Yes, the last post before we jump into the meat of this little endeavor. Lets skip ahead fifteen years so I can explain where I am now, and put a little perspective on just why the heck I’ve decides to write all this.
In the end, melding science and photography with a little splash of English-minor turned out to be a pretty good combo. Since my graduation, I’ve worked in molecular epidemiology, cancer biology, microbial pathogenesis, high throughput genomics and aquaculture diagnostics. Heck, I’ve even taught high school, become a scuba instructor, and started a fish farm. I’ve also completed a Master’s in Applied Biosciences, and recently completed a Graduate program in Entrepreneurship at the McGuire school. As an offshoot of the entrepreneurship program I’ve now launched a molecular diagnostics company. Yes, I’m flakey and easily bored so when I start to get good at something, I typically become uninterested, quit, and move on.
The path after graduation has taken many twists. Throughout, a continuous source of interest and inspiration has been with the ocean and the Sea of Cortez. Every time I am able to slip under the surface of the Sea of Cortez, it feels like a homecoming or visiting an old friend. The underwater topography and species mix is unlike any other in the world. There is a certain soothing feeling that comes from knowing a region so well, mixed with an excited anticipation, from the fact that what I do know is dwarfed by what I do not. This region is still largely unexplored and many species exist only within the relatively small confines of this sea.
So now, to some extent I have come full circle. The Sea of Cortez and those that have studied and protected her have given me so much, now I feel I can give something to those that are embarking on their own exploration of this region. It started with a couple of (still largely unfinished and sometimes cheesy) websites with some travel info about Baja and San Carlos, but my major undertaking is the SeaCortez site. At SeaCortez, I’m hoping to promote an understanding of the unique natural history and ecology of the Sea of Cortez, as well as to promote responsible utilization of the region. I truly feel that the more people can come to understand something as special and fragile as the Sea of Cortez the more likely they will be to protect this desert sea. A part of this project will be looking back at the changes that have occurred in the Sea of Cortez, and at the changes in myself and those around me that have been inspired by the Sea. I hope that by examining some highlights of my earlier field notebooks I can share with others the wonder and sense of discovery that can be found in these waters and to inform and inspire others to make their own treks into the vermilion sea.
As discussed in part one of this intro, some of the pre-trip planning I am undertaking for another possible expedition down Baja includes going back through my field journals from earlier trips, particularly from the summer of 1992, my first foray into the Baja Peninsula. Of all my travels in Mexico, this was by far the most inspirational and educational trip to date. True, this was in part due to the fact that I was a wide-eyed and idealistic college student relatively new to marine biology, but it was also due in large part to the caliber of people on the trip.
At the time of my first trek into Baja, I was a marginally dissatisfied fine-arts major at the University of Arizona that had found my childhood interests in science rekindled after taking up scuba diving. As an aspiring wildlife and underwater photographer, I was repeatedly told both by my compatriots and professors in the fine arts department “You have talent – why do you want to waste it taking pictures of fish”? Any type of outdoor or nature photography was generally met with scorn by others in my department.
Just imagine my joy at finding out that while my scientific leanings weren’t terribly popular in the photography department, my photography was extremely well respected and valued in the science department! Not only that, but there was an upcoming marine biology field course that was headed down Baja for 5 weeks, led by some of the most well known biologists working in the Sea of Cortez. Among them was Dr. Donald A Thomson, one of the three authors of Reef Fishes of the Sea of Cortez, the bible for ichthyologists working in the Gulf of California. He had led this field each summer for 23 years by the 1992 trip. Another individual leading the trip was Alex Kerstitch, an internationally known underwater photographer and another author of Reef Fishes of the Sea of Cortez. Both of these individuals would become close personal friends and mentors and have been tremendous sources of inspiration for which I will forever be in their debt. Needless to say, it was due in no small part to these two individuals that a semester before graduating with my fine arts degree, I ended up changing my Major to a double in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Molecular and Cellular Biology. My gen-ed advisor actually giggled as he crossed off all of my once-valuable requirements and moved them to the elective pile. Yep, 7 years to get the two Bachelor’s degrees… But I did at least get to claim a minor in photography.
This summer marked the fifteen year anniversary of my first crossing into Mexico’s Baja peninsula, the small sliver of land that separates the Sea of Cortez from the Pacific Ocean. I had been to the Sea of Cortez before, but never Baja. I have returned to Baja many times since, but never has the experience been such an expedition of wonder, exploration, and camaraderie as I experienced in the summer of 1992.
As I prepare for another trip to Baja, I am studying my field journals from that 5-week expedition. Much has changed both in the Sea of Cortez, and much has changed with me. But more has stayed the same, for better or worse. As I begin this blog, it seems appropriate to discuss the “then and now’s” of the experience to put some perspective on what was learned and what one might hope for the future.
As it turns out, the trip to Baja was a rather formative experience. In the Summer of ‘92 I had completed my sophomore year as a fine arts major at the University of Arizona. I had taken up scuba diving my freshman year and this had rapidly become an addiction. Soon I was rabid about underwater photography and even took an introductory class in marine biology so I could learn the names of some of the fish I was seeing. I had no idea that taking up this sport and enrolling in a 100-level elective would have such a profound effect on the direction my life would take.
I met an entirely new group of people in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department. Unlike many the fine arts people I knew, these nutty ecology types were generally friendly, easy going and loved to travel. Sure they were idealistic and mad about things, but these things seemed tangible and meaningful compared to the generalized discontent I had found in the arts college. In short, I found my social unit. Plus, Birkenstocks are much more comfortable than uber-cool combat boots, and you really can only wear black in Tucson for so long before you burst into flames.
Tags: Baja 92'
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