<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844218669654637988</id><updated>2008-11-10T19:17:13.953-10:00</updated><title type='text'>Ocean Wildlife Pictures SeaPics.com News</title><subtitle type='html'>News and announcement from SeaPics.com ocean wildlife stock picture agency in Kona coast of Big Island of Hawaii</subtitle><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3844218669654637988/posts/default'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://seapics.com/news/'/><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://seapics.com/news/feed/atom.xml?alt=rss'/><author><name>SeaPics.com</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03911252931056361463</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>6</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844218669654637988.post-6335726725193069401</id><published>2008-10-20T14:47:00.010-10:00</published><updated>2008-11-10T19:17:13.984-10:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='conservation'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sea turtle'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='research'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='hawksbill sea turtle'/><title type='text'>SeaPics.com at the 28th Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology &amp; Conservation</title><content type='html'>In January, Christine Sheppard and Lynn Webber, employees at SeaPics.com, attended the &lt;a href="http://iconferences.seaturtle.org/" target="_blank"&gt;2008 International Sea Turtle Symposium&lt;/a&gt; in Loreto, Mexico. The Symposium, which is organized by the International Sea Turtle Society, is held every year in a different location around the world to share information about sea turtles and sea turtle conservation efforts. Lynn and Christine, presented information about their own sea turtle education work in Kona, Hawaii, which they do as members of ReefTeach. They also did some networking for SeaPics.com at the conference, which included talking to photographers and publishers. What follows is an account of their trip.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Christine and Lynn departed Kona at midnight on the night of Jan. 18 on a flight for L.A. While at the Kona airport, they happened to run into Jason Williams, the founder of the Hawksbill Recovery Program. As it turned out, he wasn’t on his way to the Sea Turtle Symposium, but was at the airport on other business. They all took the opportunity to chat about their sea turtle conservation efforts, and Lynn volunteered to help guard hawksbill sea turtle nests from people and predators for the Hawksbill Recovery Program.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Christine and Lynn arrived at LAX at 6:30 the morning of the 19th, converted their dollars to Mexican pesos, and headed off on a connecting flight to Loreto. Loreto is a city of around 11,000 people on the Sea of Cortez side of the Baja Penninsula, about 100 miles north of La Paz. It’s a typical Mexican town; dusty, pot-holed roads, broken sidewalks, scruffy-looking dogs looking for scraps, trash everywhere. Anyone who’s been to Mexico has seen a town like this. On the other hand, the townspeople were incredibly friendly and very welcoming.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The main reason the Sea Turtle Symposium was held in Loreto was so the conference could coincide with the 10th anniversary celebration of the Loreto founding of Grupo Tortuguero, a primarily Spanish language association of conservation-minded organizations that promote protection of sea turtles by educating local communities on turtle-safe fishing practices and beach preservation. The International Sea Turtle Society hoped, too, that locating a major international conference in Loreto would show the local community that environmental protection could bring an economic boost to the region and encourage eco-tourism in the surrounding communities.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 300px;" src="http://seapics.com/assets/pictures/065916-450-ISTS.jpg" alt="" border="0" /&gt;The Symposium also coincided with a special 4-day cultural event held by the Seri Indians from the Mexican state of Sonora, which is on the east side of the Sea of Cortez, across the sea from Loreto.  Representatives from the Seri tribe came to Loreto to perform traditional dances and ceremonies (the Comcaak Ceremony) that revolved around sea turtles, which form an important part of their culture. In their homeland, they would perform these ceremonies on the beaches, where they would dance and escort baby sea turtles to the sea and wish them a safe journey and return. In Loreto, they performed their colorful dances and ceremonies in the town square and used models of sea turtles as a substitute for the real thing. The Seri Indians actually have special permission from the Mexican government to hunt sea turtles for personal consumption, as they have for centuries. Presumably, the International Sea Turtle Society sees the Seri Indians as representatives of responsible harvesters of a sustainable sea turtle resource.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Lynn and Chris spent Saturday, the 19th getting to know the town of Loreto and orienting themselves to the conference site. They volunteered to help with t-shirt sales and conference registration. On that day, too, they met Wallace J. Nichols, the president of the International Sea Turtle Society and principal organizer of the Symposium. He made a particularly memorable impression, as he arrived at the Symposium on a tandem bicycle with his daughter.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 300px;" src="http://seapics.com/assets/pictures/108553-450-ISTS.jpg" alt="" border="0" /&gt;The Sea Turtle Symposium, as stated before, is an annual event where interested sea turtle biologists, conservationists and laypeople can share information about sea turtles and their protection. It is attended by people from all over the world, including local people who are concerned with promoting turtle-friendly practices in their community. This year’s event, which covered the week of Jan. 19 to the 26th, featured poster sessions, vendor exhibits, socials, fund-raisers, workshops and oral presentations. While it is impossible to describe all that took place at the Symposium, below is a short summary of some of the major workshops and lectures:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Hawksbill Genetics Working Group - a discussion of current knowledge about Hawksbill population genetics (Organizers: Peter Dutton, Robin LeRoux, and F. Alberto Abreu-Grobois)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Sea Turtles as Sentinels of Marine Ecological Health – linking the health of sea turtles in the Californias to specific ecosystems to show how sea turtles are indicators of the quality of marine environments (Instructors: Alonso Aquirre, Hector Zepeda, Natalia Rossi, Alan Zavala)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Tackling Fisheries Bycatch – exploring innovative ways to mitigate the effects of gill nets on marine turtles (Organizer: Rebecca Lewison)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;An Introduction to Bayesian Statistics – an introduction to Bayesian statistics and how it differs from traditional statistics, including discussion of which type provides a better model for sea turtle research (Organzer: Tomo Eguchi)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;The Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Workshop – a workshop highlighting Latin American terrestrial and freshwater turtle issues, which tend to receive less coverage than the plight of sea turtles (Organizer: Chuck Schaffer)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;On Sunday, the 20th, Christine and Lynn had a free day, so they elected to go on a gray whale watching excursion. Just as humpback whales come to breed in Hawaiian waters every winter, so do gray whales head for the Baja California peninsula to give birth. Lynn, Christine and about 8 other conference attendees piled into a 10-person van and drove across the peninsula to the Pacific Ocean.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;The drive was across desert, with views of eroded mountains, scrub vegetation, cactus, and a fair amount of garbage strewn along the road. At one point, they followed a small Toyota pick-up truck with a horse balancing precariously in the back.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;They arrived at the Pacific after about a 2-hour drive and got in a skiff for whale watching. While on the boat, they saw egrets, great frigate birds, brown pelicans, plus scenic sand dunes along the coast. This part of the trip turned out to be the highlight of the excursion.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;After about 25 minutes on the boat, they saw one gray whale surfacing. Immediately, the skiff gave chase, and about 10 other boats in the area converged on this single whale, who may have been one of the early arrivals for this whale season. The whale seemed to be trying to elude the skiffs, but they all pursued it as though they were on a whaling expedition. At one point, the skiffs all blocked it into shore, and they more or less held it there for about an hour. Its back was intermittently visible, but overall, the excursion was a huge disappointment for Christine and Lynn. The boats were way too close to the whale and were obviously harassing it. There are supposed to be regulations against this kind of aggressive whale-watching behavior, but it was obvious the rules are seldom enforced. Christine and Lynn have been on whale watches in Hawaii, but they never experienced anything this brutal before.&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://seapics.com/assets/pictures/048999-450-turkey-vulture.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 299px;" src="http://seapics.com/assets/pictures/048999-450-turkey-vulture.jpg" alt="" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;After the whale watch, Christine and Lynn were taken to a restaurant with a nominally gray whale theme. It was decorated with whale vertebrae inside and out, and featured a huge, poorly-preserved stuffed grouper. Outside, there were some turkey vultures sunning themselves, which Lynn took pictures of. The Mexican national bird, the crested caracara, also made an appearance. Interestingly, the crested caracara is not the raptor that appears on the Mexican national flag and official coat of arms. These show a golden eagle with a snake in its mouth and talons, after an Aztec legend that describes the founding of Tenochtitlan, which later became known as Mexico City.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Monday after the whale watch, Christine was still game for another excursion, so she  headed off solo for the Coronado Islands, a Mexican wildlife refuge not far from Loreto. The islands are uninhabited except for a few lighthouse keepers, and boats to and from the islands are licensed by the Mexican national park service so that access is controlled. In contrast to the mainland, which is strewn with trash, the Coronado Islands are pristine, with beautiful white sand beaches and tide pools teaming with life. The islands are home to much wildlife, including seagulls, petrels, pelicans, rattlesnakes, lizards, rabbits, mice, sea lions and elephant seals. Christine saw a sea lion colony as well as dolphins and fin whales on the boat trip to the islands, which made her trip well worthwhile.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 450px;" src="http://seapics.com/assets/pictures/106475-450-ISTS.jpg" alt="" border="0" /&gt;By Tuesday, the 22nd, the conference was underway, and Christine and Lynn set up their poster for their poster session, entitled “&lt;a href="http://www.seaturtle.org/ists/PDF/final/2425.pdf"&gt;Ecotourism, Tourists, and Green Sea Turtles at Kahalu’u Bay, Kona, Hawai’i&lt;/a&gt;.” They also went to Marc Rice’s oral presentation entitled “Hawaiian Green Turtles Dive to Record Depths During Oceanic Migrations.” Marc Rice, along with George Balasz, are the green sea turtle researchers who do the turtle tagging in Kona on a periodic basis. See the SeaPics blog entry for Nov. 28, 2007, “&lt;a href="http://seapics.com/blog/2007_11_28/index.html"&gt;Green Sea Turtle Tagging on the Kona Coast&lt;/a&gt;”  for pictures and an account of their activities.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At 6:00 on Tuesday evening, Lynn and Christine attended the Symposium’s social, which was held next to the mission in the Loreto town square. The mission, called Mision de Nuestra Senora de Loreto Concho, was founded by Jesuits in 1697, making it the oldest mission in the Californias. From that date until 1777, Loreto was the capital of Las Californias. Christine and Lynn mingled and met some photographers, including Michael Carey, who knew SeaPics.com photographer Jim Watt and was with him on his last trip to Bonaire. They all chatted and networked and took advantage of the flowing 4 Copas organic tequila that was made especially for the Symposium.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On Wednesday, the 23rd, Christine and Lynn attended oral presentations at the auditorium. It was unusually cold and damp inside, due to the building being concrete and open air, so Lynn found it difficult to stay there. It had started raining, and the roof was leaking in places. They had a tent over the AV equipment in the auditorium to keep it from getting damaged. Some of the presentations attended by Christine or Lynn on this day were:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;The Sea Turtle Egg Donation System of Gautemala: Conservation on Non-protected Beaches (presented by Scott Handy, Sarah Lucas, and Colum Muccio)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Studying the Reasons Behind the Decline of the Loggerhead Nesting Population of Rethymino, Greece: Lessons Learned for the Future (presented by Aliki Panagopoulou, Olga Karadaki and Dimitris Margaritoulis)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Beach Feminisation: An Example from Australia of a Future Global Warming Effect on Flatback (Natator depressus) Sea Turtles (presented by April Stevens and M. Guinea)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the afternoon on Wednesday, Lynn and Christine were scheduled to stand by their poster &lt;http: org="" ists="" final="" pdf=""&gt; so people could ask questions and chat about issues of interest to them. There were many visitors to Lynn’s &amp;amp; Christines’s poster session and a surprising number of people had been to Kona’s Kahalu’u Bay. Quite a few visitors were familiar with SeaPics.com and had been to the SeaPics.com site, including some who had purchased sea turtle images for their poster sessions.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thursday morning, Christine and Lynn attended workshops at the university. They had the opportunity to meet people from the &lt;a href="http://www.oceanconservancy.org/"&gt;Ocean Conservancy&lt;/a&gt;, and they related their bad experience with the gray whale watch. They also met some people with Journey Mexico, the tr&lt;/http:&gt;&lt;http: org="" ists="" final="" pdf=""&gt;avel company that had put together many of the arrangements for the Symposium, and told them of their concerns with the whale watch tour.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/http:&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://seapics.com/assets/pictures/108550-450-ISTS.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 450px;" src="http://seapics.com/assets/pictures/108550-450-ISTS.jpg" alt="" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;http: org="" ists="" final="" pdf=""&gt;Thursday was Silent Auction day, where donated items were auctioned off to raise funds for the International Sea Turtle Society. SeaPics.com had donated some framed and unframed fine art prints by marine life photographers Jim Watt and &lt;a href="http://seapics.com/information/about-us/Doug-Perrine.html"&gt;Doug Perrine&lt;/a&gt;. One of the framed prints of a green sea turtle by Jim Watt, valued at $300, went for U.S. $580 at the auction.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thursday afternoon was supposed to b&lt;/http:&gt;&lt;http: org="" ists="" final="" pdf=""&gt;e another day for standing by the posters, but it was raining hard and all the posters were outdoors with no protection from the elements. Some poor students who had entered their posters in a competition felt compelled to stand out there in the rain with their posters covered in plastic until the judges managed to make their rounds and tell them to seek shelter. Christine and Lynn, not part of any competition, had long since abandoned their poster to the rain. Fortunately, it was laminated, so the rain did it no harm. Of course, there were no people to look at the poster due to the rainy and muddy conditions.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On Friday, the cold rain continued non-stop. It w&lt;/http:&gt;&lt;http: org="" ists="" final="" pdf=""&gt;as too cold and rainy to stand by the poster, and the roads were too soggy with mud for exploring the town. A huge, muddy sinkhole formed right in front of the hotel.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;By Saturday morning, Lynn &amp;amp; Christine were well ready to bid adios to Loreto and got to the airport by 6:30 a.m. for an 8:15 departure. Unfortunately, the Aeromexico plane crew hadn’t set their alarm and failed to arrive at all. The ladies jumped on an 11:30 plane headed for Hermosillo, but missed the connecting flight to L.A. Their choices now were to fly to Mexico City or stay in Hermosillo till the next day, neither of which seemed attractive to them. There was one flight to Tijuana, and after telling a sad and desperate story to the airport staff, they were ushered out onto the tarmac for the flight. From Tijuana, thanks to Christine’s daughter, a San Diego resident, they managed to get back to L.A. in time for their flight to Hawaii.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Overall, Christine and Lynn had a thought-provoking week,  and enjoyed their experience, despite the horrendous weather. A symposium like this really illustrates how critical the situation is for the world’s sea turtles, but it also shows how there are thousands of concerned citizens around the world willing to put time, money and effort into preserving sea turtles and their habitat. Christine and Lynn returned from the symposium inspired to continue their efforts at ReefTeach and do their part for Hawaii’s endangered sea turtles.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/http:&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3844218669654637988/posts/default/6335726725193069401'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3844218669654637988/posts/default/6335726725193069401'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://seapics.com/news/2008/10/seapicscom-at-28th-annual-symposium-on.html' title='SeaPics.com at the 28th Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology &amp; Conservation'/><author><name>SeaPics.com</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03911252931056361463</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844218669654637988.post-7236374152005208438</id><published>2008-03-10T17:00:00.001-10:00</published><updated>2008-08-12T17:18:25.184-10:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='photographer'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='James D. Watt'/><title type='text'>Jim's Last Dive</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://seapics.com/assets/pictures/IMG-4998-450-Jim-Watt-last-dive.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://seapics.com/assets/pictures/IMG-4998-450-Jim-Watt-last-dive.jpg" alt="" border="0"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;The day we lay Jim Watt to rest those closest to him with tears still streaming down their faces vowed to fulfill his last wish, to have his ashes scattered in the heart of his beloved humpback whale grounds along the Kona coast of Hawaii. On as fine a March morning as could be remembered, some seven months later, ten of us gathered at the Honokohau harbor and launched two boats. Jim would have been fired up at the prospects of finding whales this windless, and cloudless morning. We fairly skipped our way northwest for about forty minutes to the center of the whale grounds cryptically named “Moon Base”. Then, not sure of exactly where to begin, we stopped near two whales that were resting on the surface. It felt as good as any place, but there was no sign, no indication that this was the proper place. No one said anything but there was indecision in the air. We drifted around, one boat took off, and we followed, neither knowing where to stop. Two more whales appeared, these were a bit more lively, in a state of playfulness, possibly something Jim might have latched onto. Our movements felt fluid and there was a sense about us that a rightness had to occur, but what would that be? How would it manifest? There was no previous experience to lean on, nothing to direct us. We motored slowly with the whales for ten or fifteen minutes then suddenly we just stopped and silently agreed that this was the place.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We entered the cobalt water that was as clear as a child’s eye and formed a circle. Wthout words or ceremony we released his ashes into the water.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In that moment everything seemed to shift.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To witness Jim’s ashes mushrooming into the sea was to once again be in the water with him, knowing it was for the last time.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Time stopped for us all. The experience was utterly profound, and I began to cry inside my mask as I watched his ashes expand ever outward into the sea. It was as if all that was his form, was suddenly in the process of molecular disintegration. Something that eventually will occur to us all over time was happening right before our eyes. In those moments someone made a free dive into Jim’s midst and disappeared into his vaporized form. And then one by one we all made our dives, gliding through him and in a way he into us, and in those vivid and surreal moments we came together as he would wish it one last time. It was as powerful an experience as I’ve had in my lifetime, befitting the legacy of water knowledge that was Jim’s gift to all who were present.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As we returned to our respective boats amid hugs and tears a pod of spotted dolphins appeared and swam through the flowers that had been scattered to mark his time and place on the planet.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Carlos Eyles</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3844218669654637988/posts/default/7236374152005208438'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3844218669654637988/posts/default/7236374152005208438'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://seapics.com/news/2008/03/jims-last-dive.html' title='Jim&apos;s Last Dive'/><author><name>SeaPics.com</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03911252931056361463</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844218669654637988.post-1516573138907455786</id><published>2007-07-22T16:58:00.003-10:00</published><updated>2008-08-12T17:18:06.379-10:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='photographer'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='James D. Watt'/><title type='text'>Jim Watt Returns to the Ocean</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://seapics.com/assets/pictures/IMG-0743-450-Jim-Watt-returns.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://seapics.com/assets/pictures/IMG-0743-450-Jim-Watt-returns.jpg" alt="" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Jim Watt returned to the ocean where he belonged. His close friends and family members took a boat ride and scattered his ashes into the ocean in the morning on Sunday, July 22nd, 2007. Many familiar faces were there to see him off. We tried to keep our smiley faces to celebrate his glorious life throughout the event, but we easily burst into tears when we started to pay tribute to his beautiful life while grabbing each others' hands in a circle. It was such an emotional ride for everybody, and all of us cried out loud when his ashes went into the ocean. We threw many flowers with prayers and tears as we circled him several times. I poured a bottle of rum as well as my tears into the ocean. Rum &amp;amp; Coke was his favorite drink of all time, and we spent much time over that brown cocktail talking about our next adventures.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I know that it will be very strange and even awkward not to see him physically off Kona Coast any longer as he was such a big part of this Hawaiian water, and whenever we both were out, we closely communicated with each other. Although the time may eventually resolve such awkwardness, everything will be alright as he lives forever in my heart and that of others whose lives were also touched by him. I can "feel" him everyday when I see the ocean, smell the sea breeze, and taste the salt water...fortunately for me those are daily events in Kona, Hawaii. I feel extremely lucky to get to know him that well. It was a great honor and such a privilege to have spent nine years of my life with the great man and inspiring photographer like Jim Watt in this paradise.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As we were about to return to the dock with our heads down after we were emotionally drained offshore, something magical happened. Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins suddenly showed up by our boat and escorted us to the Keauhou Harbor. We all felt that was Jim cheering us up and saying goodbye to us. Thanks for the great memories, Jim.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"Let's go out and have fun tomorrow, Jim. I'll meet you out there, buddy."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Masa Ushioda</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3844218669654637988/posts/default/1516573138907455786'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3844218669654637988/posts/default/1516573138907455786'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://seapics.com/news/2007/07/jim-watt-returns-to-ocean.html' title='Jim Watt Returns to the Ocean'/><author><name>SeaPics.com</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03911252931056361463</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844218669654637988.post-8861640284019435645</id><published>2007-07-19T16:54:00.001-10:00</published><updated>2008-08-12T17:17:48.138-10:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='photographer'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='James D. Watt'/><title type='text'>In Memoriam - James D. Watt</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://seapics.com/assets/pictures/009903-450-Jim-Watt-biography.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://seapics.com/assets/pictures/009903-450-Jim-Watt-biography.jpg" alt="" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;I am sure most of you have already heard that marine life photographer James D. Watt (Jim Watt) passed away on Thursday morning July 19th here in Kona, Hawaii. Carlos &amp;amp; Margaret Eyles were at his side along with other friends and family. It is almost surreal that this happened. Jim was diagnosed with lung cancer (stage 3b) almost a year ago. He underwent rounds of chemo and strict orders from his doctor not to leave Hawaii.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A month ago Jim stopped by our office and he was elated because they also gave him clearance to travel. He immediately made plans for a trip to the Bahamas followed closely by another trip to Bonaire. He was full of energy and life. He left on his last two trips and enjoyed them greatly.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In our office we were wondering what happened to Jim - usually he calls and stops by when he comes back from his trips. I called Jim and found out he had checked himself into the emergency room with extreme chest pain. They found he had water in the lungs. I made plans to visit him but before I could he was sent home early. Great - I thought, he's gonna be ok. The next thing I know he is back in the hospital. It just happened so quick from this point on. His wife Jody and friends Carlos &amp;amp; Margaret were by his side constantly. Doug, Masa &amp;amp; I all visited him but he tired very esily at this point.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I saw Jim on Monday afternoon in intensive care - I said my goodbye then; it was very emotional for you could clearly see that the tide had changed. I had to fly to Oahu the next day for an operation of my own, so that was the last time I saw Jim. Jim died peacefully on Thursday morning - Carlos said it was a powerful moment and Jim had finally accepted the next adventure ahead of him.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sunday about 35 of his friends and family went out on a boat and slipped his ashes into the sea - the place Jim was most at home. The ocean was covered with flowers and the spinner dolphins stopped by to say goodbye I will always think of JIm whenever we go on the water for that is where his spirit lived the most.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Anyone who would like to donate please make a check out to the Kona Hospital Foundation. The money collected will be used to put Jim's photos on the very empty walls of the Kona Hospital. Jim really appreciated the kind effort of all the hospital staff. You are welcome to send the checks to our office - we will pass them on to the proper people.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As for Jim's company and Jim's photos - they will continue to live on. Jim has passed the running of OceanStock.com to me. Jim asked that I go through the 100,000 raw images he has on file, take over his photo requests and agents. I plan on processing his images and submitting them to all. The money collected is to go for his 14 year old daughter's (Jenny) education fund.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jim was a great creative mind but organization was not his strong point. It will take a bit of time for Masa and I to go through his computer and files and get control of his website, emails, etc. Please have patience with us while we get it together over here. We will be uploading high res images of Jim's for whoever needs them. Please direct anyone needing Jim's images for any use to us - please put "OceanStock" in the subject line.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;All of us here at SeaPics.com will greatly miss Jim. Jim would always stop by for a cup of coffee - then stay for few hours chatting with us. He would come back and enthrall us with stories of his latest adventures. He would bring his photos by and give us a step by step narration. He would update us on the latest gadget - I still can't believe that JIm won't be bouncing in with the Apple iPhone - I know he would have loved it. When we were out on the water, we would always call each other and pass information back and forth and then try to meet up for a chat, lunch or champagne. Yes, Jim will be greatly missed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A Hui Hou&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Susan Dabritz</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3844218669654637988/posts/default/8861640284019435645'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3844218669654637988/posts/default/8861640284019435645'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://seapics.com/news/2007/07/in-memoriam-james-d-watt.html' title='In Memoriam - James D. Watt'/><author><name>SeaPics.com</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03911252931056361463</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844218669654637988.post-3171186474071806562</id><published>2007-07-19T16:50:00.002-10:00</published><updated>2008-08-12T17:15:43.079-10:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='photographer'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='James D. Watt'/><title type='text'>Jim Watt Eulogy</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://seapics.com/assets/pictures/014522-450-Jim-Watt-humpback-whale.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://seapics.com/assets/pictures/014522-450-Jim-Watt-humpback-whale.jpg" alt="" border="0"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;It is difficult, if not impossible to measure the influence of a life on another. We all do what we do without any real idea as to its effect on each other or the world at large. Sometimes, as in the case of Jim, we know the worldly influence is great, but still lack, and will forever lack the depth of that influence. For each of us here today Jim’s presence in our lives was dramatic, yet different, characterized by our own perspectives and relationship to him. As a loving father and husband to wife Jody and children Ian and Jennifer his relationships were one thing, his love for his sister Sharon was yet another, all very personal and really known only to them. His love for the ocean was as vast as the seas he traveled on and those lifelong travels had a significant and powerful effect on the underwater community that for him was worldwide. Yet, within those varied realms of love there existed a common theme, one that we all experienced, though we each absorbed differently.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jim’s positive nature affected us all from family to friends alike. It was contagious even in the midst of everything contrary to logic and reason. For him everything was possible, and he had little doubt that the next epic whale encounter lay just over the nearest swell, that the next dive would bring an image never before seen, or that a bleak diagnosis of cancer could be overcome. It was this unrelenting attitude that good things were always just around the corner that endeared him to us all. It was this same unbridled enthusiasm that drove him deep into the hunt, first as a young spearfisherman then later as a photographer. The hunt had him in its unyielding grasp, one he could not say no to, he never said no, only yes. Yes, let’s go there, yes, lets hang out with great white sharks and tigers, yes, lets film this volcano underwater, yes, lets go surfing. Yes, yes, yes. Yes to it all. Yes to life.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Personally, Jimmy was the best person I have ever known in that regard. I was more of a maybe guy. I only said yes if prodded enough, and he, god bless him, prodded. He didn’t want me to miss anything almost as much as he didn’t want to miss anything himself. In a world with far too many no’s Jimmy was an anomaly, I don’t believe I ever heard that word from him. He never turned down a dangerous assignment. Once in a while I would hear him say maybe, like when we were in French Frigate Shoals and there were close to a hundred sharks, all pretty worked up darting around our skiff, and the director of the project who hired us asked if it was dangerous to get in the water with so many sharks around, and Jimmy said maybe just before he jumped in.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Margaret and I are here in Hawaii because we said yes, to Jimmy and Jody when they invited us to their home over twenty years ago. I said yes when I followed him out to the White Sand Ridge in the Bahamas with my first housed SLR, you know the one you sold me Jimmy that stopped working after that trip. And I said yes to you after months of maybe’s when you would call to go surfing. Your mark is on me Jimmy, as it is on all of us who have spent time with you in the water. It is the mark of yes! Yes to life in all its adventures, in all its sorrows and now to all of its grief.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You leave with many incredible legacies, uncountable really, but clearly it is the legacy of Yes that has so defined you and the code you lived by. Everytime I pull off something extraordinary in the water your mark is on me. Like everyone here today I am so grateful for your presence in my life. So whenever we are homebound and struck with fear or laziness, and we ask ourselves would Jimmy say yes, we already know the answer&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My last words to him were “I love you, Jimmy.” And he smiled and looked up to me and said “I love you too” Then I kissed the top of his sweet bald head and said goodbye.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Carlos Eyles.</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3844218669654637988/posts/default/3171186474071806562'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3844218669654637988/posts/default/3171186474071806562'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://seapics.com/news/2007/07/jim-watt-eulogy.html' title='Jim Watt Eulogy'/><author><name>SeaPics.com</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03911252931056361463</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3844218669654637988.post-5421091034932136747</id><published>2007-07-19T16:20:00.003-10:00</published><updated>2008-08-12T17:14:50.681-10:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='photographer'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='James D. Watt'/><title type='text'>A Tribute to James D. Watt</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://seapics.com/assets/pictures/013583-450-Jim-Watt-humpback-whale.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://seapics.com/assets/pictures/013583-450-Jim-Watt-humpback-whale.jpg" alt="" border="0"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;For those who didn't know about his condition, he had been battling with lung cancer for about a year. He passed away peacefully at around 9:00 am in the morning of July 19th, 2007, surrounded by his family and friends. I was able to kiss his forehead and say goodbye to him last week just before he went into the ICU.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Normally I am not so good at expressing myself...but the sad news in the morning of July 19th, 2007, suddenly threw me into the harsh reality that he's gone, and urged me to write this tribute. It was very hard to imagine how my world would be like without him until it really happened. If you have ever lost anyone close to you, you know what I am talking about. I knew the day would come someday when he told me about his illness about a year ago, but I think I avoided facing straight-up to this sad truth until that morning. When the day really happened, it just shocked me hard. He was different, though. He stood up and fought hard his losing battle with dignity and good spirit until the end.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I've known Jim ever since I got here in Kona, Hawaii in the summer of 1998. Jim and I were connected immediately through our common interests: diving, fishing, photography, boating, marine life and the love of the ocean. For these nine years in Hawaii, I don't know how many times Jim and I went out on the ocean together. For those who knows me very well perhaps heard me saying I did this and that with Jim or Jim said this and that...again and again...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://seapics.com/assets/pictures/004510-450-Jim-Watt-manta-ray.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://seapics.com/assets/pictures/004510-450-Jim-Watt-manta-ray.jpg" alt="" border="0"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Sometimes we went out on my boat, but most of the time I went on his boat as his deck hand and bait handler since he likes to be the captain. I hope I was a good boat buddy to Jim. I handled all the stinky baits (he calls it) for him when we go fishing or shark diving. When the water is too chilly for him in the winter, Jim made me jump in the water first to see if creatures are friendly enough to photograph or not (although most of the time I was able to get better shots by doing that, ha ha). One time we fished so many tunas until we broke our rods in half. We had never had a bad time together on the ocean. We only had a good time whenever we got together. That's probably because of his great personality. He is always positive, cheerful, funny, and seems to have no downtime with him. Even when nothing happens out on the ocean, we talked for hours about our next big adventures, next big gadgets, next good food &amp;amp; drinks...you know all those guy things... I learned a lot from Jim. Without a doubt I wouldn't be who I am today if I hadn't met him. He took me under his wing and showed me how to get sharks closer to the boat, how to fish around Kona, how to photograph marine mammals, how to drive a boat in a rough sea, where to dive...I seem to have an endless list of things I learned from him...I will miss him, my friend, mentor, the greatest inspiration of my photography.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On February 26, 2007 at Puako, Big Island, Jim was able to attend my wedding despite his worsening condition. My wife and I, as well as many guests who knew his condition, were so glad to see him make it to our wedding and to see him having a good time there. He ate a lot that day, and he even took some great wedding shots for us. We really had a great time together on that day. Thanks for the great memories, Jim. I love you, buddy, and I know you will be with me forever out in the ocean. Aloha, Jim.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Masa Ushioda</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3844218669654637988/posts/default/5421091034932136747'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3844218669654637988/posts/default/5421091034932136747'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://seapics.com/news/2007/07/tribute-to-james-d-watt.html' title='A Tribute to James D. Watt'/><author><name>SeaPics.com</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03911252931056361463</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email></author></entry></feed>