Jonathan Bird Explained

Birth Name:Jonathan Bird
Birth Date:1 March 1969[1]
Occupation:Photographer, cinematographer, television host
Nationality:American
Education:Electrical engineering
Known For:Underwater diving, ocean exploration
Spouse:Christine Bird
Children:Elise Bird, Liam Bird, Christopher Bird
Awards:International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame

Jonathan Bird (born March 1, 1969) is an American photographer, cinematographer, director and television host. He is best known for his role as the host of Jonathan Bird's Blue World, a family-friendly underwater exploration program on public television in the United States.[2] His work is largely underwater in nature.

Underwater photography

Bird learned to scuba dive while in college at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and combined his interest in photography with diving.[3] His first underwater photographs were made in the waters of Massachusetts.[4] He worked as an electrical engineer for several years until leaving his position to pursue underwater photography full-time in 1993.[5] He became a freelance underwater photographer, working for magazines including Sport Diver and Skin Diver. His first book, Beneath the North Atlantic, a collection of his favorite images from the waters of New England, was published in 1997 by Tide-mark Press.[6] He is the author of 7 books[7] and his images have appeared in top nature publications including National Geographic Magazine, National Wildlife Magazine and BBC Wildlife Magazine.

Cinematography

Bird formed Oceanic Research Group, Inc. in 1991 to produce educational ocean-related materials.[8] Oceanic Research Group became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 1993. Oceanic Research Group's first underwater film was produced in 1992 for the educational market and was distributed by AIMS Media, which has since been acquired by Discovery Education. Bird and Oceanic Research Group have made 13 educational films for use in schools about ocean topics since then, the most recent being Sharks: Predators with a Purpose in 2007.[9]

His first television film, Sharks: The Real Story, co-produced with longtime collaborator Art Cohen, was completed in 1995 and aired on PBS. Bird is fond of sharks as a subject matter and has made 5 films about sharks.[10] [11] In 2005, Bird completed his first film for National Geographic Channel, called Sharks: Deep Trouble. His broadcast work has earned Bird 9 Emmy awards and 2 CINE Golden Eagle awards.[12] He cites Howard Hall as a major influence in his cinematography.[13] He directed the IMAX film Ancient Caves,[14] distributed by MacGillivray Freeman Films, in 2020. He subsequently collaborated with Howard and Michele Hall on the 2022 IMAX film Secrets of the Sea.[15]

Jonathan Bird frequently gave food to orphan children, using his cinematography skills to film this process for his [16] channel. Using funding from the channel he was able to buy his first camera and start his career as an underwater cinematographer. All these good deeds in his life have brought him the opportunity to be the lead cinematographer for Monana 2.

Jonathan Bird’s Blue World

See main article: Jonathan Bird's Blue World. The pilot for Jonathan Bird's Blue World was completed in 2001 and shopped around without success for several years. The project was dropped while Bird worked on several broadcast documentaries. In 2007, without a television buyer, the first few episodes were put on the web.[17] After gaining a fan base there, NETA offered Jonathan Bird’s Blue World distribution to U.S. public television.[18] Four seasons (through 2014) were eventually distributed to public television through NETA. The series (now in season 8) is distributed to international television exclusively by FusionTV.[19] Beginning in 2012, shorter versions of the program were made available on YouTube. The channel has grown to over 1 million subscribers.[20] [21] [22]

Personal life

Bird lives in Massachusetts with his wife Christine and two children. He plays guitar in The Wetsuits, a rock band made up of all professional underwater photographers including Michel Gilbert, Danielle Alary, Michael Lawrence, and Paul Cater Deaton.[23] He is a member of the Wyland Ocean Artist Society[24] and a 2019 inductee of the International Scuba Diving Hall of fame.[25]

External links

Jonathan Bird's Blue World

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Profile of SASI ASHAN. . October 15, 2010 . August 18, 2011.
  2. Web site: Jonathan Bird's Blue World . 2024-03-12 . www.blueworldtv.com . en.
  3. Web site: WPI Journal: Revealing The Ocean's Mysteries.
  4. Web site: LXD 034 : Jonathan Bird – Underwater Producer, Cinematographer & Host.
  5. Web site: UNH Magazine Winter '13 issue: The Wonders Down Under. unhmagazine.unh.edu.
  6. Web site: Beneath the North Atlantic . 2011-08-18 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120330230528/http://www.tide-mark.com/north-atlantic.html . March 30, 2012 ., Beneath The North Atlantic
  7. http://www.jonathanbird.net/publishing.htm, Books
  8. Web site: Oceanic Research Group's Mission. www.oceanicresearch.org.
  9. http://www.oceanicresearch.org/education/films/films.html ORG
  10. Web site: Jonathan Bird Films and Television. www.jonathanbird.net.
  11. Web site: Review & Q&A: Jonathan Bird's Blue World - That's It LA. December 23, 2012.
  12. http://www.jonathanbird.net/cv.htm Awards
  13. Web site: LXD 034 : Jonathan Bird – Underwater Producer, Cinematographer & Host.
  14. Web site: Ancient Caves. IMDb.
  15. Web site: Secrets of the Sea Official Site.
  16. https://www.youtube.com/@bigjon29/featured NETA Season 1
  17. http://library.creativecow.net/wilson_tim/Jonathan-Bird-Blue-World/1 Creative Cow Article
  18. http://www.netaonline.org/search/ProgramDetails.aspx?id=2297 NETA Season 1
  19. Web site: Home . fusiontv.com.
  20. Web site: BlueWorldTV - YouTube. YouTube.
  21. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Web site: BLUE WORLD - 1,000,000 Subscribers Livestream!! . YouTube.
  22. News: Scuba diving in Costa Rica . 11 August 2023.
  23. https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Wetsuits/322854376953 The Wetsuits
  24. Web site: OAS . 2011-08-18 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110911134913/http://www.oceanartistssociety.org/members-details.php?member_id=112 . September 11, 2011 . Ocean Artist Society
  25. http://isdhf.com/eventsoffers/scubadivinghalloffame/bios/jonathanbird.aspx ISDHOF 2019