No 4 “Back to Schools” July 07 2015

 Cover by Henry Jager

FROM THE EDITORS

We’re getting back to the schools with this issue, discovering the places where our fishy friends gather in jaw-dropping numbers, where the seas are swarming with scales, where the ocean’s inhabitants create choreographed congregations, and dizzying droves put on dazzling displays.

It seems obvious now, but when I first processed this next bit of information the implications of it blew my mind: When fish create those rippling, shifting schools, each fish is actually behaving in entirely its own interest – according to the research, each one is supposedly entirely unaware of the bigger picture: They apparently have no idea at all of the patterns they are creating.

Yes, those seemingly choreographed displays are what they call “emergent properties” of individuals selfishly following basic rules for their own individual survival. And we see evidence of this same principle everywhere.

This is synchrony, a fundamental force that creates simultaneous action. And it’s one of the most pervasive drivers in all of Nature.

So why is this fact so revelatory? Well it seems to imply that there is an underlying order, and that even when the world can seem too complex and chaotic to understand, perhaps that’s only because we are on the inside of a great “school” looking out.

But that’s enough philosophy for one issue; this one’s about schools, not school, after all…

Alice Grainger (Editor)

 

In Through The Lens, our core objective is that you, the reader, learn about underwater photography in a way that will help you improve your own images. And like any good education, that includes some history as well as some practical advice.

In this “Back to School” issue we hope you gain some context about the world of underwater photography through an interview with one of its pioneers, Burt Jones, in “Interview with a Pro” (pg. 68). We also want you to improve your photography by adding some techniques to your arsenal, whether it’s basic wide angle photography with a humble compact camera (pg. 74), creating images of animal behaviour (pg. 78), or shooting complex compositions of giant schools of fish (pg. 82).

Of course, we’re all still learning, so if you don’t get it exactly right “in camera”, Erin Quigley’s Image Lab (pg.90) offers some simple fixes. So, open your books, class is about to start…

Matt Weiss (Editor)

 

CONTENTS

12 MASTER CLASS
By Alex Griffin
Choose Your School

16 OCEAN WATCH
By Julian Hyde and Cynthia Nesha
Reef Check Malaysia

28 ASIA
EYES WIDE UP
By Gil Woolley
The stunning aggregations off Malaysian Borneo’s Sabah will have the eyes of even of most die-hard critter hunter glued to the blue

36 AFRICA
THE GREATEST SHOAL ON EARTH
By Sophia Van Coller
The world’s most iconic schooling event, South Africa’s sardine run, is the schooling phenomenon of the year, attracting predators from above and below in a breathtaking show of Nature at her most dramatic

42 AUSTRALASIA + OCEANIA
SUPER SPAWNERS
By Richard Barnden
Witness pivotal moments in the procreation of life in the seas – Palau’s well-documented spawning events

46 AMERICAS
HOPE SPRINGS IN THE SEA OF CORTEZ
By Christian Vizl
An enforced no take zone in Mexico’s Cabo Pulmo has let the fish life bounce back with a vengeance

52 EUROPE
WATERS OF ABUNDANCE
By Rui Guerra
The islands of the Azores are rare havens for fish life in the middle of the Atlantic, where, in the crystal clear water, sensational sightings await

60 THE WORLD OF
Fishy Diving

62 SUBJECT SPOTLIGHT
The Science of the School

64 DR. SYLVIA EARLE
By Leslie Leaney
The Hans Hass Fifty Fathoms Award celebrates Dr. Sylvia Earle, whose decades long career has established her as one of the most influential figures in marine biology and ocean conservation

68 INTERVIEW WITH A PRO
BURT JONES
Together with wife Maureen Shimlock, Burt Jones, among other accolades, is a pioneer of muck diving, and literally wrote the book on diving in Raja Ampat. He talks to SDOP about a career that has been all about opening up new horizons

74 NOVICE
WIDE ANGLE WITH COMPACTS
By William Tan
Get round the limits of your compact to capture worthy wide-angle shots

78 INTERMEDIATE
CRITTER CONFIDENTIAL
By Mike Bartick
There is never a better time than right now to get out there and start shooting animal behaviour

82 PRO
SHOOTING THE SCHOOL
By Henry Jager
It can be hard to adequately capture on camera the impact of huge schools of fish, but some fundamental techniques can make all the difference

86 PHOTO CLINIC
Pam Murph

90 IMAGE LAB
UNCRAMP YOUR STYLE
By Erin Quigley
Give your subjects room to breathe in the frame with this simple fix

96 BUDDY UP WITH…
CHRIS BOARDMAN