|
About the Judges:
Bruce Bonnett
Bruce Bonnett
Bruce has over 40 years experience as a television camera operator in the studio and in the field. He also worked on lighting and technical directing. Bruce has spent the last 20+years at ABC-TV and more recently, KABC-TV 7. While with the network, Bruce worked on various sporting events for Wide World of Sports, including boxing, gymnastics, lumberjack championships, motorcycle racing, regional football, etc., and more recently has been shooting and editing news in the field - even followed O.J. up the freeway in a helicopter.
Bruce won an Emmy for his camera work at the 1984 Olympics and has received several Emmy nominations for his work on the American Music Awards, General Hospital, Family Feud, Mr. Belvedere, American Bandstand, and for Hard News Breaking Story - Alta Dena/Laguna Fires.
Bruce has been scuba diving for 15 years and as a natural extension of his television background, took his videography experience under water in the early 1990s. Bruce and his wife, Christy, travel to underwater destinations around the world where he continues to enjoy shooting below the surface.
Len Bucko
Len Bucko is the president and co-director of h2o peakperformance (www.h2opeakperform.com) which specializes in adventure travel and photo training in the Yucatan of Mexico. Len has a long history in photography on the land, sea, and air. A certified diver since 1956,a commercially rated pilot and the holder of a 100 ton Captains license have allowed Len to capture images in many varied locations. Years of studio work and 20 years with the US Marine Corps and then American Airlines have given Len the chance to teach diving and photography all over the world. He has also been a NAUI and YMCA Scuba instructor and most currently a PADI Course Director and Instructor Examiner. Lens images have been published in many magazines and articles and most recently used by PADI and National Geographic to promote their new diver certification program.
Years of experience as a professional photographer,videographer,cameraman,and lighting technician earned Len the position of Dive Coordinator/Production Manager for the IMAX film "Journey Into Amazing Caves" and the feature film" Cave" which will be released in March 05. Len lives part time in San Diego but mostly resides in Puerto Aventuras , Mexico where he runs h2o Video and Photo schools in the Mayan Cenotes and underwater caves.
Kathy deWet-Oleson
Kathy has been an active diver/photographer for over two decades. As a diving professional she has taught all levels of diving, including university level courses focusing on the California marine environment. Her Photographs and videos, primarily featuring California environments, have won numerous awards. For the past seven years Kathy has recorded hundreds of hours of video for her research with giant sea bass off Anacapa Island. Her underwater videos from around the Channel Islands were used by several environmental organizations to help promote the need for marine protected areas that are now present in the Channel Island National Park and Marine Sanctuary. More about her giant sea bass work at
Giant Sea Bass Home Page and in a article on Ocean .com Swimming With Giants . A current resident of Ventura California, Kathy teaches fitness and outdoor recreation courses at Moorpark College, is an island naturalist for Island Packers, and volunteers with the Channel Islands National Park.
Jim Harlan
Jim Harlan is a perpetual traveler whose passions for rainforest and reefs have taken him to the far corners of the world. Jim has built bridges in Venezuela, homes in Costa Rica and worked as a pilot in Fiji to fuel his insatiable appetite for travel.
Jim has been an active international diver for the past 18 years and is privileged to have experienced most of the worlds dive destinations. Jim has logged over 3000 dives all with camera in hand and has been fortunate to have only flooded five of them.
As well Jim is the owner of Uncommon Adventures Dive and Adventure Travel (www.uncommonadventures.com). Uncommon Adventures is in its 11th year offering worldwide dive and adventure travel. Uncommon Adventures specializes in dive and adventure travel to the most intriguing and appealing destinations on the planet.
Mark Strickland
Mark Strickland has had a close relationship with the sea since an early age. Growing up in Florida, he has worked many years as an ocean lifeguard, boat captain, and diving instructor. Mark’s passion for underwater photography has led him to some of the world's best diving areas, including Phuket, Thailand, where he’s been based since 1988. Most of each year, Mark serves as Cruise Director / Photo-Pro on the Thailand-based live-aboard vessel, Ocean Rover(www.fantasea.net). An avid marine
naturalist, Mark has discovered several new species of nudibranchs, including one that is named for his wife, Suzanne: Reticulidia suzanneae.
Mark's photos and articles have appeared in dozens of magazines, books and displays around the world. He is also principal author and photographer for the book, "ScubaGuide Thailand", and co-author of Lonely Planet’s award-winning title, “Diving and Snorkeling Thailand”. In addition to representation by several stock photo agencies, Mark operates his own stock photo library, Oceanic Impressions at www.oceanic-impressions.com.
|
- Video Raw Footage