This time on Jonathan Bird’s Blue World, Jonathan is testing a new camera system—with
hammerhead sharks!
Hi, I’m Jonathan Bird, and welcome to my world!
Here at Blue World we’re really excited about a new theatrical project we’re working
on and today we’re going to take you behind the scenes!
I’m testing the feasibility of using a special kind of camera called a RED to shoot a film
for fulldome theaters, which are theaters with a hemispherical screen that make the
audience feel immersed in the subject.
A good place for a test is nice clear water, so I have come down to West Palm Beach to
board the Dolphin Dream, one of my favorite dive boats, run by one of my favorite captains—Captain
Scotty.
Cameraman Todd has joined me and we also invited my friend Mauricio Handler, a cameraman for
National Geographic who has volunteered to give us an introduction to the RED and let
me learn on his camera system.
We depart from the dock and make our way across the Gulf stream to the Bahamas.
The wind is strong, making the crossing pretty rough, but it will be worth it when we get
there.
We’re hoping to test the camera with some big sharks—Great Hammerheads!
I’ve seen a lot of Scalloped hammerheads in places like Cocos Island and the Galapagos,
but I’ve never seen a Great Hammerhead.
Once we reach the Bahamas and get anchored, the crew starts the process of chumming for
sharks.
Until they arrive, we keep busy by doing some test shots on the boat.
Mauricio gives me a run-down on the underwater housing and we discuss the special fisheye
lens I have to use to shoot for fulldome theaters.
It produces a rounded, distorted image in the frame, which actually looks straight again
when it’s projected on the dome-shaped movie screen.
It’s pretty weird.
Hopefully all this chum will bring in the Hammerheads!
I suit up to have a look down below and see if any sharks are showing up for the party.
Mauricio and Todd film me suiting up with the fisheye lens to see how it will look on
the dome screen.
My first act when I get into the water is to shake the chum box a little and get that
chum scent going!
Down on the bottom, divemaster Sonny Hughes is chumming too, so we have chum hanging off
the boat and more chum on the bottom.
If this doesn’t get sharks, I don’t know what will!
So far all we have are some fish and a big remora!
We decide to do a little exploring.
The sea floor here is just flat sand as far as we can see, but sometimes the sand holds
surprises.
I spot a seafan overgrown with seaweed and fuzzy, stinging hydroids—like an oasis in
the sandy desert sea floor.
And wouldn’t you know it, there’s a little octopus hiding at the base.
There aren’t many places to hide out here on the sand, and this little octopus is doing
the best it can!
Sometimes an octopus will get curious about the warmth of a human hand and come out to
investigate, but I think this one is just too shy.
Moving on, we eventually come across a pile of junk.
It’s an old boat and a golf cart tossed into a heap.
The local fishermen create these little artificial reefs out in the sand because they attract
fish.
It really does work as you can see.
In addition to lots of snapper and grunts, a few lionfish are hanging around too.
The artificial reef is cool, but its time to go check on the shark situation.
They’re still chumming, and waiting.
But things are looking up.
A big nurse shark has come in.
With its large entourage of remoras, the nurse shark works up the courage to come in close
and snap up a delicious piece of fish.
Then, out in the hazy distance, a sharky shape!
And it’s approaching!
A Great Hammerhead!
It circles around the bait box, looking for tasty treats.
Great Hammerheads are notoriously shy, but this one managed to overcome its fear for
a snack.
Seeing it up close, I now understand why they’re called “Great”.
These sharks are much bigger than I imagined.
They make scalloped hammerheads look like juveniles.
The hammer, otherwise known as the cephalofoil, is an arm’s length wide.
And the dorsal fin is nearly as tall.
Great indeed!
Soon I realize that there is more than one animal.
Both are large females and this one has a bright yellow acoustic tag on it, likely from
the nearby Bimini Field research station.
She gulps down the bait.
The chum in the water makes the sharks bold.
I don’t get the impression that these sharks are curious or interested in us.
I also don’t feel that they are acting aggressively.
They smell fish and they want some, and that’s it.
Great Hammerheads have a fierce reputation—for being shy.
They are just not a species that is likely to bite a swimmer or a diver.
It’s not just rare to see one in the wild, it’s actually pretty rare to even be able
to get them close with bait.
The only reason it works here in the Bahamas at this particular spot is because researchers
have been doing it for years.
The sharks are used to it and they have come to trust that divers mean them no harm.
Fortunately, I get lots of practice with the RED camera because the sharks keep making
passes.
The fisheye lens makes the sharks look further from the lens than they really are.
In fact the sharks are coming within inches of the lens!
I’m very much enjoying this once-in-a-lifetime chance to see Great Hammerheads up close,
so you can imagine my sadness as the light begins to fade in the late afternoon.
The images get darker and we need our lights.
Eventually we get low on air and have to head back to the boat.
But knowing there are sharks down below is a great motivator.
Todd, Mauricio and I power through dinner so we can try a night dive with the sharks!
I leave the fisheye lens behind and grab my normal video camera for this dive.
We won’t stray far from the boat.
Sonny is once again chumming on the bottom.
So far it has only attracted a few fish.
But we know those big sharks are out there somewhere in the dark, just beyond our sight.
Which is kind of spooky when you think about it.
Again, with no notice, one of the Hammerheads comes out of the distance.
Her keen sense of smell tells her we have fish and she wants some.
But when she gets close to our bright lights blinding her, she gets a little nervous and
bolts away into the darkness.
Eventually she works up the nerve to come back in and tolerates our lights on her search
for food.
At times she hugs the bottom, swaying her head back and forth like a metal detector,
probably trying to pick up a whiff of fish on the sand.
Finally she finds a piece of bait, but she has a hard time eating it.
Most dive operators use fish leftovers from fishermen as bait.
There isn’t much meat on it and the bones get tangled in the shark’s teeth—so it’s
actually really hard to eat.
I spend an hour with the Hammerheads and then its back to the boat.
I’ll sleep well tonight.
Our expedition to the Bahamas to film sharks was a huge success.
Not only did we see some amazing Great Hammerheads, but we used the experience to learn how to
shoot with the RED camera and the fisheye lens for fulldome.
Practice with the hammerheads and subsequent screening in a fulldome theater showed me
how to compose images for the dome.
Four months later, we used those skills and started production on our first fulldome film
in collaboration with NASA.
We filmed at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston, where astronauts practice spacewalking.
Then we followed the astronauts to Aquarius Reef base and filmed a NEEMO mission on the
sea floor, testing equipment and techniques for exploring asteroids.
Space School was released in January of 2015.
It’s about how astronauts train underwater for life and work in space.
You can see it at your local planetarium or fulldome theater!
It’s the closest experience to diving without actually getting wet!