View from the Blue

Solstice - Scotland's Basking Sharks

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 05:02:40 PST

I've been a little lax in posting any updates here of late, but I wanted to share a new film with you called "Solstice". Here is the blurb and the YouTube version:

"Winter fades, Spring dawns and the seasons inevitably move on towards Midsummer, where an encounter with one of Nature’s true giants awaits...."

RED Scarlet X On Order!

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:22:18 PST

I'm very excited as I have a RED Scarlet X on order with delivery hopefully some time in the next couple of months! The Scarlet is the little sister to the RED EPIC and is capable of shooting at up to 4k (x4HD) resolution. It certainly is a beast in a small package and I can't wait to get my hands on it! Hopefully I'll be able to get it underwater some time during 2012!

EPICENTER

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 11:51:30 PDT

Hi all

Just to let you know that I've uploaded a new short film called EPICENTER. It is an expanded version from the one first shown in Circle of Life that showcases Lembeh Strait, Indonesia and all the weird and wonderful creatures that can be found there. I've had this project in my 'Things to Do' folder for months, but I finally found a few days to finish it off. Enjoy!

Cheers, Simon

The Fin Trail - Updated Trailer!

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:12:18 PDT

Hi all

Just to let you know that an updated trailer for The Fin Trail is now online and can be viewed at:

www.thefintrail.com

Bahamas Photos Now Online!

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:44:48 PDT

The photos from our May visit to the Bahama Banks are now online! Here are a few samples:

For the full gallery please visit here. Enjoy :)

The Fin Trail Petition

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:48:03 PDT

The petition running in conjunction with our new feature documentary 'The Fin Trail' has now been launched. Please visit here to sign the petition and help to end shark finning.

The Fin Trail

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 23:43:41 PDT

Hi all

I'm really excited to let you know about the new film that we've been working on, so here is the pre-production trailer for 'The Fin Trail'.

The Fin Trail is a Co-Production between Elasmo Films UK and Director Steve Bowles from Eyewitness Productions Ltd. It will document an investigation into the global shark fin trade and will be the most revealing and hardest hitting shark film ever made.

For full details and a chance to help out with the film then please visit The Fin Trail's website www.thefintrail.com.

Awards for Circle of Life

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 13:12:46 PDT

Circle of Life has certainly been picking up some awards over the last couple of months! Here is a full list and an embedded You Tube version of the film for those who have not seen it yet. Enjoy! :)

34th International Wildlife Film Festival 2011

- Honourable Mention for Cinematography

Beneath the Sea Underwater Image Festival 2011

- Third - Short Film

Our World Underwater International Image Festival 2011

- Gold - General Film

Eastern Mediterranean Underwater Film Festival 2011

- Winner - Professional Short Film

British Underwater Image Festival 2011

- Highly Commended - Mares Professional Category

Capture the World - 2010 Underwater Video Challenge

- Third - Short Film

International Underwater FIlm Festival Belgrade 2010

- Third - Independent Producers

Red Sea Photos Updated

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 12:25:35 PST

We've just returned from a week aboard Blue O Two's Blue Fin liveaboard in the Red Sea (looks like we got out of Egypt just in time!). I'd actually forgotten just how much fun diving in the Red Sea can be, so it was great to be reminded. We've updated the Red Sea Photo Gallery on the website so go take a look.

While Zoe was taking photos I was doing some more experimenting filming with the Canon 7D HDSLR. It's a great bit of kit and provided you have the knowledge to shoot in full manual mode you can get some amazing results comparable with dedicated video cameras costing many, many thousands more. To give you some idea of its capabilities I've posted a couple of random clips below which were all shot using MWB and natural light with no filters.

Circle of Life

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 03:57:33 PST

I've had to change tact a little with my latest film 'Circle of Life'. Originally I'd planned to produce a 24 or 48 min documentary, but I've become increasingly bogged down with other (very exciting) projects and as these other projects are actually helping to pay the bills I'm finding that I can't turn them down. I've therefore decided to publish 'Circle of Life' exclusively on our website for now as a series of stand alone but interconnected short films.

Please visit the Circle of Life webpage for full details.

Cheers, Simon

Palau

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 08:40:37 PDT

Well better late than never - here is my review of diving in Palau that was recently published in the Shark Conservation Society's biannual newsletter. Obviously it has a shark bias, but its hard not to have that after a visit there!

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I'd always been intrigued with any mention of the shark Nirvana that is The Republic of Palau. Iconic names like Blue Corner, Big Drop Off, German Channel & Ulong Channel are world famous dive sites and nearly always come top of any 'best dive in the world' survey. In September (09) when the news broke that the government of Palau had become the first country to declare their entire territorial waters a shark sanctuary, I knew it was time to pay a visit.

I arrived in Palau after spending the previous 3 months diving around Indonesia and the Philippines. The diving had been outstanding, yet I was somewhat despondent by a distinct lack of shark sightings, emphasising the massive depletion levels in this part of the world. Everything however was about to change. My first dive in Palau put me face to face with more sharks than I'd seen in the previous 3months/150 dives! Schooling Grey Reef sharks, White Tip Reef sharks, Manta Rays & Eagle Rays. There were a couple of sightings of Great Hammerheads during the three weeks I was there and I even nearly sat on a Bull shark, but that's another story for another day. There was not one dive that I did not see a shark, most dives I saw 30-40 and some dives I saw literally hundreds. Palau really was as good as I'd heard it to be. Actually it was even better. You rarely get to see sharks hunting, but I witnessed it on four or five occasions. Large spawning aggregations of Unicornfish and Moorish Idols were getting relentlessly harassed and on one occasion in particular we came across a baitball of a mackerel type fish called Scad that literally blocked out the sun. We sat for 40 mins right in the middle of that baitball while around 50 sharks took their breakfast, lunch and dinner. A truly breathtaking spectacle and perhaps a reminder of how all coral reefs used to be before man came along.

For all its wonders Palau still sits on a knife edge. Like many of us they have been struggling lately and they hope that shark tourism will be a route out of recession. They certainly need to be supported for their stance. Well run shark eco-tourism can be positive for all parties. The tourists, the local economy and of course the sharks all benefit. If however Palau don't see a marked improvement in their economy rest assured that the fishing fleets of the world are ready and waiting in the wings. It would take maybe as little as a couple of years to turn Palau into 'just another dive location', rather than the incredibly special oasis that I witnessed during my time there.

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Update

Disappointingly I've been hearing strong rumours that shark fishing/finning continues in Palau waters with the fishing fleets using a 'mothership' set up outside of Palau's territorial waters to stop them having to land the sharks and fins in Palau. Like I said these are just rumours that I'm hearing, but it shows just how hard it is to police marine areas even when protection is in place!

Red Sea Cancelled :(

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 02:49:00 PDT

As I write this I was due to be in the southern Red Sea looking for two sharks that have always been fairly elusive to me - Oceanic Whitetips and Hammerheads. Well true to form they continue to be elusive!

I've always been a bit clumsy (some would argue very clumsy), but I think I have now set some kind of personal record in clumsiness. As I was walking out of our front door last weekend I somehow managed to break the 4th and 5th metatarsal bones in my left foot. Although I asked the doctor to 'strap me up' so that I could still go on the trip he looked at me sternly before instructing the nurse to encase my left leg in a fibreglass plaster. Needless to say I wont be doing any more diving this year! :(

Well looking back it has been an incredible year with probably the best diving I have ever seen. I'm currently beavering away in the editing studio working on a full length version of Circle of Life (you can see a preview here) in addition to a number of other projects that are rolling in, some of which are VERY interesting. We're also in the process of planning next years filming which will mainly be in the UK, so time to get the drysuit serviced! Thankfully the team at Emperor Divers allowed me to cancel my trip at short notice so I can rebook it and at least get some warm water diving in next year! Phew! :)

Photo Gallery Back Online!

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 04:53:05 PDT

After being offline for a few months I've managed to get our main website's Photo Gallery back up and running and updated.

Updates include Indonesia, the Humpback Whales of Silver Banks, the Maldives and the British Isles with more galleries, notably Palau coming online as soon as I can find the time to organize the photos!

Here are a couple of samples for you to enjoy! :)

Shark Conservation Society

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 04:35:35 PST

The Shark Conservation Society was created to be a 'hands on' practical organization that seeks to further conservation through research expeditions and campaigns based on fact and to promote best practice when interaction with sharks is necessary. This film gives a short introduction to the Society, a recap on past achievements and an indication of their future plans.

Shark Conservation Society

Palau - First Impressions

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:10:43 PST

I'd been hoping for a lot from Palau. Over the years I've heard so many great things about the place. Almost every diver I've ever spoken to who has been to Palau ranks it as some of the best diving they have ever done and Blue Corner in particular nearly always comes out top in any list of top dive sites in the world. So lets just say that I had high expectations. Yet after only four days of diving in Palau I've seen enough to realise that I don't think I had set my expectations high enough!! The diving really is that good.

This is just a first impressions write up, so I'll give you one example that has already blown my mind. We were diving along 'Ulong Wall' making our way towards the 'Channel' when we came across an enormous baitball getting harassed by some Golden Trevally. The sheer size and numbers of fish in the baitball were astounding and in addition to the Trevally it was getting pounded by twenty or so large Groupers, Napoleon Wrasse and Snappers. Then the Sharks rocked up and all hell really broke loose!

Maybe a dozen Grey Reef Sharks were darting in and out of the baitball joining the other predators and prey in a mesmerising dance. We hooked on with our Reef Hooks and spent the next 40 mins inside and on the fringes of the baitball with a front row seat to the breathtaking spectacle.

It's a fairly silent world underwater. Yes of course you hear your constant 'darth vadar' breathing and on busy dive sites you often hear an incessant banging and rattling from dive guides as they attempt to keep their groups under control, but I've never heard noise from fish before. As the frightened fish in the baitball moved into overdrive to avoid becoming prey a deep rumble could be heard, so deep and loud that you could feel it as a vibration in your chest. A most strange experience. Add that to the screams of delight from me and Zoe and you have quite a racket!!

So Palau. Well we've got another two weeks of diving here before I finally make up my mind, but what I've seen so far certainly indicates that it could be even more special than everyone told me it would be! :)

Red Blue RIng Octopus Mystery Deepens....

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 23:23:41 PST

Hi all

Well I'm getting some interesting feedback regarding the Red Blue Ring Octopus that we saw at Lembeh. One suggestion is that the colour shown could be some form of fluorescence captured by the filter that I was using on my camera at the time which is an interesting idea. Reports have also come in of a Pink Blue Ring being spotted before, but none so far of a Red Blue Ring. Also interestingly the Blue Ring did at times revert (in flashes) to its more 'common' beige/brown colours shown below:

Before once again reverting to the red colour shown here and in previous photos:

So the Mystery deepens! Feedback would be really appreciated!

UPDATE:

Ok some reports of Red Blue Rings are starting to come in from the Lembeh area. I'm passing all my info onto a couple of experts to see if there is anything particularly interesting about this, or if it is just a storm in a tea cup! I'll let you know if anything comes of it...

Cheers, Simon

Lembeh Strait, N Sulawesi, Indonesia

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:40:25 PST

The Lembeh Strait in North Sulawesi, Indonesia is world famous for its 'muck' diving. There are not many pretty coral reefs there and volcanic black sand makes up the majority of what is an often featureless underwater landscape. It may not be pretty, but this place is mind blowing.

From the moment you enter the water you are almost guaranteed to see critters and creatures that you've only dreamed of in your imagination. Pygmy Seahorses, Mimic Octopus', Wonderpuss, Frogfish, Hairy Frogfish, Flying Gurnards, Mantis Shrimps, Dragonets, Sea Moths, every conceivable type of Scorpionfish and all types, shapes, sizes and colours of Nudibranch and Crustaceans. There is little coral cover and therefore not many places for these critters to hide which makes spotting them and perhaps more importantly photographing and filming them an absolute delight.

We've spent the last 4 weeks in Lembeh diving, filming and photographing our way up and down the dive sites. I've never had a more productive trip for the quality and quantity of images captured. There were only a few dives in the whole time we were there that were not incredibly special. It was rare if you didn't at least once on a dive spit your regulator out in amazement at what your guide had found hiding away and sometimes you had a never ending procession of willing models just lining up for your attention.

Despite all the incredible moments one does stand out more than the others. I'd never seen a Flamboyant Cuttlefish before this trip and they were top of my list of targets to film. I'd never in my wildest imagination expected to find their eggs hatching and the tiny juvenile cuttlefish starting to hunt only moments after birth. I got to spend maybe 20-30 mins watching and filming this incredible spectacle. The miracle of life happening right there before our eyes. It was one of those special moments that happen while diving that will live in our thoughts forever and we feel so privileged to have witnessed it.

It is certainly going to take a lot to beat our time in Lembeh. We're spending a week more or less off diving in the Philippines right now but our next destination just may be one of the only places in the world that could be a step up.

The Republic of Palau.

One things for certain and that's that we are going to have a hell of a time finding out!!

Cheers, Simon

Red Blue Ring Octopus??

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:45:46 PST

Hi All

Just a quick request. Has anyone seen or heard of a Red Blue Ring Octopus? I've seen beige and yellow before but never the colour in the photos posted below. If anyone has any info then I'd appreciate an email as I'm struggling to find out anything right now!

Bunaken Marine Park, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:08:29 PST

It's been almost 5 weeks since we left the Island of Bunaken. Christmas and New Year have come and gone, but due to a crazy schedule and severe internet connection issues I've not had time to give an update on our time there. Well here it is - better late than never!

The Bunaken Marine National Park was established in 1991 and has helped to minimise the threats to this unique area of high marine bio-diversity. Don't be fooled though - this is not a pristine environment. Fishing is still allowed inside the park boundary and the lack of shoaling predatory fish and other large predators appears to be a direct result. Blacktip and Whitetip Reef Sharks are present in small numbers, but appeared wary of divers. Some environmental damage is apparent in the park, but most of this is historical and when in excess of 20,000 people are dependent on the park's resources for their livelihoods you do need to take a pragmatic approach to what is and what is not possible in conservation terms.

On the plus side Bunaken has great vis and some of the most spectacular and healthy coral reefs you'll ever see. Ripping and sometimes bizarre currents can make diving here a challenge. You can be zipping along a wall only to come to a dead stop, be sent up or down and then thrown back down the wall from where you've just come. This is not uncommon, but on two occasions in particular we experienced the most intense upwellings and down currents we've ever known - literally seat of your pants diving!

So yes we enjoyed Bunaken. We enjoyed it a lot! But after 4 weeks we were overdue a move and ended up on the other side of the North Sulawesi peninsular diving in the Lembeh Strait. Now that's a story that will have to wait until another day..... :)

Ahhh the Maldives...

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:42:12 PDT

Ahhhhhh the Maldives, what a great place to Dive!

In two weeks we must have seen 40-60 Grey Reef Sharks, White Tip Reef Sharks, Juvenile Blacktip Reef and Nurse Sharks, Stings Rays of all shapes and sizes, Eagle Rays and had Manata Rays literally dancing over our heads. The fish life is just as prolific as I remembered it to be with huge schools of Jacks, Snappers, Fusileers and Triggerfish. Despite the virtually constant currents it is also a nice macro spot and we saw lots of different Flatworms, Nudi's and even Frogfish and a couple of Peakcock Mantis Shrimp.

Well the first leg of our trip is over, we're home for a week regrouping and sheltering from the rain then we're off again next week. Next update from Bunaken Marine Park, N.Sulawesi!

Oh Dear...

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:52:28 PDT

Well I just got home to the news that Tigress Productions (working for the BBC) have nicked a Shark Conservation Society idea and now plan to send Monty Halls up to Scotland towing around a rubber seal looking for White Sharks. Here's the link to the SCS release.

We're on the move....

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:57:07 PDT

Well the time has come and we've packed the dive kit, checked the camera gear, got lots of new gadgets to try out and we've even managed to fit a couple of T-Shirts into the suitcases!

We leave for the Maldives on Sunday at the start of a four month filming expedition taking in many of the hot spots of world diving. November will see us camped in the Bunaken Marine Park, N. Sulawesi before moving onto Lembeh in December. January we arrive in the Philippines where we will be filming around Puerto Galera before heading off to Palau for three weeks to experience its many iconic sites. Then to round it all off we head back west to the Caribbean where we are heading out to the Silver Banks to film and swim with the Humpbacks that congregate there from Feb-Apr each year.

It's by far the longest duration trip we've ever undertaken and all this with Gracie who turned 1 last weekend! I'm sure there will be a few ups and downs, but really how many downs can there possibly be? :) Time and internet connection permitting I'll try to post some photos and video to keep you all updated to what we've seen on our travels....

Cheers, Simon

Climate Change

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 06:56:04 PDT

As part of the research for our next broadcast length film I've been reading up extensively on climate change scenarios and it's pretty scary stuff. Here are some facts that may make you sit up and think:

Lets get this straight from the start. All the talk of stopping Climate Change has ceased. If you listen carefully all the talk now is of limiting Climate Change and the mitigation of the more extreme realities that it will bring. Climate change is happening right now. Earth has had wild fluctuations of climate in the past but the main difference here is that man has no historical record of this experience because our history spans only a few millennia. The last time man was around and there was a major climate shift in pre-history, humans were very nearly wiped off the face of the planet and the entire human population could have been reduced to only a few hundred individuals.

At the upper estimate our Climate could increase by 6 degrees centigrade over the next century. The last time that there was that much variation in our climate was during the last Ice Age when the earth was 6 degrees colder and ice sheets a kilometer thick covered Europe and North America. Imagine what a 6 degree increase could do.

There is a lot of talk about reducing carbon emissions (the main driver for climate change) and returning them to a level that will slow the rate of change to allow our planet and us in particular to adapt to the new world that we will live in. In the real world carbon emissions are actually increasing, but not only that the rate of increase is actually accelerating!

A recent article suggests that Earth's sea level rise has been greatly underestimated over the long term. With the carbon we already have pumped into our atmosphere sea levels will eventually come into equilibrium 25 meters higher than they are today. 25 meters. As divers we know exactly how deep, or how high 25 meters is and its a scary proposition.

These are just a few snippets from a long list of predictions. Some of them could be accurate and some will undoubtedly be wide of the mark. One thing is for certain though - things are going to change and it wont be in some distant future: we will be sitting right there in the front row experiencing it in our lifetime. Makes you think eh?

You Tube Channel

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 08:05:39 PDT

Hi all

Just to let you know that we've resurrected our You Tube channel. You can find some of our old favorite videos there, but I've also just uploaded a couple of short films that have not even made an appearance here or on our main website yet!

View from the Blue You Tube Channel

Cheers, Simon

Sharks in British Seas Trailer!

simon.spear@viewfromtheblue.me.uk (Simon Spear) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:15:11 PDT

For anyone who has not seen it yet on our main website, here is the Trailer for our DVD 'Sharks in British Seas' available now from www.elasmofilms.com

Sharks in British Seas