X-Ray Mag #28
Maldives Sea Safari -- An In Depth Guide with Michael Aw; Whale Shark Park Maldives; Gifts for Sea Lovers; Profile of Jim Bram, NAUI President; Russia's Barents Sea with Andrey Bizyukin; Rebreather for Cave Diving by Cedric Verdier; Underwater Photography in Ice Diving with Kurt Amsler; Fishy Found Objects of Frank Russell; SOS Seaturltes
Plus...
News and discoveries, wrecks, travel news, equipment and training news, books and media, underwater photo winners, turtle tales, whale tales, jellyfish tales, business directory and much more...
Main features in this issue include:
Barents Sea
All along the shores of the Kola Peninsula in North Russia, Finno-Ugric tribes (Laplander) have lived since the oldest of ages. In the 11th century, the Viking ships appeared here, and then the Novgorods and the Pomors (Russian settlers and traders on the coasts of the White Sea and the Barents Sea) came.
During their three years here, the Dutchman organized three expeditions to search for a navigable way through the ice. They discovered new lands, charted maps, made meteorological observations, and conducted the first wintering of the Dutch team in the Arctic region.
Frank Russell Portfolio
These days anything we can do to help the environment and recycle is a good idea. American artist Frank Russell of North Carolina takes recycling to another level, transforming it into an art form with his fantastic sculptures of underwater creatures created with found objects and scap metal.
"Observing wild creatures living in and under water provides a centering, soothing and healing power that my soul seriously seeks."
— Frank Russell
X-RAY MAG: What made you go into art?
Jim Bram - A talk with NAUIs president
NAUI turns 50. Are the founding principles still valid half a century later, have they changed, and how does the organization plan to evolve in the next 50?
NAUI was formed 1959 in support of its members training the public to safely dive anywhere in the world. That is a goal that will be valid as long as there are people who desire quality training when learning to scuba dive.
Maldives Sea Safari
One thousand and 192 islands, islets and sand cays string the 26 atolls of the Maldives; from the air they float like emerald necklaces flung upon a cobalt blue sea.
Sitting right on the trade route of the early Arab merchants, the human history of these islands dates back some 15 centuries. The Maldives archipelago comprises of uncountable submerged reefs call thila in ‘dhivehi’—the local language—stretching 760km north to south and 120km from east to west.
Photo & Ice Diving
Ice diving is always something out of the ordinary. The atmosphere, colors, flora and fauna—it definitely pays off to endure the icy temperatures for a while. However, there are a few things you need to be aware of. If you are not afraid of the cold water and you can overcome the anxiety of diving under ice, you will enjoy photographing the sometimes bizarre formations under the ice.
