Category

Into The Planet Book

May 01
0

Ultimate Travel Tips – Getting Packed

By | All Posts, Into The Planet Book, Royal Canadian Geographical Society, Underwater Canada, Underwater Photo and Video | No Comments

I have spent a lifetime traveling the globe on expeditions and filming projects. This is installment two of my top 100 travel tips to make your journey more relaxed and earth-friendly. 1. Small Footprint – Rolling your clothes and socks saves space. 2. Compress It – Use silicone compression sacs and dry bags to further squeeze the air out of your clothes and maximize packing space. 3. Electronics – Get a cable bag to organize your charging and computer cables. 4. Storage – If you are going to shoot a lot of photos, take a hard drive for backup and…

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Apr 21
1

Are You Afraid of Dying?

By | All Posts, Cave Diving, Into The Planet Book, Women Underwater | No Comments

My parents are going to cringe when they read my book. They will have to put it down and take a deep breath. When my Mother first learned about the risks that were involved in my career of exploring and filming underwater caves, the color drained from her face. It terrifies her to imagine me squeezing through tiny spaces in submerged caves deep with the planet. One day she asked me, “are you afraid of dying?” I get that question all the time. Why would anyone want to lead a life with so many perceived risks? But, I genuinely believe…

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Apr 15
0

The First Reader of Into The Planet

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Writing a book is scary, especially when it is your memoir. You lay out your life for all to read and potentially dissect. As I embarked on the book writing journey I was terrified, vulnerable and worried. Would the audience understand my message? Did I cover stories adequately and accurately? I reached out to my dear friend and fellow underwater explorer Richie Kohler to be the first reader of my completed manuscript. I waited nervously, not wanting to rush him along. I am so excited to offer his response and endorsement here: I love the book  (CLAP CLAP CLAP)! I…

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Apr 01
0

Ultimate Travel Tips – Before Departure

By | All Posts, Into The Planet Book, Royal Canadian Geographical Society, Underwater Canada, Underwater Photo and Video | No Comments

I’ve spent a lifetime traveling the globe on expeditions and filming projects. In this series, I will offer up the top 100 travel tips. Part one offers the things to do before your trip. 1. Global Rescue – If you are going to be in a remote place, make sure you have evacuation insurance to get home in the event of an accident. 2. Medical Insurance – Ensure you are covered adequately in case of misfortune. Divers Alert Network (DAN) offers worldwide coverage for diving accidents and supplemental travel insurance with proceeds that support diving medical research. Other sport’s organizations…

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Mar 26
2

Climate Change Documentary

By | All Posts, Into The Planet Book, Royal Canadian Geographical Society, Underwater Canada, We Are Water | No Comments

I’m very proud to share the poster for the film that I worked on throughout the summer of 2018. It will be launched in Germany in July 2019 and will follow to other markets internationally through the fall of 2019. I served as an underwater camera person and the English presenter in the movie. It was a profound journey that took our tiny crew from Greenland to Baffin Island and the northern reaches of Hudson Bay. We camped on sea ice, plunged into frigid waters and fended off polar bears to get the shots. I am grateful to Mario Cyr, my…

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Mar 21
2

My Most Important Reviewer

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Many people imagine that my husband Robert McClellan must have read every word of my book Into The Planet. The truth is that it was only a few weeks ago that he finally read the book. Writing and editing a manuscript take years. While I worked with editors Bhavna Chauhan at Doubleday Books and Denise Oswald at ECCO, I often felt like I was getting psychotherapy, rather than editing. I had imagined that the process would be akin to a teacher grading a term paper, counseling me on grammar and tense. But it was so much more. Detailed notes asked…

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Mar 18
3

The Story Behind the Cover of Into The Planet

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In 1997, my first husband Paul Heinerth and I discovered a remarkable deep cave attached to a little known sinkhole deep in the jungle of a region called the Ejido Jacinto Pat in Mexico. I shot the cover photo for Into The Planet at the spot where I later suffered from a severe case of decompression illness that nearly ended my career. A year earlier, our friends, Dan Lins and Kay Walten had completed a long dive, entering at a cenote—pool in the jungle—called Tikim Ich. After a swim of over one-mile in highly decorated, snug passages, the floor and…

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