Bare-Essentials Magazine

Bare Essentials

®

Unique Eco-Friendly Adventure Lifestyle Magazine

ion” “All you need for a life of Act

Embrace your Ability, Expand your Horizons and Engage your Senses

Encounters and

EXPRESSIONS EXPLORING THE WATERS OF THE WORLD

Crafty Way to Save

WILD CATS

ENDING THE WAR BETWEEN SHEPHERD AND LEPARD

© Jody MacDonald

Nov/Dec 2011 www.bare-essentials.com.au

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ns o i s s e r p x E & Encounters Exploring the Waters of the World

Jody MacDonald’s

The waters of the world offer a panoramic expanse of blue vistas, beautiful contrasts of color for an adventurous mariner - her camera in hand. Following a slipstream of surf and sky bound athletes traversing the oceans sweet-spots for the ultimate wave or glide worthy wind, Jody MacDonald indulges her passion for action photography with stunning scenery, unique culture and wildlife encounter.

Extensively published her images showcase an expressive talent that draws the eye and mind with the spirit of freedom and adventure.

Untold treasures await every voyage - personable characters, stories of land and lifestyle, creatures endemic and endangered, and of course magical moments of sunrise and sunset framing aerobatic pursuits in outdoor sport.

Curious about the lifestyle of an action photographer with ‘BEST ODYSSEY’ a team of athlete nomads roaming the sea? So were we….

My partner Gavin McClurg has our 60’ catamaran Discovery wedged on a thin, foamy, roaring rip current between two thundering hollow surf breaks peeling across a dry reef in Sumbawa. He’s gunning the twin engines in and out of gear keeping our bow lined up for a quick escape if a rogue wave bears down over the horizon. One slip here and the boat and our crew will be dashed on the rocks. He’s put us in this impossibly position so I can climb our 80-foot mast and hopefully snap a photo of this truly once-in-a-lifetime chance. If I get the shot the risk still won’t be worth it, but Indonesia hasn’t had a swell like this in over ten years and the best surfers in the world are about to give it a go.

This is my job. I begin to climb.

ALL ABOUT JODY

At the top of the mast the nauseating motion is exaggerated and I bite down the urge to vomit. As I clang around looking for purchase and get a few thousand dollars worth of gear out while trying not to drop everything the suffering I’ve gone through for this job hits me like a sun flare. For the past five years of sailing the world as the resident photographer of The Best Odyssey, a world kiteboarding and paragliding expedition Gavin and I created I’ve been up here dozens of times. I’ve just gotten out the hospital after suffering a serious bout of Typhoid (which was better than the initial diagnosis of malaria). Later in the year I’d be hospitalized three more times for a host of parasites picked up in India and Madagascar. Gavin and I have both been host to a stillunidentifiable strain of resistant Staphococyl.

Jody MacDonald grew up in Saudi Arabia to Canadian parents, the youngest of four children. She's traveled the world and excels in any sport she's ever tried (tame sports like paragliding, snowboarding, kiteboarding, skateboarding).

I hate boats. Despise boats. They make me sick, they constantly break down, and I find nothing romantic about sailing around the world. What the hell am I doing up here again? I swing into the mast and am lurched out of my “reverie”. A rider is lining up, dropping into a thunderous set of waves. I’ve got to compose a shot. Focus. Click. Click. Click. Breath.

www.jodymacdonaldphotography.com

Jody is the co-founder of the expedition and it is her vision and drive for excellence that has made the Best Odyssey a reality. Her images adorn the pages of our web site and are viewed regularly around the world in dozens and dozens of sport and documentary publications.

She's recently been published in Outside, Forbes, Outside Go, National Geographic, Kiteboarding, Stance, Cruising World, Kiteworld, Cross Country, Hang Gliding and Paragliding and many others; and was recently awarded on the National Geographic web site.

But for now I just want to get down.

Raising Funds for Photojournalist Anton Hammerl’s Family In April this year Photojournalist Anton Hammerl was killed after coming under fire from Gaddafi loyalists near the oil port of Brega in Libya. Jody has donated some of her images to help raise money for his wife and 3 children. If you’ve ever considered purchasing one of her prints, now is the time! If your budget doesn’t quite stretch to the price of a print, you can make a tax-deductible donation. All proceeds will benefit Anton’s children and each donor will be sent a receipt for tax purposes.

Visit www.friendsofanton.org for more information and for print purchases.

INSPIRATION

I love photography and putting up with all of this is worth it if every once in awhile I can capture the essence, the feel, the emotion of what we find. The more we travel the more I realize how little we’ve seen. The world is becoming global and more homogenized, but it’s still fascinating and delicate and photography is something I’ll never master so I’ve got to keep trying.

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These giant jellyfish found in the waters around Burma often have a width of 4 or 5 feet with a school of smaller fish swimming around them. Š Jody MacDonald

INSPIRATION

One of millions of stingless jellyfish in the infamous and strange jellyfish lake in Palau is backlit by the mid day sun, highlighting the complexity and beauty of these wonderful creatures. Š Jody MacDonald

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INSPIRATION

School of large manta rays come to the surface to feed near a diver in Pohnpei, Micronesia. This daily event happens at the change of the tide. Manta rays, sharks, and thousands of bait fish erupt into action, swirling and circling in a frenzy. Š Jody MacDonald

A whale shark cruises the edge of a reef in the Maldive Islands, Indian Ocean. Š Jody MacDonald

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Young child hides behind a shell in Tortuga, Venezuela.

This large island sits off the coast of Venezuela and is only sparsely inhabited by a few fishermen and their families during the lobster season. Clapboard shacks and nets lie amongst cactus and sand and the wind blows night and day. Š Jody MacDonald

INSPIRATION

A young shy muslim girl sits on a fishing canoe near a white sand beach offshore Sumba, Indonesia. A small fishing community sails from Lombok every season and sets up a temporary simple and meager camp. The men fish, the women collect seaweed and the children assist or play. Š Jody MacDonald

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INSPIRATION

Ten time world stand up paddle champion Jamie Mitchell in the Maldive Islands, Indian Ocean. Š Jody MacDonald

Jamie Mitchell takes a ride on the Best Odyssey in Huvadhoo atoll in the Maldives in 2010 and hits an epic swell. 10 days of perfect surf, this was the result. Š Jody MacDonald

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INSPIRATION

Professional kiteboarder Clinton Bolton getting some airtime in the Caribbean. Š Jody MacDonald

This untouched photo from a helicopter over Palau shows the intense colors of the famous "Rock Islands", specifically the "Arch". Š Jody MacDonald

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Flying over the lagoons off the coast of Mozambique on my non-motorized paragliding, sailing with pink flamingoes and silence, this was one of the most beautiful and surreal places I've ever been. Š Jody MacDonald

INSPIRATION

The amazing colors of the protected "70 islands" in the surreal archipelago of Palau can only be seen, and appreciated from the sky. Protected for nearly 50 years this small group of kaleidoscopic motus hosts a wide range of sea life, including the endangered dugong, or sea cow. Š Jody MacDonald

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Baobab alley at sunset. These ancient trees line a dirt road in Monrovia that has been used for a thousand years- not nearly as long as the trees have survived.. Š Jody MacDonald

INSPIRATION

Vezo fisherman captures an Octopus near Anakao, Madagascar.

Using the rudimentary fishing impliments these men make a living of capturing octopus to sell to the local village. Š Jody MacDonald

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INSPIRATION

A paraglider flying in the Indian Himalaya. India. © Jody MacDonald

Rajan the swimming elephant and his caretaker. Andaman Islands, India. © Jody

INSPIRATION

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Rajan the swimming elephant and his caretaker swimming together in the Andaman Islands, India. Š Jody MacDonald

INSPIRATION

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An elderly woman passes the open doorway of a temple in Varanasi, India Š Jody MacDonald

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INSPIRATION

A laundry service drying clothes along the Ganges River. Varanasi, India. Š Jody MacDonald

Holy Festival. Mathura, India Š Jody MacDonald

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Discovery glides into the lagoon at Namu, Marshall Islands on the Best Odyssey expedition. Captain Gavin McClurg nudges the boat up near the reef and tows the guests behind and I climb the mast to capture the beauty and color of a place only a handful of people have ever seen. Š Jody MacDonald

INSPIRATION

These incredible sea faring people, called the Moken, or Sea Gypsies in the Myek archipelago in Myanmar live in boats like these for nearly 6 months every year. They have survived this way since before 2000 BC. Free divers plunge on a breath hold to 200 feet to hunt for fish and shellfish. Š Jody MacDonald