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  #11  
Old 04-29-2010, 06:08 PM
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Photographed in 60 ft. of water near Breakers Reef off Palm Beach, FL.
From: http://www.thelivingsea.com/underwat...alligator.html



Continued at: http://fksa.org/showthread.php?p=45209#post45209

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Old 05-17-2010, 04:09 PM
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The Big Blue or Le Grand Bleu directed by Luc Bisson, released in 1988 has captured the fascination of free divers and the public at large for sometime. It starred Jean Reno, Jean-Marc Barr, Rosanna Arquette, Griffin Dunne. It has become a cult film of sorts for free divers. There is an interesting role reversal in the film with Jacques Mayol playing the cool, dialed in dude with Enzo Maiorca as a less substantial character. In reality, the two were not that close and Enzo may have been the more down to earth character with Mayol being more "out there." Both are deservedly well recognized for their accomplishments in the world of diving. Jacque Mayol even lived in Ft. Lauderdale, FL for a time and competed offshore of the city back in the day. Some might think the plot is a bit "sappy" at points but the rich visuals in diverse locations, great sound track and excellent cine set the movie apart. It is a diving classic.



A compilation of some segments from the movie and excerpts.

This is what Yahoo Movies has to say about it:

"A visionary epic of obsession and beauty about Jacques Mayol, the handsome diver who is so at home in the water that he seems only half-human. Jacques' best friends are a family of playful porpoises and Enzo Molinari, his swaggering Italian diving rival. Jacques and Enzo grew up together in the Mediterranean, and remain lifelong friends despite a fierce battle for the top prize in the world free diving championships, where divers compete to see who can descend to the furthest depths of the sea with no equipment other than their own courage and determination. But when the dreamer Jacques falls in love with the beautiful Johanna, he finds himself torn between the damsel and the deep blue sea."


Not sure but Enzo may be sporting a fluid filled mask with corrective contacts to remove the need to use air to equalize his mask on descent.
http://famousfrenchfilms.wordpress.c...c-besson-1988/


You can checkout the complete script of the movie, something I've not done before at:
http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/thebigblue.html

The movie was shot at least 22 locations including:

Greece
Le Grand Bleu Bar, Amorgos, Small Cyclades, Greece
Manganari Island, Greece
Agia Anna, Amorgos, Small Cyclades, Greece
Amorgos, Small Cyclades, Greece
Kalotaritissa Bay, Amorgos, Cyclades, Greece (stranded ship)
Small Cyclades, Greece
Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA (many jumping dolphin sequences, including final shot)
Taormina, Messina, Sicily, Italy (Diving Scenes)
Alpes-Maritimes, France
Antibes, Alpes-Maritimes, France
Bahamas
Corsica, France
France
French Riviera, Alpes-Maritimes, France
Italy
Marineland, Antibes, Alpes-Maritimes, France (Aquarium)
Peru
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
U.S. Virgin Islands
New York City, New York, USA
Paris, France
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095250/locations

Still more about the shoot locations at: http://www.movie-locations.com/movie...l#.VUJII96IaxI




The wreck of the Olympia on Amorgos used as a location in the film for a remarkable free diving salvage effort by Enzo.
http://www.artificialowl.net/2008/09...r-town-of.html


Another view of Amorgos Island
http://cache.virtualtourist.com/



https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=9&v=jO2M3mr1KEM
A 1 1/2 hour documentary on the making of the movie (in French).



Bisson, Barr and Mayol
More about Jacque Mayol at:
http://al7mi.com/jejufreedive/dt.htm






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Old 05-19-2010, 09:58 AM
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A series of modified images of a girl riding an Aqueon on the wreck of the Sapona in Bimini, Bahamas.


This post grew so large that I converted it into an article at:
http://fksa.org/showthread.php?p=45445#post45445





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Old 05-20-2010, 09:38 PM
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An underwater literary classic and for early free divers too.


A postcard view of an old fortification on the quay at Antibes. Likely before Gilpatric's time but it captures a sense of the place I think.
From: http://www.leuchtturm-welt.net/HTML/...AL/ANTIBES.JPG


It was the 1930's in post WW I Europe, France was rebuilding and about to descend into another tumult. Guy Gilpatric, an American, not in Paris but in Antibes on the Côte d'Azur, proceeded to explore a new realm, free diving. Equipment was crude and participants were few. Guy, an acknowledged author wrote some introductory pieces to the sport of "goggling" in his regular contributions to the "Saturday Evening Post." His musings eventually amassed into a book, "The Complete Goggler" first published in 1934. Skin Diver Magazine way back in 1957 published an expanded version of the book with "new" images of the sport and a forward by James Dugan. I received a copy of the later in 1975 as a discard from a very kind librarian at my alma mater, Ft. Lauderdale High School. She was probably impressed by the number of times I had checked it out in my years there. I subsequently found and bought copies for some of my close diving buddies. Since that time the book has become a fairly scare and valuable collectors item. Excerpts from the text follow.



The cover page of the book showing Guy in his element


"The Complete Goggler, Being the First and Only Exhaustive Treatise on the Art of Goggle Fishing That most Noble and Excellent Sport Perfected and Popularized by Guy Gilpatric in the Mediterranean Sea Though Long Practiced Elsewhere by Other Benighted Sava"



As a teenager, this impressed me probably as much as anything in the book. Free diving without fins or proper mask and spearing without any means of propulsion other than a well coordinated kick, stroke and thrust. I was intrigued by the feet first entry and timing of the exhalation of air to reduce buoyancy. Weight, we don't need no stink'n weights!? I had quit spearfishing before this time but could still appreciate an arcane art when I saw it.




It was a new time for a very old, new activity. As with kitesurfing, innovation was rampant in the secluded areas in which the discipline was practiced. Here is a nifty speargun AND compressed air breathing apparatus. Wonder how SCUBA diving would have suffered if developments continued directly along these lines?




The goggles. The only ones you could equalize were the ones with the squeeze bulbs shown at the bottom from Japan. Ama divers had developed this provision long in the past to my knowledge and yet Guy wasn't all that crazy about them. Here's what he had to say about mask squeeze "At depths exceeding twenty feet, you will notice that your goggle rims cut into you uncomfortably and that your eyes within them feel as though they were being sucked out. Down around forty feet, this "suction" may deform your eyeballs, hinder your vision and cause you to miss your fish." He left out that part about acute headaches and perhaps losing your vision in extremes and with regular repetition! I want the ones with exposed aluminum rims, who needs soft rubber? I think my eyes would start to be squeezed out around 5 ft and 40 ft.? Amazing, core divers back in the day.




Some more home crafted gear. I was so taken by this that I made a similar side mounted knife carrier as a teen using a steak knife, kids!




The weapon of choice. Note no surgical or other drive bands, just a handle. He did use rubber bands for retaining the point cable. Just needed bigger rubber bands, soon. The detachable point with keyway is well conceived. It isn't so far different in concept from some contemporary points.


Thank you Guy for your contribution to free diving. I understand Skin Diver eventually gave copies of the book away with subscriptions and even threw some away sad to say given the lack of interest at the time. The book was said to be in the library onboard Cousteau's Calypso and in Hemingway's library. Got mine fortunately and it actually influenced my perspective on free diving growing up along with other books like Robert Marx's "Always Another Adventure" (e.g. Big Anthony striding around at depth on the bottom off Little Tobago on a breath). More about the book and author here.






Guy was a prolific writer, with several successful works to his credit. One even made it to the big screen staring Humphrey Bogart and his normal screen foils of the time.



In its French and English incarnations. He also wrote a number of episodes for various TV series.

Guy's gone but not forgotten. Thanks for the inspired work!


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Old 05-25-2010, 09:44 PM
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Shades of Hydro-Lab, the old habitat once located in 60 ft. of water near Bell Channel off Freeport, Grand Bahama in the early 1970's. Just learned of this new habitat tonight. Strange the things you miss hearing about when you go on land.


http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/NE...EEMO9_md8.html

"The Aquarius is the only undersea laboratory dedicated to marine science operating in the world. Owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and managed by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW), Aquarius operates 4.5 kilometers offshore of Key Largo, Florida. The underwater laboratory is deployed next to deep coral reefs, 20 meters beneath the surface. Aquarius provides life support systems that allow scientists to live and work underwater, in reasonably comfortable living quarters, with sophisticated research capabilities."


An article about the habitat at:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ng.../fulltext.html






A guided video tour of the habitat

More at:
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/techno.../aquarius.html



http://content.techrepublic.com.com/...11-159587.html



http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories...rundersea.html
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Old 06-01-2010, 08:32 AM
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Niki on her record dive in the Bahamas
http://www.freedivecentral.com/f-gal...num_atleta=423


Niki Roderrick does a CNF (constant weight, no fins) training dive on the buoy about 8 miles off Ft. Lauderdale in the video clip below. Note when she enters into the sink phase, stops swimming and allows her negative buoyancy at that depth continue her descent expending less energy and air. She is preparing for the Mediterranean Freediving World Cup hosted in Kalamata, Greece. Niki recently set yet another New Zealand depth record in this discipline at 49 m in Dean's Blue Hole in the Bahamas. A record of 55 m was captured by Natalia Molchanova of Russia placing Niki at second place Worldwide! Niki is with http://www.freedivinginstructors.com/






http://www.freediving-club.gr/index_files/Page327.htm


The World Cup is described "the Mediterranean Meeting will be upgraded to a World Cup for 2010 and will include both an individual and a team event (teams will be national teams of 3) and will again include all 3 depth disciplines. During the event we will also have a static competition.

It will again be a 15 day event starting on Monday June 7th and finishing on Sunday June 20th with one week of training and one week of competition in all depth disciplines with Ranking and World Record status. Sled diving will also be available and we will also be able to organise record attempts during the training week and possibly during the competition week."



A video overview of this year's Mediterranean Freediving World Cup in Kalamata, Greece.


The website highlights sled diving in the no limits division. I tried a shallow dive with a sled in the Red Sea last year and brought a GoPro camera along to capture what went on. It is a pretty interesting video even for a dip in the shallow end of the pool.



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Old 06-08-2010, 02:28 PM
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There once was a competition, to create "Underwater House Pictures" via imagination and Photoshop. This is some of what they came up with ...



































More at: http://www.freakingnews.com/Underwat...----1578-0.asp

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Old 06-12-2010, 05:19 PM
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http://img.timeinc.net/

Yesterday would have been Jacques Yves Cousteau's 100th birthday. He brought a unique and stimulating look at the oceans to many worldwide in ways they might have never seen. More about the man and his times at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques-Yves_Cousteau


CONTINUED with old videos from 1943 forward, photos and information at: http://fksa.org/showthread.php?p=45698#post45698




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Old 06-23-2010, 06:42 PM
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Mermaid free diver, Linden Wolbert makes 17 mph with tail, swims with sharks.




Swimming with sharks seems straight forward enough but hauling butt, er tail at 17 mph?! Read it in the Daily Mail, so it must be true, uh right? Integrity of the press and all.





Complete story and more photos at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worl...stom-tail.html


and a video:



"Mermaid in Grand Bahama

Grand Bahama Island! Mermaid Linden pulled out her passport and swam to none other than UNEXSO, the world-famous Underwater Explorer’s Society, for a very special photo shoot. Aboard UNEXSO’s Explorer II boat, Underwater Photographer Matthew Addison donned his scuba unit and impressive camera rig. Chief Safety Diver and UNEXSO Shark Feeder extraordinaire Cristina Zenato zipped up her wetsuit, and Mermaid Linden dived into the clear, warm waters for an encounter like no other: Swimming with Caribbean Reef Sharks in Bahamian seas!"
Complete article at: http://www.fourthelement.com/adventu...en_wolbert.php

and another clip with a bit more color. Sort of Jacques Cousteau silver divers go gold lame:



She even has a mermaid for hire website, http://www.mermaidsinmotion.com/

(as the sound track goes "able to stay underwater without oxygen?" Time to get a new script writer!)


Here's another intriguing one, in the water with a greek fellow instead of sharks.

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Old 06-24-2010, 01:21 PM
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Todd Essick wanted to try something different from sports photography for the wire services. So, he took a diving course, bought the first of tons of UW camera gear and set out to capture some new and varied compositions. He focuses on model compositions both clothed and nude, underwater often with sealife.



This was shot off Nassau a few years ago


All photos by Todd Essick



The logistics in such shoots can be overwhelming as unexpected animal interactions with costumes can be at times. That is one core water woman, seems to be containing things fairly well considering she's holding her breath, is at least 20 ft. beneath the surface and a shark is tangled in her outfit banging up against her trying to get out. The shark may have been attracted by glittering small sequins attached to the netting. Great model and athlete. Just noticed a rope tether holding her down to the wreck. We can see what was going on but without a mask, shark tangled from behind, she wouldn't be able to see exactly what was going on. All this plus secured underwater by her ankle, what an athlete and strong constitution! More about the shark issues during this shoot at: http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=4304



The challenges of shooting free diving models, absent regulator exhaust, with natural expressions and poses, largely blind with all the varied light and conditions underwater are immense.



Todd and his skilled models/water women pull it off though.



Some of Todd's more recent work at Neptune Memorial Reef off Miami, FL







Above photos from http://www.601100100.pl/pl/newsy/czy...istnieja_.html


All photos by Todd Essick



Todd created a collection of his work in book form with many intriguing underwater photographs. It can be a good gift for water people or folks with an appreciation of unusual, well crafted images.



Copies are available at: http://www.essickphoto.com/sub4.html



Todd Essick at DEMA 2009


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