Expedition Photography:Recording the Journey

Storytelling and the ability to share one’s expeditions and discoveries are key elements to exploration. During the expeditions of early explorers, like Columbus and James Cook, paintings and drawings captured moments of discovery and hardships. An expedition artist was always brought along to document the journey. Once photography was invented, expedition photographers were brought to photograph these moments of discovery along with the daily life during the journey.


When I think of the seminal work of an expedition photographer, I recall Frank Hurley’s images from Shackleton’s Endurance Expedition in 1914. Through his images, one can get a sense of the desolation of being trapped in the ice and feel the cramped living quarters of the ship during the day-to-day operation. Once trapped in the ice, the images become more compelling as he continued to photograph the ship being crushed by the ice and life on the ice once the ship went down. These images bring the story to life and allow for a deeper connection than words alone. Photographs, like the early paintings, capture the intangible while bringing you into the moment.


Photography has come a long way and is now accessible to everyone and, for that reason, plays an even more important role in our expeditions and storytelling. As an explorer and expedition photographer, I am acutely aware that followers of my expeditions expect to see compelling images.

We now have the ability to bring people sitting on their couches along on the journey in real time. Through blogging and social media, viewers can experience expeditions in the most remote corners of the world through both still images and video, getting a sense of place as exploration happens. Because of this technology, we end up with an unedited version that captures moments and raw emotions rather than, as the explorer and photographer, we remember it once we are home. I think this is extremely powerful.


As a photographer, my camera is always with me on an expedition to catch that unexpected moment, but also to capture the everyday. Moments from an icicle hanging from a ship railing, to the first glimpse of sea ice when steaming north in the Arctic Ocean, or the science being conducted on board. All are documented in an effort to record the journey and share these precious moments from remote corners of the world.

More of Gaelin's photography may be found at Global Ocean Exploration's website, and follow along with her expeditions on Twitter @GaelinGOExplore!

Photo credits: Gaelin Rosenwaks' Arctic acidification expedition (all color photos), Frank Hurley's Antarctic expedition (black and white photos)

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Contributed by Gaelin Rosenwaks Founder/CEO Global Ocean Exploration New York, NY USA

Exploration Live!From the Deep Sea to Outer Space

Want to explore the depths of the ocean or the far reaches of the universe without leaving home? Researchers and explorers are increasingly offering ways to join their expeditions around the world in real time, no matter your location.

Thanks to video streaming from robots and submersibles and live videoconferencing with astronauts and aquanauts, all you need is an internet connection to experience first-hand the thrill of discovery!

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NAUTILUS LIVE

With a mission to bring the deep sea into homes and classrooms around the world, the Ocean Exploration Trust operates the E/V Nautilus in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Led by founder Dr. Robert Ballard, a rotating team of scientists guides expeditions from onboard the ship and through “telepresence,” allowing for researchers to collaborate from afar.

Video captured by ROVs streams to the Inner Space Center at the University of Rhode Island where it is examined and simultaneously broadcast live to the public. This month, the Nautilus is exploring seafloor ecosystems with active seismic and volcanic activity near the West Indies.

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NOAA OKEANOS EXPLORER

It may come as a surprise that some of this summer’s most popular reality television was streamed live…from the deep! The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration made a media splash with their expedition on the Okeanos Explorer off the coast of the Northeastern US, hooking tens of thousands of viewers.

With daily coverage and live analysis by biologists, geologists and oceanographers likened to sports commentary, NOAA succeeds in getting a whole new audience excited about their daily deep sea squid sightings.

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SLOOH SPACE CAMERA

Connecting land-based observatories to the internet, Slooh offers live broadcasts of events in space including spacecraft transits and asteroid and comet sightings. In 2011, Slooh’s footage of the total lunar eclipse was streamed live through Google, reaching billions of viewers, and this week streamed the fly-by of NASA’s Juno spacecraft on the way to Jupiter.

Making outer space even more accessible, Slooh engages a citizen scientist network to crowd-source broadcasts and recently released an iPad app allowing anyone to capture photos remotely using their observatory’s telescopes!

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NASA

NASA has also engaged a wider audience through live-streaming events from the International Space Station. Astronauts host Google+ Hangouts, fielding questions from viewers around the world, and even teach mini lessons about gravity and physics from the ISS.

On Earth, NASA recently partnered with privately funded Orbital Sciences to live broadcast their Cygnus rocket launch, carrying supplies to the ISS.

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With less than 5% of our world’s oceans explored and a whole universe outside of our planet, human exploration is at an exciting peak. Now, live streaming expeditions and events help make otherworldly landscapes accessible to anyone with an internet connection!

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Contributed by Samantha Wishnak Education and Outreach Coordinator Blue Marble Exploration Brooklyn, NY, USA

Student Explorer: Rebecca Ziegler

As a Blue Marble Exploration Student Explorer, Rebecca combines her lifelong enthusiasm for “the big blue” with the formal study of the world beneath the surface.

Currently a student at the University of Hawai'i-Hilo, Rebecca is working towards degrees in Marine Science and Communications. A PADI-certified Divemaster and AAUS Scientific Diver, Rebecca works as a research assistant and field-lab technician in the Marine Science department. Most recently she participated in a shark tagging field course and became a responder for stranded sea turtles on the Big Island. While not in the water, Rebecca leads fellow students on outdoor adventures around the island through her university’s student recreation program.

While in high school, Rebecca served as a Youth Ambassador for Scott Cassell’s Undersea Voyager Project, participating in a submersible pilot training program and learning new ways to explore the ocean. In 2011 her underwater footage of a baby Gray Whale taken while SCUBA diving in Laguna Beach, CA quickly went viral and was shown on media outlets around the country, launching Rebecca into the world of underwater filming and photography. This experience inspired her to start an online campaign to save the Aquarius Reef Base, resulting in a chance to dive to the base in person! Rebecca continues to use her passion for exploration to inspire her peers to get excited and take action to conserve the ocean.

Follow Rebecca's adventures on Twitter @BectheDiver or visit her website!


Getting to Know Rebecca Ziegler

1. Why do you explore? How are you continually inspired to explore?
   
   Ever since I was young my imagination has run rampant with adventures in unknown places, always wanting to see new things and experience the world. Besides watching shows or movies about far-off places, listening to the stories from people I meet from other countries keeps me driven to explore beyond my backyard. I have always loved being around the ocean, when it came time to pick a career, it seemed like a no brainer! The ocean is so vast, with so little of it explored and so much still to learn, I have jumped at any chance to get my feet wet.
   
   
2. Is there one expedition in your future towards which you are continuously striving?
   
   South Africa is currently on the top of my radar for future expeditions. I am hoping to do both a wildlife filmmaking program and a great white shark research internship there this coming summer. This will be the first time I will be in a new country, across the world by myself, and I can’t wait!
   
   
3. Do you have one piece of advice for other students who dream of exploring the ocean?
   
   My advice would be to challenge yourself to try something new whenever you can. Whether it be a new sport, hobby or even going on a club event, you never know who you will meet along the way, or what you will learn! I have learned the only things I have ever regretted are things I didn’t do. Get involved with any local dive clubs, aquariums, or beach cleanups. Stay updated on the latest in the underwater world and if your ocean hero is making a stop near your hometown for a conference- go see them! Introduce yourself, shake their hand, and don’t be shy. Step out of your comfort zone, dare to dream, and you might discover something new.
   
   
4. Who are your role models in exploration and why do they inspire you?
   
   My role models in exploration range from Her Deepness, Sylvia Earle, to Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his family’s legacy of ocean exploration. Their pioneering feats in the underwater world feed my hunger for pursuing my own adventures. But more personally my family, friends, and colleagues inspire me to dream, discover and explore the world around me.

Researching, Filmmaking, Exploring? There's a Sub for That!

In a vast ocean, the number of manned vehicles operating beneath the surface is very limited. Through my most recent expeditions funded by a National Geographic Young Explorer grant, I’ve learned that differences between subs allow each to serve as an ideal platform for research, exploration or filmmaking. These submersibles must conform to rigorous standards if they are to hold up against the varying temperatures and harsh pressures of the sea. Though all subs share the same few critical components including a pressure sphere (the cabin), life support systems, lights, and thrusters, each sub has unique characteristics and individualized operations. In a world of salt water, this keeps things fresh. Researching, filmmaking or collecting samples? There's a submersible for that!

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Antipodes -- Seattle, Washington, USA

In a five-person sub smaller than a minivan, you might not expect any more legroom than an airplane, but the submersible Antipodes is surprisingly spacious. This 305 meter-capable sub, operated by OceanGate, Inc, shares the same critical specifications as similar vessels, but has something no other sub can boast: twin hemispherical domes. When you are submerged for many hours, they serve two valuable purposes: visibility and comfort.

Crewmembers sit on opposing benches deep in the domes, surrounded on three sides by the ocean. Only an IMAX experience evokes a similar sensation of total immersion. Whether flying over a sweeping landscape or in close quarters with a shipwreck, the pilot can simply rotate the sub to achieve a better view. Antipodes is by far the most comfortable sub I have been in, with plenty of overhead space and legroom, allowing more researchers, cameras and crew to collaborate on a dive.

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CuraSub -- Curacao, The Caribbean

While similarly allowing five people to dive to the deep, CuraSub differs in operations and onboard science equipment. A custom-built private marina houses the sub, its support boat, and workshop, and makes diving almost as efficient as going for a swim. The insightful designer of SubStation Curacao developed a floating dock that hugs the sub and not only allows for the easy transfer of crew, but also has an extra safety net built in. Below the surface, a platform underneath the sub ensures that if any water were to accidentally splash into the sub, the sub would still be supported from below and would remain safe and sound on the surface.

While the efficiency of dives is one clear benefit, the science equipment the CuraSub carries makes it a workhorse for underwater research. As a research platform, the sub is outfitted with two manipulator arms and various external cameras. One of the manipulators doubles as a fish sampling device complete with a water-soluble fish anesthetic to collect animals without harming them. Though CuraSub is typically operated from one location, the local area is so vast there is a continuous stream of both geological and biological discoveries.

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Idabel -- Roatan, Honduras

Outside the realm of traditional subs is the painstakingly homebuilt submersible Idabel. My dive in Idabel took me deeper than I’d ever been before, to the bathyal zone. Far below the photic zone where sunlight hits, the bathyal zone ranges from about 500 meters to 6000 meters and is home to creatures that never ascend into the daylight. Many of these creatures are wildly abundant, but they are so unfamiliar to our terrestrial lives that they become fascinating and bizarre. The biology of the deep ocean is one of the most glamorous and exciting worlds and Idabel is particularly suited to facilitating high quality photography and filming of deep sea organisms. The front of the sub even has protective bumpers, allowing the pilot to press right up against a rock wall and pick up a sample or go for a close-up with a camera illuminated by the many lights installed on the sub.

The rarity of diving this deep, and knowing I was still scratching the surface of the ocean, made Idabel my most extraordinary dive so far. I always knew I wanted to go into the deep ocean, but I never realized how dramatically it would change my goals for diving in the extraordinary world below us. Idabel can reach the black and quiet world of the deep sea, Antipodes is the perfect platform for underwater collaboration between many dive participants and CuraSub is outfitted for the safe and efficient collection of samples and data. With every dive on a submersible, you know you’ll be getting a million-dollar view, but it’s the differences between subs that make them uniquely valuable.

Photo credits: Barry Brown (First photo), OceanGate,Inc. (Antipodes photo), Erika Bergman (all other photos)

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Contributed by Erika Bergman Emerging Explorer Blue Marble Exploration Seattle, WA USA

Summer of Shark Tagging:Field Notes from a Student Explorer

A normal week of the “Natural History of Sharks and Rays” class I took this summer at the University of Hawai'i-Hilo consisted of reading five scientific articles, a dissection in lab, and Friday nights out in the field tagging sharks. Those Friday nights were probably the most fun and rewarding I have had in school. We would spend a good four to five--and on one night even seven--hours baiting and tagging sharks in Hilo Bay.

We operated off two boats, the first being an 18-foot Larson fishing boat (the “base”) and the other a smaller 15-foot rigid inflatable (the tender). We measured the length, took a tissue sample, and tagged the sharks and rays on the inflatable as it is easier to manage and still keep the sharks in the water during the procedures. On a slow night we only had one juvenile oceanic blacktip shark, while on our busiest night we couldn’t check the lines fast enough!

Three of our catches stick out in my memory.

The first was the brown stingray that was about the size, if not larger, than a dining table! I have never seen a wild stingray that large, but she was a beauty!

The second catch I remember was the female sandbar shark that bit the boat. Just as we had her all calmed down (or so we thought) and ready to measure her length, she turned and bit the boat. When a shark bites an inflatable boat you can’t just yank it off unless you want to lose a chunk of the vessel. All you can do is wait until it decides to let go. After a few tense few minutes of listening to the air seep out, she tried to reposition her hold, and we were able to keep her from latching on again. Once the whole class stopped laughing at the ridiculousness of the whole thing, some duct tape was found and a basic patch was made.

My third memorable moment was one of our last outings. I was helping set the trotline out, when I felt a tug ... small, but definitely something there. My professor was skeptical, since the line wasn’t completely out and I was claiming we had a shark on the line. What felt like minutes ticked by as I pulled the line in. I was starting to second-guess myself, when I felt a definite tug and saw a small wriggling body slowly making its way to the surface. Circling just below the surface was the smallest baby oceanic blacktip I had ever seen. He was so young that the umbilical scar was still open! He was a little fighter, too. Instead of bringing him back to the rest of the class waiting on the Larson, we decided the less traumatic procedure would be to just work on him right there. One, two, three, and he was off, swimming away enthusiastically. We reset the line and made our way back to the rest of the class, still beaming from our encounter with the little guy we just released.

The sharks and rays class was the most reading-, studying-, and writing-intensive class I have ever taken, but also the most rewarding. For six weeks I was able to work with sharks, up close and personal. I learned more than I could have ever imagined, and I want to learn more. My "Summer of the Shark" was a memorable one for sure!

Follow Rebecca's adventures on Twitter @BectheDiver or visit her website!

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Contributed by Rebecca Ziegler Student Explorer Blue Marble Exploration Hilo, HI USA

Explorer-In-Residence: Scott Parazynski

Astronaut.
Physician.
Mountaineer.
Pilot.
Diver.

All of these titles apply to Scott Parazynski. As a Blue Marble Exploration Explorer-in-Residence, Scott keeps us thinking about the diverse challenges humans face in exploring extreme environments.

Over his 17-year career as a NASA Astronaut, Scott completed 5 Space Shuttle Missions and conducted 7 spacewalks. Mission highlights included participating in the first US-Russian spacewalk and serving as Senator John Glenn’s crewmate and personal physician. During Scott’s last mission in 2007, he ventured farther from the airlock than any other astronaut to perform a risky repair, a challenging spacewalk that was likened to an “Apollo 13 moment.”

In addition to exploring the extreme limits of space, Scott is an accomplished mountaineer, summiting Mt. Everest in 2009, as well as a lifelong SCUBA diver, conducting a NASA-sponsored expedition to the world’s highest lake in the Andes in 2005. With academic training at Stanford and Harvard, Scott’s expertise- perhaps unsurprisingly- focuses on human performance in stressful environments. Currently, Scott serves as Chief Medical Officer and Director of University of Texas Medical Branch Health Center for Polar Medical Operations focused on the US Antarctic Program, and as Chairman of the Board of the Challenger Center for Space Science Education.

Follow Scott's expeditions on Twitter @AstroDocScott or visit his website!


Getting to Know Scott Parazynski

1. Why do you explore? How are you continually inspired to explore?
   
   As the son of a rocket scientist – my Dad helped design the Saturn V boosters that first took men to the moon in the late 60’s and early 70’s – I was fascinated by everything to do with exploration as a kid. All the books I read had something to do with pressing the boundaries of human experience, from Lewis and Clark to Cousteau, Sir Roger Bannister to Yuri Gagarin, Mallory and Irvine to John Glenn and the Mercury 7. I wanted to be the first man to set bootprints down on Mars, and was bound and determined to make it come true.
   
   Although the space program took some different paths in the subsequent years and I didn’t get a chance to visit the Red Planet, I certainly have no regrets at the way things transpired! There’s so much more to discover, on, over and under our planet’s surface – and even within the human body itself.


2. Is there one expedition in the past or future that you consider to be the culmination of your career?
   
   My best day on the job – ever – was supporting the repair of a live solar array during Space Shuttle mission STS-120, while docked to the International Space Station. It’s a lengthy but exciting story to tell some other time, but being a part of a team that took on such a difficult task and succeeded, it just doesn’t get any better than that.
   
   In terms of future goals, I’d certainly love to visit Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench, the deepest part of our oceans. The technical and operational challenge of getting there is enormous. While 12 men walked on the moon, only two expeditions have successfully visited, and we have so much more to learn about our own oceans as we develop the technologies to repeatedly visit and characterize our uncharted ocean depths.


3. Most people think explorers are daredevils and risk-takers- how do you perceive risk?
   
   I approach risk with great respect. Although many would look at my life’s endeavors and conclude I’m a daredevil of sorts, nothing could be further from the truth. I recognize and prepare for risk in earnest. I do my best to understand the environment I’ll be working in, the technology I’ll need to rely upon, and then mentally and physically prepare myself to handle whatever might possibly go wrong when there. There’s an old adage that there are bold pilots and old pilots, but no old, bold pilots. The same can be said for astronauts, mountaineers and other high risk pursuits. Those with longevity probably took similar approaches, else were extremely lucky!


4. What are the greatest personal or professional challenges you face as an explorer?
   
   I’m naturally inquisitive and creative, and seek challenge in new and exciting environments like those found in space travel, the high mountains, the polar regions, in exotic lands and deep beneath our oceans. The greatest challenges are sometimes calming the nerves of one’s family and friends when heading off to the next big adventure…


5. Do you have one piece of advice for anyone of any age who dreams of exploring space or land or sea?
   
   Read all you can about those that came before you, and then set out on your own path. I’d certainly avoid the naysayers who’d imply that the path is too tough, or that there’s nothing left to explore or discover. Those without vision will hold you back, and they are just plain wrong… Finally, don’t get overly fixated on the summit, whether that summit is a true summit or just a lofty goal of yours, instead focusing on a series of steps that will eventually lead you to where you want to go. Any lofty goal can be intimidating and daunting when you first set out, but taking it one day at a time, one figurative rope length at a time, even a footstep at a time, makes it possible to achieve with tenacity and preparation.

Emerging Explorer: Erika Bergman

As a lifelong storyteller turned manned submersible pilot, Erika Bergman is inspiring a new generation of ocean explorers as a Blue Marble Exploration Emerging Explorer.

After studying chemical oceanography at the University of Washington, Erika worked as a diesel engineer aboard the tall ship S/V Lady Washington and as a steam ship engineer aboard the S/S Virginia V. Most recently, as a submersible pilot and engineer, Erika completed exploration, research and filmmaking sub dives in Washington, California, and Florida with OceanGate and ExploreOcean. An avid SCUBA and free diver, she spends most of her time underwater working with tools or behind the lens of her video camera.

Earlier this year, Erika was named a National Geographic Young Explorer and is thrilled to share manned submersible dives and discoveries with educators and students. Erika hopes to inspire enthusiasm for ocean awareness using direct observation and storytelling to make ocean concepts more familiar for a global audience.


Follow Erika's Expeditions

This week, August 19-25, Erika is embarking on her first expedition funded by a National Geographic Young Explorer grant, sponsored by Blue Marble Exploration. The first of two expeditions to explore deep reef corals in the Caribbean Sea, Erika will be diving along the southwestern shore of Curacao in the Curasub manned submersible.

Bringing the deep sea to the classroom, Erika will be hosting live Google+ Hangouts with educators and students and answering questions on Twitter @erika_bergman.

Expedition updates will also be posted to her blog, Deep Blue From Below and National Geographic's Explorer's Journal. Follow along as Erika explores the deep reefs of Curacao!