Mike Boom gave us a fantastic introduction to the ecosystems off California shores. He started with an amusing pantomime description of what it takes to suit up and equip oneself to make his underwater videos.
The video camera itself was surprisingly normal looking for the stunning results he had on screen. He started with Southern California waters off Catalina Island, showing us from plants, to invertebrates, to fish the host of creatures that inhabit the seas. He left us with a litany of names that probably only scratched the surface of the water’s diversity, but the images brought oohs and aahs from the crowd.
His second segment showed us the waters off Monterey, with a similar progression of creatures — noting how the waters differ in plants and animals and how they are similar, as well as noting the difference in water, how southern waters can be much clearer if only a little bit warmer.
He ended the night with two extra little clips, one showing waters even further north in Alaska — again bringing out the differences of life as water gets colder (creatures from the deep in the south tend to show up at higher depths); the other showed a chance encounter with a juvenile seal which was a delight to watch. First shy, then coy, then outright showing off its splendid mobility in the waters — every now and again stopping for a scratch.
Check out some of his videos (from waters above and beyond Californias) at laughingeel.com.
SF Natural History Series 