David Salvatori
Portfolio
issue n°44
- Apr 2019
Travels: Macromania - Puerto Galera
Review: Nauticam 45° Viewfinder
Travels: Sardine Run
Interview: Ellen Cuylaerts
Biology: the Peacok Wrasse
Monthly Contest: December - January
Travels
Sardine Run 2018 and whales’ migration
by: Marco Calvani
I
t happens all the time when you meet a friend and you tell him: “I am going for the Sardine Run”. It happens all the time, again, when you say that you are going to see the Sardine Run to a friend of yours, who does not know pretty much anything about diving in general. It happens all the time to find yourself explaining what the Sardine Run really is, and why you chose to book for it, making the best description you can, yet knowing that it will never be enough. The truth is easy: nobody knows what this marine event is, till the moment you get on board, early morning, when it is chilly and, after a cruise that can be hours, days or weeks long, the skipper and the Dive Master together say: “GO”! So, here is the main, simple, hard-to-answer question: what is the Sardine Run? Looking at what Wikipedia says about that, shortly is: “The sardine run of southern Africa occurs from May through July when billions of sardines […] spawn in the cool waters of the Agulhas Bank and move northward along the east coast of South Africa. Their sheer numbers create a feeding frenzy along the coastline. The run, containing millions of individual sardines, occurs when a current of cold water heads north from the Agulhas Bank up to Mozambique where it then leaves the coastline and goes further east into the Indian Ocean.“
Basically, this means that every year, during winter austral time, along the South African coast from south-west to north-east there are shoals of sardines to be sighted by humans and hunted by dolphins, sharks, penguins, cape fur seals and, obviously, whales. Meanwhile, pods of humpbacks and -rare yet possible- orcas are migrating too and the chance to witness to a couple of breaching is not uncommon.
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Interview
Ellen Cuylaerts
Underwater & Wildlife photographer
by: Ivana Orlovic
U
nderwater & Wildlife photographer Co-Owner Ascension Island Adventures Curator World Ocean Day by United Nations Image Competition Explorers Club fellow International Member of the Flag & Honors Committee Explorers Club Master in History & Education Inductee Women Divers Hall of Fame 2019 Ellen Cuylaerts relocated from Belgium to the Cayman Islands in 2009 with her family. Having a master degree in modern history and education but ended up working in IT until she decided to home school her 2 gifted teenagers, relocating and taking up scuba diving in June 2011. Soon she became a Master Scuba Diver and combined it with photographing the wonders of the underwater world. Her main drive is shooting images that draw the viewer in so an emotional bond is established between marine life and people that might not have a link with the underwater world. By creating an image that captures how she feels rather than what she sees, Ellen hopes to get people involved in protecting our blue planet.
and second in the United Nations’ World Oceans Day Photo Competition (which she now curates.) Those competitions have helped her to make her voice in conservation louder and also to mentor more people to use their images to contribute to education, preservation and awareness.
Ellen received many awards for her pictures and was the 2013 World Champion in the yearly online underwater photo competition ‘underwaterphotography.com. June 2014 & again 2015 she became first
Ellen’s work can be seen in exhibitions in Paris, St. Petersburg, Valencia, Marseille and New York.
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June 2017 she addressed heads of State on World Oceans Day at the General Assembly of the United Nations highlighting the plight of photographers and filmmakers engaging in protection of the oceans.
constructive way to ‘be the change you want to see’. March 2019 she’ll be inducted in the Women Divers Hall of Fame, Class of 2019.
As a Fellow Explorer International Ellen became a member of the Flag & Honors Committee of the Explorers Club, hence having a front seat at future explorations! She try to bring people together to work in a
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Contest
IOtalian ctober Photographer -N ovember
Of The Year 2018 Website: www.scubashooters.net
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F
IRST PLACE (POPULAR VOTE) FABIO IARDINO
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