Leopard Seal

EVERY PHOTOGRAPHER HAS A DREAM SHOT. For a long time mine was to see a particular natural predation: a leopard seal hunting a penguin in Antarctica. When I traveled to Antarctica for the first time in 2018, I thought it would be a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Little did I know I’d be venturing back repeatedly over the next few years. 

leopard seal swims around kelp

Jennifer Hayes

READERS WILL KNOW THE BYLINE “David Doubilet and Jennifer Hayes” from scores of National Geographic magazine features. Working as a team they have photographed the wild ocean from the tropics to both polar regions and even some rather unusual aquatic realms in between.

Harp seal pup

SS Manasoo

NORTH AMERICA’S GREAT LAKES have long provided a natural transportation corridor to the continent’s interior. The Anishinaabe people — the region’s original inhabitants — utilized the Great Lakes for trade, passage, and nourishment and developed a rich culture centered around them.

Don Wallace’s 1927 Chevrolet AA Capitol coupe

Helium Gas Purity: What Is Pure Enough?

THE THREE GASES GENERALLY used in recreational and technical diving are oxygen, nitrogen, and helium. Nitrogen is the most abundant and is usually the default gas, but no one seems concerned about its purity, although the U.S. Compressed Gas Association (CGA) provides purity levels, or grades, for various applications. 

Helium/Oxygen Analyzer

Back to Lembeh

THE QUESTION PEOPLE MOST FREQUENTLY ASK us about our years of dive travel involves our favorite place to dive. This can be a delicate topic, especially when visiting a resort with resident staff or management nearby. We unfailingly reply, “Where we’re diving now.”

These 2-inch male mandarin fish display their beautiful outstretched fins without hostility