Polar Bears possess one of the “lowest reproduction rates of any mammal.”
“The young are born from November through January while the mothers are hibernating. Cubs will remain with their mothers for a little over 2 years. Female polar bears can produce five litters in their lifetime, which is one of the lowest reproductive rates of any mammal.” source: www.defenders.org/polar-bear/basic-facts
Polar bear mother & cub, photographed Churchill, Manitoba.
It was at that moment that a fellow underwater photographer set their aim upon taking a wide-angle picture of me with the cuttlefish in the foreground. In one of those ah ha, I think I can, moments, I focused on the cuttlefish using my macro lens. Miraculously, I was able to include my fellow diver in the background as I focused my lens on the cuttlefish. The results were pleasing and the magazines editor agreed and used that unlikely picture for the magazine cover shot!
Spiny dogfish inhabit colder waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans from shallows to nearly 700 metres (2,300 feet) deep. Found in all the world’s temperate oceans, the spiny dogfish is a small schooling shark that forms groups of hundreds, or thousands, of individuals of the same sex and size. The average length is between 75 and 105 cm (30 to 40 inches), however, individuals have been known to grow to 130 cm (50 inches) weighing 9 kg (20lbs).
Spiny dogfish sharks are long-distance travelers. One spiny dogfish tagged and released from Washington State showed up off the coast of Japan ~ a 8,046 kilometer (5,000 mile) ocean journey!
Feeling kinda… wow!
I have always been enthralled with the study of biology, history and geography. It’s almost as if these cultural subjects were intertwined in my DNA. However, the following acknowledgement eclipses any marks I may have attained for all the hand-colored grade school maps I made tracing the routes of early Portuguese explorers such as Vasco De Gama, or Ferdinand Magellan. And so, it is a distinct honor that yesterday I was named a Fellow in the prestigious Royal Geographical Society (RGS) with the Institute of British Geographers.
This esteemed institute based in London is committed to the wider public understanding, promotion, development and enjoyment of geography, together with its application to the challenges facing society and the environment. The RGS also advances geographic knowledge through lectures and publications, through its libraries and map collections, and through instruction in surveying and the support of fieldwork expeditions, exploration and research.
The Royal Geographical Society was founded in 1830 under the name Geographical Society of London as an institution to promote the “advancement of geographical science”. It later absorbed the older African Association, which had been founded by Sir Joseph Banks in 1788, as well as the Raleigh Club and the Palestine Associated Like many learned societies, it had started as a dining club in London, where select members held informal dinner debates on current scientific issues and ideas. Under the patronage of King William IV, it later became known as the Royal Geographical Society (RGS). The society amalgamated with the smaller Institute of British Geographers in 1995, hence its formal title today is “Royal Geographical Society with The Institute of British Geographers (RGS-IBG)” although the latter name is often dropped.
The Royal Geographical Society has a storied history of supporting many famous British explorers and expeditions, including those of, Sir Charles Darwin, legendary African explorer Dr. David Livingstone, Sir Ernest Shackleton, Sir Robert Scott (Scott of the Antarctic), Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin, and mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary to name a few. Among many other notable explorers and geographers, current fellows also include Michael Palin (Yes, that Michael Palin) who was the president of the RGS from 2009 to 2012. Fellowship in the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS) is granted to those who can demonstrate evidence of his or her own work and academic publications in the field of geography and closely related subjects such as international development and climate change. Fellows in the RGS may use the post-nominal designation FRGS after their names. Since 1912, the Royal Geographical Society and its historical archives have been headquartered at Lowther Lodge, a Victorian Queen Anne style house built between 1872 and 1875 that faces Hyde Park in South Kensington, London, England.
Jett Britnell, FI’16, FRGS
We are honored to be named “Photographer of the Week” today in Dive Photo Guide.
DivePhotoGuide.com is an award-winning website for over 50,000 underwater photographers and videographers of all skill levels from around the globe. We would like to express our gratitude and thanks for the unbridled support and encouragement from our talented DPG Editor, Joanna Lentini, and also to Ian Bongso-Seldrup, Managing Editor and Chief Operations Officer for Dive Photo Guide. The midnight oil never burns so bright as when working with these two kind souls. 
❤️
Here is the link for the feature http://bit.ly/2oAiqwo
“Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” ~ Albert Schweitzer
It’s now official and it pleases me to no end to announce I have been named a “Fellow” in the world renowned Explorers Club. Established in 1904, the Explorers Club is a New York City-based professional society that includes approximately 3,000 members in more than 60 countries who are dedicated to the advancement of field research, scientific exploration, and “the instinct to explore.” As of December 17, 2015, there were 229 members in the Explorer Club’s Canadian Chapter.
The Explorer Club’s mission statement is as follows:
“The Explorers Club promotes the scientific exploration of land, sea, air, and space by supporting research and education in the physical, natural and biological sciences. The Club’s members have been responsible for an illustrious series of famous firsts: First to the North Pole, first to the South Pole, first to the summit of Mount Everest, first to the deepest point in the ocean, first to the surface of the moon—all accomplished by our members. The Explorers Club mission is to advance field research, scientific exploration, resource conservation, and the ideal that it is vital to preserve the instinct to explore.”
Legendary members in this “fraternity of adventurers” has included Arctic explorer Robert Peary, Antarctic explorer Roald Amundsen, mountaineers Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, three former U.S. presidents, Kon-Tiki expedition’s Thor Heyerdahl along with modern day explorers such as marine biologist Dr. Sylvia Earle, inventor of sub sea submersibles and the NewtSuit Dr. Phil Nuytten, anthropologist Jane Goodall, film director James Cameron and Space-X founder Elon Musk to name just a few. Understandably, acceptance into this prestigious club is not awarded without merit. Fellowship in the Explorers Club is reserved for those individuals who have distinguished themselves in some way by directly contributing to scientific knowledge in the field of geographical exploration or allied sciences. Such accomplishments are proven by having a deep résumé of expeditions, adventures, scholarships, and/or publications documenting scientific fieldwork or explorations, but may also be documented in books, popular media, or broadcast media. 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.
I must express my sincere thanks to several people who encouraged and supported my membership application.
First, my sponsor, Susan R. Eaton (MI’11), P.Geol., P. Geoph., M.Sc., DIC, B.Sc. Hon., B.J. (Journalism) Hon., Regional Director, Prairies/NWT Explorers Club – Canadian Chapter, Explorers Club. Susan is also founder and leader of the 2014-2016 Sedna Epic Polar Expedition, named as one of Canada’s top 100 modern-day explorers by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society in 2015, Susan has since been elected to the College of Fellows of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. It was over dinner earlier this year that Susan encouraged, and by her own words insisted, that I apply for membership to the Explorers Club. Susan, far beyond all your noteworthy accomplishments, you have more importantly become a close friend to both Kathryn and I. It is with sincere gratitude that I thank you for your inspiration, inner elegance, and enthusiastic support.
Second, and someone who I have known for half my lifetime, my co-sponsor and another close friend, Donnie Reid (FI’11), Canadian Chapter, Citation of Merit 2012. Donnie, we have shared about as much together in this lifetime as blood brothers. Thank you for your steadfast support and loyal friendship which means far more to me than mere words could ever express.
Third, John Pollack (FI’06), Membership Director of the Explorers Club Canadian Chapter and a nautical surveyor who was also named one of Canada’s top 100 modern-day explorers by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society in 2015. John graciously volunteered to personally forward my application to the Explorers Club’s New York headquarters. John, I thank you so much for your kind support and generous spirit and I so look forward to perhaps sharing a great adventure and a fine scotch together in the years to come.
Last, and certainly not least, when I was seemingly dragging my heels with pulling together my membership application, it was my wife, Kathryn, who figuratively lit my flame when she emphatically stated, “You must, do this.” Kathryn, if I may paraphrase Emily Brontë, “Whatever our souls are made of, yours and mine are the same.” You are, without peer, the greatest adventure of them all.
Of course, mom is immensely proud. Yet, I cannot escape the weight of words that Nobel laureate Bob Dylan once wrote, “Behind every beautiful thing there’s been some kind of pain.” If there is anything at all bittersweet about this honor, it is that both my dad and younger brother are not alive to share this moment with me. My dad passed away 20 years ago this month, and my brother 10 ½ years ago. We love and miss them both and remain confident their spirits watch over us.
Sir Edmund Hillary once said, “Nobody climbs mountains for scientific reasons. Science is used to raise money for the expeditions, but you really climb for the hell of it.” On this third stone from the sun, there still remains much to be explored. Whether for science, humanity, conservation, or whether just doing it for the hell of it, the “instinct to explore” continuously beckons. I look forward to being an active member in the Explorers Club’s Canadian Chapter.
The largest member of the dolphin family, orcas (also known as “killer whales”) are highly intelligent and social marine mammals that, because of these traits, have come to be known as ambassadors for nature and marine ecosystems around the world. However, despite our ever-increasing understanding of orcas and their habitats, many of the world’s orca populations are still facing severe conservation threats.
“Due to their voracious appetites and their place at the top of the ocean food chain, orcas are very susceptible to pollution and chemicals and suffer from diseases and reproductive disorders accordingly. For this reason many scientists consider orcas an “indicator species” regarding the health of marine ecosystems in general. That is, if orcas are in decline, the rest of the ocean is likely in big trouble, too.” – source Scientific America. www.scientificamerican.com/article/earth-talks-killer-whales/
Orca populations in British Columbia, Canada, have been assessed at various levels of risk by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).
Southern resident killer whale: Endangered (November 2008)
Northern resident killer whale: Threatened (November 2008)
Transient killer whale: Threatened (November 2008)
Offshore killer whale: Threatened (November 2008)
It’s been said when a friend dies, something inside you dies. Our friendship goes back over 25 years. I’m sure, there will be many accolades about the man, his humanity and inspiring photography. Today, I will think of Stuart with warmth, fondness and of the times we’ve known. We were rich in knowing him.We extend our sincerest and heartfelt condolences to his loving wife, Robin, his son Jordan, and his many friends and loved ones.
Cloud Sponge, British ColumbiaCloud sponges (Aphrocallistes vastus) are a prehistoric sponge typically found only in deep cold seas. Their unique and fragile skeletal formation makes cloud sponges extremely sensitive to the slightest touch, sedimentation, and to physical disturbances from bottom trawling fishing activity. They are sometimes called “glass” sponges because their structure is made up of very sharp fused spicules of silica. Cloud sponge are found in the northern Pacific Ocean and their range includes Japan, Siberia, the Aleutian Islands and the west coast of North America from Alaska southwards to California and Mexico. It is a reef-building species found in deeper waters on the western Canadian shelf growing on sediment-free rocks. They grow in fiords off the coast of British Columbia, Canada, beginning at depths of 25 metres (82 feet), or more.
Elegant Coastal ShrimpAn elegant coastal shrimp. This was something we had never seen before on a sea pen. Intent on capturing a marine life photo that was something beyond the ordinary, I quickly focused my camera’s macro lens on the discover several elegant coastal shrimp’s (Heptacarpus decorus) shrimp’s bulbous eyes.
One key element in creating successful underwater photographs is to use negative space to artistic effect. Negative space is defined as being the area between and around objects in a photo that can help strengthen your composition and add extra emphasis to the main subject. Since elegant coastal shrimp have mostly translucent bodies, the orange sea pen’s colonies of polyp formations provided both a colorful backdrop and some superb negative space for my main subject.
Elegant coastal shrimp have a prominent hump on their back and are relatively small at 2.3 inches (6 cm) in length. Ranging from the Aleutian Islands, Alaska to California, they are but one of more than 85 shrimp species inhabiting British Columbia’s Emerald Sea. While most local shrimp species are easily recognized, you have to take a longer look to accurately identify the elegant coastal shrimp as they are sometimes mistakenly identified as being threespine costal shrimp.
Photograph made in Queen Charlotte Strait’s famed Browning Passage, off the north coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, using a Nikon D200 digital camera in a Sealux underwater housing fitted with a Nikon 60mm macro lens and a single Sea & Sea YS-110a strobe. Exposure f/16 at 1/125th of a second at ISO 200.
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