Secrets of the Ocean Realm

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read for Fin Fans!
Review: For those of us who read everything we can on underwater photography, this book provides an added dimension and delightful reprieve from the technical how-to's of most underwater photography books. This book is a series of fascinating stories about the adventures and mis-adventures Howard and Michelle and their staff encountered when shooting different subjects. A fascinating and stimulating book, it provides anecdotal insight into how they approach certain projects without dwelling on the technical "how to's" found in most underwater photography books. Everyone studying underwater photography or just enjoying the sport of diving should surface long enough to give themselves this present. It sure made me want to grab my fins and camera and head off to points all around the world. Thanks to Howard and Michelle for putting together such a compelling read. And of course, it has beautiful photographs.

Rating:
Summary: A poetic underwater journey!
Review: Stare at the beautiful underwater photographs. Sitback, relax and gently discover the Ocean Realm with the still images of Howard Hall and his wife Michele, images that, as Peter Benchley (Jaws, The Deep) writes in the foreword, are among the finest in the world. Dive. Wander through the Kelp forests of the northern Pacific. Get a close-up of sharks and squids in magic detail. Enjoy the vivid colors of the reef and watch lobsters and sea turtles, dolphins and whales in an exciting photographic journey! Since this book is not a reference work, you will also enjoy reading it slowly and in the direction of your choice, diving at pleasure through the light text that describes the Hall's adventures as filmmakers and marine photographers. And then you will also find some information about the sea-life captured in the images and poetic hints about scuba-diving and underwater photography. A nice dive, a pleasant reading and, at the price that Amazon.com is offering it, a real gift. Buy the book!

Rating:
Summary: A poetic underwater journey!
Review: Stare at the beautiful underwater photographs. Sitback, relax and gently discover the Ocean Realm with the still images of Howard Hall and his wife Michele, images that, as Peter Benchley (Jaws, The Deep) writes in the foreword, are among the finest in the world. Dive. Wander through the Kelp forests of the northern Pacific. Get a close-up of sharks and squids in magic detail. Enjoy the vivid colors of the reef and watch lobsters and sea turtles, dolphins and whales in an exciting photographic journey! Since this book is not a reference work, you will also enjoy reading it slowly and in the direction of your choice, diving at pleasure through the light text that describes the Hall's adventures as filmmakers and marine photographers. And then you will also find some information about the sea-life captured in the images and poetic hints about scuba-diving and underwater photography. A nice dive, a pleasant reading and, at the price that Amazon.com is offering it, a real gift. Buy the book!

Rating:
Summary: 10 stars for this book
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read about the underwater world. Incredibly beautiful underwater photography of high quality. The photos do not only depict animals swimming around but, for example, sarcastic fringehead males in a showy territorial "fight," close up.

I also like the authors' sensible view about animals and diving in the ocean. No show-off accounts of near-shark-escapes but an honest experience, mostly good but sometimes scary, of working under water. The authors recount some extraordinary events, such as a ride on a manta after freeing him from entangling fishing nets, or unexpectedly finding themselves surrounded by a school of fish that is being slaughtered by marlins.

With this book we get a wonderful view into the ocean world but also a fascinating account of what it is like spending many hours a day waiting, scouting, decompressing, refilling tanks and back to waiting so one can capture a never seen one-minute event on film that made it worth all the work.