BajaNomad - Baja photo wins First Facebook Underwater Photo Contest!

Baja photo wins First Facebook Underwater Photo Contest!

Ken Bondy - 12-1-2008 at 02:46 PM

This is a shameless plug:

http://www.divephotoguide.com/articles/first_facebook_underw...

fdt - 12-1-2008 at 02:50 PM

Muchas felicidades mi amigo, you deserve it!

Marie-Rose - 12-1-2008 at 02:51 PM

Congrats Ken! I always look forward to your fabulous pictures... you are very deserving of the first place award :yes:

bajajudy - 12-1-2008 at 02:52 PM

Felicidades!
Those are some amazing photos.

BajaGringo - 12-1-2008 at 02:55 PM

Congratulations Ken. Nobody here is surprised as we already know how talented you are with that camera of yours...

lingililingili - 12-1-2008 at 03:05 PM

As always, beautiful! Congratulations Ken

Russ - 12-1-2008 at 03:09 PM

Ken, I'm really happy for you! What an honor! I've also appreciated your encouragement of the photogs on this site. I'm sure you be awarded many more accolades in the future.

capt. mike - 12-1-2008 at 03:33 PM

tell us more about the circumstances of that shot Ken!!
wow, what an image!
type of shark, white??
how close etc.

Iflyfish - 12-1-2008 at 03:34 PM

Congratulations Ken, you certainly deserve this honor. That is stiff competition.....we are very lucky to be able to see your wonderful work on this site. Thank you. We are honored by your contributions.

Iflyfish

Sharksbaja - 12-1-2008 at 03:34 PM

Shameless? Maybe... Deserving? definitely! Congrats, tho I am not surprised.

Skipjack Joe - 12-1-2008 at 03:43 PM

I thought the novice category had some good ones also.

Ken Bondy - 12-1-2008 at 03:47 PM

Thank you very much for all the nice comments, means a lot to me. Capt. Mike, that is a white shark. The image was made September 2007 at Isla Guadalupe off the west coast of Baja on a caged white shark trip out of Ensenada with San Diego Shark Divers. I was in a cage (at the end, the best position), the shark was very close, the shark's nose was maybe three feet from me. The shark is about 18 ft. long. I was using a Fuji S2 DSLR camera in a Subal housing, with a Nikon 12-24mm lens at 12mm (that's VERY wide, which is why the entire shark was in the frame). I was using two strobes (Sea & Sea YS-90DX) at low power and I think that nicely lit the front end of the shark and brought out a lot of detail (the range of the strobes is only about 5 ft.). We were there for three full days, and I had MANY opportunities like this (sharks were around the boat constantly) but this one was my favorite.

[Edited on 12-2-2008 by Ken Bondy]

Ken Bondy - 12-1-2008 at 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
I thought the novice category had some good ones also.

I did too, Igor. I really liked the #2 open image with the turtle/sunburst.

David K - 12-1-2008 at 03:58 PM

Ken, isn't that the same photo that made the Oct. 2008 Baja Calendar page?

It is a great shot!

Ken Bondy - 12-1-2008 at 04:00 PM

Same one David, thanks.

PS it's also my avatar

[Edited on 12-1-2008 by Ken Bondy]

capt. mike - 12-1-2008 at 04:01 PM

why not consider doing the squid dive adventure trip with GTB's Dale Pearson and famed dive explorer Scott Cassel at Santa rosalia?
if you have seen the video or Nat Geo discovery TV specials you know what it is all about. Diablo Rojas. and Killer Squid.

i can fly us down. that will be me IN the boat....not out of it!!

Ken Bondy - 12-1-2008 at 04:02 PM

Mike I would love to do that squid dive sometime. But only if you get in the water with me. ++Ken++

David K - 12-1-2008 at 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ken Bondy
Same one David, thanks.

PS it's also my avatar

[Edited on 12-1-2008 by Ken Bondy]

Yes, I thought so... This is what had me asking: "The image was made last September"

I presume you meant 2007?

Keep up the great photo shooting!

Natalie Ann - 12-1-2008 at 04:44 PM

First Place! Good for you, Ken. Certainly you deserve this win.
And to think - I can say I knew you back when..... :biggrin:

Nena

Skipjack Joe - 12-1-2008 at 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Natalie Ann
First Place! Good for you, Ken. Certainly you deserve this win.
And to think - I can say I knew you back when..... :biggrin:

Nena

When....

When he looked like Fabian.

Quote:

Originally posted by Ken Bondy

Ken Bondy - 12-1-2008 at 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K

Quote:

Originally posted by Ken Bondy
Same one David, thanks.

PS it's also my avatar

[Edited on 12-1-2008 by Ken Bondy]

Yes, I thought so... This is what had me asking: "The image was made last September"

I presume you meant 2007?

Keep up the great photo shooting!

Sorry, you're right. It wasn't LAST September, it was September 2007. Time goes by too fast now

Crusoe - 12-1-2008 at 05:57 PM

Congradulations Ken!!!... A very nice honnor and reward for your skills. Simply put, The Best. ++C++

tripledigitken - 12-1-2008 at 07:04 PM

Ken,
Congratulations on the award. That is one of my favorites of yours. Well done.

Ken

stimbo - 12-1-2008 at 07:47 PM

Nicely done Mr. Bondy! Congratulations!

jim

Bob H - 12-1-2008 at 08:03 PM

Ken, what an honor - I really love the reflection you caught. You deserve it!
Bob H

DianaT - 12-1-2008 at 08:43 PM

That is just fantastic---Congrats.

I just love all of your underwater work---and you really deserve the award.

Diane

BAJACAT - 12-1-2008 at 08:52 PM

Only in Baja, congrats ken, That is a great shot, Underwater baja is a totally different world all togeher...

Lauriboats - 12-2-2008 at 08:06 PM

Wow Ken,
Great photo, good job, congratulations. Lauri

EMAM - 12-8-2008 at 01:03 PM

Of all the photographers on here, I think I enjoy your photos the most Ken! Congrats!

I've always loved the underwater stuff, and having a wife that is too claustrophobic to scuba, I'm stuck on the surface in a kayak

Not that I'm complaining, just a tad jealous

Awesome picture

bill erhardt - 12-8-2008 at 01:34 PM

Congratulations, Ken! An award well deserved.

Bajagypsy - 12-8-2008 at 02:04 PM

Well done, when I win the lottery, I will so have you as my underwater photography teacher!

marv sherrill - 12-9-2008 at 06:05 PM

Fantastic - I always look forward to your photos - absolutly amazing!!!

Ken Bondy - 12-9-2008 at 07:27 PM

I sincerely appreciate all the kind words.
++Ken++

marv sherrill - 12-11-2008 at 07:24 PM

Ken - i got lots of compliments on that calendar picture! One of my favorites of all time! Did the Mexican govt cancel the Guadalupe shark safaries because of the latest mishap on the news about a tour using "Joes Discount Bargain Shark Cages" where a great white almost dined on a few divers after crashing through the bars?

Keri - 12-12-2008 at 08:38 AM

Congrats, Fantastic as always. Still waiting for the book you know

Ken Bondy - 12-12-2008 at 09:01 AM

Thanks marv and Keri. Marv that incident at Guadalupe, where the shark shared the cage with the divers, certainly focused attention on the Guadalupe trips, and caged shark viewing trips in general. It is my understanding, probably as a result of that incident, that the Mexican government now prohibits chumming and/or baiting on those trips. I think that is kind of silly, just a knee-jerk bureaucratic reaction. Doesn't solve anything, more importantly, it doesn't address the bigger issue of whether anything needs to be solved. Personally I doubt that the operators are conforming to the new regulations.

Ken Bondy - 12-12-2008 at 09:39 AM

Speaking of the Guadalupe shark trips, here's something I wrote about them after my trip. This has some timely relevance because of the "Planet in Peril" series now running on CNN:
___________________________________

These caged and baited shark trips are surprisingly controversial. The criticisms usually take two forms, 1) the chumming and baiting changes the shark’s behavior and makes them dependent on humans for food, increasing the danger for swimmers and surfers; and 2) the artificial atmosphere in which the sharks are seen.

The first criticism, made long and loud by a group of San Francisco area surfers, actually shut down a white shark operation at the Farallon Islands just west of San Francisco Bay a few years ago. I believe the first criticism is false and is driven by the general hysterical fear of sharks which has been created by our media, starting with the old “Jaws” syndrome. Sharks, particularly those species which have been around for as long as great whites, are opportunistic feeders and eat what they can, when they can. If the baited trips were to stop, the sharks would no doubt figure out some way to eat, probably in the same way they have eaten for the last 400 million years or so.

Based on what I saw on my Guadalupe trip, it is my personal, non-scientific opinion that these caged encounters are not really feeding experiences for the sharks. They actually consume very little food in the process. The baits are rarely eaten; rather they are toyed with by the sharks. In my opinion the baiting is a diversion for the sharks, like a cat playing with a toy. I think they simply enjoy the experience. When they are really hungry, they take care of that elsewhere.

The argument that caged shark trips create a danger for surfers and swimmers is, I believe, unsupportable. There is no evidence that baiting great white sharks, at significant distances from beaches where people swim and surf, increases the danger of shark attack for swimmers and surfers. Isla Guadalupe is 170 miles from any North American beach. It is difficult to imagine how baiting sharks at Guadalupe could have any effect on a North American swimmer or surfer, based on its remote location alone.

A more valid and thoughtful criticism, in my opinion, is the “zoo-like” artificial condition created by attracting the sharks with chum and bait. Clearly this does not present the shark in its natural condition, or represent its natural behavior. Nobody denies that, but compared with not ever seeing one alive and/or outside of an aquarium, I will gladly accept the opportunity to see one from the cage. I thought it was a thrilling, electric experience.

Baited shark trips, targeting several different species, have become very popular among divers on several continents. The images that have been made on those trips have, I believe, positively impacted the perception of sharks among the non-diving population. Like aquariums, baited shark trips, on balance, have benefited sharks. I believe one thing about these trips is undeniably true. The white shark population at Guadalupe would not exist but for the small fleet of shark-watching boats that operate there, and the publicity (and protection) that these trips have generated. The entire Guadalupe population of white sharks, estimated at about 50 individuals, could be completely wiped out by one fishing boat in about a week.

Other than a small group of nomadic Mexican fishermen who work the island, no-one knew that great whites were there until a lot of long-range Guadalupe fishermen on the San Diego boats started landing only the severed heads of their big yellowfin tunas. The knowledge of the existence of great white sharks in clean water at Isla Guadalupe quickly spread to shark-watching outfits like San Diego Shark Diving, the one I was with on my trip. Soon several shark-watching boats were operating there, and great images of the sharks were being seen all over the world. This led to protection of the sharks by the Mexican government.

If the shark-watching industry had not “gotten there first”, I have little doubt that the sharkfinning industry would have found them and done them great damage, potentially wiping them out. If that had happened, many people would have lost the chance, first-hand and in images, to see these magnificent, timeless animals in their natural habitat, for the benefit of the relative few who like to eat soup made from their fins.

Skipjack Joe - 12-12-2008 at 03:37 PM

I tend to agree with your thoughts about the banning of bait induced encounters with great whites. My thinking is that divers visit these locations with bait because the sharks are there. Not the reverse. The sharks aren't there because the water is chummed for the divers.

What's going on is,

divers -> sharks -> sea lions

not

sharks -> divers

So if you accept that the former is occuring then removing divers from the relationship leaves the surfers in the same danger as before.

I'm not a big fan of Jaws either. It seems to me it was a turning point in moviedom. That was a film written for young adults but made for adults. It was a great money maker followed by more Spielberg works. And now it's hard to find films with adult content. Moviegoers just don't want to to go any longer unless there's flying cats or colliding 'death stars'. Films like 'The African Queen' wouldn't even be made today. Got off track - a bit.