Osgerby is an air traffic controller and wildlife photographer in Dallas, Texas. He has been taking still photographs for about 30 years, and took up scuba diving and underwater photography about a dozen years ago. Randy has traveled extensively around the world chasing wildlife images in places such as Palau, Indonesia, Thailand, Fiji, Galapagos, Alaska, British Columbia, and the Arctic. He anticipates transitioning to full-time work as a wildlife photographer upon retirement. Samples of his wildlife photography are available at his website, www.wildlifeimaging.com. Randy has had a strong attraction to marine mammals for many years, and has photographed humpback whales in the Caribbean's Silver Bank for several years. This trip offered a wonderful opportunity to swim with Southern humpback whales that was too good to pass up. His best moment photographing humpback whales occured the first time he witnessed the bond between a mother and calf together. The image he carries in his mind of the power of the maternal instinct in humpbacks is more powerful than any photo. On this trip, his favorite moment was being a fluke length away from a mother, calf and escort. Randy hopes the work of this expedition will play a role in convincing nations that are whaling to stop. These animals are too important to the marine ecosystem to be slaughtered to extinction for selfish human interests. His favorite quote is: "The worst day at sea is better than the best day at work." |