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In The PressPublished Work

The Philippines: Tripping the Depths Fantastic with Atlantis Dive Resorts

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Common lionfish Pterois volitans JETT BRITNELL

The Philippines

Last year, Kathryn and I accepted an invitation from diving legend and Atlantis ImageMakers Ambassador, Marty Snyderman, to fly to the Philippines in August, with an international group of nine other underwater photo pros, to participate in Atlantis ImageMakers 2022, hosted by Atlantis Dive Resorts and Liveaboards, Philippines.

Philippines

Our collective mission for two weeks between the two resorts, Atlantis Dumaguete and Atlantis Puerto Galera, was to do nothing except come along and… “bring a great attitude, dive safely, and above all have fun!” We did all that, and more. While we were under no obligation to do so… we decided to write a story about it for our adventure column in Luxe Beat Magazine.

Flamboyant cuttlefish Jett Britnell
Flamboyant cuttlefish. Photo by Jett Britnell.

Whatever you give in love… always comes back to you in countless ways.

Marty Snyderman Quote

Kind Words

Jett Britnell Photo
Jett Britnell Photo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Published Work

Pub Crawling London’s Immortal Drinking Dens

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Pub Crawling Londons Immortal Drinking Dens Jett Britnell

London’s immortal drinking dens have been part of the storied town’s cultural fabric for centuries. Swarthy smugglers, roguish pirates, drunken sailors, dreaded press gangs, a great fire, multiple wars, literary legends, inebriated philosophers, dubious politicians, spurned lovers, hell raising thespians, ribald poets, hedonistic rock stars, gentrification, and a global pandemic could not bring London’s celebrated pub culture to its knees. Shrouded in history, London’s boozers are rife with tall tales of excessive indulgence, scandals, and allegedly stories of spooky paranormal activity. These worn-in social shrines of yore have been the backbone of British society and provided a meeting place where people from all walks of life could order an amber elixir, soak in the atmosphere, and get drunk on history.

The Coal Hole entrance Jett Britnell
The Coal Hole entrance. Photo by Jett Britnell

Our story “Pub Crawling London’s Immortal Drinking Dens” was published this morning in Luxe Beat Magazine and it has earned us our 16th “Editor’s Pick” and another “Feature.” I had to truly take one for the team on this boozer expedition as I had to bend the elbow… I mean… conduct solo research… at several of London’s historic pubs without Kathryn as she was attending some business meetings while in town. With a nod and a wink to Charles Dickens… “It was a far, far better thing that I did than I have ever done; it was a far, far better pub crawl that I went on than I have ever known. 

The Mayflower pub. Photo by Jett Britnell
The Mayflower pub. Photo by Jett Britnell

Story is: Here

Published Work

“Walking the Algarve’s Wild West” Published in LuxeBeat Magazine!

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Praia da Cordoama Beach Jett Britnell
LuxeBeat July 2022
LuxeBeat July 2022

The Algarve

For outdoor enthusiasts and nature lovers, Portugal’s western Algarve is increasingly becoming known for being an ideal hiking destination to immerse oneself in an off the beaten path adventure. Renowned for its wave-swept sea cliff-backed beaches, golden sand dunes, deserted footpaths, and whitewashed fishing villages, the Algarve’s western coastline is breathtakingly beautiful. In the interior, the pastoral countryside is characterized by rolling hills and verdant valleys dotted with cork plantations and small rural villages where time has seemingly stood still.

Rota Vincenta Trail Jett Britnell
Rota Vincenta Trail Jett Britnell

Rota Vincentina

The lush forested green spaces are comprised of cork, eucalyptus, and pine trees interspersed with scenic gravel backroads and well-trodden footpaths. Barring any unforeseen heat waves, the climate here is relatively mild during the winter and warm in summer. Many of the natural sites are protected areas and have been designated UNESCO world heritage sites. It’s remarkable that so few people seem to know about the Algarve’s wild west?

Ponta do Castelo Jett Britnell
Ponta do Castelo Jett Britnell

Link to story is: HERE

Life As It Happens

Jett Britnell – Chapter Chair of The Explorers Club Canadian Chapter

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Canadian Chapter Logo Large

Star Trek Public Domain

Chapter Chair – The Explorers Club – Canadian Chapter

Well, New Year’s Day 2022 is the day I officially assumed the role and responsibilities of Chapter Chair of The Explorers Club- Canadian Chapter. While it all still seems a bit surreal to me, I’m comforted knowing that we have a group of extremely talented people on the Canadian Chapter’s Executive Team. Tomorrow it’s “Ahead warp factor one“…because all things in life should be more about the voyage… than the destination.

“I Truly Never Imagined Any Of This”

Scuba News Canada Jett Britnell 1

Scuba News Canada Jett Britnell 2

Scuba News Canada Jett Britnell 3Scuba News Canada Jett Britnell 4

 

Scuba News Canada Story: Link

Published Work

“Blowin’ a Gagger” in Tobermory – Shipwrecks, a Grotto, and Ice Cream

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Diving Tobermory’s Historic Shipwrecks

My story about diving Tobermory’s historic shipwrecks “Blowin’ a Gagger” in Tobermory – Shipwrecks, a Grotto, and Ice Cream”, was published online today on Shearwater Research‘s website.
This was a fun story to write and is a nod and a wink to the many diving friends I have back east who shared time and space with us during my 10-day diving visit to Tobermory, Ontario, back in 2019.

Tobermory Britnell

Mucho thanks to Jeff Shirk, Paul Scott, Greg Hannigan, my fellow Team Zero brothers who drove all the way up from Milwaukee for a visit, (Cal Kothrade aka Mr. #MilwaukeeSettings, Steven Wimer II, and Dirk Wilhelm, Corry Coyea, Divers Den owners Kelly McAdam & Michael Marcotte, and then on my last night at the Seldon’s homestead for dinner Mark Skursky and JD Strang came for a visit and where I met for the first time the lovely and talented Kelly Rizzo who tamed… er well, married… Stuart Seldon. Thanks again, Stuart, for making this visit a blast. Best of all… I can now forever claim to be part of Tobermory’s scuba history having stayed for many nights at the notoriously famous… “Squaller Holler!”
Published Work

Exploring Mars From Pavilion Lake

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Colonies of microbialites in Pavilion Lake photo by Jett Britnell

“WOW! You hit another one out of the park! LOVE this piece. From Martini’s to Mars… Jett and Kathryn rock it!”

~ Editor, Luxe Beat Magazine

We scored another LuxeBeat Magazine… “Editor’s Picks!”

 “Get dressed, we’re going on an adventure!”

Everyone needs a friend who will call, and say… “Get dressed, we’re going on an adventure!” And the friend who jump started this adventure was Michel Joseph. That’s Michel with his full underwater camera rig in the picture.
Link to the story is: Here
“Where there is water, there is life!” is an old adage of Astrobiologists. Whenever people pondered the possibility of there being water on Mars, it was often in the context about there being either ancient water or frozen water. However, there was a scientific breakthrough in 2017 when cumulative evidence from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) provided scientists with findings that liquid water does indeed flow intermittently each summer on the Red Planet’s mountains, craters and canyons. Evidentiary proof that Mars may in the past, or in the present, been habitable for microorganisms. “Our quest on Mars has been to “follow the water,” in our search for life in the universe, and now we have convincing science that validates what we’ve long suspected. This is a significant development, as it appears to confirm that water, albeit briny, is flowing today on the surface of Mars” said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
Published Work

Scubaverse Underwater Photographer Interview: Jett Britnell

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Screen Shot 2021 07 10 at 10.15.35 PM

What, or who, has been the single biggest inspiration for your underwater photography?

Apart from the local BC underwater photographers who I dived with regularly, there were also several world-renowned underwater photographers whose work always inspired me. For me, teamwork makes the dream work. I have always been drawn to and admired the photos made by diving couples such as Hans & Lotte Hass, Ron & Valerie Taylor, and Stephen Frink and his dearly departed wife, Barbara Doernbach. Other underwater photo pros whose imagery consistently provided stars to reach for were Amos Nachoum, Chris Newbert, David Doubilet, Howard Hall, Marty Snyderman, and the late Rick Frehsee. They all shot with slide film back in the early days where you only had 36 frames per dive. And then there is what I like to call the new wave of underwater photo pros, the incomparable Ellen Cuylaerts, Michele Westmoreland, Allison Vitsky, Alex Mustard, Ken Kiefer, Eiko Jones, Stewart Sy, Joanna Suan and my brother from another mother and Tobermory’s shipwreck diving legend Stuart Seldon. I would also be remiss if I did not mention Michael Maes who, before turning to the dark side of shooting underwater video, created some stunning underwater still images

Here is a link to the full interview: Here

Published Work

Images Flipped or Rotated

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Jett Britnell Photo e1622575746384

Images Flipped or Rotated

Just a couple of examples of how in original images my be flipped, or rotated to fit the advertising need.

Flip Horizontal

What it looks like when they flip the horizontal on one of my images.

Original Image Below

Rotate 90 Degrees Counter Clockwise

What it looked like when a photo stock agency rotated my image 90 degrees counter clockwise to make the big sale.

How Image Was Originally Shot Below

Life As It Happens

How to become a member of “The Explorers Club?”

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Explorers Club Sign Jett Britnell

How to become a member “The Explorers Club?”

Membership does have its privileges and this article which was published a few years ago in Men’s Journal (see link at end of this post) provides a quick overview about membership levels. I was named a Fellow in 2016 and Kathryn was named a Fellow in 2019.

As the article states, “Fellows: They’re the most distinguished of the bunch. Fellows have directly and substantially contributed to the scientific understanding of the world through field research on their expeditions.”

Along with securing letters of support from two current club members, all new member applications are also vetted by a judicious membership panel at the Explorers Club headquarters in New York City.

The 113th Explorers Club Annual Dinner on Ellis Island, NYC, March 25, 2017.jpg

When I was urged by a club member to join The Explorers Club, I was never so bold as to assume I had amassed the required qualifications to become a club member, let alone a Fellow. And yet, here we both are.

Here is the link to the Men’s Journal article: Here

Kathryn & Jett Britnell outside The Explorers Club HQ in New York City.
Life As It Happens

Today is our 13th Wedding Anniversary!

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Every year I post on Facebook something about our wedding anniversary. I have decided to share these posts here for posterity. I will just add that some of you have met, or know, Kathryn in the real sense. Others may only know her virtually. I can say with some authority that she is the real deal. A kinder, more charitable, and better soul you can only feel blessed to have in your orbit. The thing is… she does not truly know how she impacts others. I have had a front row seat for almost 14 years and I cannot recount the number of times she has handed her bag lunch over to a homeless person while she is in her car stopped at a red light. Orchestrating the donation of hundreds of pillows to homeless shelters… the list goes on… all without fanfare… she just quietly and selflessly helps those less fortunate. Kathryn has always done things so much more nobler… and more meaningful in the end… than I have ever done.

So, here we go with sentiments I write from the heart.

April 2021

“13 has always been my lucky number.” ~ Jett Britnell

Tomorrow, April 2nd, is our 13th wedding anniversary. A statement I tossed out into the Facebook universe 13 years ago about my pending marriage to Kathryn is pictured below. The following week we were married near Waimanalo Beach which is located on the southeastern corner of Oahu. Kathryn’s wish was to walk along a turquoise blue ocean shoreline in her white fufu wedding dress. A wish… fulfilled.

In the performance arts, “rhythm” is defined as being the timing of events on a human scale; of musical sounds and silences that occur over time, of the steps of a dance, or the meter of spoken language and poetry.

Happy 13th Wedding Anniversary, Kathryn! I fell in love with your courage, kindness, and your flaming self-respect. Thank you for choosing me to be your husband… and also for holding me in the rhythm of your embrace as we trip the light fandango. How beautiful the dance. xo

April 2020

Happy 12th Wedding Anniversary, Kathryn! 🥂

Twelve years ago today, you could have chosen any other Zaddy (for those who may not have been following the story thus far, a Zaddy is a guy who’s attractive and fashionable, with swagger and sex appeal) on this planet to exchange wedding vows with. But, in your infinite wisdom, you chose me instead (trust you can all appreciate the genius here over how I cleverly give myself a pat on the back while simultaneously passing along a heartfelt compliment). During this time, we have experienced “me love you long time” fun together. All good times that made any challenges we encountered seem nothing more than minor annoyances.


I’m sincerely sorry about those early days in the hospital last fall wherein you had to entertain the fear of the unknown while we awaited some test results. I know there were moments when you felt scared. Through it all, you stood tall, and nobody but me will ever know how much you had to rise above to get through that period. Thank you for being the one who I could lean on during one of those exceedingly rare times in my life (it may have been the only time) when I truly needed someone to lean on.

I have always endeavored to surround myself with kind people. When I entered your life, you inherited a cast of good friends, writers, photographers, scuba divers, explorers and dreamers. All of whom I’m sure would say they were happy to have inherited you through me. And so, it goes… you embraced the madness. The world is in a tough place at the moment. The sun will always shine. Never give up, never surrender, and never forget to keep the fights clean and the sex dirty. And, as always, thank you for choosing me to be your husband! xoxo❤️

April 2019

“Blue skies of Hawaii smile. On this, our wedding day.” ~ Hawaiian Wedding Song.

Tomorrow, April 2nd, is our 11th wedding anniversary!

Kathryn , as you know, it was a stupendously gorgeous sunny day 11 years ago when we posed together for wedding pictures on Waimānalo Beach, with our toes in white sand framed by the scenically beautiful cerulean blue Pacific Ocean that stretches along Oahu’s windward coast. We created quite a stir with a few beachgoers that day; with you looking so breath-takingly beautiful in your white Fufu wedding dress, and me clearly trying to “punch above my weight” in a white tuxedo jacket and looking somewhat rakish as if I had just stepped out of an upscale nightclub and gambling den called, “Rick’s Café Américain”, in Casablanca during World War II. Truly, an unforgettable and absolutely perfect day this one turned out to be.

On this joyful occasion there are far too many eloquent things I could say… along with a never-ending river of words I could write. But I will cut to the chase and simply say this. You are both a good woman and a kind-hearted charitable soul who never ceases to inspire me with your unconditional love & sage wisdom. Thank you, for being all that you are… all that you aspire to be… and always… for choosing me to be your husband.

“Happy anniversary, mi amor precioso!”

April 2018

“Two drifters off to see the world
There’s such a lot of world to see
We’re after the same rainbow’s end
Waiting round the bend
My Huckleberry friend
Moon river and me.”

10 years go today, I married my Huckleberry friend, Kathryn, at Waimānalo, Hawaii. This photo was taken about an hour after our wedding ceremony. We were driving back to Honolulu when we saw a pull-out overlooking the ocean. It was wild and windy at the Halona Blowhole Lookout, and we looked quite the pair dressed so formal among the tourists who were in shorts and sandals. Ten years with Kathryn has passed in a heartbeat. From the beginning, we’ve been after the same rainbows end. In this regard, we feel blessed and our hearts are filled with gratitude for all the best things in life we have shared together. There’s such a lot of world to see. May the love between us always remain wild and wind-blown. ❤️

April 2017

“And I’d choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I’d find you and I’d choose you.” ― Kiersten White, The Chaos of Stars

Kathryn, I’m confident I could probably have written something as eloquent as this, but hey, we’ve had a busy two weeks what with New York, the all day course today, and more tomorrow. I felt these words captured it well. Happy 9th wedding anniversary tomorrow! XO

April 2016

Happy 8th Wedding Anniversary, Kathryn!

It’s been said a happy marriage is a long conversation that always seems too short. To miss someone whenever they are not near. To feel truly missed whenever I cannot be there. To know the only thing that can make you feel crazy is the world outside, and never that person with whom you share a bed. To always want more for the other person, than you want for yourself. To be greeted with a warm smile when you awake each morning or after a long day. Sharing steps in time with a soul who loves unconditionally, understands you, desires for your happiness and warmly embraces those whom you love. There is no, “I’ll try to protect you” when I know with absolute certainty and without hesitation that I would step in front of a moving train to save you. Kathryn you make our life together seem effortless. If these things are not the basic ingredients for a good marriage, I don’t know what is? Thank you! …for eight years of wedded bliss and also for choosing me to be your husband. XXX

April 2014

April 2013

“I would rather have had one breath of her hair, one kiss from her mouth, one touch of her hand, than eternity without it.” ~ From the movie City of Angels

A shout out for my beautiful wife this morning on our “Numero Cinco Wedding Anniversary!!!” If I had to sum up my feelings about our marriage in one word, that word would be… BLISS! Thank you, Kathryn, for being such an Über amazing wife and for choosing me to be your husband! Happy 5th Anniversary, baby!!


Enjoyed an exceptionally wonderful wedding anniversary dinner at Vancouver’s famed French restaurant, Le Crocodile, with Kathryn, the Wonder Spouse, tonight. Life is good! Very good, indeed!

April 2012

Enjoyed an exceptionally wonderful wedding anniversary dinner at Vancouver’s famed French restaurant, Le Crocodile, with Kathryn, the Wonder Spouse, tonight. Life is good! Very good, indeed!

April 2011

“Celebrating our 3rd Wedding Anniversary!”

“Love is…  born with the pleasure of looking at each other, it is fed with the necessity of seeing each other, it is concluded with the impossibility of separation.” ~ Unknown

And yeah, I love you to pieces. Kathryn. Happy Anniversary, lover! XOXO

April 2010

Today is our 2nd wedding anniversary!!!  Very few things in life can compare to waking up, or turning in each night, with your best friend.  Thanks Katie, for making my life rich beyond compare!  You are the best!

April 2009

Celebrating one year of wedded bliss with my one true love, Kathryn!

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