January's Speaker, Julia Coburn

One doesn't necessarily think of glitz and glamour in the same breath with the Eugene Natural History Society, but this month's program will showcase the glitziest fish I've ever seen, photographed by Julia Coburn, who has what appears to be a pretty glamorous profession. After you read her words below defining how she developed into the photographer she is today, go to her website, and not only enjoy her photography, but also read a few of her excellent trip descriptions, which bring to life the places she's journeyed and the objects she's photographed. Now here's a little bit from Julia about her earlier years:

"My dad is a photographer and my mom is a painter so I've grown up with lots of artistic nurturing. We moved to Eugene when I was 5, and like most kids, I was always interested in animals, but I liked fish in particular. When I was in high school my family had a large saltwater fish tank so I was able to really closely observe some unique fish and get to know the personalities of individual fish."

"I got my scuba training from PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) and SSI (Scuba Schools International); I received my photography training from my dad and some classes at the University of Missouri Journalism school, and an underwater photography class in California. I'm mostly self-taught in underwater photography, however."

"I first started taking underwater photographs to aid my memory so I could identify the fish and invertebrates that I saw on my dives. I was inspired to carry it further by the work of National Geographic underwater photographer David Doubilet, who has shown how great underwater photography can be. He's an incredibly talented underwater photographer and artist."

After realizing her own passion for underwater photography, Julia says that "getting my Open Water scuba certification in Australia in 2001 changed my life. I only wish I had done it sooner."

The following year Julia won a first, second and third place in the Novice division of the Northern California Underwater Photographic Society's 2002 International Photo competition, which included a week in Papua, New Guinea. Not surprisingly, she extended this trip ten days:

"Going to Papua New Guinea, September 2003, was an incredible experience which solidified my love of diving. For the first time I was diving the tropical Coral Sea and communing with the cuttlefish (I LOVE cephalopods), and I saw a huge variety of unusual marine life."

Julia didn't tell me about her Alaska dive trip, but to give you another peek at her enthusiasm for her profession, here's a little of what she had to say on her website about Alaska. "In August 2003 I did one of the coldest (44 - 47degrees F dive trips I've ever been on... After boarding the boat in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, we traveled north through the inside passage to Juneau, diving all the way. We dove with Steller sea lions (the big ones), explored the wreck of the steamship Princess Sophia, saw orcas and humpback whales, not to mention the northern lights... The water may be cold, but it's chock full o' plankton goodness, so there is lots or marine life. One of my favorite dive sites was Wooden Island, a steep rock wall covered like a shag carpet with anemones, sponges, nudibranchs, tunicates, crabs and other invertebrates. In addition to all the diving, we went off course for a day to visit the South Sawyer glacier. Although the water near the glacier was too cloudy and silty for diving, we got in our drysuits and swam around, hauling ourselves out onto the ice chunks like harbor seals."

And in the comfort of Willamette Hall on Friday "You will hear and see what it's like to dive and photograph underwater in the diverse marine environments of the Pacific, from the warm waters of Papua New Guinea to the cold waters of Alaska." Glamour and glitz for ENHS.