Friday, December 9, 2011

Tintorera! The Movie That Just Won't Die

Tintorera!

It's the kind of film that will have you alternately cringing with it's 1970's vintage hyper sexual liberated Mexican vacation scenes while at the same time rooting for several poor unfortunate Tiger sharks that were press ganged into appearing in this god awful film.

The Tigers and the films gory shark attacks are pure nonsense but technically challenging from an underwater filmmakers point of view. This was the 1970's, so pay close attention. The dive team behind this film were pushing every shark boundary there was at the time and no number of Cojones dipped in Patrón Platinum tequila will ever truly describe this dive teams first few raw encounters with Tigers in Mexico - circa 1977.

Kudos to the late great Ramón Bravo for being the man.We all walk in your footsteps sir.

This is great underwater work, if you can get past the fact all the sharks in this film were harmed. Kinda reminds us of a recent chain wrapping event in the Bahamas as of late, but hey, that's film and television with sharks for you.

Fast forward to the 1980's and the other famous underwater Tiger scene with Fonzi et al Happy Days and you see the pure genius that was the DP's work with Tintorera!

We're also impressed that the main paramour in this film, a very sweaty bearded Hugo Stiglitz, managed to channel the onscreen energy and look of another well known television character the "Manah Manah Guy" from Sesame Street.

Whether this is a case of crazy 1970's zeitgeist or in fact the Muppet's creator Jim Henson was a stone cold fan of the film Tintorera! we will never know. Unless you track down Mr.Stiglitz who rumor has it is still alive and well at the ripe old age of 70 in Mexico City.


Anyone? Anyone? Bueler?

If you need more Tintorera! analysis and discussion you can find it because this film has lit a small fire under the shark bloggers. Must be the vintage shark footage, alcohol, and sex, and David Diley has the complete scoop on Tintorera! for you this week. It's a must read.

Tintorera! is the film that "just will not die", thanks largely in part to bloggers like us, You Tube, and a growing fan base perhaps nostalgic for real cocktail glasses on unspoilt Mexican beaches and a time where you could vacation to Mexico without fear of two dozen headless bodies showing up with your vacation luggage courtesy of some local drug gang. 

Looking back on it, Tintorera! is a bit of a time warp, and what a weird and wonderful time machine it turned out to be.

Mark Tipple's "Underwater Project" released on App Store

World renowned and award winning photographer Mark Tipple brings his Underwater Project to iOS devices. Just in time for the holidays and 2012 a new season of underwater magic.

Check it out here

“The underwater portraits of Mark Tipple have an otherworldly look and lighting that no studio could match.” ~ VisualNews.com

As featured in

✎ The Telegraph (UK)
✎ Australian BodyBoarder
✎ The Dive Photo Guide
✎ The Australian (AUS)

"The most powerful images in documentary photography projects are rarely the ones on the surface of the issue, they’re the ones that go deeper. Australian documentary photographer, Mark Tipple, has taken this concept quite literally in a new series called “The Underwater Project”.” ~ ChaseJarvis.com

ABOUT THE PROJECT

A haze of smashed blues and whites, the bright sting of sunlight and a briny hit. The wave rolls onwards, lurching forwards with a power that seems so benign from afar. It throws itself in a powerful lunge, crashes down and topples everything in its path – but for the ocean swimmers who know that to survive a wave is to dive deep.

Visionary photographer Mark Tipple brings his world renowned and ongoing photographic series to the iPhone, iPod and iPad. With regular new releases and weekly visual updates you'll always have new experiences and images to discover.

Try the app with full functionality for free and be amazed by the imagery. You may also unlock dozens more images from the series with a one time in app purchase of just $1.99.

APP FEATURES

✔ 20+ Images from each released series
✔ Browse, zoom & explore the shots
✔ Landscape and Portrait image view
✔ Slideshow viewer w/ custom effects
✔ Create your own custom slideshow
✔ Slideshow never goes dark
✔ Music player in slideshow
✔ Read the UWP Blog
✔ HD iPhone 4.0 Retina Display
✔ Supports iPad native resolution

Official Site: http://www.theunderwaterproject.com

Wolf in the Henhouse - Costa Rica?

What happens when you appoint a fisheries agency in bed with regional commercial fishing interests to "analyze the management of the country’s marine resources?"

You get the oft bizarre world of Latin America fisheries. In this case 
the Costa Rica Fisheries Institute (Incopesca) long known for pro-fisheries "look the other way" management styles.

Fortunately there's a plethora of NGO's and regional media folks who are watching this development and keeping the world informed and educated.

Keep your eyes on this one as it develops, hopefully the folks over at Incopesca with choose leadership over business as usual and regional shark species will get a break.

Complete story.