David Doubilet (top); a Doubilet image of a great white shark (bottom) Photographs by David Doubilet
David Doubilet estimates that he has spent over half of his life underwater. This is not a gross overstatement. At the age of 12, he took his first underwater photograph off the coast of his native New Jersey using a Brownie Hawkeye camera sealed in a plastic bag. He was hooked. Now considered the leading underwater photographer in the world, Doubilet has shot over 60 stories for National Geographic and introduced a generation of readers to the mysteries and wonders of the deep. His undersea reporting has taken him to the Red Sea, Pearl Harbor, the South Pacific, and beyond. Along the way he has captured groundbreaking images of great white sharks, sea lions, octopuses, penguins, fluorescent coral, World War II wrecks, and much more. Many of his images are prized as much for their scientific value as their aesthetic beauty.
For the December 2004 National Geographic, Doubilet journeyed to Southern Africa’s Okavango River, which feeds one of the largest inland deltas on Earth. Each winter, Botswana’s seasonal floodwaters transform the Okavango’s parched landscape into an oasis teeming with crocodiles, waterfowl, and thirsty elephants. Doubilet suited up, dove in, and emerged with stunning images of life in Africa’s miracle delta.
Most recently, for a story in the November 2005 National Geographic, Doubilet traveled to another exotic destination, Indonesia’s Kungkungan Bay, off the northern tip of the island of Sulawesi. Although the bay underwater first appeared like “an unwelcoming moonscape,” Doubilet soon discovered that “any place you put your hand, there is life, veiled in the sand or hiding in plain sight.” From thumbnail-sized pygmy seahorses to newly-discovered octopus species that change shape and color to avoid detection, he tracked down and photographed a remarkable variety of undersea life.
An audience favorite with a keen, dry sense of humor, Doubilet offers a stunning and entertaining tour of parts of our planet you may have only read about, never knew existed, or never dared to go.
Pricing: () Series tickets start at $70 (members), $80 (nonmembers), and $45 (students/educators). A limited number of single-event tickets will be available by phone only, on January 11, 2006.
