Shark Sucker

Beqa Lagoon, Fiji.  This past July I had the wonderful opportunity of traveling to Fiji and diving with the shark feeders of Beqa Lagoon.  To the people of Beqa, sharks are sacred spirits with whom they share a special relationship.  Divers visiting Fiji may accompany the islanders on a shark feeding for an up close and personal look at bull, silvertip, tawny nurse, blacktip reef, whitetip reef and tiger sharks.

The above picture is one of my favorite from the experience.  This is one of the Fijian divers ascending to the surface following the shark feeding.  The fish swarming around him are primarily remoras and rainbow runners, attracted to the remaining food in his feed bucket.   Ocean conditions were extremely excellent this day, offering top to bottom visibility at 100ft of water.  This is the kind of scene I can lurk in forever.  I never want to leave the blue on warm, clear days like this.

Big Sur Rattlesnake

Western Rattlesnake, Crotalus oreganus

Andrew Molera State Park, California. This past weekend I was out hiking near Big Sur with a group of friends from Monterey, and came across this western rattlesnake, Crotalus oreganus.  The poor guy was really upset to see us and not very cooperative in moving aside so we could pass. We were ascending the East Molera Trail in Andrew Molera State Park.  I encountered a second rattlesnake that afternoon on the Molera Ridge Trail.

Big Asilomar

Monterey, California.  Terrific storm systems have been moving through Monterey Country for the past couple of days, generating tons of rains, hail, lightening strikes and a really big swell.  The storm system, which is expected to persist for awhile, is believed to be a result of the strong El Niño event rocking our world this year.  Below is a little video footage from one our local surf breaks, Asilomar, maxing out at 35ft this morning.

Wild Climate

Merida, Mexico and Copenhagen, Denmark. In recent months I've been neglecting this blog, but am now jump-starting a new look and direction. In upcoming posts, you'll see an increased emphasis on a wilderness ethic and less of a day to day account of my activities. Instead, I'd like to present you with written and video dispatches from the field, some current and some from stock-piled footage that I've been sitting on for months. The important thing is to live wild - make this a celebration of the natural world around us. I hope you'll join me in this adventure.

Since you last heard from me, I've been in the city of Merida (Yucatan, Mexico), participating in Wild9, the 9th World Wilderness Congress. Shortly after, I traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark to participate in COP15 - the 15th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - representing the Center for Ocean Solutions as a part of the Stanford University delegation to the Conference. While there, I was blogging via the Center's climate blog, which you can check out at the:

Copenhagen Blog

One of the exciting outreach activities of Copenhagen was to launch a new multimedia short entitled Oceans +2C. This video, on which I served as Executive Producer, was a collaboration between the Center for Ocean Solutions and the iLCP (International League of Conservation Photographers). It was also a wonderful opportunity to re-engage my good friend, Cristina Mittermeier, as well as work with a wide range of new friends and colleagues. Enjoy the video here:

Merry Christmas California

Monterey, California.