Ned and Anna DeLoach of BlennyWatcher have been studying the feeding habits on benthic ctenophores during their recent trip to Indonesia. These creatures, related to comb jellies, were thought to be plankton feeders, but have now been shown to be active and voracious predators, feeding on crabs, fish and even tube worms. (Images by Ned DeLoach/BlennyWatcher.com).
Author and illustrator Jennifer O’Connell has produced an illustrated book entitled The Eye of the Whale that tells the story of the remarkable rescue of a humpback whale entangled in line, as well as the whale’s remarkable and profound connection that it shared with its rescuers.
Software company Red Giant has launched a free beta (after a registration process) of their new BulletProof offload, prep and delivery solution app. The company cites it as being the bridge between shooting footage and editing.
When the June issue of National Geographic hits newsstands in a few days, readers will have a deeper view of James Cameron. At first glance the cover shot appears to be a standard underwater portrait. But the “Behind the Cover” story sheds some light on how it was captured.
Underwater photographer Bryant Austin specializes in life-size printed images of whales and has just released his first book, “Beautiful Whale.” Austin was recently interviewed on Forum with Michael Krasny.
13-year old Kyle Kelleher has produced a short claymation video to help bring awareness about the controversial delicacy of shark fin soup.
Whilst announcing a redesign of Flickr, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer claimed that the company wants “to make Flickr awesome again”. She went on to say that: “There’s no such thing as Flickr Pro today because [with so many people taking photographs] there’s really no such thing as professional photographers anymore,” although she acknowledged that there are photographers with “different skill levels”.
TechCrunch has published an article about Google’s ongoing project to add “Street View” style imagery from the underwater realm. Google’s recent I/O conference included a presentation from the Catlin Seaview Survey team, and details have been made public of how the team’s imaging scooters create the underwater mapping.
Shark Angels has launched a charity auction to raise funds for its conservation initiatives. The sale, which runs through until 11 June, includes diving trips, celebrity attendances at film premieres and a fashion shoot.
Businessman Sir Richard Branson hosted a conservation meeting of nine Caribbean governments last weekend. Held at the eco resort on Necker Island, the group discussed the “Caribbean Challenge”, which calls for special protected zones along at least 20 per cent of the region’s coasts by 2020. In addition, Branson said: “About 1.5m sharks and rays a week are killed for the Chinese fin and medicinal market. It is the biggest mass killing of any genus. The Caribbean leader here want to set an example by banning shark fishing.”