Welcome to the Current News page

This is the best place to keep pace with the Ocean Stock Images team. We have integrated several ways of keeping tabs on us including our 'Images Blog' feature. Every few days a different photo or short video clip will be featured with an interesting story about its capture. 'Recent News' and the 'Current News' sections will detail all of our latest publications, announcements, new galleries, trips and products. So feel free to browse around and check out the archives for older news. If you would like to be notified about our latest expeditions and workshops please subscribe to our e-mail newsletter

June 18, 2008

Mark Thorpe is now somewhere in Bali taking a break from the big, toothy sharks of South Africa.  Mike Veitch is also in Bali living the sordid life of an expat-Canadian while Ethan Daniels has just returned to California after spending over two months diving, freediving, and shooting in Yap, Palau, Raja Ampat, and north Sulawesi.  

The last two issues of Fins Magazine, issues 7.2 and 7.3, contain Ethan Daniels' articles.  The March/April issue contains a Lenscape article:  Reef Fantasies, which contains a number of composites dreamed up over the last year by Ethan.  The May/June issue contains "Out Yonder in Yap," a look at one of Micronesia's top dive destinations.

Pick up a copy of Scuba Diver Australasia's Limited Edition Passport to Diving the World!  This brand spanking new, special publication is packed with killer images and synopses of over 100 top dive sites throughout the world.  Mike Veitch and Ethan Daniels are two of the contributors.

Ethan Daniels' personal story of drifting out to sea in Palau is published in the March 2008 issue of Diver UK magazine (www.divernet.com). 

February 17, 2008

It's been far too long since we've last given everyone the current whereabouts of all of us here at OSI.  Mark Thorpe is still chasing around Tiger sharks in South Africa.  Mike Veitch is somewhere in Bali, living a very, very hard life, and Ethan Daniels is sitting in California waiting for decent weather to dive.  It's been a few months since Ethan has felt warm water but he will soon be heading to Yap and Palau for all of April then on to Raja Ampat and Sulawesi for another five weeks. 

January 1, 2008

Happy New Year from all of us at OSI!  We wish everyone the wettest and most productive year.  The beginning of 2008 finds OSI photographers/videographers hard at work in South Africa, Bali, and California.  Ethan Daniels' image of a Lionfish, Pterois volitans, graces the cover of the Feb/March '08 issue of SportDiving Magazine.  His article, "Raja Ampat-Reefs of Intrigue," is also featured inside.  Keep an eye out for OSI's newsletter which should be out in coming weeks.

November 20th, 2007

Ethan Daniels has just returned to California after being on the road guiding and shooting for the past six weeks.  Ethan spent a week in Lembeh Strait working on a future story for Scuba Diver Australasia, then guided two trips in Raja Ampat (now his second home).  He finished the marathon in Crystal River, Florida where he realized that his tropical wetsuit wasn't cutting it as air temperatures dropped to near freezing.  Luckily this meant lots of manatees!  Ethan is now hard at work on five seperate stories and will be hitting the cold waters of Monterey, CA as soon as he can.  Check out the OSI's latest images page.

October 28th, 2007

Mark Thorpe, pictured above right, was recently honored by being awarded the 'Prix du Public'  at the recent Antibes Film Festival. To give it it's real name the Festival Mondiale de L'Image Sous Marine is held each year at the end of October in the small southern French town of Antibes Juan Les Pins. Often referred to as the 'Oscars' of the underwater imaging World it puts into perspective the achievement of Marks short film "The Majesty of Muck". Mark will be looking for a way to publish the film online for all to see. Watch this space for directions. Thanks to all well wishers thus far who have contacted Mark on his achievement. Mark is pictured above (right) with Danny van Belle who was the overall Film Group B recipient of the prestigious Palme D'Or.

September 7th, 2007                                  

Mike Veitch is proud to announce one of his photos is on the cover of National Geographic Traveler magazine for the month of September.  It is an honour to have a cover photo on this prestigious magazine.  The photo features a young woman attired in a traditional dress walking down a stone path surrounded by bright tropical plants.  The photo was taken in Yap, Micronesia, Mike's home for the last 2.5 years.

August 16th, 2007

In what could be the biggest move of his career to date Mark Thorpe has announced his acceptance of an offer to be retained as an independent contractor with a specialized department at The National Geographic Society. In 2005 Mark was commissioned to work with the Remote Imaging, aka "Crittercam", department of the infamous organization. His mission at that time was two fold, to work in Mexico and South Africa whilst attempting to place cameras on Sperm Whales and Great White Sharks respectively. Accomplishing both missions with flying colors Mark has now, after lengthy discussions, decided to take a more permanent role in the future projects of the department. He will also be heading up certain projects in relation to the "WildCam" project in Botswana.

"I'm chuffed obviously" quips Mark, "To have the opportunity to work within the hallowed halls of National Geographic is something I have always aspired to and now its a dream coming true. I'm basically going to be a field operative for the unit, spending up to 8 months of the year on assignments. My responsibilities will be everything from project appraisal, rough scripting, shooting, field editing and all related logistics for moving the field equipment from point A to point B whilst ensuring that everything runs as smoothly as possible".

When not on assignment Mark will be buried in related unit business at the National Geographic Society head offices in Washington DC. For more information on the "Crittercam" program please visit their WEBSITE.

June 27, 2007

Mike Veitch has just returned from 2 weeks in Puerta Galera, Philippines conducting the first annual Asia Divers/Dive Photo Fest underwater photography workshop. The weather was fantastic and the diving even better.  Thank you to all our participants and we look forward to seeing you at one of our future workshops.  Be sure to check out the www.divephotofest.com for information on Mike's workshop in Bali in October.  Watch for Mike's photos from this incredible area in the Latest Photos gallery soon.

June 8, 2007 

In the coming July issue of Asian Geographic, Ethan Daniels' story, "The Tao of Freediving Raja Ampat," will be highlighted.  The text and images tell of Ethan's recent experiences exploring the remote (and not so remote) sites within the northern islands of Raja Ampat.

Ethan is currently getting used to being "back in school" at Boston University's Center for Digital Imaging Arts (CDIA).  Keep your eye on the OSI 'Latest Images' page for Ethan's new images of aquatic and marine habitats of Cape Cod in coming weeks!

May 29, 2007

This past Memorial Day weekend, the Northern California Underwater Photographic Society (NCUPS) held its 2007 Beach Dive Competition in Monterey, CA.  Yes, the vis was poor and the water was frigid but Ethan Daniels came away from the one day competition with 1st and 2nd places in the Wide Angle category and 1st place in Portrait.  His photograph of a tube anemone surrounded by colorful starfish also took the coveted NCUPS 'Best of Show' category.  Not bad for shooting while shivering!

Fins Magazine will feature Ethan's "Palau's Light Side of the Moon" article in its upcoming issue.  Keep your eye out for it!

April 25, 2007

The April/May issue of Scuba Diver Australasia features Ethan's images and article on the Coral Triangle's marine biogeography.  One of his shots is also in the 'X-Dives' section of the magazine.

Ethan has recently decided to attend Boston University's Center for Digital Imaging Arts (CDIA) over the summer months.  CDIA provides extensive training on the cutting edge of digital photographic and video technologies, including printing, post-production, color management, and workflow.  This intensive program will add more versatility to Ethan's current quiver of photographic skills. 

April 15, 2007

Having just returned from another grueling trip to Yap and Palau, Ethan  is hard at work uploading new images.  Concentrating on the hidden gems within Palau's Rock Islands, Ethan brought back a variety of unusual pictures, a few of which can be seen in the OSI 'Latest Images' gallery.

March 23, 2007

This month's Asian Diver features Ethan Daniels full length article on East Timor's spectacular shore diving.  Given just a few days to dive in Timor, Ethan came back from the trip gushing about the health of Timor's reefs.  Not known for fishing, the Timorese have traditionally left alone much of the marine life found just off shore.  That means that large fish, such as Napolean wrasse and sharks, are quite common.  But, there is more to Timor than just the "sexy" larger fauna;  critters abound on the reefs as well.

March 9, 2007

In the 'xtraordinary dives' section of March's SD Australasia is Ethan Daniels stunning image of a young manta feeding in a ship's spotlight at night.  Also, coming up in the next issue of Scuba Diver Australasia is Ethan's article on the marine biogeography of the Coral Triangle.  Believe me, it's a better read than it sounds!  Included are images from Indo, PI, and East Timor.  The next issue of FiNs Magazine will have another article from Ethan, this one about Palau's lunar-influenced reef action.  One of Ethan's cold water shots from Lake Superior will also grace the pages of April's Scuba Diving Magazine.

On top of all the writing and photography that has been going on Ethan has been guiding quite a bit lately.  He has just returned to California from leading a series of trips to the Mergui Archipelago in Myanmar, Belize, Guatemala, and then the Mergui... again.  A few images from these trips can be found in the 'Latest Images' section within this site.  Highlights of the past few months include hanging out with Carlos Villoch in Belize (and snapping a few frames of Shortnose Batfish with him), as well as finding four different individuals of Synancea horrida, the Horrid or Estuarine Stonefish in Myanmar.  You know you're a fish geek when the beauty of the scenic coral reefs doesn't excite you nearly as much as finding one of the world's ugliest and most venomous fish species!   

Dates for Ethan's 2008 dive expeditions to Raja Ampat, Palau, and East Timor will soon be released so stay tuned.

March 2, 2007

The latest issue of Scuba Diver Australasia contains an 8 page image portfolio of Mike Veitch's work in the TTL section.  The images are a selection of subjects fro Yap, Bali, Philippines, and French Polynesia.  There is also a brief biography on Mike's career included. 

Also appearing in this issue is a large ad for Mike's Puerto Galera photo workshop with Simon Buxton and Tim Rock.  This will be taking place from June 3-10, 2007 at Asia Divers/El Galleon resort in the Philippines.  If you are interested in learning more about photography and having a great time, please visit www.asiadivers.com to sign up today.  With a great list of prizes and co sponsored by the PADI Diving Society, this event is bound to be a great event for everyone!