ARTICLE ABOUT SCUBA DIVING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA CANADA

Here's one of our recent published articles, "Lords of the Fjords", featuring cold, deep diving in British Columbia from a shoot in February. This winter we will be busy in warmer climes!

http://www.scubadiving.com/advanced-adventure-fjord-diving-in-british-columbia?image=0

OCEANIC WHITETIP SHARKS IN EGYPT'S RED SEA

I'm currently in Istanbul, Turkey, on my way home from Egypt where I was photographing in the Red Sea, training my cameras on coral reefs, shipwrecks, and sharks. Front and center were oceanic whitetip sharks, like this beautiful creature with its attendant pilotfish bodyguards who ride in the slipstream of this open ocean wanderer.

This shoot wraps up a travel marathon stretching over three months, during which time I created new images of humpback whales in Tonga, great white sharks in Mexico, giant octopus in British Columbia, among many other critters large and small. I'm looking forward to taking a little breather til the end of the year, when we will once again take to the seas.

Safe and Happy Holidays to everyone,

Brandon and Melissa

PROTESTING THE TAIJI DOLPHIN HUNT

Just wanted to say thank you to Donna Cox and her daughter for demonstrating in front of the Los Angeles Japanese Consulate yesterday. Donna made a poster using one of our dolphin pictures and stood up for the dolphins of Taiji, Japan by demonstrating against the yearly slaughter of thousands of dolphins. Have you seen the excellent movie The Cove yet? You should. It's all about this atrocity. Visit here:

http://www.takepart.com/cove

UNDERWATER PHOTOS OF BRYDE'S WHALES

QF1080-D. Bryde's Whale (Balaenoptera brydei) has just gulped a mouth full of Pacific Sardines (Sardinops sagax) and with throat pleats still distended bumps into underwater photographer. Baja, Mexico, Pacific Ocean. Photo Copyright © Brandon Cole.

One of my luckiest and most memorable encounters at sea happened off Mexico's Baja peninsula years ago when searching for striped marlin. In addition to finding and photographing these rarely sighted billfish, we were surprised by Bryde's Whales. We witnessed an amazing spectacle, dozens of marlin (as well as sea lions, dolphins, and several Bryde's Whales) attacking baitballs of sardines and mackerel. The resulting photos, and the story behind this "trial of life" was first published in the National Geographic magazine, then subsequently featured in many other magazines around the world. The latest is National Wildlife, for sale at newsstands now. Friend and fellow marine photographer Doug Perrine, my dive buddy on the shoot, wrote this article and as always did a splendid job. The opening picture is one I made showing Doug bouncing off the snout of a Bryde's Whale. Additional pictures of mine illustrate the gulp feeding behavior of this speedy, relatively unknown baleen whale species. Check it out:

https://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Animals/Archives/2015/Brydes-Whales.aspx

To see additional underwater photos of Brydes Whales, visit our web site: http://tinyurl.com/odfurdn

To see pictures of Striped Marlin, click here: http://tinyurl.com/24r7gk7

 

ARTICLE ON SCUBA DIVING THE CAMPBELL RIVER AREA OFF BRITISH COLUMBIA'S VANCOUVER ISLAND

My wife and dive buddy Melissa Cole survived this brutal attack by a gang of juvenile Steller sea lions in British Columbia, Canada. Luckily I was on-hand to document the event. The account has just been published. We have thousands of exciting, beautiful, interesting pictures in our library just waiting to help you tell your story.

TRUK LAGOON PHOTO OF MELISSA COLE ON COVER OF DIVER MAGAZINE

Not only is Melissa a famous artist, she's a famous mermaid. Here is my much better half on another magazine cover. We created this photo in Truk Lagoon, the Graveyard of the Pacific, home to dozens of Japanese WWII shipwrecks. Exploring these ships inside and out was one of the most interesting and rewarding (and challenging) scuba diving photo assignments in nearly 20 years of swimming together. Thanks Melissa!
To see more pictures from Truk Lagoon, visit our web site:
http://tinyurl.com/qx9shmr

WHALES AT THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

If you are in the San Francisco area this year, be sure to swing by the California Academy of Sciences to see their new exhibit, Whales: Giants of the Deep. A few of our humpback and sperm whale photos are featured prominently.

http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/whales-giants-of-the-deep

EPIC PHOTO EXPEDITION TO INDONESIA

We have just returned from Indonesia's Ring of Fire and a month of adventure above and below the waves, scuba diving on the world's richest coral reefs formed by the active volcanoes surrounding us. Now that we have survived the Komodo Dragons, Chikungunya virus, sarcastic Sargassum Frogfish, the ripping currents of Watu Balu, etc... it is time to get to work editing the photos. Stay tuned.

PHOTOS OF DUGONGS AND DOLPHINS FROM THE RED SEA

From the wilds of the Egyptian Red Sea, I return. My last photo expedition was for dugongs and dolphins, and thankfully I succeeded on both fronts. Dugongs are similar to the manatees we have in Florida. They are large, gentle marine mammals which feed on seagrasses. Here's a picture of one happily vacuuming up the bottom, making quite a mess in the process. Phase two of my photography trip focused on spinner dolphins. Near a coral reef two hours from shore I snorkeled with a pod of about 40 as they interacted with each and lazed the afternoon away. Over the next few months I will be processing more pictures of Dugong dugon and Stenella longirostris, which will then be posted to our web site www.brandoncole.com

ELECTRIC REEFS

Happy New Year everyone! As this is the time to look head and be hopeful for a better, brighter future, we wanted to share an interesting photo and story with you. This shows Melissa swimming overtop an "electric reef" off the island of Bali in Indonesia. It's a man-made contraption on which super-charged corals are growing. Fast. Coral fragments from damaged reefs are attached by scientists to rebar frames constructed along shallow coastlines in the tropics. A low voltage electric current from onshore (some are powered by wind turbines and solar panels) feeds into the metal structure, accelerating coral growth. This technology is aiding in coral reef restoration efforts in areas hard hit by destructive storms and warm water events.

To see more of our pictures of these unique artificial reefs, jump to our web site:

photos of Bio Rock electric reefs

This image drew the attention of the Theo Westenberger Estate, who in celebration of their Art and the Environment Campaign has generously made a donation on our behalf to the NRDC, a leading environmental organization.

http://www.theowestenberger.com/

http://www.nrdc.org/