Showing posts with label James Cameron. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James Cameron. Show all posts
Thursday, 1 August 2013
Sunday, 15 April 2012
James Cameron
How And Why The Titanic Sank
If you have been following the 100th Anniversary of the Titanic sinking on Jake's Rolex World you will enjoy this. James Cameron is like a modern Jacques-Yves Cousteau!!! Just a few weekends ago, James Cameron set a world record for a solo dive!!! First we start with a shot of James Cameron on the Colbert Report, and he is wearing his now trademark Rolex DEEPSEA SEA-DWELLER.
Here is the funny footage from the Colbert Report.
Here is the official trailer for the completely redone 3D version of Titanic.
The photo below of James Cameron was taken 15 years ago when he was directing Titanic back in 1997. Notice he is wearing his trademark Rolex Submariner.
...Rolex Super Coolness...
Ralph White
Ralph White
Discovering & Exploring The Titanic
A Brilliant Career With Rolex Keeping The Time Of His Life
1942-2008
Before we get underway with this Rolex history I must offer very special thanks to my pal, David Concannon for his invaluable contribution to this story. Ralph White was David Concannon's best friend and this story is dedicated to the memory of their friendship...
To this day, whenever anybody speaks of the RMS Titanic story it still sends shivers down peoples spine. The epic story of the Titanic is the thing that dreams are made of. More than a hundred years ago, construction began on the RMS Titanic in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Titanic was the mother of all luxury ships and many, many millions of man hours went into her construction.
This is an amazing story about intersecting worlds and a true Rolex explorer and submariner named Ralph White. In many ways Ralph White is an unsung hero, but that all changes today on Jake's Rolex World. You see, the thing that inspires me to dig deeper into researching these amazing Rolex history stories, has little to do with the watches, but instead the people who wore and wear them.
It is challenging to try to articulate what makes people strive to achieve amazing feats with Rolex watches on their wrist, but they do. This is an undisputed fact. It is almost as if the Rolex tool watches have a soul of their own, that inspires people to think differently and aspire to achieve great things!!!
Raising The Titanic
Making The Dream Reality
with Rolex Keeping Time
This is a story about a man who achieved many amazing things in his life. Ralph White was a cameraman for National Geographic for a quarter-century and he was part of the team that not only found the RMS Titanic buried in its watery Atlantic grave, but also raised a good part of the Titanic and its amazing treasure.
Ralph White is pictured below in 1987 out in the Atlantic Ocean with the RMS Titanic's Bell he discovered and brought up topside. Notice he is wearing his trademark stainless steel Rolex Submariner [Reference 1680] on his right wrist–Steve McQueen style!!!
What Kind Of Man Wears Rolex?
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the Rolex Watch Corporation methodically marketed its tool watches to men of action “a special kind of man,” in the words of Rolex’s advertising at the time, who was willing “to face the silent perils of the maritime underworld” while wearing “a special kind of watch: a watch he’s willing to stake his life on.”
Such men were featured in a series of Rolex ads, under the banners: “If you were working here [4,000 feet deep under the sea in a research submersible] tomorrow, you’d wear a Rolex.
A Rolex ad from 1968 read: “If you were looking for lost empires here [diving in the Yucatan] tomorrow, you’d wear a Rolex.”
The Real Deal
A Real Tool Watch for A Real Submariner
Few men, of course, fit the description of this “special kind of man,” although many undoubtedly have fancied themselves as such. There was, however, one exception: Ralph B. White.
Ralph White was born in California during World War II and raised in Hawaii. After graduating from military school, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1960, just as little known conflict was boiling over in a far off land known as Viet Nam. White served six years in the Marines, including two tours of duty in Viet Nam as a Force Reconnaissance Team Leader conducting raids behind enemy lines. During his military service in Southeast Asia, White acquired the first timepiece he would stake his life on, a Rolex GMT-Master (Ref. No. 1675).
After his discharge from the military in 1966, White opened a parachuting school in Lancaster, Calif., became a member of the U.S. Parachute Team and pursued his love of photography. Always a tinkerer, he developed a helmet cam for filming aerial scenes, and he became a free-fall cameraman for the TV show Ripcord. Thus began a distinguished career as an award-winning cinematographer, video cameraman and editor that lasted for more than 40 years, including more than 25 years as a contract cameraman for the National Geographic Society.
White eventually had hundreds of motion picture and television credits to his name. He was a field producer and cameramen for the television series Those Amazing Animals, That’s Incredible, as well as Animal World, Challenging Sea, Treasure, Islands In The Sun, True Adventures, The Wonderful World of Women and Wanderlust. White documented the behind-the-scenes makings of several major motion pictures, including The Deep, Tora-Tora-Tora and The Valley Of The Dolls. He covered the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat for ABC’s Wide World of Sports, NBC’s Sports In Action and CBS’ Sports Spectacular.
But White is best known for his work at the National Geographic Society, where he and his best friend and frequent partner, photographer Emory Kristof, pioneered the development of advanced remote cameras, 3D Video, HDTV, and deep ocean imaging and lighting systems.
Together, White and Kristof filmed the Discovery of Active Volcanic Vents along with their unique biological colonies in the deep waters of the east Pacific rise and Mid-Atlantic ridges, the first multinational Exploration of Lake Baykal in remote Siberia, and hundreds of species of whales and sharks, including the largest ever seen flesh eating shark, a 30 foot long Somniosus Pacificus.
Ralph White traveled to both poles, searched for the Loch Ness Monster, and filmed the 153-year-old wreck of the H.M.S. Breadalbane under the Arctic ice cap in 1984, with Dr. Joe MacInnis, which the following add is based upon:
Ralph White's NGS credits include Loch Ness, Suruga Bay, Wild Horses, Reptiles, Sharks, The Beebe Project and The Great Whales, which won the coveted Emmy Award for Best Documentary. White’s cinematography also won the Grenoble Film Festival Gold Medal, Golden Eagle, Cindy and Golden Halo awards.
Somewhere along the way, White lost his coveted Rolex GMT-Master. Shortly before going off to Loch Ness, Scotland in 1978, White replaced his GMT-Master with another Rolex, a Submariner Date (Ref. No. 1680). He would depend on this watch for the next 30 years, through some of the greatest expeditions of the later part of the 20th century.
While he was in Loch Ness with Kristof, a photographer named David Doubilet, and a young oceanographer named Robert Ballard, Ph.D., White, Kristof and Ballard hatched an idea to search for the Holy Grail of underwater exploration, the R.M.S Titanic. Ralph White is pictured below with Dr. Robert Ballard.
David Doubilet is no stranger to anybody familiar with Rolex DEEP-SEA photography, and he is pictured below in a recent Rolex DEEP-SEA, SEA-DWELLER ad. As I just mentioned, David Doubilet was one of the original team members of the group that decided to try and find the Titanic with Ralph White.
In 1978, Ralph White served as a cameraman for the National Geographic Team that deployed a 12,500 foot deep ocean imaging and lighting systems from the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Evergreen over the reported sinking site of the Titanic. The expedition was unsuccessful, but the concept was sound. The hunt for the Titanic was then put on hold while White and Kristof went off to the High Arctic to film the wreck of the H.M.S. Breadalbane with Dr. Joe MacInnis.
In the summer of 1985, White was the cameraman for the four man American Team of Dr. Robert Ballard, Emory Kristof and Billy Lang, beginning Phase One (the sonar search) for the R.M.S. Titanic aboard the IFREMER research vessel Le Suroit utilizing the French “S.A.R.” side scan sonar system. This six week search covered 90 percent of the area where the Titanic was thought to have foundered, and it has been credited with discovering where the Titanic was not located.
The search resumed in August, with White serving as the cameraman for Phase Two (electronic imaging search) aboard the Woods Hole Research vessel Knorr, but not before the team first found and investigated the sinking of two American nuclear submarines, the U.S.S. Scorpion and U.S.S. Thresher, which had sunk under mysterious circumstances during the height of the Cold War in the 1960s.
Discovering The Titanic
After investigating the sinking of these two submarines, White and Ballard’s team aboard the Knorr found the wreck of the Titanic on September 1, 1985. When Dr. Robert Ballard first laid eyes on the Titanic, Ralph White was standing right next to him, filming his reaction and recording the time on his Rolex Submariner [Reference 1680]. That is Ralph White pictured below with the white T-shirt, filming the moment of the Titanic discovery.
In 1987 and 2000, White co-directed the recovery of over 5,000 artifacts from the Titanic wreck site. Among other things, White recovered the ship’s bell from the Titanic’s crow’s nest the telemotor and ship’s wheel from the bridge as seen below.
Ralph White documented just about every inch of the Titanic exterior with camera's and in the photo he took below we see the Titanic's bow.
In 1991, Ralph White was the submersible cameraman and host for the IMAX feature film Titanica; and in 1995-96, he was the expedition leader and second unit cameraman for James Cameron’s Academy Award winning feature film Titanic. Ralph white is pictured below with Titanic director James Cameron.
Ralph White is pictured below with Emory Kristof, and James Cameron.
Ralph White eventually made 35 dives down to the 12,500 foot deep wreck of the Titanic, spending more time on the Titanic than Captain Smith himself. Captain Smith, who was the Captain of the Titanic is pictured below.
Ralph White was qualified as a copilot on the French Nautile and Russian Mir submersibles.
White finished his film-making career working on a number of projects with James Cameron. He was operations supervisor of the Medusa ROV for Cameron’s 3D IMAX film Ghosts of The Abyss, and technologies coordinator for Cameron’s live broadcast from the deck of Titanic for the Discovery Channel’s Last Mysteries of Titanic. White was also the deep sea imaging and guest wreck expert for the History Channel’s Titanic’s Final Moments.
White always relied on a Rolex watch during these expeditions, usually his beloved Submariner.
Ironically for an American, White was knighted for his filming and conservation accomplishments. He was a Knight of the Order of Saint Lazarus and a Knight of the Order of Constantine. More traditionally, his extensive field experience was recognized and rewarded by his peers in exploration.
White was a Fellow of The Explorers Club and a recipient of its prestigious Lowell Thomas Award for life achievements in underwater exploration. He was also a Fellow of The Royal Geographical Society in London; a Fellow and Chairman of the Board of The Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences; and the President of the Adventurers Club in Los Angeles.
Ralph White died suddenly on February 4, 2008, just a few months after participating in his final expedition. He was 66. His collection of Rolex watches, including the 1978 Submariner that he relied on during countless expeditions, many of which were featured in Rolex advertisements over three decades, currently belongs to his family. He can be seen in the photo above sporting his stainless steel Rolex Explorer II with a white dial.
There is a book titled "Three Miles Down" and chapter 10 is about Ralph White. In the book, Ralph White is described as "The envy of every red-blooded 10 year-old boy" and hopefully from enjoying this article you understand why. The Los Angeles Times wrote a fascinating article about Ralph White when he passed away which I recommend reading. It talks about how Ralph's friends have carried out his last wish which was to take his ashes to every continent.
Emory Kristof and Ralph White pictured above filming Titanica
What kind of a man wears Rolex? Sometimes it’s the man behind the camera, filming the expeditions that many of us grew up watching on television, wishing we could be in the same place wearing a Rolex watch. A man like Ralph White.
Thursday, 29 March 2012
James Cameron
Official Rolex DEEPSEA CHALLENGE Quote
This last weekend was very busy on Jakes' Rolex World as I chronicled in real-time, James Cameron's attempt to submerge into the deepest known part of the ocean. James Cameron submerged into the ocean abyss with a Rolex DEEPSEA CHALLENGE watch attached to the robotic arm on his DEEPSEA CHALLENGER submersible. And now for the moment we have all been waiting for!!!
Rolex.com reports James Cameron's quote:
"The Rolex Deepsea Challenge was the reliable companion throughout the dive; it was on the sub's manipulator arm and working precisely at 10,898 meters down at the bottom of the Challenger Deep. It's a tremendous example of know-how, and an ideal match for the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER submersible." –James Cameron [National Geographic Explorer-In-Residence].
Saturday, 24 March 2012
"To Explore New Worlds, To Seek Out New Life
To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before."
"James Cameron's successful record-breaking dive today represents the ultimate test of a man and a machine."–Dr. Joe MacInnis
James Cameron
Emerges From His DEEPSEA CHALLENGER After Record-Setting Dive
Rolex DEEPSEA CHALLENGE Watch Intact
Below are the first photos of James Cameron as he emerged from his DEEPSEA CHALLENGER after he set a new record, and he is wearing a 44mm Rolex DEEPSEA SEA-DWELLER, which is unusual, because he has worn a vintage 40mm Rolex Submariner or 40mm SEA-DWELLER for many years.
When James Cameron dove down and set this new record, he had an experimental Rolex DEEPSEA CHALLENGE attached to the outside of his DEEPSEA CHALLENGER submersible. If you examine the upper right-hand section of this image, you will see the experimental Rolex DEEPSEA CHALLENGE attached to the robotic arm.
In this next shot, we get a closer look at both Rolex watches
This next close-up confirms James Cameron is wearing a Rolex DEEPSEA SEA-DWELLER.
This next photo shows the Rolex DEEPSEA CHALLENGE attached to the Robotic Arm of the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER Submersible and you can see it is clearly intact.
The images above, and the next four images were taken by National Geographic's Mark Thiessen.
In the next image below we get another clear shot of the experimental Rolex DEEPSEA CHALLENGE watch that was attached to the outside of James Cameron's submersible.
This next photo was taken just after James Cameron got out of this DEEPSEA CHALLENGER Submersible, and we see him shaking hands with retired U.S. Navy Captain Don Walsh. Don Walsh, with Jacques Piccard, in 1960, were the only other explorers who ever visited the Challenger Deep, in the Mariana Trench.
Rolex just published the following congratulatory statement:
THE DEEPEST PLACE ON EARTH
Rolex Makes History Again
On March 26th, 2012, filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence James Cameron descended into the Marina Trench, making the deepest-ever solo dive and the first solo dive into the trench. The only dive into the trench since the two-man Trieste expedition of 1960. Only one passenger was on both voyages. A Rolex watch.
Update at 7:15pm PST: James Cameron has already resurfaced. His ascent only took 70 Minutes as he torpedoed up through the ocean!!!!
The photos below were taken by Paul Allen (Microsoft Co-Founder) and they show James Cameron's DEEPSEA CHALLENGER after is surfaced, and the second image shows the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER being hoisted by crane onto the deck of the Mermaid Sapphire. Paul Allen took the photos from his $160 Million Mega-Yacht, named The Octopus, which rendezvoused with the expedition a few days ago.
I imagine we should be getting a status update regarding his Rolex DEEPSEA CHALLENGE performance soon!!!
James Cameron, National Geographic & Rolex
Usher In A New Era Of Exploration
James Cameron
Successfully Reached Ocean's Deepest Point!!!
7:52am, Mariana Trench Time, Monday March 26, 2012
At 2:52 PST time, (7:52am at the Mariana Trench) James Cameron successfully navigated his DEEPSEA CHALLENGER Submersible into the record books as he navigated to the deepest know point on earths ocean floor, becoming the deepest solo diver in history!!!
Cameron descended downward in his 24 foot long, (7 Meter tall) state-of-the-art DEEPSEA CHALLENGER Submersible at a rate of 130 feet a minute (40 Meters) and reached 35,756 feet (10,898 Meters). Upon reaching the bottom, James Cameron sent a text message to his crew saying "All systems OK."
At 3:39 PST Time James Cameron tweeted: "Just arrived at the ocean's deepest pt. Hitting bottom never felt so good. Can't wait to share what I'm seeing with you."
Note: A close-up evaluation reveals that James Cameron appears to be wearing a Rolex Submariner. If you examine the side of the watch you notice there is no helium release valve, thus eliminating the option that he might be wearing a Rolex SEA-DWELLER.
Into The Mystic
The photo below shows James Cameron's as he prepared to be bolted into his DEEPSEA CHALLENGER Submarine earlier today.
"I grew up on a steady diet of science fiction at a time when people where living a science fiction reality. People were going to the Moon, and Cousteau was exploring the ocean. And that's what I grew up with, what I valued from my childhood." –James Cameron
This next image shows James Cameron's DEEPSEA CHALLENGER as it was lowered into the Pacific Ocean today around 2AM Mariana Trench time to begin it's record-breaking descent.
Here is the first video James Cameron shot in the Mariana Trench on March 26, 2012, while at a depth of 35,756 Feet.
Here is a video of James Cameron describing his experience in a press conference, the day after the record setting dive. Notice he is still wearing his Rolex DEEPSEA SEA-DWELLER.
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Update: At 4:34pm California time, James Cameron confirmed he is beginning his descent into the Challenger Deep. He posted the following tweet on twitter:
"Today is the culmination of a 7 yr project. It's finally dive day."
–James Cameron
1:34 Mariana Trench Time, Saturday March 24, 2012
Rolex DEEPSEA CHALLENGE
Attached to Robotic Arm on DEEPSEA CHALLENGER
Rolex Probably Already Set New All-Time Depth Record
I was carefully studying the all the photos of the James Cameron's DEEPSEA CHALLENGER which he is currently piloting down in the Challenger Deep, in an attempt to set the all-time depth record for a manned submersible, and I noticed the Rolex DEEPSEA Challenge attached to the robotic arm on the outside of the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER submersible, which I highlighted in the image below!!!!
It also looks like the DEEPSEA CHALLENGE team member behind James Cameron is wearing a standard Rolex DEEPSEA.
The all-new Rolex experimental DEEPSEA CHALLENGE wristwatch that is attached to the outside of James Cameron's DEEPSEA CHALLENGER, which is highlighted above, is also pictured up close in the photo below.
National Geographic published an article earlier today on the web, saying:
"James Cameron now may be attempting his unprecedented solo dive to the ocean's deepest point, members of the National Geographic expedition confirmed Saturday."
The National Geographic explorer and filmmaker's team left the tiny Pacific atoll of Ulithi in two ships Saturday morning, local time, on the way to the waters above the Mariana Trench. If seas remain calm—a big if—the team may proceed with Cameron's submersible mission to the trench's Challenger Deep this weekend.
Cameron's "vertical torpedo" of a sub, as he calls it, has already made the nearly 7-mile (11-kilometer) trip to Challenger Deep and back, unmanned and unscathed, Cameron told National Geographic News. (See pictures of Cameron's sub.)
"We did some test launches and recoveries, and we did an unpiloted dive of the vehicle," Cameron said in a phone interview Friday.
Earlier this week retired U.S. Navy Capt. Don Walsh said via email, "The sub, its team and the mother ship are all ready to go, and we only wait for the 'weather gods' to favor us."
It turns out that James Cameron confirmed that his unmanned, DEEPSEA CHALLENGER completed the near 7 mile deep dive, Wednesday, March 21st, 2012.
The only question I have, is if the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER already made the trip to the bottom of the CHALLENGER DEEP, it had to have had the 2 Rolex DEEPSEA CHALLENGE watches attached to the robotic arms on the outside, so that must mean that the Rolex DEEPSEA CHALLENGE has ALREADY set the new all-time depth record!?!?!? We will obviously soon learn more, but as they say, time will tell ;-)
If you have been following this historic development, be aware that record-setting events like this occur very infrequently. We are witnessing some pretty serious history!!!!!
...Robotic Wrist Shots Of The Century...
The Rolex DEEPSEA CHALLENGE On The Ocean Floor
This next set of photos show the Rolex DEEPSEA CHALLENGE attached to James Cameron's DEEPSEA CHALLENGER submersible on the ocean floor. If you look closely at this next image, on the right side of the submersible, you see the Rolex DEEPSEA CHALLENGE attached to the robotic arm. It is on the right side halfway down the photo. Just to be clear, these images were taken before today, so they are NOT LIVE images of James Cameron's dive today.
In the next image below, you see the submersibles robotic arm has been extended and in the middle of the photo, toward the top, you see the Rolex DEEPSEA CHALLENGE attached to the robotic arm.
In this next image you see the robotic arm of the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER Submersible extended over the ocean floor, and you can clearly see the Rolex DEEPSEA CHALLENGE watch attached to the robotic arm.
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