Ozone Ave.

Something funny happened a few weeks ago. I went home to visit my family (in Maryland) and no that’s not the funny part Molly….

While at home, I had dinner with two of my best friends from what seems another lifetime, highschool… and one of them, Ally began to tell me a rumor she had recently heard.

A distant friend of ours had seen a previous blog post, related to the work I have been doing. This blog post featured, Pierce Brosnan and his involvement in an advocacy campaign that for the past 4 months I have helped facilitate. This friend began to tell Ally that I now work as Brosnan’s assitant.

This came as news to both Ally and myself. I would like to work for Pierce, however my current job is far less glamourous. Fun, but definitely not James Bond status.

Anyways, other then work my days have involved soaking up my new home in Venice, measuring myself against Northern California’s Big Trees, and building a multimedia production agency dedicated to saving the Oceans. And snapping the occasional photo here and there. Enjoy the exploits.

And p.s. try the new app Diptic. I kinda like it.

© 2010 Tony Rath/tonyrath.com

Content Source: http://na.oceana.org/

Author: Margot Stiles

“Every spring Belize hosts one of nature’s great wonders: the arrival of whale sharks in search of spawning snapper. This year I had the pleasure of witnessing it first hand, on last month’s Oceana expedition.

The whale shark is the largest fish in the sea at 60 feet long, but it is mild-mannered and harmless to people. Around the full moons of March through June each year, whale sharks arrive and begin feeding at the Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes Marine Reserve near Placencia, Belize.

Tony Rath of Naturalight Productions has spent thirty years photographing wildlife in Belize and still beams at the mention of his most recent expedition with Oceana. “Seeing whale sharks this close is an unforgettable experience, as inspiring as seeing a puma or any of the large animals on land,” he said.

I couldn’t agree more. Despite hundreds of dives around the world, I found swimming side-by-side with a whale shark truly sublime, a transcendent moment I’ll look back on for many years to come.

In Belize the whale shark receives special treatment, with strong regulations in place to prevent harmful human interaction. No one is allowed to touch the sharks, and there is a maximum number of boats and divers each hour to prevent overcrowding.

The giants are also internationally protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which requires close monitoring of the international sale of any captured whale sharks.

Although they are not hunted in most countries, there are foreign fleets that hunt other sharks for their fins and will take a whale shark if they have the opportunity.

Foreign fleets including Taiwan and Spain have approached the Government of Belize seeking access to fish in Belizean waters. Foreign fishing vessels from Taiwan vessels are notorious for shark finning in Costa Rica, and are eager to expand to new areas. In the Maldives Islands, scarred and disfigured whale sharks have been sighted after attempts to remove their fins.

Whale sharks are vulnerable to overexploitation because they are long-lived. Unfortunately, we don’t know enough about their reproduction or how many there are to determine if any fishing pressure could be sustained.

We do know that these gentle giants have chosen Belize as their destination of choice every spring, bringing steady tourism income and a natural wonder for everyone to enjoy.”

Margot Stiles is a marine scientist at Oceana.

“Gold Coast…It’s sorta like the Las Vegas of Australia”

This is rad.

Happy friday!

Please note: Images displayed above are not © Jobi Manson.

As many of you can probably tell, I have a slight infatuation with all things oceanic. I grew up with this instill self-procliamed passion at a young age, and all this work with “The Blue Project” has been fueling the fire.

I wanted to share with you all some small inspiration in the form of showcasing art throughout multiple mediums.

Please enjoy. Stay posted for all the sourcing information regarding the artists depicted above.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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I recently met Mr. Malloy when he showed up to participate in “The Blue Project” just a few weeks back. Articulate, involved, concerned. A creative big-picture visionary, dedicated to the education of the masses on what’s going on in our earth’s oceans. He has also been very busy with his own personal project, which you can view above.

180° South is an adventure film, made by Chris for surfers & water enthusiasts a like. I have yet to see this piece, so I will refrain from comment, however keep posted for updates & to find out more about Chris please visit Patagonia.com.

© Steven Lippman & SLPF

Over the past two months I have been assisting Director & Photographer, Steven Lippman put together a still & motion campaign for malibu magazine’s june/july “BLUE ISSUE,” that showcases innovative and unique oceanic charities & organizations,  to raise awareness for our disappearing natural environment. This campaign was spearheaded by high profile personalities, all having deep connections with organizations such as “surf aid international,” “the surfrider foundation,” “surfer’s healing,” “international fund for animal welfare,” “5 gyres,” “asr,” “save the waves,” “dolphinaid,” “water keeper alliance,” and last but not least “oceana”.

From start to finish this project was a creative collaboration between many parties. We teamed up with writer, Jody Wilson & publisher of the mag, Jason Rouse and began to weave an intimate tapestry monologue for the viral component of the shoot. This script showcased all the personalities delivering 3 powerful statements regarding their organizations and the current state of affairs with our earth’s oceans. These statements were meant to create a shock and awe effect, yet by the end of the viral we want viewers to be inspired & empowered with our denouement-esque positive action. The voices delivering these messages were extremely diverse and a compelation of personalities such as actors, activists, athletes, environmentalists, musicians, entrepreneurs, and artists. our cast consisted of Pierce Brosnan, Scott Caan, Brandon Boyd, Caroline Burckle, Anna Cummins, Harry Gesner, Nick Behunin & Chris Jensen, John Paul Dejoria, Chris Malloy, and Tatjana Patitz.

After we had the script solidified, we contracted genius set-designer david ross to assemble a 100% recycled wood backdrop. This backdrop was a 10 x 10 in design and the perfect centerpiece for highlighting the organic and natural mood of the shoot.

Everything for this shoot was donated. From the location, a tranquil ranch house generously provided by compound project’s founder, Debbie Frank to the musical ambiance provided by dj jacques and finally the fantastic food from love catering.  Even the filming for the viral psa was donated. the d.p.’s for this shoot were headed by creative visionary Gary Waller, followed by Federico Verardi, and lastly Ernesto Lomeli. The equipment was graciously provided by quixote & the camera by smashbox digital.

The production of this shoot was full of emotion from the minute we arrived on set, to the exchanged conversations between our cast & crew, and finally the dialogue between personalities. The morning was spent executing the perfection of our “ultra-soft” lighting set-up, created to mimic natural soft sunlight. The crew gave up both saturday (pre-production) & sunday for this pro-bono campaign. It was awesome.

It was a tremendous effort coordinated with the help of Jill Roy, e.p. of 3 star productions her producer Barbie Duarte, the people of maneater productions, e.p. Jed James & head of production, Sean Newhouse, and producer Molly Macdonald.

From the arrival of first talent, musician Brandon Boyd to the closer, international supermodel Tatjana Patitz, it was smooth sailing all day with beautiful weather and gregarious banter throughout the entire production. The chemistry of the crew was electric and it was wonderful to see the interactions and sharing of inspiration on multiple levels.

The result was that of complete success. We are now pressing forward to create an event that honors the art captured from this campaign & reveals the viral psa. It will be a night in malibu, hosted at an undisclosed location & sponsored by a private contributor. (more information to come)

The stills portion of this project will be a 20 page editorial feature in malibu magazine’s june/july issue. As far as placement goes for the viral spot…stay tuned!

To find out more information regarding the featured organizations & charities please view the following links:

surf aid international: www.surfaidinternational.org

surfrider foundation: www.surfrider.org

surfer’s healing: www.surfershealing.org

international fund for animal welfare: www.ifaw.org

5gyres: www.5gyres.org

asr: www.asrltd.com

save the waves: www.savethewaves.org

dolphinaid: www.dolphinaid.org

the water keeper’s alliance: www.waterkeeper.org

oceana: www.oceana.org

Do some homework. Check all these organizations out, I promise it will be worth your while.

Be that change. Be inspiring. Get involved.

© Wolfgang Bloch

Came across his work when researching the greatly anticipated Jack Johnson album known as “To The Sea”. Innovative in design, and Latin American by descent, Bloch immigrated to the U.S. to pursue a career in commercial fine art.

With his muted palette & simple organic materials, he strives to capture the unexpected delightful plasures of non-traditional seascapes.

Wanted to share. Hope you all enjoy.