Wrecks, Subscapes, and Marine Life

World's Largest Shark Sanctuary Declared

2011-10-04T17:26:00.000+07:00

Marshall Islands declares an end to commercial fishing of sharks in area four times the size of California.

The Marshall Islands now join Palau and several other countries in protecting sharks from being killed for fins.

Inducted into Wyland's Ocean Artists Society

2011-05-07T16:54:00.001+07:00

Just received news that I have been inducted into Wyland's Ocean Artists Society - a group of distinguished painters, sculptors, photographers, filmmakers, and writers coming together to use ocean art to inspire people around the world to a greater awareness of our need to protect and preserve our natural world.

A big thank you to all OAS founding members, and to Jennifer Small - Wyland Foundation.

Stop this Looting Now !!!

2011-03-14T16:56:00.000+07:00

Shipwrecks in Thailand are being looted by a number of foreign dive operators based in Koh Tao.

Read this article "Into murky waters" in the Bangkok Post.

Among the many ships being stripped of artifacts is the H.T.M.S. Pa-ngan, a Thai Naval vessel that sunk while transporting explosives recovered from Chao Phraya River. She has been systematically looted with portholes and china being removed.

Dive trips to these wrecks are being promoted on websites:

"Got a load of lovely officers’ Royal Thai Navy chinaware from deep inside the HTMS Pangan. It’s white, navy blue lines with gold leaf line and crest. Only got about 50 pieces so far and the room is still full."

This shows great disrespect to your host country.

Chagos Archipelago - World’s Largest Marine Reserve

2010-11-11T11:17:00.000+07:00

This declaration will make it the largest marine protected area in the world, totaling more than 210,000 square miles (544,000 square kilometres), an area twice the size of the U.K. The combination of tropical islands, unspoiled coral reefs and adjacent oceanic abyss makes this area comparable in global importance to the Great Barrier Reef or Galapagos Islands.

Appearing in UDT/SEAL Journal

2010-10-19T22:48:00.001+07:00

Portfolio of underwater images and a short story has been published in the July/August 2010 edition of Sea Air Land, the Journal of the UDT/SEAL Association, Royal Thai Navy.

Thanks to Adm. Nakorn Aranyanark.

Saving Our Underwater Cultural Heritage

2010-08-16T08:35:00.010+07:00

UNESCO and the Fine Arts Department are holding an exhibition to show case underwater artifacts, and to promote the preservation of underwater cultural heritage, at the Siam Ocean World till the end of October.

I'm a Spider

2010-08-13T10:41:00.000+07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

BLACK AND WHITE SPIDER AWARDS HONORS PHOTOGRAPHER PONGSATORN SUKHUM FROM THAILAND

LONDON 24 January 2010 - Photographer Pongsatorn Sukhum of Thailand was presented with the 5th Annual Black and White Spider Awards Honorable Mention in the category of Sport at a prestigious Nomination & Winners Photo Show attended by 35,000 online viewers who logged on live from 154 countries to see the climax of the industry's most important event for black and white photography.

Thousands of images were received from 68 countries worldwide. The awards international Jury included captains of the industry from Magnum Photos, The Armory Show, Fratelli Alinari, Contrasto to Tate and Hamiltons in London who honored Spider Fellows with 84 coveted title awards in 28 categories. The judges reviewed the entries online for eight weeks before making their final nominations and Pongsatorn Sukhum's "Rails," an exceptional image entered in the Sport category, received a high percentage of votes overall.

"The Spider Awards celebrates photographers who operate at the highest levels of their craft," said Basil O'Brien, the awards Creative Director. "Pongsatorn Sukhum's work represents black and white photography at its finest, and we're pleased to present him with the Honorable Mention."

You can view the 5th Annual Winners Gallery at http://www.thespiderawards.com/gallery5

BLACK AND WHITE SPIDER AWARDS is the leading international award honoring excellence in black and white photography. This celebrated event shines a spotlight on the best professional and amateur photographers worldwide and honors the finest images with the highest achievements in black and white photography.

The Ultimate Dive Destinations: 100 Essential Wreck Dives

2010-02-13T17:28:00.005+07:00

Sport Diver - the official magazine of PADI in the UK, has selected my pictures of Suddhadib and Mabini Padre to appear in their latest publication: The Ultimate Dive Destinations: 100 Essential Wreck Dives. Thanks to Martin Bruce.

5th Annual Black and White Spider Awards

2010-01-25T06:00:00.000+07:00

Thank you for the two nominations, and the Honorable Mention in the Sports Category. I am deeply honored to be recognized for this work.

Appearing in Cole Thompson's newsletter

2009-06-03T18:24:00.002+07:00

Black and white fine art photographer Cole Thompson has kindly mentioned my work in his newsletter. Cole is an award-winning photographer, and his project "The Ghosts of Auschwitz and Birkenau" has recently appeared in B&W, Lenswork, and Silvershotz.

Thanks Cole.

"Kut" selected as PDN Photo of the Day

2009-04-27T23:30:00.002+07:00

The editors of Photo District News have graciously selected my underwater photograph "Kut" to be their PDN Photo of the Day for Monday, April 27th, 2009.

PDN Photo of the Day displays photographs selected by the editors of Photo District News, a publication for photo professionals.

Permalink to "Kut" at PDN Photo of the Day.

Thanks to Daryl Lang, Editor PDN Photo of the Day.

Really hot summer !

2009-04-23T17:59:00.001+07:00

Temperature is fast approaching 40 C here and it's time to head back down to the beach for some cooler air. Finally posted the first draft of my photo web site last night - I went for a minimum screen width of 1280 which should not alienate too many people.

Click on the photo "Abyss" here on the right, and you should be teleported to my new home page. Feel free to leave any comments and feedback here. And yes, there are still some blank pages - I am working on my bio and should have that up soon.