Meeting place for a long list of sailors and sailing amateurs, the 6th edition of the SAIL IN festival took place in Bilbao earlier last month. The occasion for Panthalassa to meet sailing legend Carlo Borlenghi. Building a bridge between sailing and people, Carlo Borlenghi creates a powerful connection with the sea through his lens only.  »I’m not a sailor, not a swimmer but I like to shoot everything about the sea.« Growing up in Lake Como, Italy, Carlo Borlenghi is considered a pioneer in sailing photography today. « My main house is still situated in Lake Como, I feel lucky living near the border where I have a private beach with a small boat. That’s nice place. I also have a small flat in Milan.«

Thanks to his long-time valuable experience and distinct knowledge, the Italian photographer shares with us some pieces of wisdom about the vital need for a photographer to learn to adapt. »I didn’t change my vision and concept too much, I just use the technology to create the shot that was impossible before. It’s good to know exactly how difficult it was before to appreciate how easy is today.« Before going back to his native city by the sea, the 78-year-old world-renowned sailing photographer found time to talk to us about the evolution of sailing photography. »When we first used a drone, it was like putting up a tripod to the sky.« From analog photography to digital, he evokes the end of an era for the magazine industry, the use of social medias in the communication process today and a balanced vision between pioneer skills and the need to use new digital technology to take better photos.

Carlo, let’s start by talking about your collaboration with the SAIL IN festival. When did it start?

They first contacted me 10 years ago. They wanted to meet me but I was pretty busy with America’s Cup at the time. I ended up sending a selection of pictures and they used one of them for the poster of the very first edition of the SAIL IN Festival. We kinda lost contact until this year when Javier Sobrino invited me to join them. I was available and free from work at the studio so here I am today in Bilbao.

How did you work on this selection of pictures?

These photos are a little bit what represent both me and my job. For example, the »Brava« shot with the upside down boat was taken during my very first regatta. Some other pictures represent some good moments of my job, like »The big cloud« taken in Australia. Whenever I go out, I try to get one shot, not just for business but for me. Priority is obviously given to the client but I try to come back home with one single good shot. If I eventually have 4 or 5 different good ones, I’m happy. It’s hard to find good angles. When I go to bed, I think and dream of an angle. It’s easier to shoot when you have a picture in mind. You go out and just wait for the best moment and create the shot you have in mind. The picture is there. Shooting outside is not like shooting in studio where you can just put the light on or move the model as you like. You have to play with nature, with the sea, with the ocean. You never know, it can be flat, it can be huge and full of waves. I’m only scared to miss a picture for technical reason or regarding the focus. I want to stand out among other photographers, making different pictures.

Your shots are not only about people sailing, but there’s some real tragedy in there. Are you looking for stories?

Yes, story first. Now that the magazine industry is done, there’s no room for story. Magazines used to give us like 8 pages to play around one story, but now is different. The approach is different depending on the client and depending on the regatta, but 90% of the time today, I look for the single shot. A good and strong one. Nobody cares about the story on the regatta anymore. For an event like America’s Cup when we can eventually create a book, in this case, yes I look for the story. Otherwise, it’s hard to look for a story by yourself, in the sea, everything is expensive. You need to charter the boat, the helicopter and go to remote places. It costs a lot to reach nice places. For example, I’m planning to go to Australia today to cover the migration of the crabs to one special island, but it’s so expensive to go there and there’re only two flights each week.

Why considering to cover the crabs migration and move out of the sailing field?

Because it’s incredible! The crabs go out from the forest and go to the sea, crossing the village. crawling down the cliff. So the island, the village, the streets and the cliffs suddenly become totally red, moving. It feels alive. I try to do some different and unusual photography. This crab thing could become a series I could sell at Paris Photo or in Italy.

Tell us about the techniques you use…

Today, I’m working only with digital. Digital gives you more chances to do pictures that was impossible to do before. Drone is a good example. When we first started to use things like this, we put the drone up, it was like to get a tripod to the sky. Before you had to shoot from a helicopter, and then it was difficult to find a client that would pay the expenses. then you have to push film up to 2000 ISO to get rid of all the grainy… the quality was not very good. Now with the drone, you go up, you shoot with the long exposure, you put the ISO, you stay there and get the perfect picture.

Are you working in respect of the technological advances?

Yes because there are so many new ideas, new angles and new cameras! For example, we also like using the drone while shooting a boat going full speed. Today, you can follow it. It was impossible before, there was a limit. Today, you can use these new toys to get new angles and new pictures. I didn’t change my vision and concept too much, I just use the technology to create the shot that was impossible before. It’s good to know exactly how difficult it was before to appreciate how easy it’s today. In the past, when you did black & white and when you had a black sky, you had to make a mask at the lab, you had to do it manually, because there was no correct picture, there was no reality, you played with the dark or with the lighting in the face or this kind of things.

You mentioned working with black & white… Tell us more about that.

Yes, I like black and white a lot. The thing is that, when I started to do this job, I used the go around like a street photographer, I wanted to go into the heart of things, move from my country to another one and come back with different stories to tell. In the past, it was easy. I remember being in England to cover a regatta and ended up making a story about Stonehenge. I spent two or three days in Stonehenge in order to see the crazy people there. I shot only black & white, even for the sunsets and sunrises. This was my dream – use sailing as a mean to travel and create other stories. Then the sailing thing became bigger and bigger for me and there was no time left.

What are the few places you like the most for pictures?

One the best places is South Africa. Because in 300 km2, you get everything. You start from the forest with all the animals like lions and giraffes, then you go to Cape Town where you get to see whales and penguins. Then you can go to the desert of Namibia very close. In the center town, you also have some good wine and vineyards. It’s a really nice place. I have never been in a cage but you can go out to see the sharks in the cage. South Africa is nice. I also love Australia, especially for the regatta. It is one of the best places in the world, especially during Sydney Open. For us as photographers, it’s very good for the action part. Sardinia is also good, you can get good pictures there. But sailing changed recently. Now, they don’t do long-distance races anymore. For me, they used to be the best ones, because I could use the light in the night, capture sunrise and this kind of light. Now they start at 12 o’ clock and are back on the dock at 3pm.

Over the years, you became one of the most famous sailing photographer indeed. What’s your relationship with the sea?

I’m not sailor nor a swimmer. The first regatta I made was a nightmare for me I had no idea what was going on. I started to do the regatta at the Lake with a friend who owned a boat. I observed those sailors going different ways and didn’t understand anything. Then later I realized it’s a very intelligent sport, I like the strategy it needs. In one way, I think it’s better for me not being a sailor because I don’t look at the technical things. I’m just out to shoot the aesthetic aspects. My mind is free mind. I realized it quickly. People who go to the photo fair are not sailors. So I’m bridging two worlds.

What do you like shooting the most?

I like to shoot everything about the sea. For many years, I used to cover a windsurf regatta in Maui, Hawaii. At the time, Robby Naish or this kind of surfers were there. You could sell the picture of a surfer at the time, now you cannot. Nobody care about surfing anymore. There is just maybe the big wave in Nazaré, Portugal, if ever you’re lucky to be there in this period. This is the problem. You could go to Maui for yourself and make very good pictures but it doesn’t pay the bills. Now, you have to work for sponsors to survive.

The job of sailing photographer evolved. Would you say your job relies more on sponsors than on print publications today?

Totally. Magazines don’t commission you anymore. The only way to collaborate with magazines is showing behind the scenes shots of the regatta. But you definitely have to work for sponsors to survive. For example, I work for Rolex. As a freelance photographer, it’s quite impossible because you need to chart the helicopter. For a 27-hour helicopter tour, it costs approximately 45K AUS$. Impossible for one single freelance to pay. The good compromise is to do the best you can for the sponsor because the priority remains the client. Then if you have the chance to get some free minutes for you, you can do one picture for you.

What about analog photography?

Nobody want analog photography anymore, especially for commercial projects. Clients want the picture for… yesterday! Today, you need to shoot and sent the shot right away. Everybody became crazy about the bloody Instagram and social things. Social medias go way more faster than magazine. People post pictures quickly because using an iPhone helps you shoot quickly and post it straight away.

As a photographer, do you feel you needed to adapt to this new era of social medias and all-things digital?

It’s just another challenge. I have my Instagram account but I use it for myself. However, sometimes it’s too much. There’re so many posts and so many stories that don’t say anything. They’re just here to fill the space. To me, if there’s no good picture, there’s no reason to post it. But for most people, it you didn’t pos anything, you didn’t exist that day. If you post a rubbish, it remains rubbish. I know I may be wrong because there’s some rubbish that work, but I stay with my concept. I don’t want to publish just for the sake of publishing. I’m not in the rush. When working on regattas, I have two assistants. They often want to publish a picture quickly but I say « wait, wait… » We get our name under the picture and nobody cares, nobody knows there was no wind this day, nobody cares if there was rain, or… forget it. Give space for the other ones. If there are good conditions the day after, we’ll publish a picture. Our picture must be different than the others’.

Do you also make videos?

Just taking photos. I’m not trying to do both but I work with a guy at the studio who’s in charge of the video part. We sometimes do our post-production ourselves as well cause I find digital a bit flat. There’s no depth. During a race, we just work on the contrasts of the pictures and equalize the horizon. In the big sea, it’s not easy to get the balance. Then if we have five or ten good pictures , we can play a little bit more after the regatta. When it comes to printing a sailing picture in limited edition, we look more at the details in order to make it a little bit more accurate. But we don’t change the subject, we just clean up the color a bit. Normally, we just spend one minute for each picture. Otherwise, you’ll not survive.

We, at Panthalassa, are working around projects that take care about the ocean, around themes like sustainability, overfishing, plastic pollution like with the Plastic Family displayed here at the Festival. You spend a lot of time in the ocean, on boats,  did you witness any changes?

Of course, you see some environmental differences. Dirty things are happening. There are a lot of dirty deals in the water, and when you are in the helicopter you can see big ships throwing all kinds of things in the water. They clear out the tank in the open sea. When you do the long distance races, you can witness this kind of things. The only thing I can do is publishing pictures about those things to show the problem but I’m just a tiny guy and it doesn’t work. They do what they want, and it’s a shame. The short film entitled « Albatross » has been one of the first pieces of art able to touch these issues in a beautiful and powerful way. When I see these kind of things, I do want to make a movie. Because it was a really good story. The more I talk to people about pollution, the more I realize people care more than 10 years ago. We destroyed so many things in the past and nobody cared. Now the moment comes to talk about plastic. But for me, cleaning up the beach from the plastic bags is just for aesthetic purposes. You have to civilize and educate people to avoid putting plastic on the beach. If you watch “Albatross”, you realize there’s plastic everywhere, even in the birds. It’s part of the ocean. We eat plastic every day. This is the huge problem. And you cannot solve this problem with a “Save the Ocean!” slogan or by picking up the plastic trash from the beach. We need to educate people again and then the rest will come. Maybe slowly, but it’ll come.

Follow Carlo Borlenghi’s work on his website.

 Sailing Photos: Carlo Borlenghi

Portrait Photo: Xabier Aldazabal / SAIN IN Festival

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Officially launched in Norway in 2018, Future of Fjords is an electric catamaran constructed from carbon fibre composite able to welcome 400 passengers. It’s been a year now that the electric ferry has been sailing between the spectacular Norway’s UNESCO heritage sites setting new standards for environmentally responsible passenger transport.

Described as the first vessel of its kind to offer completely emission free transport, the vessel sails along the World Heritage listed fjord on the 90-minute trip from Flåm to Gudvangen, through Western Norwegian landscape. »Future of The Fjords does just that, minimising its impact on the environment while maximising the experience of passengers who can now glide silently over the water and come closer to nature than ever before,« says Rolf A. Sandvik, CEO of shipowner The Fjords. »We’re entering into a zero-emission future.«

Born two hours from the fjords, the cruise ship captain of the newly launched ferry Future of the Fjords had completely changed life working here. »I used to work on a chemical tanker,a 200-meter long and 35-meters wide vessel. Not very environmental friendly! (laughs) Deep see trade, all over the world. We used 45 metric tons fuel a day. So that represents a big difference in my life today,« he says. »I remember a lot of guys told the company when they started that the Future of Fjords won’t work out. But it worked from day 1. Technically, we have almost no problem with this vessel. It’s not so complicated because we use electrical engines. They have built electrical engines for hundreds of years. The new thing here is to have a battery as the power source. The boat receives power from a battery pack of 1800 kWh, representing about 40 times the capacity of a typical electric car. I’ve been on this vessel for a few months and am surprised how well it works,«  he says. »The manufacture will take care of the change of battery and will recycle the battery, in 9 years from now. I suppose when we are going to change our battery, they’ll be half the size and twice the battery of today’s. You can compare it to mobile phone development. 15 years ago, we had this huge battery, now you cannot even see the mobile phone battery.«

Powered by two electric engines of 585 horsepower each. The installation makes it possible for the vessel to reach 16 knots (almost 30 kph) during operation for a range of 55 km, before the boat must be recharged. Thanks to a unique floating charging solution called the PowerDock, the environmentally responsible vessel ushers in a new breed of clean, green and spectacular passenger transport. »Here we have a solution that any form of electric transport can simply plug into without exerting strain on the grid. The dock also stores consumables, fuel for sister vessels, and allows black water to be offloaded for treatment on land. This makes Future of The Fjords the only passenger vessel not to discharge sewage directly into the fjords.«

As the world’s first all-electric carbon fiber vessel, Future of Fjords make waves right across the globe since the all-electric passenger vessel Future of The Fjords has won the Ship of the Year 2018 award at SMM. Rolf A. Sandvik, CEO of shipowner The Fjords defines the vessel as »the greenest passenger vessel in Norway [and] helping us preserve the integrity of our beautiful fjords«. 

The innovative 42-meters long vessel is part of Norway’s program to create the first zero-emissions zone on water. The parliament has accepted a resolution which would see emissions banned in the world heritage fjords “as soon as technically possible and no later than 2026”. 

Photos Inside boat: Elisa Routa (35mm)

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»Swimming with these gentle giants« by photographer Travis Burke.

I held my breath and dove down toward the darkness. Deep below me I could see whale sharks emerging as they made their way near the surface feeding on plankton. As I turned around, I saw this scene with beautiful rays of light casting down through the water from the early morning sun. Peering through the lens, I snapped a couple photos before starting my ascent back to the surface. 

Dive Master and Marine Biologist Brinkley Davies shared her knowledge and passion for these sharks with me during our 15 hours day on the boat. These whale sharks lack natural predators, but in recent years they have been listed as an endangered species due to shark finning, and other anthropogenic pressures such as fishing operations and plastic pollution.

There is so much we still don’t know about these majestic creatures and it would be a shame to lose them forever. Little things like limiting our use of single use plastics, supporting sustainable tourism and saying no to shark fin soup will go a long way in protecting these and so many other animals that have been around for millions of years!

In a place where many people would easily resort to accepting more money to catch, kill and sell these animals fins, these fisherman have chosen to live in harmony with these animals.

 

»In the middle of the ocean far from anywhere« with Marine biologist, freediver and surfer Brinkley Davies

I have worked with whale sharks for the past few years at home in Australia, in both tourism, and research/conservation, on the Ningaloo Reef, a place that leads the way in whale shark tourism. Teaching people about their importance in our ecosystems and their struggle against extinction due to anthropogenic pressures such as overfishing, being targeted for their fins, and falling victim to plastic pollution. Before this trip I hadn’t seen a whale shark anywhere else, and have been intrigued to see how things were run elsewhere.

After steaming for 4 hours, we arrived at a small boat with winged platforms in the middle of the ocean far from anywhere. With very fine nets dropped into the water periodically around the full moon, a fisherman would live out here for a month, in a tiny wooden hut on the boat the size of a normal household toilet, and fish for the month. 

The whale sharks were attracted to the organic matter that was ground up and falling off the platform into the water, they swam around under this set up, filter feeding on whatever was around, and then diving. 

The Indonesians told me about how they call them the “ Star Sharks«. In a place where many people would easily resort to accepting more money to catch, kill and sell these animals fins, these fisherman have chosen to live in harmony with these animals, and let the odd few tourists who come by every once in a while, jump in and swim with them. 

There was around 7 whale sharks when we first jumped in, and we spent about 2 hours in the water with them. I was thrilled to see not one piece of plastic floating by during this time.

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In many of my images I aim to create a compositional waltz between the subjects and their own shadows.

Over the years, composition around food has made photographer Suzanne Saroff’s reputation. Arranging items, playing with fish, fruits and flowers, New York-based artist alters our perception of everyday objects.

In this series of still-life photographs, the photographer is looking for experimental explorations. Oranges, lobsters, mangos, watermelons, avocados or papayas slowly become abstract, strange and beautiful. Through light, colors and evolving shapes, food and flowers are first stretched then multiplied.

Using glasses and cylinders of all shapes and sizes filled with different amounts of water, Suzanne Saroff distords the shape of the original object, thus changing the perspectives and the way viewers interact with well-known objects.

Follow Suzanne Saroff’s work on her website.

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The Plastic Family left their coastal landscape for a while and made the trip to the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. Initiated by Surfrider Foundation Europe, the action day was meant to draw attention on the global crisis of plastic pollution. »The Plastic Family has been much appreciated by our volunteers and gave us a real visibility among passers by,« says Charléric Bailly, SFE event manager. »A real success for this event!«

The estimated 19 billion pounds of plastic that end up in the ocean every year are expected to double by 2025. »The clock is ticking and we call on the European Parliament to take action now!⁣« says the foundation. 

For the occasion, 80 Surfrider Foundation Europe volunteers present that day collected more than 7000 cigarette butts in Place Lux, Brussels, outside the European Parliament. They also created a giant bottle made out of plastic bottles to emphasize on the amount of plastic trash dumped into the sea everyday. »Every year, we organize an official gathering with our European volunteers during a weekend of exchanges and discussions. They’re what we wall the Chapters Days,« says Charléric. »This year, we were approximately 80 including volunteers and SFE staff members. In view of the next european elections scheduled to occur in 2019, we chose to meet in Brussels in order to question the european deputies.«

Today, more than 8 million tons of plastic are found in our oceans every year. Whether it has deliberately been dumped or lost by accident, human-created waste represents the majority of the marine pollution, also called marine debris or marine trash, affecting the health of wildlife and humans themselves. »That’s why te event consisted in meeting up on Luxembourg Square in front of the European Parliament, while exhibiting art installations made out of plastic trash. We are convinced that art is a powerful tool to seduce people toward an environmental cause,« explains Charléric. »We organized a cleanup of the square and collected more than 7,600 butts of cigarettes in just an hour.« 

According to the Container Recycling Institute, 100.7 billion plastic beverage bottles were sold in the U.S. in 2014, compared to 3.8 billion plastic water bottles sold in 1996. It means 315 bottles per person, 57% of those units were plastic water bottles. A threatening and terrible fact that we could avoid by slowing down our disposable lifestyle, refusing single-use plastics (plastic straws, plastic bag, plastic bottles, …) and using more sustainable containers.  

Today, we need to make global efforts to end plastic pollution. As mentioned by the Plastic Family, »we are the source but you can be part of the ocean.«  Follow their journey on Surfrider Foundation Europe.

Photos: Lucie Lucie Francini / Surfrider Foundation Europe

The Plastic Family has been made out of plastic trash found on the beaches of the Basque Country (Spain & France) by Panthalassa Society members Rebecca Kudela (Sea and Gather), Daniela Garreton and Panthalassa founder Sergio Penzo

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As a true pioneer in his country, Sumer Verma tends to raise awareness of the ocean by showing the beauty of biodiversity. Considered the first underwater photographer and cinematographer in India, Sumer also works as the managing partner at Lacadives India, the country’s first dive centre.

After two decades spent under the surface of our oceans, the 42-years-old photographer dedicates his work to spreading a message to the world and the young generation about the state of our oceans. »Even after almost 20 years of diving and 10,000 dives into the ocean, I’m still totally blown away by the abundance of marine life,« he says before mentioning the dying reefs and the loss of fish diversity. »But the ocean has dramatically changed. The amount of problems is catastrophic now and causes coral damages. Overconsumption, cruelty to animals, shark finning, overfishing for consumption, plastic pollution, pollution based on dumping, global warming… Everything is damaging the ocean. We reached the critical point.«

Lately, Panthalassa had a great talk with India’s best-known underwater and marine life photographer Sumer Verma, evoking a few solutions to global warming as education and making marine life documentaries to sensibilize people to the beauty of the planet.

Hi Sumer, do you remember your very first scuba diving experience?

I was born in Mumbai and after college, back in 1997, I dived for the very first time near Lakshadweep Islands. Before that, I’ve only been swimming. I’ve never done any snorkeling or diving before. Then, on a vacation, I got my scuba diving certification. At age 21, that’s when it all started.

Would you say this transformative trip was the beginning of your passion for the ocean?

I used to live in the city so, until then, I wasn’t exposed to any pristine ocean. Mumbai is situated by the coast and we’ve always loved the ocean, we would even go to Goa on beach vacation, however I never really experienced the sea or nature in its pristine form. In 1997, it was the first time I looked into the sea though an eye mask. When I made the trip to Lakshadweep, I’ve been blown away by its white sandy beaches, crystal clear waters, the turquoise lagoons and pines trees all around. I was not expecting that, I’d never seen something like that before, I was not aware that something like that even existed. At least in India! It was a complete positive chock to see how beautiful this area was. The water looked like glass, you could see 20-30m below when underwater. It was amazing to see how clear and clean the ocean could be.

That’s how you got naturally introduced to cinematography?

From that precise moment, the only thing I had in mind was « I need to live here, I need to do more diving and need to be surrounded by a place like this rather than spend time in the city. » So I took a lot of diving courses. After 50 or 60 dives, I decided to capture my passion through video. At the time, there was no information about underwater photography so it took me a long time to turn myself to photography. I first started video just to capture moving pictures of the ocean, sunsets, turtles and the light.

Photography came after then?

Yes, I slowly realized that being a cinematographer was very difficult, especially with the heavy material. You definitely need a lot of hard discs for example (laughs). And frankly, most of the time, the videos you create are dedicated to Instagram or internet only. So I was collecting a lot of footages but felt there was no way to really use them, or possibly think of a story. I felt it was a very restrictive use. Photography helped me to focus on my work. So, after a few years, I shifted to still cameras and housing. Ten years ago, there wasn’t any underwater photographer in India. Today, I’m glad to see the diving community in India growing a lot. I would say there’re currently 10 digital photographers and housing users in India. There are maybe 100 point-and-shoot camera users doing underwater photography. But at the time, there was nobody doing underwater photography.

Today, you’re considered the first underwater photographer and cinematographer in India. How does it feel?

To be honest, I’m very happy to be able to travel and jump from an assignment to another. Whether it be for music videos or feature films, all my videos are water-related. I have a catalogue of different commercial clients, going from Vogue to surfing publications. Being able to do all theses things is definitely a great feeling because it’s always been a dream to run an independent career.

What do you like the most in your job today?

Being able to work with passion is what I love the most! Although the last ten years have been pretty intense, when I’m underwater with my camera, I really don’t feel like working. It’s pure pleasure, passion and love. Turning the passion into profession and get paid to do what I love is a great feeling for sure!

In a recent interview, you said »What you see on the surface of the ocean is nothing like what’s underneath. It makes you realize just how vast and beautiful it is.« How would you describe the underwater world?

The underwater world is pure magic. Even after almost 20 years of diving and 10,000 dives into the ocean, I’m still totally blown away by the abundance of marine life. There’s so much life down there! The colors of all the fish, the movement of some larger fish like manta rays or sharks are pure magic. You can’t believe it’s real, it’s so beautiful.

You spend most of your time underwater all over the world. Over the years, did you notice a change due to climate change?

To be honest, in 10 years, the ocean has dramatically changed. The ocean is getting totally destroyed. In 1996-1997, there was an important coral bleaching, in 1998, El Nino had a huge impact on coral reef. IN 2010, there was another bleaching and another one in 2015. Global warming is the very first factor. Today, despite the apparent pristine clear water on the islands, 90% of the coral reef is bleached. That’s why the fish population is also going down. The amount of problems is catastrophic now and causes coral damages. Overconsumption, cruelty to animals, shark finning, overfishing for consumption, plastic pollution, pollution based on dumping, global warming… Everything is damaging the ocean. We reached the critical point.

That’s why you an active member of ReefWatch Marine Conservation, an NGO dedicated to protecting damaged coral reefs. Tell us more about your actions.

ReefWatch Marine Conservation is very engaged to educate the youngsters. We try to raise awareness here in India. We’re currently working on a project aimed at pushing consumers to use biodegradable packages. For example, we recently worked closely with restaurants to convince them to use bamboo straws. The movement is on, however you can’t help yourself feeling powerless sometimes because whatever you’re doing, despite your small efforts, the global issue remains huge.

 According to you, what would be the solutions?

We need to raise awareness about the ocean. We’re currently working on a project done through ReefWatch Marine Conservation, in which we encourage more and more sustainable practices in urban areas. Big cities gather millions of people, the problem is real there. We organize beach clean-ups and work on consumption habits with people. We need to make people feel part of it, close to it, and they need to be told what to do. It’s constantly about getting people involved. We work with schools because who can help the world except the next generation? Kids are very positive, open and concerned towards ocean awareness. We keep passing on a message of living in some kind of balance with nature. Individual become very conscious of consumption. We can’t blame other people or blame the government, we need to change our own actions. Recycling and garbage management are an everyday question we need to ask ourselves. We’re part of the problem. So it’s all about educating and inspiring people in a gentle positive way.

Today, you’re one of the most renowned marine life and wildlife photographer with more than 20 years of experience. What are you the most proud of so far?

I started a film project between 98 to 2003. I got a lot of footage in my library and decided to make a film out of it, a project about what’s happening in the area I was based. So we made a film called « Trouble waters » about global warming and its effects in an area so isolated yet so devastated. It reflects what’s going on elsewhere. I won a national award, the best cinematographer and best of the show. It is still a very beautiful moment because the film has been screened in a thousand schools across India, it’s been translated in many languages, and continues to be screened during festivals. Today, there’s not many similar films in India anymore, so still 10 years later, it gives me a lot pride. To me, more than photography, more than articles, films are the most powerful tool that we got to tell stories about the ocean, and show the stack degradation of the ocean.

You’re a managing partner at Lacadives India, the country first dive centre. You’re also currently opening a diving school in The Andaman Islands between India, to the west, and Myanmar. Tell us more about this coming amazing project!

Indeed, I’m proud to be a partner at Lacadives India, the centre where I first got introduced to diving 22 years ago. The season is going to start next week so I’ll spend some time with my instructors there. A number of our clients involve schools programmes who come for snorkeling and scuba dives, walks and talks with marine biologists. We also host a number of internships who come to do photography internships for example. We don’t deal with mass tourists but rather with niche clients as we’re situated in a very isolated spot. So we’re lucky to work with very like minded people. We trained more than 10,000 people so far. Scuba diving is set to become one of the mainstream adventure sports in India.

What are your next projects?

I have more film projects with Bollywood in November and December. The wildlife is very passion-based. For the moment, the opportunities are very small but through the NGO, we’re getting a lot of good feedbacks concerning the ocean. Keep going, keep going!

Follow Sumer Verma’s work on his instagram.

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Born at the Blue Factory in San Sebastian, the Plastic Family made their way to the Côte des Basques in Biarritz. To celebrate World CleanUp Day, the colorful family of three visited the French beach town on September, 15.

Using the plastic found on the beaches of the Basque Country (Spain & France), Panthalassa decided to ‘dress’ the family in order to help raise awareness about the plastic problem the ocean is facing. 

Over the years, throughout the « Sea and Gather » initiative, Rebecca Kudela, a member of the Panthalassa Society, has been proving her obsession for beach-combing and her passion for design. Her work was a key inspiration for the idea of using art and creativity to encourage people to consume and use less single-use plastics. 

As part of a global environmental movement, the Plastic Family art installation will be travelling around Europe to save our ocean’s biggest threat. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to see the Plastic Family in Biarritz!

Stay tuned to find out where the family is heading next!

Photos: Rebecca Kudela

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On Friday the 27th of July, we’ve been happy and proud to launch the Panthalassa Blue Factory into the world. Over the years, Panthalassa, brainchild of creative director Sergio Penzo, became a platform known for bringing together some of the world’s most talented creators. Our main motivation is putting a light on the beauty and fragility of the ocean.  According to Sergio Penzo’s words,»this love for the big blue is what inspires the Panthalassa Society so it was natural to choose San Sebastian, a city that lives from and for the sea, as the place to start this new voyage.«

Thank you very much for coming to join in on the celebrations, we hope you had as much fun as we did. Life is all Ocean.

Photos : Philipp von Buch

Photo Clovis Donizetti: Thomas Lodin

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From May to September 2018, the city of Bruges is hosting the 2018 edition of the Triennial. Contemporary artists and architects from all over the world are brought together around one main topic, the liquid city. Many of them sought inspiration for their work in the role of liquidity in the city that is literally criss-crossed and surrounded by water.  »The world is changing rapidly. Some forms of life are under pressure,« says curator Michel Dewilde. »Fluidity is a symbol for change, for sociological change, political change and economic change.«

We’ve been amazed by the installation created by StudioKCA, a whale rising up from the Canal. Made up of 5 tons of plastic waste pulled out of the ocean, »Skyscraper is a physical example of why we need to change, how we use and dispose of plastic in the world today,« explain architects Jason Klimoski and Lesley Chang, co-founders of the innovative architecture and design agency StudioKCA.

Toilet seats, kids bowls, hangers … The artists collected all the plastic that they found in Hawaii, cleaned it and started to assemble it. »The whale is almost 4 stories tall and weights several tons. And there’s a tremendous mode of engineering that’s going to keep it stable.« We sat down with StudioKCA to learn more about their newest large-scale installation.

Hi guys, tell us a bit about the StudioKCA…

STUDIOKCA is an award-winning architecture and design firm led by Jason Klimoski and Lesley Chang. We’re based in Brooklyn, New York and have projects ranging in scale and complexity from lighting fixtures and interiors, to public installations, sculptures and buildings. The practice explores the ways in which context and locality offer opportunities to design and create objects and spaces that respond directly to the demands of their programs and site-specific environmental conditions. With each project, they are interested in how materials can be crafted or purposed to solve a problem, shape a narrative, create a sense of place, and offer a unique solution that resonates with visitors and clients.

From May to September 2018, the city of Bruges is hosting the Triennial. « The Liquid city » is the main topic of this year’s event. What about your process of creation?

When we first heard the term »liquid city«, we started thinking about the ocean (the first »liquid city«) and our city’s interaction with it, namely through waste.  This led us to find out that 8 million tons a year of plastic waste flow from our cities into this first liquid city, and that there is 150 million tons of plastic waste in the oceans right now. So, we decided to create a piece that would highlight this relationship and help to bring awareness to the issue of plastic waste in our oceans.

You ended up creating a gigantic whale rising up from the canal. Tell us more about your installation…

»Skyscraper«, or »the Bruges Whale«, is a 12 meters-tall whale made from 5 tons of plastic waste that we pulled out of the ocean. A whale, breaching the water is really the first skyscraper of the »liquid city« so it felt like the right form for our piece. Also, even though the whale is the biggest animal in the ocean, there is currently 150 million tons of plastic in our waters. That means, pound for pound, there is more plastic swimming in the ocean than there are whales, and we wanted to put the scale and scope of the problem into perspective.

You collaborated with the Hawaii Wild Fund, organizing major clean ups. Tell us a bit about these beachcombing sessions.

The HWF is a fantastic non-profit organization, and they became a great partner in our effort to collect Plastic Waste out of the ocean.  It takes about 2 hours of driving over lava rock to get to the coves littered with plastic waste from the great Pacific Garbage Patch. We worked with the HWF’s army of volunteers to fill up trucks and trailers full of waste to bring back to a container we kept in Hawaii.  In 6 short months, we had 5 tons of waste collected.  The sad part is, we could go out there for a day and clean a beach, and then go out there the very next day and find it covered, all over again.

Was it difficult to make this huge plastic whale stand up?

It is a very challenging structure. The foundation is underwater so we needed divers to make the connection to it and the main structure.  The whale is also tall, 12m, and cantilevers off of a 1.2m base. What makes this even more tricky, are two enormous fins that needed to be accounted for in order to make sure the whale doesn’t torque or twist.  We worked very closely with our engineering partners, Thornton Thomasetti to develop a cost-effective structural solution that is very safe and also straightforward to assemble on site (and underwater).

The architecture and design agency StudioKCA is used to create large-scale installations. Tell us a bit about your previous sculptures like ‘Head of Clouds’ and ‘Drop’.

We like creating large-scale installations.  We have created some fairly large pieces for the city of New York, NASA, the WSF, and now Bruges.  A couple of those have also sought to address the scope of plastic waste generated by us. Head in the Clouds, is a huge cloud shaped pavilion that was on Governors Island in New York City, made from 1 hour’s worth of plastic bottles thrown away in New York City- that’s 53,780 bottles!  Drop was an installation we created for the MADE event in Sao Paolo.  It looked like three drops of water, but was made from just 8 minutes worth of plastic bottles thrown away in Sao Paolo (more than 1,000 bottles a minute!)

What’s the message you’d like to spread regarding the problem of plastic pollution?

Plastic pollution is a problem we all have to address in our daily routines.  For just 1 day, keep track of everything you touch or use that is plastic.  Now consider reducing that by half, and making sure that the plastic you do use, goes into a recyling bin.  If we all do this, we might help stem the flow of the nearly 8 million tons of plastic waste that ends up in our oceans each year. 

How would you describe your relationship to the ocean today?

We love the ocean!  The oceans are something that make our planet unique in this galaxy, and what connects of all of us together. Clogging that unique aspect of our planet with waste from things we’ve simply thrown away seems irresponsible.  We work hard to call attention to global issues affecting our planet, and in the lives we lead to minimize our footprint on the earth and our oceans.

What’s next for you guys?

We are working now on finishing a 7m disc of stars for a small town in the Midwest (their place amongst the stars), and on a bike that has the potential to deliver off-the-grid power, water, light, and shade to areas that don’t have those ammenities.

Photos: Matthias Desmet 

Discover more creations from StudioKCA on their website.

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Currently based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, award-winning documentary photographer Taylor Weidman’s work focus on the effects of modernization and human rights issues.« Riding in -20°C weather with Mongolia’s reindeer herders, diving with Thailand’s sea gypsies, and photographing Kazakh ice fishermen were all unforgettable experiences. » After spending two months in Central Asia between Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, Weidman produced a long-term series of pictures for National Geographic about the Aral Sea, considered the world’s fourth-largest freshwater lake decades ago. However, in the 1950s, the lake became the victim of the Soviet Union’s agricultural policies. Water was intentionally diverted causing a massive ecological disaster.

Today, thanks to large-scale restoration efforts, the Aral sea have seen a resurgence of fish. Fish catch in the North Aral Sea has grown six-fold since 2006, bringing commerce back to the inland town of Aralsk, Kazakhstan. « The Korkoral Dam surpassed all expectations, leading to an 11 foot increase in water levels in just seven months. Today, fishermen say 15 different species of fish have returned to the sea. » We wanted to learn more about the situation and the fishermen community photographer Weidman met during his journey.

Currently based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, what do your surrounding look like?

Chiang Mai is a beautiful, small city in northern Thailand. The city is known as the ‘jewel of the north’ and has a vibrant arts scene and cafe culture. It’s very relaxed and is surrounded by hills, jungles, and waterfalls, which make for fun hikes or motorbike excursions on weekends and holidays.

Working for important medias like The Wall Street Journal, BBC and CNN, what have been your most vivid memory as a photojournalist?

As a photojournalist, I have opportunities to travel and see things that I would never be able to in any other line of work. Riding in -20°C weather with Mongolia’s reindeer herders, diving with Thailand’s sea gypsies, and photographing Kazakh ice fishermen were all unforgettable experiences.

You recently produced a long-term report about the Aral Sea for National Geographic. What did bring you to Kazakhstan?

I spent 2 months in Central Asia between Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. I’ve been to Mongolia nearly a dozen times, where the country’s Soviet past and the rise of nearby China make for a fascinating landscape to work in. I’d always wanted to go to Kazakhstan and other countries in Central Asia since they face a similar situation and coverage from these areas is scarce.

In 1957, the Aral Sea produced more than 48,000 tons of fish. However, in the 1950s, water was intentionally diverted causing a rise in salinity and the death of freshwater fish species. What has been the impact on the fishing industry and fishermen community?

The Aral Sea, straddling Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, was once the fourth largest freshwater lake in the world. But by the 1990s it was a shrunken ruin, thanks to Soviet policies that diverted water for agricultural purposes from the lake’s two river sources. When fish stocks plummeted due to increased salinity, the surrounding fishing villages found themselves hungry and jobless; many residents left in search of better opportunities. For example, in Tastubek, a fishing village on the Aral Sea, so many of the fishermen left that there were only 9 households remaining.

Today, the lake is said to be a tenth of its original size. What does the lake look like today?

You can see from satellite images that the Aral Sea on the Uzbek side is a sliver of its former self. The lake dries more and more each year and the remaining water is too salty for fish to survive. I had the chance to visit the former fishing port of Moynaq in Uzbekistan. Here you can see lines of boats rusting on the former sea bed, although the shores of what remains of the Aral Sea are now around 150km away. When the fish disappeared, everyone engaged in the fishing industry had to search for new jobs. Today, the economy is mostly reliant on seasonal remittance work in Russia.

Despite the disaster, in 2005 a dam was constructed to help Kazakhstan’s North Aral Sea’s fate. Tell us more about this revolutionary project.

Financed by the World Bank, an eight-mile dam was constructed in 2005 on the Kazakh side of the Aral Sea, just south of the Syr Darya River. The Korkoral Dam surpassed all expectations, leading to an 11 foot increase in water levels in just seven months. Today, fishermen say 15 different species of fish have returned to the sea.

Did this project bring optimism and hope to the community?

Absolutely. Many of the former fishermen were able to go back to their jobs and are again earning a good income. Local fishing communities were shrinking, but now are again growing. Tastubek, the fishing village I mentioned that shrunk down to just 9 households, now has 34.

You met a local fisherman named Omirserik Ibragimov. Tell us more about this man, his daily life and fishing habits today…

Omirserik was a fun, brash 25-year-old who lived in a fishing village called Tastubek. He fished each day with his father, Kiderbai. During the winter, the two men would ride out on the ice in Russian jeeps where they would drill holes in the ice and hang nets below the ice, then come back a few days later to collect the fish.

To what extent is the sea the source of life for the community?

Fishing communities like Tastubek continued to exist after the fish died off because they also kept camels. However, it was difficult to make ends meet and many residents left the village. Now that the fish are back, the communities are again growing since fishing provides a solid income for families.

This recent prosperity surprisingly generated negative consequences like illegal fishing. Tell us more about that…

This was one of the most surprising revelations we found. I had assumed that local residents, after experiencing firsthand the vulnerability of the fishing ecosystem, would be motivated to safeguard the fish stocks. Unfortunately, instead we learned that fishermen were trying ignoring long-term harm by chasing short-term profits and it was common for today’s fishermen to use illegal fishing methods – employing nets that are cheap and easily torn/lost and fishing during the breeding season.

As a photojournalist, you’re a witness of the ecological situation. What would be your message for the future generations?

My message would be for this generation to think about the environmental legacy they are leaving for future generations. Over and over, I see unsustainable, yet extremely common practices decimating fish stocks, clear cutting rainforest, polluting the air and water, and abusing the environment in myriad other ways. Environmental regulation, where it exists, is often undercut by corruption. We need to ask ourselves what kind of a world we want our children to grow up in and work together to build that future.

What are your next projects?

Throughout Southeast and Central Asia, China is an increasingly powerful actor, and I think my next project will concentrate on China’s ambitious One Belt One Road plan as it builds infrastructure and exerts influence throughout the region.

 Discover more of Taylor Weidman’s work on his website.

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