Profiles and Interviews

Clement Lee is the embodiment of the entrepreneurial dive industry pioneer. In this interview, we take a reminiscent look back at the challenges overcome and the awards won.

The Star Trek Legacy goes underwater

Millis Keegan interviews Odyssey Marine Exploration’s Principal Marine Archaeologist Neil Cunningham Dobson — April 2009

NAUI turns 50. Are the founding principles still valid half a century later, have they changed, and how does the organization plan to evolve in the next 50?

Valerie Taylor, along with her husband Ron, are two of the true pioneers of underwater photo and video, since their debut in the 1960s.

This is the moment I have waited for for years. I sit comfortably on the side of Denis Bignand’s dive boat and under my fins, which are already dangling in the water, I have a 400 meter drop off.

Many, many divers, underwater photographers and filmmakers, when asked about the origin of their passion to go underwater, say that they were inspired by the films and books of Hans Hass. He must be a very remarkable person, interesting to listen to, not to mention, Dr Hass is the greatest celebrity in the diving world today. Is it possible to meet him, to talk?

A conversation with technical diver and depth record breaker, Pascal Bernabé. Pascal Bernabé has just held a press conference at the Moscow dive show answering questions from an enthusiastic audience about his 330 meter record dive. The soft spoken Frenchman seems relieved to slip out of the uncomfortable limelight on the stage. Having escaped the massive attention for a while, he grabs a chair beside me, and we begin to converse about the meaning of it all.

Biologist, rebreather diver, inventor of Pyle Stops or... database manager X-RAY MAG catches up with the ever-inventive and contemplative pioneer, Richard Pyle, to find out what makes him tick, insights into his theories, and the stories behind his accomplishments.

Our talks with Bob Evans were just full of good ole plain fun, with lots of laughs and entertaining anecdotes, yet serious and focused on the subject. From the first impression, he was open, welcoming

Depending on who you ask, humans are responsible for removing between 20 million and 100 million sharks per year from the oceans. Considered a delicacy in many parts of the world, shark fins are served at Chinese weddings and business dinners throughout Southeast Asia and the Pacific Rim. The problem with finning is two-fold. First, from a humanitarian aspect, sharks are still alive when their fins are sliced off; the animals are thrown back into the sea, where they’re left to drown. Second, from a practical standpoint, the demand for shark fins will soon outpace the ability of sharks to reproduce—the number of pups in any shark’s litter rarely exceeds 100—and overfishing could have serious effects for both coral reef systems and the entire food chain.

Caves, rebreathers, risk assessment, the meaning of life, acceptable risks, the future of diving and what it takes to be a true explorer—Bill Stone lays it all out on the table for X-RAY MAG publisher

Ralph Hagen can remember the actual moment he started cartooning as if it were yesterday. Hagen says that he was about four when he saw a cartoon pencil sketch hanging on his grandfather’s porch dra

Kurt Amsler, winner of over 100 awards at international photo competitions and a world champion title, turns 60 this year, but you would never know it watching him mountain bike up a steep pass with his black Labrador running at his heels in the hills behind his house, a lovely home that sits overlooking the beautiful Mediterranean and a small picturesque village in the south of France.

“If you think about it, the space between the highest mountain peak which is seven miles high and our lowest point in the ocean which is about seven miles deep… that’s just 14 miles of space in which all life, our lives, can exist. Our naked bodies cannot survive outside this small zone on the planet, which actually appears like a smooth ball with a few stains on it from outer space. So why build these suits? Why go so deep? Well, if we are not going to go there, why build the suits? There’s no point. The reason why we make these suits is to eventually be able to go to the places we cannot reach today.

Wreck detective Miranda Krestovnikoff recently completed another series of dive programmes for the BBC. The ambitious new series, Coast, is to be aired this autumn. We take a look behind the mask...

Named Time magazine’s first “hero for the planet” in 1998, marine biologist Sylvia Earle has pioneered research on marine ecosystems. She has led more than 50 expeditions—that’s more than 6,

Down the stairs to the friendly photo shop at Sunset House Hotel, a dive resort on Grand Cayman Island, one enters the world of the colourful and inimitable Cathy Church, a legend in underwater photography and an inspiring teacher to many a diver who found his or her way to her popular week-long super courses. At the tender age of 60, Church is still excited about her craft and looks forward to many more years of helping divers take better shots underwater.

Amos Nachoum, world acclaimed wildlife photographer is the recipient of numerous photographic awards and acknowledgements for his ground breaking work in free diving with Great White Sharks and Orcas