SHARK BAIT

Professional underwater photographer Brandon Cole on assignment in Baja Mexico in October 2012. Trapped in a cage 30 feet under, he has come to Isla Guadalupe to photograph Great White Sharks, an endangered species, Man's monster from the deep.

I wonder if a 15 foot long Great White Shark finds this "deer in the headlights" look amusing. This is me, hard at work, waiting in a cage for Carcharodon carcharias to make an appearance. Sometimes sharks are already there, waiting for me when I submerge... other times, I must wait for hours, even days, for them to arrive on the scene. I've photographed great whites all over the world, and have a profound respect for them, a deep fascination with Ocean's apex predator. We invite you to browse our photographs of great white sharks on our main web site.

NEW GREAT BARRIER REEF PHOTOGRAPHY

Our new photo (QZ74125) of a Pink Anemonefish (Amphiprion perideraion) published on the front cover of National Wildlife Magazine. This "Nemo relative" lives in a symbiotic association with Magnificent Sea Anemone (Heteractis magnifica). Photographed on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, tropical Pacific Ocean.

New Australia photos are now available on our web site. Melissa and I really enjoyed exploring the Great Barrier Reef, the world's most famous coral reef, Earth's largest living thing. It had been a few years since my last photo expedition to the GBR, and I was happy to see healthy hard coral gardens, schools of tropical fish, sharks, and so much more. In addition to scuba diving along the Ribbon Reefs outside of Cairns, and on the remote Osprey Reef out in the Coral Sea, we photographed one of the top shipwreck dives on the planet, the SS Yongala, a magnet for marine life. Check out the exciting Yongala images, including aggregations of stingrays, and then take an helicopter flight with us to make aerial pictures. We are considering a follow up trip in the next year or two to encounter the dwarf minke whales. Please let us know if you have any projects for which you need dramatic marine photography from Australia. As always, we will be happy to help.

OCEAN ENCOUNTERS APP

 OCEAN ENCOUNTERS  We’re happy to announce our photo e-book app for the Apple iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, " Ocean Encounters ".

Join us in exploring beneath the waves. Enjoy close-up encounters with marine wildlife large and small (whales, dolphins, sharks, fish and invertebrates)... scuba dive down onto colorful coral reefs and through swaying kelp forests... and learn about the marine environment worldwide. 250 photos, "notes from the field", and a cool interactive map bring ocean adventure into focus like never before.

If you own one of the above mobile devices, visit the App Store today to download " Ocean Encounters " by using this link:

www.banzailabs.com/ocean

Please take a moment to write a review after you give it a test drive. User feedback is really important in helping to highlight quality apps from among the hundreds of thousands of things available on iTunes/App store.

WE RE-EMERGE FROM THE DEPTHS

RD2752-D. Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), calf playing above mother. Tonga, Pacific Ocean.

It has been a long time since we've posted... No excuses, but we do want to apologize. Lots has been happening above and below the waves, and we've many adventures and new photography to share, so hopefully we can be better bloggers in the new year! Stay tuned...

RA50070-Dv. Pelagic Thresher Shark (Alopias pelagicus). Philippines, tropical Indo-Pacific oceans.

NEW MAGAZINE COVERS

• qp1559-D, model released woman snorkeling over coral reef in Raja Ampat Indonesia on June 2010 cover of Tauchen Magazine
• qn0305-D, Northern Kelp Crab on July 2010 cover of Scuba Diving Magazine
• qh1209-D, Atlantic Sailfish feeding on sardines on July 2010 cover of Wildlife in North Carolina Magazine

NEW SELECTS PAGE ON WEB SITE

We've updated the Selects page on our web site, where you will find the above brand new underwater photo and other favorite marine images from our collection.

Above photo qp72613. Photo of Banggai Cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni) schooling in front of purple Magnificent Sea Anemone (Heteractis magnifica), high resolution digital capture made in North Sulawesi Indonesia. As you may imagine based on its striking looks, this tropical fish species is popular in the worldwide aquarium trade. It is bred successfully in captivity, but is still being captured in the wild. Its native range in the wild is very limited, and its population is now considered threatened as a result of perhaps a 90% decline due to intense collecting. Originally restricted to the Banggai Islands in Indonesia, it now is also found in two other areas off Sulawesi, probably the result of introduction by fish traders in the last decade. I photographed this in Lembeh Strait, 250 miles away, where they seem to be doing very well. In fact, I wonder if they are displacing native species. In 2007 it was proposed to protect this species under CITES, but Indonesia said no.

e: brandoncole@msn.com
w: www.brandoncole.com
t: 509-535-3489

MYSTERIOUS WHALE DIE-OFF

Alarming news about the Southern Right Whales (Eubalaena australis) in Patagonia, Argentina ( http://tinyurl.com/ybfppus ) where hundreds of these baleen whales have died for unknown reasons in recent years. We have photographed animals from this same population in Gulfo Nuevo on Peninsula Valdez. View our dramatic photos of southern right whales - underwater pictures of bus-sized adults and curious, playful calves; tail flukes at sunset; breaching shots; and more on our web site . Our collection of whale photography is one of the strongest in the world, with many species represented.

e: brandoncole@msn.com
w: www.brandoncole.com
t: 509-535-3489