Most people familiar with WWI history have heard of the notorious German Flying Ace – the RED BARON. But do you know who shot him down? I’ll give you a hint – it wasn’t a comic strip beagle named Snoopy flying on a doghouse! I live in an old mill that was once owned by his family, so I dug deep into the life of this humble Canadian man who lived in Carleton Place, Ontario.
Need more info about how to select an underwater light? I wrote this for DIVER Magazine w while back, but the information is completely relevant today: https://divermag.com/how-to-choose-a-video-light/
Dry gloves can be frustrating, expensive, and difficult to manage without assistance. In this video, I explain a simple method the keeps me cozy.
Robert McClellan and I are so excited to launch a new apparel and accessory brand that celebrates my art and exploration. Using my paintings of the Canadian landscape and images from the underwater world, we’ve created an ethically produced, sustainable brand that we’re proud to share with the world. Each piece is created on-demand, so waste can be minimized. It’s not fast fashion, but if you can be a little patient for our cut and sew partners to make your items, you will be thrilled with the results!
What do Jeopardy host Alex Trebek, Canadian Geographic Magazine, and a WW2 weapons lab have in common? The secret is at 50 Sussex Drive in Canada’s capital of Ottawa. Robert McClellan and I share the story in our first installment of “My Canada.” If you are wondering about the details of the chemical weapons production, here are a few more interesting points. From 1940-47, the Rideau Falls Chemical Weapons Lab produced flame thrower fuel and B1 dye used to detect mustard gas in addition to a number of other “classified chemical compounds.” By the end of the war, the lab…
In the midst of COVID lockdowns, Robert and I have put our creative skills to work launching www.MapleProud.com. We’re using my artwork, inspired by the raw Canadian landscape and underwater world to create a unique line of apparel and accessories. Where possible, almost all our fabrics are made in Canada. Garments are made one at a time based on your order by our cut and sewn artists in Montreal. We’re proud that our products are both ethically made and support fair wages for Canadians.
This image is a multimedia art creation that started in Arctic waters. I was north of the Arctic Circle, beneath the ice. People often ask me why I would ever want to dive under sea ice or under any ice for that matter. For me, the answer is that the ice is an ever-changing landscape that takes my breath away. In my book INTO THE PLANET, I tried to put it into words. “Iridescent blue, Wedgwood, azure, cerulean, cobalt and robin’s egg meld with chalk and silvery alabaster. The ice is vibrant, bright, and at the same time ghostly, shadowy….
The Bianca C was built during World War II in France and launched in June 1944. The ship was scuttled by the Germans in August. The hull was raised and remodeled in July 1949. On Sunday, October 22, 1961, an explosion occurred in the engine room when the ship was anchored off Grenada in the Caribbean. As fires broke out, approximately 700 passengers and crew scrambled to abandon the ship while Grenadian fishermen near the harbor of St. George’s rushed to help. One crewman died immediately, and eight others were injured. The ship burned for two days awaiting a fireboat…
I learned to dive in Tobermory, Canada, the site of Fathom Five National Marine Park in Lake Huron. In this small park, literally dozens of 150-200- year-old shipwrecks lie at the bottom of the lake. In some cases, they are almost stacked on top of each other, a testament to the storms of November that were immortalized by Gordon Lightfoot as he sang about the Edmund Fitzgerald. But this wreck, the Sweepstakes, has been visited by more people than perhaps any other Great Lakes Shipwreck. It lies in only 20 feet of water in Big Tub Harbor. Today, people snorkel…
Under Thin Ice In the fall of 2018, I was shooting a film called Under Thin Ice for the Nature of Things on CBC. My colleague and fellow filmmaker Mario Cyr, suggested that we work together to get a shot of a polar bear swimming in the open water. As the icons of climate change, these amazing animals normally hunt on top of the ice, but climate change has forced them into the water to find food – a sevenfold increase of time in the water over the ice. Polar bears can swim 10 kph for 10 days without stopping…