DiveFilm HD Video

A mother humpback whale rests below while her calf ascends to the surface and explores the wonders of this strange new world. She offers her calf encouragement and assurance, but also warns of dangers to come. She recounts how commercial whaling all but wiped out their species and how even now, over 20 years since the ban on commercial whaling, the killing continues. Will her calf be next? Though commercial whaling was banned by the IWC in 1986, over 25,000 whales have been commercially hunted since then. This is an incredibly controversial subject and one which often stalls in political, racial and cultural debates. Whale Wisdom transcends these debates and offers a fresh take on the issue, a mother whales perspective. The political and cultural disagreements are not her concern. Her only worry is that her child and their species have a future in the Oceans. To learn more about this film and other works by award-winning filmmaker Shawn Heinrichs, please visit his website: BlueSphereMedia.com

Irish filmmaker, songwriter and artist Vincent Hyland has created this beautiful short film as a celebration of the sea life, the dolphins, birds and other creatures, found off the South West coast of Ireland. He calls this first of ten shorts films in the planned series, "In Search of Plenty." With poetry, musical score, filming and editing all by Vincent Hyland, this is a wonderful musical infusion of ocean life. For more information on the work of Vincent Hyland, please visit his website: www.VincentHyland.com

Underwater filmmaker Simon Spear presents a compelling portrait of the dire plight of Porbeagle Sharks off the coast of Great Britain in this award winning short film from the 2008 OurWorldUnderwater/Wetpixel/DivePhotoGuide Competition. Featuring rare underwater footage of Porbeagle sharks, "this film documents a ground breaking expedition off of the coast of Cornwall, UK to satellite tag this amazing shark for the first time in the NE Atlantic. In addition to achieving all of the scientific objectives, we also obtained the first ever comprehensive and good quality footage of free swimming Porbeagles." Simon further points out on his website, ViewFromTheBlue.me.uk, that Porbeagle sharks are close relatives of the Great White Shark. And like so many shark species world wide, commercial fishing has devastated Porbeagle populations, which are particularly vulnerable to overfishing due to the behavior of aggregating in large numbers in coastal waters. For more information on Simon Spear and his work, and to learn more about the plight of Porbeagle Sharks, please visit Simon's website: ViewFromTheBlue.me.uk For more information on the OurWorldUnderwater/Wetpixel/DivePhotoGuide Competition, please visit the website: UnderwaterCompetition.com.

Filmmaker Shawn Heinrichs evokes the thrill and energy of the South African "Sardine Run" in this awarding winning video entry from the 2008 OurWorldUnderwater/Wetpixel/DivePhotoGuide Competition. "For years I had dreamed about returning to South Africa to experience the Sardine Run. I was born in Durban, South Africa and spent the first six years of my life there before moving to the United States. I have only faint childhood memories of the Sardine Run. It was a time of year when the sky over the beach filled with birds, dolphins broke the surface in the hundreds, when we stayed out of the water for fear of sharks, and when fishermen on the shore hauled in huge nets bursting with glistening silver fish. "Now a seasoned diver and underwater film-maker, I returned to the Sardine Run to relive that excitement, but this time anxious to join the sharks underwater and experience the full energy of the Run. With me were my close buddies Justin Ebert, Mattias Fornander and Nick Jackson. Our leader Drew Wong and boat captain Pkee would do all they could to get us as close as "safely" possible to the action." To read more about Shawn's Sardine Run experience, please visit his website: BlueSphereMedia.com. For more information on the OurWorldUnderwater/Wetpixel/DivePhotoGuide Competition, please visit the website: UnderwaterCompetition.com.

Creative underwater filmmaker, Gyula (Jules) Somogyi garnered the Silver Medal at the Our World Underwater/DivePhotoGuide/Wetpixel competition this year with this stunning short film. Gyula says of the genesis of this film: "The original version of "The Vision of the Oraculum" was shot and edited during the 2007 SanDisk RedSea shoot-out in Eilat. The idea of making a short film with a complex story had two origins: I had already dived in Eilat in 2006 and was impressed by the beauty of the famous Moses-rock. I started looking into how this reef got its name. The very unique shape of the reef was the answer, because when Moses struck the rock with his rod, the rock divided into ttwo parts. So now I had an explanation, only the story was missing. Then into the picture came a very well know commercial, the 1984 ad directed by Ridley Scott. The amazingly complex story in 56 seconds served as my indirect assistant, its structure and storyboard helped me to design and sketch my storyboard. What is the common ground? The biblical Moses story is very well known--as well as the novel of George Orwell, 1984. Both stories became part of our common cultural knowledge. "I arrived at Eilat with a shot-list, and asked underwater photographer Sharon Rainis to be my Oraculum and underwater photographer Amir Stern to be Moses in my film. Their patience and readiness to help gave me the chance to make this film. The first cut was finished within 8 hours in my hotel room in Eilat. After the competition I got some very valuable advice from Christian Petron, who was the head of the jury at the SanDisk RedSea shoot-out. The first cut was also extensively discussed in the Hungarian on-line diving community at the forums of the Divecenter.hu. Then I let the film rest for a couple of weeks. "Around Christmas I asked my friend, Arthur Grosz, a young Hungarian composer, to create a new soundtrack for this story. Based on the old film's sequences but utilizing the re-defined structure and storyboard, Arthur composed the new soundtrack and I finished the new edit just before the deadline of the Our World Underwater 2008 Competition. In conclusion, after spending about two months to create this little film, I am very pleased that it was awarded the Silver medal at his competition and has reached you, dear viewer, via the DiveFilm HD Video podcast. Enjoy!" For more information on Gyula's underwater films, and his new DVD release, "Ships of Darkness," please visit his website: http://helioxfilm.hu For more information on Wetpixel, please visit Wetpixel.com For more information on DivePhotoGuide, please visit DivePhotoGuide.com

This video earned 1st Place, underwater video category in the 3rd Annual International Underwater Photography & Video Competition, organized by Wetpixel and DivePhotoGuide in association with Our World Underwater. Mike Boom says of "Komodo Beneath the Waves": In the summer of 2007, my wife and I went to Indonesia for a couple of weeks of diving from the Seven Seas live-aboard dive boat in Komodo National Park. We were very lucky to be there with Howard and Michele Hall, who were scouting locations with Peter Kragh for the Halls' upcoming 3D IMAX movie, a sequel to their very successful Deep Sea 3D. It's always a thorough education to watch Howard shoot, and the Halls are a lot of fun to hang out with. Komodo surprised us completely: it wasn't the dripping green rain-forested islands crawling with Komodo dragons that I had in my mind's eye, but dry islands that remind me a lot of the Channel Islands off southern California. (Although there were Komodo dragons crawling around.) The sea life was amazing: Lynn and I were completely overwhelmed with the sheer number and variety of fish, the rich invertebrate life, and the overwhelming beauty of the coral. This video is an attempt to shoehorn at least some of that into a three-minute video. For more information on Mike and his wonderful video work, please visit his website, LaughingEel.com For more information on Wetpixel, please visit Wetpixel.com For more information on DivePhotoGuide, please visit DivePhotoGuide.com

"Day of the Whales"

In this thought provoking short film, Rick Morris explores issues facing our oceans through interviews with renowned underwater imagers, Howard and Michele Hall, and dive innovator and author, Bret Gilliam. Through his Eclipse Television Production, Rick Morris produces environmental documentaries focussing on preservation and restoration of our world and its inhabitants. To learn more, please check out Rick's website, www.eclipsetvproduction.com .

Long known for his big animal cinematography, underwater imaging pioneer Chuck Nicklin explores the colorful and fascinating world of the Indo-Pacific's tiny shrimp species. Many shrimp are commensal with other sea creatures, meaning that they derive food or benefit from other species without harm or benefit to those other creatures. Some shrimp species have symbiotic relationships with other sea creatures where both species derive a benefit from the interaction. Chuck Nicklin is one of the pioneers of underwater cinematography. His credits include "The Deep," "The Abyss," and a couple of James Bond classics, in addition to work on a vast array of nature-related feature presentations for television and cinema spanning nearly five decades. He was among the first underwater cinematographers to film whales, including the first to film a singing Humpback Whale. Now eighty years young, Chuck continues to lead dive trips all over the world, produce his own short videos, and inspire and mentor a whole new generation of underwater imagers. To learn more about Chuck, his work, travels and history, please visit his website: ChuckNicklin.com

An audience favorite at the recent 8th Annual San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition, "Green Water, White Mirth" is a delightful look at the mischievous antics of juvenile Harbor Seals on one of Mike Boom's dives in the colder waters of the Monterey Bay along the Northern California Pacific Coast. "I shot this video on a single dive in April of 2006 in Monterey Bay with friends from my dive club. We were in sight of the Monterey Bay Aquarium when we dropped in. We had 3 or 4 juvenile harbor seals who checked us out for the first half of the dive, then decided to come in and have their way with us during the second half. It was hard to shoot much video because 1) the seals kept me too busy (one tucked his head under my arm asking to be scratched) and 2) I was laughing too hard." Mike is an underwater filmmaker based in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. His short films have delighted audiences at numerous underwater film festivals and gatherings around the United States. To learn more about Mike and his high definition underwater video work, please visit his website, www.LaughingEel.com.

In this wonderful short film by Eric Hanauer, we experience life from the viewpoint of Eric's video camera, and what an experience it is! From the bumps and jostling of the rinse bucket to the wide variety of wildlife encountered underwater, Eric's video camera is our host for this delightful look at the trials and tribulations of a camera underwater. Eric Hanauer is a renowned underwater imager and author based in San Diego, California. To learn more about Eric and view some of his spectacular images, please visit his website: www.ehanauer.com.

Nature videographer, Vidar Vedaa of Norway, makes a foray underwater in this short film, and the result is an elegant visual ensemble of Hellesoy, Norway's west coast shore life. Hellesoy is located outside Bergen on the west coast of Norway. The seas are usually very heavy in this area, according to Vidar, but he was fortunate to be filming on a day when the seas were calmer, free-diving one to three meters to obtain the images he brings together so beautifully in this wonderful short film. To learn more about Vidar Vedaa and see more of his work, please check out his website: http://web.mac.com/vidarjohannesvedaa

J.D. Duff takes us to the beautiful waters of Micronesia in the Pacific. Micronesia is a large oceanic region that includes numerous small island countries and territories, including Chuuk (formerly known as Truk), Palau, Yap, Kosrae, Pohnpei, the Marshall Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Nauru, Kiribati, and Wake Island. Divers are particularly drawn to Chuuk, Palau and Yap for their beautiful water, diverse marine life, and sunken wrecks (many from World War II). Underwater filmmaker J.D. Duff is based in West Palm Beach, Florida, United States. To learn more about J.D., or to contact him, please visit the Filmmakers Page at DiveFilm.com. We hope you enjoy this high definition visit to the waters of Micronesia!

Howard and Michele Hall are among the top underwater imagers in the world today. As Howard Hall Productions, they have produced numerous award-winning feature underwater films, series and television specials. They specialize in marine wildlife films, and have worked in IMAX, IMAX 3D, 35 mm, high definition video, and many other formats. Howard has received six cinematography Emmys for films produced for television. Michele has received one Emmy award. Howard holds a degree in zoology from San Diego State University. His interest in marine wildlife has led him to author numerous articles about marine life. He is a "Roving Editor" for International Wildlife Magazine and a Contributing Editor for Ocean Realm Magazine and Fathoms Magazine. Michele’s underwater photographs have been published in numerous books and magazines around the world. Within the underwater imaging community, Howard and Michele are inspirations to countless underwater filmmakers, and actively go out of their way to support the diving community. They have mentored and encouraged so many underwater imagers. And their contribution to ocean conservation and raising awareness about issues facing the ocean world is truly invaluable. For more information about their work and current projects, please visit their website, http://HowardHall.com. We are honored to present "Ocean Requiem" as DiveFilm High Definition Podcast Episode 6.

Cage diving with the Great White Sharks of Guadalupe Island off the coast of Baja Mexico is an all-time favorite with underwater imagers from all over the world. Mary Lynn Price and Chuck Nicklin present some of their high definition footage of these magnificent apex predators in this short music video. Stan Waterman joins them on this memorable adventure with the Guadalupe Greats.