THE DAILY WHALE... WITHOUT TURNING ON YOUR COMPUTER!

If you enjoy The Daily Whale, why not grab one of my new Whale Swim wall calendars for 2011?

Featuring 12 spectacular images of humpback whales both above and below the surface, the calendar makes a great gift for yourself... or with our special early release, there's plenty of time to get them in the Christmas mail to friends and family at home or overseas.

The first 20 customers will also receive a free set of 3 whale greeting cards with their order, so click here to visit the shop and order yours today!

THE DAILY WHALE #003

It's always amazing to pop your head below the surface and see one whale... but on this day, off-shore at the northern end of Hunga Island, we were lucky to encounter a pod in the clearest water I have seen... all I wished for was a wider lens... five whales was the most I could fit into the one frame!

Southern Humpback pod (Megaptera novaeangliae) off Hunga Island,
Vava'u Group, Kingdom of Tonga

View the location in a larger map

UNREMARKABLE ANGLE OF ULURU
I've reproduced here my response to Ken Duncan's video post over at the Arts Freedom website regarding the ever-growing restrictions facing photographers at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

Arts Freedoom is a non-profit body fighting for the legitamte rights of photographers to have fair access to photograph Australia.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is a magnificent place. But on my last visit I found the ever-changing restrictions SO frustrating that instead of experiencing the sense of reverence I'd felt on previous visits, I just drove around with a heavy heart, and left earlier than planned. As a photographer my skill is to interpret my subjects, not just snap pictures. The so-called "Ulurules" have taken away all photographers abilities to create images with their own personal style.

As for the commercial nature of photography at these places... I find it most frustrating that people who flaunt the rules and sell images of Uluru without permits are unfairly benefiting from my (and others) compliance, as there seems to be no policing of the regulations (how could you?) after the images are taken. Effectively many clients won't wait the period of time required to have a usage approved, so instead of buying from legitimate sources, they go to a provider somewhere else in the World that doesn't get the use checked, and probably doesn't even know the rules exist. In effect doing the right thing restricts my trade.

And then as a further insult, I see TV promotions for the last Winter Olympics featuring TV 'personalities' skiing down a snow-covered Uluru. Now that is disrespectful. But I'm not allowed to use my creative skills to produce an image that puts Uluru into its real context of the surrounding desert landscape... except from prescribed places that are totally inappropriate to photograph from.

After deciding to leave early last visit, I was driving the Lasseter Highway on my way back from a morning of frustration on the bouncing Kata Tjuta viewing platform. I was chronically in my mind how it was, that as an Australian photographer, I could have become so unwelcome in my own country. I was contemplating the 'damage' I would be causing if I was to wander the dunes with carefully chosen steps and my simple tripod. As I came 'round one of the few bends on that road, I saw a herd of feral camels moving through the dunes, eating-up the desert plants as they went. I wondered if the camels had read the Regulations attached to The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act; and more practically, why the heck the Rangers weren't bothered in protecting the National Park from this blatant damage. Maybe they would only act if the camels carried tripods.

I'm fortunate enough to have photographed the place over many years, including at a time when a Photography Permit meant you got assistance from the Rangers, not just a pre-recorded lecture. I have seen this remarkable place from many angles. Sadly the current angle is unremarkable.

Darren Jew AIPP M. Photog
2010, 2009, 2007 Canon/AIPP Australian Science, Environment and Nature Photographer of the Year

Is the sun setting on photography at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park - Living cultural landscape?

CANON/AIPP 2010 AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS ANNOUNCED

At the Annual Canon/AIPP Australian Professional Photography Awards Dinner in Melbourne last Monday night, I was very proud to be recognised as the 2010 Canon/AIPP Australian Science, Environment and Nature Photographer of the Year. In it's 34th year, the 2010 APPAs again attracted a record number of entries from all sectors of Australia's professional photographic community.

This is the third time (previously in 2007, 2009) that I have taken out the category, and was also presented with the AIPP honour of Master Photographer.

The Canon APPA's Science, Environment and Nature category was once again gratefully supported by photographer's carry bag company Lowepro, through their Australian distributor Maxwells.

A full list of winners from the various categories can be seen at the APPA web site.

THE DAILY WHALE #002

Bringing the terrestrial and marine worlds together in one image is something I like to do... it's always a challenge, even in the shallow, sheltered waters of a coral lagoon.

So in deep open water - even on a calm day - the wind, surface chop and 30 tonnes of whale can sure add to that challenge.

Southern Humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae) near Ovaka Island,
Vava'u Group, Kingdom of Tonga

View the location in a larger map

THE DAILY WHALE
Here's the first of what I hope will be many editions of The Daily Whale, a periodical pick-me-up for anyone with an affinity for the sea.

I've been in the water with bottlenose on a number of occassions (and it's always a blast) but this was the first time I'd seen them underwater unexpectedly. On all previous encounters, I'd first seen the dolphins from a boat then dropped into the water... knowing full-well I may or may not see a dolphin, let alone have everything come together well enough for a photograph. This day however... I was hanging on the surface above Lighthouse Bommie, waiting for manta rays to swim by (if the winds and tides are right, manta rays sometimes call in at Lighthouse to be "cleaned") when on the edge of visibility I made out the shapes of the approaching pod. After spluttering a "dolphins" call to my assitant Jen, I was able to watch as they glided by, acknowledging me with a glimpse and a lazy roll, before disappearing. Wow. They were the last thing I expected to see that day.

Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) passing over Lighthouse Bommie,
Lady Elliot Island Great Barrier Reef, Australia

WHALESWIMMING IN LESS THAN 5 MONTHS
My two WhaleSwim Photo Tours for this coming season are filling fast.

At this moment, the first trip (8-18 September) is full, but we still have some space on the second trip 22 September - 2 October 2010.

Details are available here on the Whaleswim site or if you want further info, drop me a line or contact WhaleSwim for details / bookings.

DESERT DAYS - NAMIBIA

After spending weeks immersed deep in the blue of the Pacific Ocean, next stop was red; days amongst towering red sand dunes in the Namib Desert and then immersed again... this time in the daily lives of the wildlife of Etosha National Park.

Another photo guiding assignment, this time for Darran Leal's specialist photo tour company Safariwise Australia.

My group of six: John and Pip, Clinton, Sandy, Wendy and Jane were great companions as we crossed Namibia in search of classic African landscape, wildlife and culture. Our local guide Neil showed as the best opportunities Namibia had to offer and his fabulous staff Samuel, Simson and Malakia looked after our every need back at camp.

Our route took us first Southward to the dunes of the Namib Desert; West to the coastal towns of Walvis Bay and Swakopmund for fantastic seabirds, fur seals and dolphin encounters; North to the waterholes and wildlife of Etosha; then East into the Kalahari Desert to visit the San Bushmen.

You can browse a web gallery featuring around 100 of my images from the trip via this link.

WHALES SWIM / EARTH MOVES IN LATE SEPTEMBER, VAVA'U GROUP

September was whale month, and in a previous post I linked to a web gallery featuring images from the first of my two Whaleswim Photo Tours in Tonga.

I've now posted a second gallery, with images captured with my second group of whaleswimmers; Jann, Phillipa, Bridget from Australia; Bob from Alaska; Ryan and Cam from the middle of Canada.

Along with additional whale images this new gallery link also includes a few images of the surge effects seen in the Vava'u Group's Port of Refuge harbour at the time of the earthquake and tsunami. The event coincided with low tide, so resulted in the "tide" pushing in all the way to the high water mark, then retreating again to low water mark at a rapid rate. This complete ebb and flow of the tidal range happened 4 times in 15 minutes, but never threatened above the usual maximum sea level. The photographs show the massive turbulence created as the incoming water tries to enter through the neck of the harbour, and also close-ups of the cascading flow over the shallows, close to shore. There was damage to a couple of jetties outside of the harbour, but in Vava'u no major damage or injury was reported. After a slight delay to our morning departure, we had a great day swimming with whales!

I'm looking forward to next season's trips already. The excitment has been fueled by the new BBC Series "Life" that features fabulous aerial and underwater sequences of the Tongan humpbacks during their aggressive "Heat Runs", when numerous males compete for mating rights. The BBC enlisted the help of our local skippers Alaister and Ali to help capture the amazing footage. A video preview of the episode can be seen here.

So if you're thinking of joining us on a Whaleswim Adventure in Tonga during 2010, go to this page on the Whaleswim site for more details (look for "Photography Small Group A and B").

DON'T SCUTTLE THE CUTTLE!
In June this year I spent some time with the Cuttlefish of the upper Spencer Gulf, near Whyalla in South Australia for Travelling in Australia magazine and the South Australian Tourist Commission. These amazing creatures aggregate here in mid-Winter to mate and lay their eggs amongst the shallow reefs of an isolated stretch of rocky coast.

BHP have proposed building a desalnation plant to aid in the expansion of their Olympic Dam Uranium Mine in an area near to the Cuttlefish aggregation site. Concerns have been raised by visiting scientists from both Australia and abroad, that the hypersaline outfall from the proposed plant will impact on this unique yearly event, the only known Giant Cuttlefish breeding aggregation in the World.

If you would like more information about the proposed plant, the issue was recently featured on the ABC's Catalyst program, and the story can be viewed here.

So cuttlefish are in the news at the moment... one of the images I captured on that shoot features on the cover of the October 2009 Issue of Australian Geographic magazine.

CANON/AIPP 2009 AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS ANNOUNCED

At the Annual Canon / AIPP APPA Awards Dinner last night in Sydney, I was very proud to be recognised as the 2009 Canon/AIPP Australian Science, Environment and Nature Photographer of the Year. In it's 33rd year, the 2009 APPAs attracted a record number of entries from all sectors of Australia's professional photographic community.

This is the second time (previously in 2007) that I have taken out the category. My winning portfolio included 1 Silver Award, 1 Silver with Distinction, 1 Gold and 1 Gold with Distinction.

The Canon APPA's Science, Environment and Nature category was again gratefully supported by photographer's carry bag company Lowepro.

You can visit the AIPP's web site to see where the Canon APPA Exhibition can be seen, and to order the 2009 Awards Book.

2009 QPPAs
The AIPP's Queensland Professional Photography Awards were judged during April. This year I entered the Documentary Category with 4 images from Papua New Guinea. My prints received 2 Silver Awards; 1 Silver with Distinction; and my top scoring print, Passing Dugout, received a Gold. The aggregate of the these scores was not quite enough to win me the category, that honour going to Andrew Porfyri and I came in Runner-up. Andrew's Documentary portfolio also won him the title of Queensland Professional Photographer of the Year. You can see all the results here

STRATA OPENS
As part of Tasmania's "Ten Days on the Island" festival, curator of The Wilderness Gallery, Tracy Thomas, has brought together the work of thirteen photographers in a group exhibition that "explores the nexus between tradition and innovation using handmade paper as a foundation for modern photographic printing techniques".

For my contribution to Strata, I collaborated firstly with ngatu (tapa cloth)-makers Melene Tonga and Paulene Tonga from Nu'kalofa, and together with Jared Wise from printing company Photoline in Brisbane, I produced three large, one-off prints on this traditional fibre.

The images were all shot during my Aurora Expeditions trip to Papua New Guinea in April/May last year. Two of the finished tapas are approx 700mm x 1500mm, whilst the third is approx 2800mm x 1300mm.

Strata opened yesterday, 20 March 2009 and will continue until 17 July.

OILS is OILS
On Saturday 14 March 2009, I chartered a helicopter and flew Moreton Island's east coast to see how the beach was coping with the estimated 200,000 litres of oil spilled from the cargo vessel Pacific Adventurer in rough seas off southern Queensland three days earlier.

Of added concern to the ocean off southern Queeensland are the 31 shipping containers full of ammonium nitrate fertiliser that toppled off the ship during the incident. The Australian Navy minehunter HMAS Yarra has been called in to help search for the rogue containers.

The offending ship's Captain has had his passport confiscated pending investigation. See an animation of how the incident unfolded on the Maritime Services QLD website.

You can see the track the chopper took thanks to a great little App called GPS Kit on my new iPhone.

JUST HAD TO GET THIS THING AMONGST THE FISHIES
Here's a video from my new Canon EOS 5D MkII.
Here's a link to a higher resolution version on the Vimeo site,
where you can also read the background to the clip.

TAWALI - PNG dive heaven
After disembarking from Svetaeva, I met up with friend and dive buddy Rusty Lee on the streets of Alotau. Rusty had flown in from the his home in the south west of Western Australia to spend a week with me diving at Tawali on Milne Bay.

Only accessible by boat, Tawali sits on rainforest-clad ridge overlooking turquoise waters. Some of PNG's best diving is within easy reach of the resort, and week at Tawali revolves around diving, diving and more diving.

The local waters offer some fantastic critter and muck diving, as well as some superb reefs attracting pelagics, walls covered in seafans, and extensive sponge gardens.

My particular favourite dive sites were Wahoo Point and Deacon's, but all the sites I dived offered fantastic opportunities.

CRUISING PAPUA NEW GUINEA
I was asked by Aurora Expeditions to cover their inaugral voyage through the waters of PNG during April of 2008.

Our departure point was to be Rabaul, so I arrived a few days early to dive some of the World War II wrecks in the area, a legacy of the Japanese occupation in the '40s. I chose to dive with the folksÊ from Kabaira Dive and they were fantastic. With local divemaster Richard I dove a Japanese Zero plane wreck and the water carrier Iwate Maru in Simpson Harbour; George's wreckÊ and a drop on sponge Wonderland outside the harbour, close to Kabaira.

Tavurvur volcano, part of the Rabaul caldera, decided to put on a show during the days I was in town.ÊThe expedition staff arrived just in time for all the excitment, but alas the eruption put paid to the arrival of the passengers, as volcanic ash closed the airport.

So with a lot of phone calls and emails from Expedition Leader Greg Mortimer and his staff, and much patience from the passengers stuck in the four corners of PNG by rescheduled flights, the decison was made to meet the group in Kavieng.

From Kavieng, our ship Marina Svetaeva headed across the Bismark Sea to the Sepik River, then down the northern coast of PNG to our final port, Alotau.

Along the way we snorkelled abundant reefs, visited remote island villages, met beautiful people, and made lasting friendships.

Stay tuned for some more images from this wonderful trip

FOCUS - BACK ON TRACK IN 2009
After nearly a year of neglect, you'll start to see more regular blog updates starting this month. 2008 was a year of bouncing from one pillar to the next post, so over the next couple of weeks I'll bring the last year into Focus.

NEW LADY ELLIOT IMAGES
My Summer 2006/07 visit to the Great Barrier Reef island of Lady Elliot was most about turtles, shooting for Tourism Queensland.

During March 2008 I revisited this gem of the reef with a broader focus. Lady Elliot represents southern Great Barrier Reef at its best, with clear water, interesting coral reef communities, and heaps of fish, big and small. The diving offered by the resort is straight-forward with three boat dives (5-20 min rides) per day and great snorkelling off the beach.

Here are a few of the images captured in March, and I hope to have an extended selection in my database shortly.

PALM ISLAND WORKSHOP FEATURES IN AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHY
Grab a copy of the March '08 edition of Australian Photography magazine, and you'll find an article featuring last year's FujiFilm/Red Cross photo workshop that I was involved in on Palm Island. The article includes interviews with Fuji's Kevin Cooper, photographer Toni Fuller and myself, along with some of the participant's photographs.

2007 APPA AWARD WINNERS IN BRISBANE
On my visit to Tasmania last November I was able to drop in on the 2007 APPA Travelling Exhibition. The show includes all the Category Winners' portfolios along with the highest scoring individual prints. From Hobart the show moved on to North Queensland, and is in South-East Queensland now.

You can visit the show until 17 February 2008 at Garden City Shopping Centre, cnr Logan and Kessels Rds, Upper Mt Gravatt.

For the full schedule of exhibition locations and dates visit the AIPP web site.

MINKES OF ALL SIZES GETTING THE CHOP
Crew members on the Australian Government's surveillance ship Oceanic Viking have taken photographs and video footage of the Japanese whaling fleet hauliing an adult minke and a calf on board the Nisshin Maru.

The Japanese authorities from the Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR) claim the two whales "are not related to each other" and that their science programme requires random sampling of the minke population, hence whales of all sizes are being killed.

The story is being quite widely reported in the world's media. Here's a link to one report.

Australian Customs Service photograph.

JOIN ME WITH THE WHALES IN TONGA
This coming September/October I'll be working with WhaleSwim Adventures in the Kingdom of Tonga, guiding their two special humpback whale Photography Tours. I first worked with WhaleSwim in Tonga over the 2001 and 2002 seasons, and I can't wait to return to this remarkable place and spend more time in the company of whales.

WhaleSwim are operating a total of 16 tours in the 2008 season, with two catering specifically for photographers. With boat and crew, guides, and group size (5 guests only) all designed with photographers in mind, these two trips ensure the maximum possible opportunity for great in-water encounters.

The Photography Tour dates are 12-22 September and 26 September-6 October 2008. Drop me a line if you want some more info or contact WhaleSwim for bookings.

CANON REFUSES TO CONDEMN WHALING
Environmental organisation Greenpeace has written to Mister Fujio Mitarai, the CEO of Japanese camera manufacturer Canon, urging the company to sign a statement condemning the Japanese whaling program. Mister Mtarai has refused to sign the statement.

Canon is one of the world's best-known users of wildlife in their brand marketing. Since 1981 Canon has run full-page advertisements in National Geographic magazine entitled "Wildlife as Canon Sees it", featuring endangered animals around the world, and the company receives much kudos as a Conservation Partner of global environmental organisation WWF.

It's disappointing that Canon won't stand up for the wildlife it uses so publicly to further its market position.

You can send your own letter to Mister Mitari urging him to help save the whales here

Image © Greenpeace

HUGE TURTLE FOUND ON BUSY ROAD
Well, huge picture of turtle found next to busy road to be precise.

Around this time in 2007 I was busy shooting turtle season on the Great Barrier Reef, and the resulting images have been used extensively in magazine and press ads, brochures etc by my client, Tourism Queensland.

One such recent use was this "super site" billboard on Sandgate Road at Albion, an inner-Brisbane suburb. The site's promoting the Southern Barrier Reef and the tagline reads "Where you're greeted with outstretched arms".

REEF CULTURE 4 HITS THE STREET
If you're into things marine, you might want to check out Reef Culture magazine. Issue 4 has just been released and contains some great articles on topics ranging from ocean conservation to diving with sharks in PNG; marine wildlife rescue to keeping predators in marine aquariums. I have a few images featuring in this issue, including the cover; a bommie off Lady Elliot Island featured as a double-page spread; and a number of fish ID pics in the predator article.

ex-HMAS BRISBANE
Last Saturday I had a couple of dives on the ex-HMAS Brisbane. The ship was sunk to create an artificial reef and dive site off Mooloolaba, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. She lies in 27 metres of water and in the two years since she came to rest upright on the sand, many species have taken up residence.

My buddy for the dive was Chantal Dunbar, Managing Editor of Travelling in Australia magazine, which is featuring the Brisbane as one of ten great Australian dives in their next issue. The folks from SCUBAWORLD looked after us for the day.

SEE THE 2007 APPA AWARD WINNERS
On my recent visit to Tasmania I was able to look in on the 2007 APPA Travelling Exhibition. The show includes all the Category Winners' portfolios along with the highest-scoring individual prints. From Hobart the show moves on to North Queensland, and will be in South East Queensland in the New Year. For the full schedule of exhibition locations and dates visit the AIPP web site.

SIX DAYS IN TASMANIA
At the kind invitation of the AIPP in Tasmania, last weekend I spoke at the annual Photo Festival held at the Salamanca Inn in Hobart. After that, Tasmanian photographer Ian Wallace and I had a couple of days diving with Mick and Karen at Eaglehawk Dive Centre. This was my first foray into temperate Tasmanian waters, and I really enjoyed the 3 dives. The first day was a great introduction in good conditions at Deep Glen Bay, with gardens of bull kelp, some co-operative Weedy Sea Dragons and reasonable visibilty.

The second day we ventured into Fortesque Bay, hoping to capture the giant kelp forests for which the Tasman Peninnsula is famous. These once-widespread underwater forests, that can grow to a height of around 30m high in places, are in decline as waters warm, water quality changes and invasive species migrate into Tasmania. The area of forest in Fortesque Bay is much-reduced, and unfortunatley very low light levels and poor visibilty made quality shooting too great a challenge! I hope to return to Tassie in the cooler, clearer months next year, hopefully this will not be too late to see a Giant Kelp forest in all its glory.

PALM ISLAND PERSPECTIVES
In early November I was involved in an Australian Red Cross photo workshop project on Palm Island, an indigenous community off Townsville in North Queensland. Kevin Cooper and Amanda Suefong from FujiFilm Australia, Master Photographer Toni Fuller and myself ran the week-long workshop for a group of 12 enthusiastic youths.

Being invited into the community and asked to mentor these young people was a real honour. We saw some great images produced over the week, and the final day's presentation at the local PCYC was a real hit with participants' families and the other community members who attended.

I'd like to thank Kevin from Fuji for inviting me to be part of the event; Walbira Murray from the Australian Red Cross for making it possible; the participants for their enthusiasm and respect; and to the Palm Island community and its leaders for welcoming us so warmly.

The pics down the right hand side of the composite below were taken by the group and you can see more of the images they captured during the workshop at Fuji's ProGalleries.

Listen-in this Wednesday 28th November 07 at 7.30pm when Kevin speaks to Murray Wilton on Radio 2GB about the Palm Island workshop.

35 DAYS IN TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND
From rainforests to reef, outback to islands - September was a whirlwind of photography across the Tropical North, on a shoot for Tourism Queensland. Under water; in the air; on the beaches; smiling faces; sweeping panoramas; experiences only the North can offer. With a great team - TQ's Producer Geri Purcell; my assistant and NQ locations expert Rob Richardson; with Scott Mcquade as leading man, and Rebecca Ward, Karin Sharpe and Nyree McKenzie sharing the other side of the camera - we criss-crossed the north in cars, boats, planes and helicopters, capturing thousands of images to boost image stocks for campaigns, promotions, collateral material and the Tourism Queensland photo library. Here's a small sample...

DANGEROUS TIMES AHEAD FOR HUMPBACKS!
NOV 2007 As the Japanase whaling fleet readies for its 2007-08 summer voyage into the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, it is timely to remember this season's hunt will see around 1000 minkes, 10 fins plus (for the first time in recent years) 50 humpback whales, killed by harpoon. The humpbacks under threat are possibly the same indviduals we have been watching migrate along the coasts of Australia this season, maybe even the ones seen just yesterday (12 Nov) in Sydney Harbour. Most of these whales are now accustomed to friendly boats, having interacted with the whale watching fleet for the last 20 years or so, which may make them easy pickings.

IFAW (the International Fund for Animal Welfare) has launched a new STOP WHALING web site, with heaps of information about the issue and detailing ways you can help stop the slaughter in the Southern Ocean.

JAN 2007 Confrontation on the high seas is inevitable as Japan once again continues its whaling program deep in the Southern Ocean this Summer. Seashepherd Conservation Society's Captain Paul Watson is there again aiming to put his vessel, the Farley Mowat, between whalers and their targets -- which this season are expected to be up to 935 minke whales and 10 fin whales. Original planning to also take humpbacks, it seems they won't be back on the menu 'til next Summer.

Australia's Environment Minister Ian Campbell yesterday announced that he has closed Australian ports to Japanese vessels involved in whaling operations, which is a welcome (albeit long overdue) measure.

May 2006 JAPAN killed over 800 MINKE Whales in the Southern Ocean this past 2005-2006 Austral Summer. Next Summer they plan to increase the kill numbers, and add HUMPBACK and FIN whales to their list of target species. Visit Greenpeace and Seashepherd, where you can add your support to the anti-whaling efforts.
Don't let these guys become next summer's whale-burgers!

PICTURES AND SENSITIVITIES
If you've been here before, you might have noticed I'm a big Missy Higgins fan, which reveals me as a sucker for a good lyric (hey Missy, congrats on this year's ARIA).

Well, talking about girls that can write and sing a great lyric, my American favourite Natalie Merchant has recently posted an interesting series of photographs on her site. They were shot on September 10th 2001 and were to be used as cover art on her then-upcoming album Motherland. In the post Natalie describes the circumstances of the shoot and why the pics and cover design were shelved by her record company. Check out the story here.

If you enjoy looking at the pics and listening to the song, you can see and hear another great version of it, this one performed by Irishman Christy Moore, here on youtube. You might also like to visit the unofficial Natalie fan site.

2007 ANZANG AWARDS ANNOUNCED
Congratulations to the Winners and place-getters in the recently contested ANZANG Nature and Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards.

A record number of entrants ensured a high quality field of photographs, and the awarded images are testiment to each photographer's dedication and passion for their subjects.

Two of my entries were Highly Commended, and will be included in the 2007 ANZANG book and travelling exhibition. Check out the ANZANG website for exhibition dates. This year's book is being published by CSIRO and will be available at leading bookstores soon.

My first Highly Commended image was in the Threatened Species Category and was shot on Heron Island under the full moon in early March this year. It was captured just after midnight on one of my most memorable nights on the Great Barrier Reef, and features a female green turtle returning to sea after laying her clutch.

The second Highly Commended was entered in the Black and White section, and was shot under blustery conditions at Graville Harbour on Tasmania's wild west coast.

SEALS ON SHOW
UnderWater World at Mooloolaba on Queensland's Sunshine Coast has opened a new speciality shop featuring all things sealy, including a new range of my seal and sea-lion images from around the world. Available as matted prints, the range includes Cape Fur Seals from Namibia, Leopard and Weddell Seals from Antarctica, Antarctic Fur Seals and Elephant Seals from South Georgia and of course our magnificent Australian Sea-Lions. The new shop is located right next to the seal display, so call in during your next visit.

PALMA AQUARIUM OPENS
Last month on the Spanish island of Majorca, Palma Aquarium opened for business. The latest marine park developed by Coral World International this state-of-the-art facility takes visitors on a journey from the Mediteranean Old World, across the oceans to the tropical seas of the New World.

I've worked with two other Coral World parks, AQWA and Maui Ocean Center, having published souvenir books, postcards and created promotional images. At Palma I've provided a number of images for large display murals (some up to 3mx9m long) throughout the facility, as well as content for multi-lingual educational touch-screens. I've also published the park's postcard range, and they are stocking a range of my Open Edition Matted Prints in the gift shop.

Design and construction of Palma Aquarium was overseen by Dean Lee, now of Blue Sea Australia. Dean has been kind enough to provide the images of the park which you see below.

CURRENT STOCKISTS
If you want to see some prints in the flesh, why not try one of our stockists?

See more ...

MEETING MISSY
A real treat during my recent travels, a chance encounter with my favourite Aussie songstress Missy Higgins at a fabulous organic smoothie bar. She was as refreshing in person as she always seems in interviews. Her new album
On a Clear Night is charting well, and she has just announced that emerging Brisbane artist Kate Miller-Heidke will be joining her on three of her current tour dates in regional Victoria.

These pics are available from Missy's website.

ANTI SHARK-FINNING PETITION
The practice of shark finning (where sharks have their fins cut off while still alive and are thrown back in the water to die) is brutal, wasteful, and often, illegal. You might have read about it here or a web search for shark finning will show you in mere minutes how terrible the practice is.

Please show your support for the world's dwindling shark populations by signing this petition against Alibaba.com, one of largest online traders of shark fins. Signing the petition takes less than a minute and requires only your name, e-mail address, and geographic location. You can also protect your privacy by showing yourself as "anonymous," if you wish.

I was alerted to the petition by Eric and the folks at Wetpixel.com

BACK FROM THE KIMBERLEY
I'm back in Broome this morning, having sailed for 10 days along the Kimberley Coast. Here are a couple of pics to give you just a taste of the remarkable nature I've seen along the way. I'll update this page soon with more pics and a diary of the voyage.