Tag Archives: Bob Talbot

Peggy Stap, being child-like, and other such fancies

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While the elusive Bob-cat (renowned photographer and film-maker Bob Talbot) remains elusively wrapped up in the completion of a film project and I am still steadying myself for the slightly daunting task of writing about dog-rescue trainer, whale disentangler and so-labeled ‘climate change skeptic’ Pieter Folkens, I have the opportunity to write a few spirit-reviving posts about Peggy Stap and the work of Marine Life Studies (MLS).

I say spirit-reviving with a ‘can’t-help-but-smile-conviction’ because Peggy is one of the most generous, kind-hearted, child-like people alive and I have a little candle of love that will always burn for her and wish her well. Some of you may remember Peggy with fondness from reading my posts about her just over a year ago, and if so, you will know that I write ‘child-like’ for all the positive, charming, beautiful aspects that this way of being in the world presents. To still have a child’s heart with its capacity for trust, love and spontaneous generosity, and to still have a child’s spirit with its unbounded exuberance, curiosity and willingness to do more…. Yes, I think we could all do with a Peggy-pill once in a while to rekindle the soft flames in our hearts and enliven our spirits.

I visited Peggy for a couple of weeks in April, staying with her in beautiful Monterey Bay, California. I have a soft spot for Monterey, with its cute old houses (of course, we are talking old for America, not old by world standards), gentle streets that people actually walk along as opposed to simple drive through, and its lush variety of trees and plants that provide a wonderful feeling of nature, freedom and woodlands in amongst an urban setting.

I met Peggy’s husband Dick for the first time; an intelligent, gentle man with an all-encompassing love for his wife and the most interesting, eloquent person to sit down with and have a conversation of substance. Peggy’s dog Whiskie the Whale Spotter was as adorable as ever and I swear I have never, ever seen a dog with such an ability to relax in the most indulgent fashion; every day sprawled in some new, exotic position on her favored chair of the moment.

Peggy was, of course, working her usual seven day week for Marine Life Studies. The organisation is still staffed by volunteers, including Peggy, although MLS has successfully attracted pockets of government and corporate funding for particular projects. I accompanied Peggy going about her daily activities; she was launching her own small research boat ‘Sweet Pea’ this spring and we were both very excited that I would be onboard with her and Whiskie to assist with her killer whale research. I will write about those adventures in a future post; the wonders and frustrations of attempting to track down orcas from a small boat where visibility is limited to three miles in a bay which is, apparently, 449 sq miles. However right now, I feel my attention turning to an education project which MLS was undertaking while I was there.

‘Take it to the Streets’ is an initiative devised and run by MLS in collaboration with The Plastic Police (an organisation established by MLS’s volunteer coordinator Jenna Contuchio and run under the umbrella of MLS). I accompanied Jenna, Peggy and a team of local volunteers on a ‘Take it to the Streets’ afternoon at a local Boys and Girls club. The aim of the session was to educate children about the environmental effects of litter dropping, (garbage dropped on land often ends up in oceans, polluting them and harming marine animals which accidentally ingest them), and to inspire them to get pro-active and participate in activities that will impact positively on their own psyche and the environment. The majority of the session involved taking the children out on a litter cleaning excursion. Can you believe that picking up litter rather than dropping it can be fun? If not then think again; the teenagers had an engaging, liberating and rewarding experience. Below was one typical comment given that day:

“We risked our clothes and brand new shoes to save a turtle’s life. It was worth it!” Unnamed boy, Salinas Girls and Boys Club

However, I came away from the day with a double-edged feeling; one that the experience was assuredly beneficial for all participants, the other that without continued input its effects might be short lived for some of the participants.

I know from my own dance teaching the immeasurable value that out-of -the-ordinary experiences provide children. Young people need unexpected and exciting experiences to shake their perceptions, instill new thinking, bring fresh energy and encourage a renewed sense of curiosity. As adults, we can easily forget to seek these experiences and fall into the trap of living a life where we believe that life is simply about ‘getting by, plodding along’. But children have not yet been deceived into believing that life is about living a humdrum existence. They are alive to possibilities and open to the potential for growth that the unknown brings. One-off exciting and nurturing experiences spark new fires in their imaginations and remind them that the world is limited only by their perceptions of it, and sometimes this impression inspires a lifetime of passion-infused living. This is exactly what ‘Take it to the Streets’ provided.

However, children by their very nature, are also wonderfully changeable and adaptable, and in their teens their attention can swing wildly between conflicting focuses; one day they think the world of something, the next it is forgotten. They require the intellectual and emotional freedom to develop their own perceptions of the world, but they also require structure to develop these ideas coherently and safely, and they require steady, patient guidance to introduce and nurture certain aspects of their thinking. Out-of-the-ordinary experiences like ‘Take it to the Streets’ may light a fire that does not die out for some children, but, for some, the fire may be forgotten by tomorrow. Maybe that is enough; maybe that is just how it should be. But maybe, in a world where our actions are causing such harm to our planet and others around us, more is required.

I do not mean that MLS should provide more; they are playing their role, a vital and passionate one, bringing that unexpected experience to children who would not otherwise have it, maybe planting the seeds for tomorrow’s dedicated conservationists. But in the bigger picture, for the work of organisations such as MLS to leave a lasting impression on the majority rather than a minority, it requires the steady, patient, on-going reinforcement that schools, families, clubs and society can provide.

I have no doubt that some families, some schools, some clubs, some states, some communities and some countries do provide this framework to a greater and lesser degree. But my guess is that in this imperfect world where we all suffer from such human frailties as complacency and self-oriented interests, the framework becomes muddled and sometimes forgotten. The proof is after all in evidence around us; would pollution and other such manmade problems exist if we had all grown up with the flame of caring for one another and our planet still alive within us?

I do not have an all-encompassing answer and I do not even believe there is necessarily just one answer. We are all such different creatures, needing different experiences and different ways of learning. One religion does not serve all of humanity; while all paths may lead to the same essence eventually, a multitude of paths can be taken along the way. So it is with how we learn, how we interact in our families and how we build our communities; there may be many solutions to the challenges life presents us. I do, however, believe that our overall approach could change… from one which is externally led to one which is internally moved. From one which is about material possessions and achievement in the outer world, to one which is about inner treasures and internal growth. From one which focuses on what we can all get from the world, to one which nurtures the concept of both inward and outward flow, giving and receiving.

And now I am left with a challenge… I started writing this post freeform with no defined objective as to what subjects it might lead me to or where it would end, just a picture of Peggy and her child-like self and the vague notion that I would write about her and MLS. And look where I ended up; in the midst of musings that weave their way from education to religion to the state of our world! A complicated puzzle but one where everything is intertwined, everything is connected. From Peggy, to child-like, to the education of our children, to children’s innate natures, to our human nature, to the flames in our hearts, to the small picture of one person unthinkingly dropping litter, to the larger picture of our whole world, to the mysterious inner realm that underpins our external life, to inward and outward flow… All of these subjects are connected, as is every aspect of our lives, with everything influencing and being influenced by everything else. Remarkable!

In my next post, I will attempt to return to Peggy, Whiskie, the world of whale research and the surprising differences between a transient, resident and offshore orca. For now, the words below eloquently add weight to my musings on conservation, education, life and other fancies.

“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness which created it.” And, “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” Albert Einstein

While time flies, let’s take a moment…

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Life flies by in a whirl as it tends to do unless we can still ourselves long enough to feel the preciousness of each moment. Almost a month and a half has passed since I last posted on this blog. Pinning Bob Talbot down to complete a mini-series of blog articles about him has become an undertaking requiring the patience of a wildlife photographer tracking a snow leopard in a remote mountain location. (Well, I may be mildly exaggerating. It took ten months for photographer Steve Winter to capture that beautiful creature on camera and win the 2008 Wildlife Photographer of the Year award; all things considered, a month and a half is, quite frankly, peanuts.)

In the meantime, to slow down the flighty nature of time and fill the void of waiting for the elusive Bob-cat, I found myself re-reading some timelessly nourishing and spirit-reviving quotes from the legendary naturalist and conservationist John Muir. Here they are, interspersed with a scattering of my own images of our beautiful world.

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.” John Muir

“The power of imagination makes us infinite.” John Muir

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” John Muir

“Take a course in good air and water; and in the eternal youth of Nature you may renew your own. Go quietly, alone; no harm will befall you.” John Muir

“Keep close to Nature’s heart… And break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” John Muir

“I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.” John Muir
The quotes above can be found on various websites such as Brainy Quote. For further quotes and background reading on the man, browse through  The Sierra Club website.

Bob Talbot – the undercurrents that move the man

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“It was only in my forties that I became less judgmental about us as a species and more accepting that we behave as we do because it is our nature; just like any other creature. When I was young I was morally outraged. On some level I still am, but I now temper that outrage with rational thinking that I hope leads to more effective solutions.”

Bob is a thoughtful and questioning man, whose actions are driven by his emotions and sense of ethics. His insights into the world around him, coupled with his emotional and moral response, have motivated him to achieve great things and to think about life with a depth and integrity that others might easily push aside for the convenience of living comfortably. However, he is also familiar with the internal conflict that this ‘right and wrong / black and white’ side of his character can bring; a conflict between hope and the lack of it, between believing that things can change for the better and fearing they will not, between being judgmental and non-judgmental.

In his youth, this conflict was strong. Bob was guided more by his emotions than by intellect. It was innate for him to feel passionately about the world and our species’ relationship with it. He would feel, react to how he felt and then take action, often driven by anger and frustration. He experienced guilt, angst and the belief that he should be doing more, coupled with an equally judgmental attitude towards the rest of the human race. He took up the good fight believing that if issues were made clear to people then reason and empathy would win out.

Through the years he realized that it was not sustainable or effective to come primarily from an emotional perspective. He also realized that his sense of right and wrong needed some refining. In an attempt to find balance, Bob allowed his brain to have a say.

“My intellect told me that right and wrong do not exist in nature. We all got here by natural selection; ‘should’ and ‘should not’ are not applicable. Intellect says that humans are merely extensions of animals that have gotten too big for our britches and are consuming the planet. It was bound to happen; it is a consequence of natural selection.”

This sparked a dialogue between the rational and emotional sides of Bob’s nature, something along the lines of, “If my intellect told me that all is as it needs to be on this earth, my heart still asked, then what? Do I sit back and watch it happen or do I do something about it? I decided that while acting from the heart may be an uphill battle, I would still do what I could to stop needless suffering and, win or lose, go down swinging.”

Now with over 25 years working on conservation and environmental endeavors, Bob accepts with equanimity that the fight may indeed not be won. For Bob, this acceptance does not mean giving up. Instead, it gives him the calmness and strength to move forwards without fearing the anguish that losing the fight might otherwise bring.

“When you accept with humility that you might lose, there is less pressure, less anticipation of feeling demoralized if the fight is lost. Then you can choose to fight the fight simply because it is worth fighting; regardless of whether you will win or lose.”

As well as accepting that our species may never change our ways and that the fight may never be won, Bob also admits to the glimmer of possibility that we may evolve past this phase of selfishness and apathy into a healthier phase of human existence. Above all he believes that “Whatever the odds, being jaded is not effective, you have to have hope”.

However, Bob is of course human and admits he can still be a judgmental person. “I know that being judgmental does not help a situation, but when I see human beings take, take, take, to the very last animal, it drives me crazy!” He still finds it tough to reconcile himself with our species’ collective consumption. It surprises him how much tolerance we have for aberrant behavior; we cannot seem to stomach being deprived of material things in life but we can stomach our own and other’s behavior towards each other and the planet.

When Bob asks himself what standard of living is rightfully ours to have while not being detrimental to the world around us, he readily admits that this is difficult to answer, with no quick and easy, black and white solution. But, he says,

“It is at least apparent that we have crossed the line to a damaging degree. Human beings have always had, and still have, a tough time being accountable. There is always a price to be paid and we never know the full ripple effect of our actions. But one thing is clear; that if we keep living how we have been living, we do not have much of a future.”

Which is why he remains an environmentalist to this day; one who accepts that our future may not be bright, but nevertheless keeps hope alive that it still could be. And one who wants to instill in each of us the unshakable, ethical and honorable stance that if something is worth fighting for we must fight, regardless of whether we win or lose.

All of which leads us to what will be my next post about Bob; his thoughts on what positive action can be taken, some of the obstacles in the way and the methods he is using to encourage change. Read more next time…

Bob Talbot – a tantalising glimpse of the man behind the camera

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I had the excellent fortune to meet and interview Bob Talbot in May 2011. We met while I was accompanying and writing about Peggy Stap of Marine Life Studies (MLS) in Monterey Bay, California. At the time Bob was up-to-his-neck-busy with the filming of a wildlife documentary. Peggy, Jenna (a volunteer with MLS) and I accompanied Bob on one of his research/filming boats for a day, to the benefit of all; Peggy was conducting orca research and Bob was in need of some filmed footage on orcas, a winning combination. We spent the day on the waters of Monterey Bay hunting, (not literally), some cunningly deceptive and illusive killer whales. We were also treated to some splashes of hang-on-to-anything-your-hands-can-reach accelerating take-offs, which Bob with a boyish love for adrenalin-fueled high speed, liked to momentarily indulge in. Of course, with the bay being home to such a diversity of life vulnerable to boat collisions, propellers and noise, these were transitory moments; like a car manically pulling away from the stoplight, only to relax into a safe, speed limit abiding ride.

Luckily the adrenalin rush did not put me off and, after meeting Bob a couple of times, I asked him if I could chat with him further. In a rather bemused state, he agreed. We met one evening on board his larger more comfortable research boat and talked in-depth for a couple of hours. It is thanks to his quietly charismatic presence, intensely interesting personal ethos, and candidly open replies to my questions, (along with some messily scribbled notes), that I can write about that conversation almost a year later.

For anyone who does not know the name Bob Talbot, this might refresh your memory. Did you ever own or ever see a poster sized photograph, probably framed, of a whale’s tail as it dived down to the depths, with the iconic word T A L B O T written along the bottom? Well, that is Bob. Or was Bob. Bob initially became well known for his photographic work of whales. These days he is predominantly a filmmaker. The list of movies and series which he has filmed, directed and/or photographed for include such inspirational titles as Flipper and Free Willy, and more recently the IMAX films Dolphins – The Ride and Oceanmen – Extreme Dive. You can bet any amount of money you like that there is more than one cetacean conservationist in the world who first became inspired to study and protect dolphins and whales through seeing something Bob photographed or filmed.

Bob is also, and always has been, a strong environmentalist. Intrinsic to his character are his environmental beliefs and sense of duty or ‘call to action’. It is these underlying traits that have always underpinned his work as a photographer and filmmaker. Over the years he has earned such accolades as the Environmental Hero Award and the SeaKeeper Award and collaborated with such eminent organisations as the Cousteau Society. In keeping with his inclusive attitude towards utilising both soft, educational, diplomatic approaches and tougher, activist, hard-hitting ones, he is on the board of such diverse organisations as The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

I was intrigued to uncover the thoughts, feelings and motivations that lie beneath the surface of this proactive, highly respected and experienced filmmaker. I also wanted to learn more about the film project closest to Bob’s heart which he is currently engaged in filming, directing and producing; LegaSea.

On conversing with Bob, I discovered a person with a deep sense of moral values, passion, integrity and justice. I also discovered someone who is just as deeply affected by the apparent lack of these same attributes in the world at large. Like many conservationists and environmentalists, Bob is motivated by both positively and negatively charged driving forces; one motivational force is full of love, curiosity and passion for all that is good and beautiful in this world, the other is in defiance of all that is ugly. The latter driving force was, inevitably, born out of witnessing human actions and their devastating consequences.

I will end this post with a preview of personal reflections from Bob:

“Kids know what is right. I remember being very young, under five years old, and we were at a market. There was a big plastic cow on show to advertise the meat being sold. I remember connecting the chunks of meat with the cow. It seemed silly to show the cow; I mean, there was no buffer! I could instantly see that it didn’t seem right to be eating the meat that came from that animal. Kids know some things innately, but it gets beaten out of us as we grow up.

But then again, maybe it is just me… I might be a mutant! Compassion is not good for the gene pool; ruthlessness is what works. So at times I wonder why I get so worked up!

Sometimes I feel it can be a curse to see suffering and injustice so clearly and to feel compelled to act and do something about it…”

My next post will elaborate on Bob’s perspective, opinions and motivations, all of which have led him to embark on his current groundbreaking LegaSea Project.