2013 Film Festival

Ernie Brooks

Ernie Brooks is frequently referred to as the Ansel Adams of the Underwater World for the breathtaking, timeless black and white images that he has captured on film. As a noted professional photographer, educator and ambassador to the industry, Mr. Brooks has won international acclaim for underwater photography and audio/visual presentation.

He is a member of the Professional Photographers of America and is one of forty photographers in the world admitted to the prestigious Camera Craftsmen of America. Mr. Brooks has been a trailblazer in the development of underwater photographic equipment and technique, and has witnessed great industry advances and though he has harnessed and implemented much of that new technology, at a time when a plethora of color underwater photographs illustrate magazines and glossy brochures, he, perhaps surprisingly, favors black and white.

In the pursuit of dramatic marine images, he has descended into the fascinating waters beneath the polar icecaps as well as into the depths of almost every ocean on Earth. His photographic legacy is the evidence that has illustrated changes in our environment, while he himself remains a tremendous voice in our need to witness the effect of that change. Ernie will be sharing some of his favorite images with us.

Michael Pitts

Michael Pitts specializes in filming underwater and is regarded as one of Britain’s leading underwater cameramen, but he is equally happy shooting on the surface or from the air. He has been awarded an Emmy for photography on two BBC landmark series: David Attenborough’s ‘Private Life of Plants’ and ‘Blue Planet’.  Michael has over 20 years experience of making wildlife and science documentaries for the BBC and Independent Companies. He works on all formats including Super 35/16mm, HD and Digital Beta. More recently, he worked on two other BBC/Discovery Channel series, ‘Oceans’ and ‘Life’, that premiered in 2008 and 2009 respectively.  As he came from the commercial world of diving, Michael is HSE registered and holds all the necessary qualifications and medical requirements to film underwater. In addition, he has trained and qualified in Trimix and Re-breather diving.  Over the past year, he has been extremely busy on a variety of assignments, including an ongoing project in the Red Sea and Saudi Arabia that kept him away from us last year.  He looks forward to finally joining us this year, but until we get to meet him in Boston, a great selection of his still and film images can be reviewed on his website: http://www.michaelpitts.co.uk/stills.php.

For the film festival, Michael has put together a collection of some of his favorite projects, entitled “Making Blue Movies” that will include clips and behind the scenes stills from three BBC series with Sir David Attenborough, “Private Life of Plants”, “Blue Planet”, and “Life”; and pieces from two different projects for the BBC Natural World, including  “Dragons of Komodo”, “Amazon Abyss”, and from National Geographic’s “Desert Seas”.  Michael will illustrate with stills to show how these selected sequences were shot and discuss the trials and tribulations of working both above and below the surface on a variety of incredible subjects. He will include spectacular animal encounters and behavior, the majority of which was shot for the first time.

Peck Euwer

Peck Euwer is a producer-cameraman-editor, whose Santa Barbara based production company, Swell Pictures, Inc., specializes in film and video production. Peck began his career at National Geographic Television as an assistant editor and then a sound editor.  In 1993, Peck moved west to become a cameraman and producer for a very talented mentor, Mike deGruy  (may he rest in peace).  He grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, and never even considered diving or surfing other than catching rare glimpses on Wide World of Sports. That all changed when he moved to California.  Working at Mike’s company, The Film Crew, Inc., Peck acted as a cameraman and associate producer on the Emmy nominated film ‘The Flooded Forest’ which was made for National Geographic TV.  Peck shot and produced their next film, ‘The Octopus Show’ which was hosted and executive produced by Mike, also for National Geographic and WNET’s series Nature. In 1999, the crew moved to Santa Barbara. Not long after, Peck made his home there, and in 2001 opened a one-stop shop for film (yes film) and video production known as Swell Pictures.  His independent film releases include: “The Big Swell”, “The Craving” and “Losing the Elephants”. Peck’s long list of camera credits span 15 years and include: National Geographic, Discovery, PBS, BBC, NBC and many more.

Back in 1993, Peck bought a board and started flailing at El Porto in LA’s South Bay, one of the most revered secret spots on the California coast. His passion for the sport grows with each passing year, and constantly threatens to disrupt his life.  Fortunately, both his wife and son surf.

For this Film Festival, Peck has brought several short video vignette’s featuring Mike deGruy and some of his favorite video pieces.  In addition, the Sea Rovers are pleased to welcome a true surfing film legend, who produced a classic big wave film “The Big Swell”, that follows the life cycle of a massive winter swell from its birth in the heart of a violent storm in the North Pacific through to its death throes in the form of giant waves breaking at a notorious surf break in Northern California.   The story is told through the words of renowned surfers and marine forecasters. The anticipation of the swell’s arrival provides a glimpse into the lives of this select group of people that make these massive winter waves their passion bordering on obsession. In the process, it explains how and why such waves come into being and what they are capable of.  For further information, be sure to check out http://www.swellpicturesinc.com.

Did you know?  In addition to his work behind the camera, Peck also shared at least one other thing in common with his friend Mike.  They both survived a vicious shark attack.

On Friday Sept 29 2004 at around 9 am, Euwer was paddling in 45 feet of water at Maverick’s near Half Moon Bay California when a great white shark attacked the board with Euwer on it. Peck was knocked over the nose and head of the shark as the animal bit down on his surfboard. The shark disappeared below the surface and Euwer began his nightmare paddle back to shore. Thankfully he managed to reach land without the shark trying again.

Erick Higuera

 
Erick Higuera was born and grew up in the south central part of Mexico, and he’s always had a deep passion for the ocean and all of its inhabitants.  In 1997 he moved to the Baja, where he earned a college degree in Marine Biology, while also obtaining scuba instructor ratings with SSI, TDI and PADI.  As an instructor and crew member on board the live-aboard Solmar V, Erick has been in the unique position of being able to spend many months each year diving and exploring the waters of Guadalupe Island, the Sea of Cortes and the Revillagigedo’s Islands, filming and photographing their sea creatures.

Since 2006 Erick has also been involved with research on the Pacific Giant Mantas from the Revillagigedo’s Archipelago, better known as Socorro’s Islands. He is passionate about sharing his experiences in the ocean and with increasing the awareness of the marine environment with everyone he meets.  Most recently, after a year of hard work and dedication, he made the short film “Baja” to show and share with the world the amazing and beautiful creatures that inhabit the waters around the Baja, with the express purpose of increasing the awareness and importance of preserving all the marine life that is still there, and in particular those that are most threatened.  He was most recently awarded the Stan Waterman Award for Excellence in Underwater Videography (by BTS) for his visually stunning film entitled Baja.  In his own words, “It is imperative that we act quickly to protect marine species populations that still prevail before it’s too late.  There is still time to act, and it is our responsibility to do so, if we don´t want these beauties disappear, and if we want our children to also get to know them.”

For  this film festival, Erick will be digging through his huge catalog of images and video collected over the past fifteen years to put together a special presentation just for the Boston Sea Rovers.  To get a taste of some of his footage, you may want to check out his award winning short film, “Baha”, at http://vimeo.com/47153573 .

DISCLAIMER

Please note that participants scheduled to speak at any Sea Rovers Clinic event are subject to last minute travel and work emergencies that are inherent when working with state-of-the-art gear being used to push the boundaries of exploration and discovery. Participant list subject to change at last moment – please come back often for updates and additions to our exciting film festival line up.