"Y3K" Article

I know I haven't posted any new uw photos in a long time (since summer), and won't be doing so until at least next summer. In case you're interested in the reason, here it is!

I know I haven't posted any new uw photos in a long time (since summer), and won't be doing so until at least next summer. In case you're interested in the reason, here it is!

Thought you'd been pretty quiet for a while Bruce. Sorry to hear you have not been well; but very happy to hear you are now doing well and on the way to recovery.

All the best, hope 2010 sees you back in the water with a vengeance.

Jeff

Best wishes for 2010 with a fully-functioning kidney!

Really glad to see you back on your fins Bruce. Congrats on the article too.

Can't wait to see what you can accomplish in 2010.

Cheers partner,

Steve

Good to Hear Bruce - all the best for 2010 and hope to dive w/ you again asap.

Cheers

James

Nice to hear You are recovering Bruce!

Karel

So glad to hear your op went well Bruce and such a marvelous achievement with the fund raising Its a real heart warmer to know that there are courageous people, friends and family out there ready to put themselves forward to help others in need ... God bless them ...

I will look forward to hearing how you get on in your new journey ...

Best regards

Dean ...

Hi Bruce. It's good to hear you're on the mend. Have a great year!

Les

HNY Bruce. Looking forward to seeing your photos once again.

John

HI Bruce, keep toughin it out and get better soon!

Bruce -

With all the usual debates on these forums (endless nikon/canon battles etc.) it is refreshing to see a story that really reminds us what a joy and privilege it is to simply take underwater photos in the first place. I hope you can get back in the water asap and I look forward to seeing more of your work posted here on wetpixel. Additionally, I was wondering if you would post some information on your charitable work, I hope I speak for more than myself when I say I would be interested in learning more and potentially helping out.

cheers!

- MDP

Bruce, here's wishing you a speedy recovery and may all y3k keep you going for many more years.

To the man with the smiley shark - get well soon! All the best for 2010, Bruce.

Thanks for all the encouraging comments, everyone! I'm only about a week from the 3-month point, which is a big milestone (not only because my body isn't rejecting the new organ, but because my immune system will be recovered enough that I get to drop a handful of pills I've been taking every day...leaving only two handfuls that I have to KEEP taking! ).

...I was wondering if you would post some information on your charitable work, I hope I speak for more than myself when I say I would be interested in learning more and potentially helping out.

cheers!

- MDP

I appreciate your interest, Matt. I have great respect for professional uw photographers (many here on Wetpixel) I've had the pleasure of meeting/diving with, but I already have a "day job", so I decided not to try to profit from my photography. Therefore, as people became interested in buying my photos, I decided to give the proceeds to charity. My first real effort in that regard was a calendar I produced of my uw photos, and gave the money raised (a little over $12,000) to the Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) Foundation , a great organization doing research on curing PKD. Although I knew they wouldn't find a cure in time to help me, I am very impressed with their work that I honestly believe will be able within 15 years to help the thousands of people every year with PKD (many of them children).

The last few years, I've been donating all profits from prints, website sales, royalties and cash contest prizes to a wonderful little organization called the International Children's Surgical Fundation. My direct donations, plus my efforts to get others to donate, have apparently now been responsible for raising over $20,000 for ICSF - enough to pay for an entire medical mission of two teams of volunteer doctors and nurses to the Philippines (where ICSF has done more work than anywhere else) or someplace similar.

One thing I've discovered is that when you try to raise money for a good cause, people and other less tangible "forces" seem to work together to magnify your efforts. For example, as part of a cover shot and housing review article I wrote for Uw Photography Magazine , I ran an ad for ICSF aimed at uw photographers, and - after seeing the good that ICSF does - the editor (Peter Rowlands) made it a full page ad, as shown below.

Glad to hear you're doing better. Keep getting stronger and we will all be looking forward to more fantastic images from you in the future.

Wishing you a formula-1 paced recovery, back to the water with you, as soon as possible. Get well soon!

zook

Glad to hear you are doing well and what you do to support charity work is great.

Here's to a continued speedy recovery and looking forward to your new photos when you get back in the water....

Good luck to you and hope you're in the water soon again. That 'lemon' (don't know if you call it that, but lemon would be a great name for the image) is one of the most memorable from last year(s) inmo. Question is, will you be shooting with three strobes as well?

cheers

...Question is, will you be shooting with three strobes as well?

Took me a second to "get" that, but - good one!

(Oh, and thanks for the kind words about my "Cheshire Cat Grin" lemon shark shot.)

Best wishes and fishes Bruce!

Jack