It’s the ultimate meet-cute story for underwater photographers…
“We literally met underwater over a pregnant lemon shark giving birth,” Jennifer Hayes told National Geographic on Valentine’s Day. Since then, she and husband David Doubilet have photographed marine life in every imaginable environment on earth, and some that defy imagination.
On Tuesday, Buffalo nature lovers will get to hear their stories firsthand, as the pair present “Coral Kingdoms and Empires of Ice” at Kleinhans Music Hall. The program begins at 7 p.m. and includes images and stories from three recent National Geographic Magazine assignments: in Kimbe Bay off Papua New Guinea; in the Antarctic Seas; and in Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawrence.
The presentation is part of the dynamic National Geographic Live series that has been inspiring audiences around the country. Capitalizing on the intense public curiosity and concern about the natural world and the fate it’s meeting, National Geographic writers and photographers are on tour, meeting the public face-to-face to share the wonders they’ve witnessed, and to help galvanize public support for conservation before it’s too late.
“I’m afraid that a lot of the images that I’ve made underwater are going to be documents of a time passed— and that’s a frightening thought,” Doubilet said in a 2011 interview with Earth Justice.
Doubilet and Hayes are legends in the world of underwater photography. Doubilet has worked for National Geographic since 1971, publishing more than 70 articles and 12 books. He’s won multiple Picture of the Year, BBC Wildlife, Communication Arts and World Press awards for his extensive work in aquatic environments ranging from the interior of Africa to the depths of the Antarctic. Hayes has contributed to Sports Illustrated, Sport Diver, DIVE Magazine, Diver, People, Alert Diver and Ocean Geographic, and holds graduate degrees in zoology and marine biology. The two are based in Clayton, NY, in the Thousand Islands.
National Geographic writers and photographers are on tour, meeting the public face-to-face to share the wonders they’ve witnessed, and to help galvanize public support for conservation before it’s too late.
Doubilet called Kimbe Bay “more alien than the edges of space.” Part of the famed “coral triangle” that stretches from the Philippines to Indonesia, it is one of the most biologically diverse environments on earth. The presentation will reveal an unspoiled wilderness of water crowded with layers of life: from fingernail-sized pygmy seahorses to 60-foot tall towers of barracudas.
Doubilet and Hayes then journey south to the ice filled waters of Antarctica, moving through and under the ice to capture images of the hidden world of the leopard seals, penguins, shipwrecks and David’s newest work on the sculptural beauty of icebergs. Finally, follow the team north to Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawrence, an extraordinary world of whales, wolfish, salmon – and the harp seal, a remarkable creature fighting to survive in a world of shrinking sea ice.
Student tickets are only $15; general admission tickets are $35; and a VIP ticket with a meet-and-greet is available for $75. For information and tickets, call (716) 885-5000 or visit www.kleinhansbuffalo.org.