Lunchtime between dives by the side of Loch Nevis

The view from the kitchen window

So far weather execllent! Knoydart, north of Mallaig on the west coast of Scotland, diving the Small Isles and Sea Lochs. Visibility good and some very unusual and interesting marine life seen including the rarely recorded Guillet’s Goby – the smallest fish found in the UK and Ireland. Water still cool at 11~12 ˚C and fish mostly wary but the odd one happy to sit and be photographed. Scenery as spectacular as ever with rapidly changing weather varying the cloud cover and giving dramatic skies.

Vietnam AP Photographer Nick Ut photographed Kim Phuc after a napalm strike and produced one of the most unforgettable images of the 20th Century. Together in Manchester, they officially ‘opened’ the new Leica Store and talked about the events of the memorable day the photograph was taken, and about the way it has affected their lives ever since. As well as being an influencing factor responsible for the end of the war, it was obviously a pivotal part of both their lives and one which had huge personal repercussions.

Today Kim, who now lives in Canada, has a charity, The Kim Foundation International, a non-profit organisation whose mission, as might well be appreciated following her own experiences, is to help heal the wounds suffered by innocent children, and to restore hope and happiness to their lives, by providing much needed medical and psychological assistance.

Nick can be seen here.

Sean Sutton from MAG International also gave a preliminary talk, and photos from Mag and Nick showing their work and various projects that MAG are involved in around the world were also on display. Mag International’s vision is a safe and secure future for men, women and children affected by armed violence and conflict.

The evening was a fascinating insight into a piece of history which I remember happening – although I was then just a youngster, the images in both papers, and on the television, of the Vietnam war were quite startling and left an impression. Whilst now quite well known, Nick and Kim’s story was very well worth retelling and listening to. Although I have never had the remotest interest in photographing the horrors of war myself, to listen to people who have been involved in one of its most appalling, widely reported and influental events was quite something and well worth a 100 mile drive.

Dr Andreas Kaufmann, Supervisory Board Chairman of Leica AG was also there and was not merely courteous enough to have a chat with a lowly photographer, but most charming and pleasant too. An interesting evening, and many thanks to David Stephens.

Lecturing on the Voyager

In April this year (2015) my wife and I were cruise lecturers during a spring voyage from Portsmouth to the Azores and Madeira on the Voyager. Whilst we gave talks on the marine environment over and to which we travelled, I also took the opportunity to take photographs in all the places that we visited. Some of these images can be seen here.

Sherkin Island Marine Station celebrations

The Sherkin Island Marine Station is on the island which lies off Baltimore on the County Cork coast in Ireland. This year it has just celebrated its 40th anniversary. I was a volunteer at the Marine Station from 1982 to 1984 and these were very formative years. They sparked my life-long interest in the marine environment. On the 22nd, 23rd and 24th May this year (2015) Matt Murphy, director of the station, himself now 80, celebrated its 40th anniversary with a celebratory, long weekend, and over 300 people converged on the tiny island off the coast of County Cork in Ireland. Travel distance had obviously not deterred people and attendees came not only from Ireland, but from the UK, Belgium, Norway, Africa, USA, Canada, Thailand and probably many more. It was an extraordinary day with glorious, hot weather and the station looked great, freshly painted and with new displays for all to see. Matt was himself amazed at the turnout, and received his well-deserved accolades with delight as well as several unexpected presentations including one from a US department.

Sherkin Island Marine Station Volunteers in 1982