“I am an abyss explorer”. The words are of famous freediver Guillaume Nery but they also remind me of watching the great Jacques Cousteau on TV as a child. Images forever burned in my mind, images of freedivers and scuba divers. Of weightlessly and peacefully exploring vast oceans in harmony with an element that was so alien to me. Of small divers and massive whales. Of exploring the abyss…
Flemming “Cousteau”. Image by True North Mark.
This post is not so much about photography, more about personal goals, please indulge me as I tell in a bit of personal history. In December 2009 I entered a swimming pool in Thailand determined to re-learn to swim and learn to love and be comfortable in water. In January 2010 I snorkeled for the first time. I kept practicing and ended up loving this new world found. Papua New Guinea in November 2010 saw me snorkeling as much as possible, first one off the boat, last one on. Today, 13 February 2011, saw me scuba diving for the first time. It was a milestone. A new world found, a new world once feared now loved, forever inviting exploration.
I owe this venture into diving to my good friend True North Mark. At Rottnest Island he took me scuba diving on this magic Sunday. Mark also captured the great image above. The feeling of weightlessly floating in this world was everything and more than I had imagined. I was not scared, I trust Mark completely and found it much easier than I had imagined. Being featherweight I had problems staying submerged(cue Mark standing on me!) till I picked up on the technique. I could sit on the bottom and just breathe for an hour. It is one serene meditative feeling to breathe in and blow bubbles floating in the outer space called ocean. I shall pursue this new world of diving much further. Thank you Mark. I still can’t quite believe I have scuba dived today.
We had an amazing Sunday at Rottnest Island, swimming, diving, snorkeling and shooting on Jamie’s Canon 5D Mk I in Aquatech housing and a Canon G11 in a waterproof house. Here is a few fun snapshots:
My own self doing a bit of diving. Captured by Mark on the 5D:
I captured Mark capturing close-ups of this ray on the G11:
I captured one of the many rays at Parker Point on the G11:
Visit True North Mark’s blog to see his great shots from today.
Abyss Exploring. This can become a very addictive habit.
Flemming
Freediving videos
Lastly, l want to share some brilliant freediving videos with you that I keep returning to, courtesy of Guillaume Nery and William Trubridge:
The HECTOMETER freedive from william trubridge on Vimeo.
Freediving World Record – 88m without fins from william trubridge on Vimeo.
EDIT: Must-see trailer for new William Trubridge documentary:
