It was a huge 14ft (4m), 2,175-pound (987kg) female. Her body was sleek and muscular, capable of high speeds if necessary. She ignored the bait and gave the caged divers a once over then slowly swam away, never changing her pace. Author, Peter Benchley, sure pegged it correctly when he referred to these creatures as “natural perfection”.

The classical philosophy of Italian diving

The huge mountain valley, the majestic bridges, the many cars and motorcycles, and people rushing to work are all first impressions of the industrial zone of Genoa. Here, we find the headquarters of the Cressi empire and their factory.
 

In addition he is also a award winning underwater photographer and author dedicated to telling stories and capturing images of Africa’s oceans and coastline and these days spends at least half his year in pursuit of elusive uniquely African marine subjects.

Twenty-five years ago I made a film called the Ocean’s Daughter, that tried, in my own small way, to add a voice to the growing calls to protect our planetary future. It was a film that tried to express the sacredness of life and the magical beauty of nature and the fact that we, as humans, we're in danger of destroying ourselves, before we had the chance to evolve into mature adulthood as a species.

Made up of 70 islands, Orkney, which also has a rich cultural and historical heritage, is a haven for diving, fishing and outdoor enthusiasts. Sam has taken inspiration from his beautiful and magical surroundings to inform his work of marine life forms and textural surfaces.

“There is a feeling of alchemy when crafting something of value from a supposedly dead material.”

— Sam MacDonald

The El Dorado dive resort is 20 minutes from Dumaguete City, Negros Island of the Philippines.  Situated along the beach, it is a staging point to the popular Apo Island and other appealing locations.  

One of the most enthralling dive spots is the house reef in front of the resort.

This muck site contains a zoo of the strangest critters.  Here I experience regular encounters with the ornate ghost pipefish, frogfish, cuttlefish, dragonet, spearer mantis shrimp, leaf fish, an array of nudibranchs, and a mermaid. 

That’s right! A mermaid!

It was a long trip up to Narvik, so we dosed a bit, talked of this and that, while we both ruminated over our increasing expectations and what we imagined we would find, and how it would be to come mask to snout with one of the oceans largest predators.

Out there and in free water the “wolfs of the ocean”  were waiting for us, those predators known as killer whales.

My two-dolphin-power E-ticket ride is at Anthony’s Key Resort on the island of Roatan off the coast of Honduras.

This tropical playground, well known to scuba divers, is also home to the Roatan Institute of Marine Science. Here you can touch, swim, snorkel and scuba dive with dolphins and even be a “dolphin trainer for a day.”

A dolphin trainer’s day starts with preparing food. You help sort the restaurant-grade frozen fish, picking out damaged fish that might harbor bacteria.

Different sources positioned the lake at an altitude varying from 4,960 to 5,200m above sea level and described its size as 4 by 1.5 km across. Asking the locals and guides about the lake as well as subsequent internet search confirmed that no person had ever dared to dive in the lake.