Field Trip
Maybe it was because I had just been lecturing about the jellies and anemones, starfish and tunicates, and realized upon standing just inches from them alive that my knowledge of marine life was book learning only. I knew the facts but I did not know these creatures in the intimate way I knew-smelled-touched the wildflowers of our woods. I had no personal anecdotes to tell of this coral or that sea slug. I only knew them by their mugshots in books, by the mechanics of their roles in the real places where they lived that I had never--would never--see.
Maybe it was because, more than ever, I comprehended how close we are to losing--no, destroying--creatures like the ones I was seeing for the first time, just as we are losing coral reefs and estuaries to vast anoxic "dead zones" around the world. Even the tiny specks that float unnoticed--the essential plankton pastures of the water world--are in jeopardy. And so too, the krill and bait fish at the next level up the complex ocean food chains we so poorly understand.
But I pushed to the back of my mind any academic and economic and ethical concerns for the three hours of my field trip to this exotic world. It was not analysis I was there for, not an internal discourse, but only to stand that close to aliens. And I could not have been more amazed or awe-filled had I been walking the forest of a distant planet. The blur of motion, and lifestyles attached permanently to rocks or other strange creatures; the perfect patterns of form and function and color in a hundred different body plans; the sheer beauty of underwater life--was more in its effects like a sermon than a lecture. Amen.
Comments
I would love to know what kind of camera you are using! Your pictures are excellent, as well as your writing; I enjoy your blog!!
Posted by: Michele | November 27, 2004 8:32 AM
I like the notion of plankton pastures.
The strangeness of many lifeforms on terra firma is often a good antidote to complacency and habitual thinking, as well. I particulalry like reading about invertebrates, because at least one doesn't need a microscope, and we tend to take them so much for granted without knowing very much about them at all.
Posted by: Dave | November 27, 2004 8:59 AM
Here is a photo of an alien communing with my daughter at the New England Aquarium.
http://everyday.blogs.com/photos/humble_pics/seaturtle.html
Posted by: Amy | November 27, 2004 9:32 AM
This photo is strikingly like an abstract painting. Beautiful. Have you ever gone snorkeling in a tropical area? If not, you must try it some day. I have only done it once in Hawaii and once in the Bahamas, but those were transcendent experiences I will not forget. Imagine being surrounded by all that irridescent beauty ....
Posted by: Karen Winters | November 27, 2004 12:42 PM
How true it is that we can think we know something or someone, when what we have acquired is an intellectual or academic understanding, a poor comparison to intimacy, relationship and experience. Thanks again for sharing another wonderful photo and rich insight. In this season I want to thank you for the gifts of your blog in words and pictures and heart.
Posted by: Julie | November 27, 2004 1:52 PM
Hello Fred- this picture is beautiful......I have been catching up with your blog, having recently returned from a photographic expedition to the Galapagos Islands-I was gone for 12 days with no internet access........I took over 800 digital pictures & 15 rolls of 35mm prints..........once I finish editing my digital prints I will send one or two to you.........this was an awesome trip - a photographers dream..........if you should ever have the opportunity to take a trip to the Galapagos, I think you would be awed by the beauty of the islands- the nature, the animals,the iguanas, sea lions, the birds found no where else in the world, the giant tortoises, the volcanic landscapes...........it was truly the most incredible journey I have ever been on.........The company I traveled with - Lindblad Expeditions- was absolutely wonderful.........the Lindblad Co. recently formed an alliance with National Geographic to conduct their scientific & conservation expeditions all over the world.......I will definitely travel with this company again!! Meanwhile, I will keep checking in with your blog as I think your blog is one of the better oes in the blogosphere!!
Posted by: Dottie | November 27, 2004 8:34 PM
Maybe your book learning gets you to your sermon. Maybe, like Indiana Jones, you spend the first part of your career only lecturing about your subject. And then -- POW! -- fieldwork.
Posted by: Peter | November 28, 2004 1:37 AM
I went to the Aquarium too when I was in Boston last month. The leafy sea dragons blew me away.
Here's a resource of more pictures of them:
http://www.divegallery.com/Leafy_Sea_Dragon.htm
Posted by: Pascale Soleil | November 29, 2004 12:49 PM