Undersea Expeditionary Video Services:  Crew and Associates

UEV Crew and Associates

Jessika began working with UEV in 2008 as an Underwater Videographer and one of our Assistant Editors.

Jessika Cirkus graduated from the Steinhardt School of Education of New York University in 2002 with a degree in Studio Arts. She worked as director of the art gallery at the Bronfman Center in New York City. She also spent summers participating in the Walt Disney World College Program.

Jessika is very active in Whale Shark research and conservation.  She currently owns and operates Sea Cirkus Creations.  For a complete biography, go to Jessika’s web site at:

http://seacirkus.com/index.html

A Travel Nurse (RN) Specialty Emergency Room since 1989, worked in NC, CA, TX, AZ, Certified as a Paramedic 1980-84. 

SCUBA Dive Master since 1989.  Trained in CCR, OC, Trimix, Advanced Wreck/overhead environments, Rescue/Recovery Diver, and Archeology.

David and Suzy met serendipitously in 2008 while attending the 2nd Annual Whale Shark Conference in Holbox Mexico.  Almost immediately Suzy began working with UEV as a Producer to develop a television series about shark behavior.

Former Director of SRI UK (until she relocated to South Africa), Suzy, a marine biologist, has worked with sharks in Australia, Djibouti, India, Honduras, South Africa and Tanzania. While working for SRI in Australia, she compiled a video catalogue of whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef spanning 5 years, led field expeditions onboard the Kairos to the northern Mozambique Channel, and contributed images of more than 150 whale sharks to the Ecocean catalogue.   Most recently she worked as an Associate-Producer and Underwater Videographer on “Sharkman,” a documentary which aired on the Animal Planet in the UK and in the US on Discovery Channel’s Shark Week.

Will began working and diving with David in 2007 as an underwater photographer on an advertising campaign for Gates Housings.  He is now working with UEV to produce a television series, currently in development, about sharks.

Will is a Quebec native and born adventurer.  Although he is a master at fashion photography, it was his natural ability at technical diving and his gentle way with sharks that caught the attention of his peers and the scuba industry at large.   He has worked on two IMAX features to date, and his photography can be widely seen throughout the diving industry in print and on the web for companies such as Gates Housings, Dive Rite, Whites Manufacturing and Undersea Expeditionary Video Services.

For more information on Will Allen or to contact him, go to his web site at:

http://www.willallenphoto.com/

David begin diving and shooting with Dan in 2006 on the USS Monitor expedition and then again on all four episodes of the Discovery Channel special series “Quest For Sunken Warships,” which Dan co-produced in association with KPI.

An award-winning film-maker, videographer and technical dive instructor, Dan Crowell has been involved with countless expeditions to explore many of the offshore shipwrecks in the deeper waters of the lower North Atlantic and around the world. He is also a highly respected figure in the world of television and his diving career has been highlighted in a number of books and publications.   In addition to his dive and videography skills, Dan also holds a U.S. Coast Guard Master's license, and has operated charter, tug and crew boats for many years.  Dan owns and operates Seeker Digital Productions and Deep Explorers and is very active in every level of underwater video production.

For more information on Dan Crowell or to contact him, go to his web site at:

http://www.dancrowell.com

David and Joel began diving and working together in 2006 on Joel’s expedition dives to the USS Monitor.   Joel and David are currently exploring several new business ventures together and continue to dive together on deep water expeditions.

Joel D. Silverstein holds an enviable record of technical diving, diver training, and international publishing experience. His SUB AQUA magazine was one of the main voices in the wreck and technical diving industry from 1991- 1996. His relationships with the leading people in the mixed gas diving world has permitted him to learn and develop safe training techniques and procedures, and his journalistic and training skills permit him to communicate complex subjects to the diver in compelling and expert ways.

Since 1988 he has completed over 4,800 dives of which over 3,000 have been exploring shipwrecks all over the world. Most notable of the sites are, the USS Monitor, USS Wilkes Barre, USS San Diego, SS Oregon, RMS Rhone, the Andrea Doria, and the SS Republic. Results of these expeditions have been the fodder for over 50 articles and over 20 presentations.

He is a recipient of the SSI Platinum Pro 5000 Award, the Beneath the Sea Outstanding Service Award, the Eastern Dive Boat Association Outstanding Service Award, and the 1996 NAUI Outstanding Service Award, and is listed in the Who's Who of Diving. Joel is also a Fellow National of the Prestigious Explorers Club.

For more information on Joel or to contact him, go to his web site at:   http://www.trimixdiver.com/

Michael C. Krivor serves as a Project Manager and Principal Investigator with the SEARCH Maritime Division. In1990, Mr. Krivor received his B.A. degree in Aquatic Archaeology from Humboldt State University in Arcata, California and in 1998 he received his M.A. from the Program in Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology at East Carolina University.

His academic research focused on shipwreck investigations along the east coast of the United States, Bermuda, and the Dominican Republic, and his thesis centered on the investigation of an 18th century British Transport that foundered off Bermuda during the American Revolution. In 1996, Mr. Krivor began professional work as a maritime archaeologist, and has served on over 130 SCRM projects, authored over 73 reports, and presented 20 professional papers. Proficient in all aspects of underwater archaeology,

Mr. Krivor’s specialties include 18th-19th century New World ship construction, Western River steamboat construction, Civil War wreck sites, and small vernacular craft construction. He also has years of experience in remote sensing survey, data analysis, and archaeological site layout, scaled mapping, and measured sketching and photography. Mr. Krivor is on the Register of Professional Archaeologists (RPA) and has been certified by the US Army Corps of Engineers, Dive Safety Program.

Billy Morgan is a NAUI trained Dive Master with a strong background in First Aid and certified by the Red Cross.  

One of his specialties when working with SEARCH, Inc. was to visually survey a archeological site, and to make a call as to whether or not structures at that site were cultural artifacts or naturally occurring geological formations!

He is  the owner of Cross Creek Archeological Supply Company and operates a family owned locksmith service.  

http://archaeologicalsupply.com/

Matthew is a marine biologist specializing in the study of ecology and behavior of sharks and rays.  He has spent the last ten years conducting field studies in locations including the Bahamas, Costa Rica, the Florida Keys, the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador), Grand Cayman, Honduras, and Tanzania.  He has worked for the Bimini Biological Field Station – Sharklab, The Guy Harvey Research Institute, and the Shark Research Institute.  He has worked with over 50 species of sharks and rays, but has focused on the lemon shark, southern stingray, and the whale shark.  He is currently pursuing his PhD research on whale shark ecology and movements in Mafia Island, Tanzania.

Matthew has also pursued his passion for photography and intertwined it with his work.  His images have found their way into the pages of books by authors like Sylvia Earle and Richard Ellis, and magazines including Nature’s Best Photography and National Geographic Extreme Explorer.  He has taken still images for video productions for the BBC and NBC television.  In 2009, Matthew was honored with Grand prizes in both the Nature’s Best Photography’s “Ocean Views 2009” photo contest and SeaWeb/PADI Aware ‘s  “Marine Photobank -Ocean in Focus” conservation photography contest.  Matthew continues his efforts to use his images to express the beauty to be found in nature and highlight conservation issues.

More Information about Matthew and galleries of his images can be seen at the MDP Photography website:     www.matthewdpotenskiphoto.com

Los Angeles based Cinematographer David Warshauer spent much of his 20's chasing the world's largest swells.  While swimming in the impact zone of some of the world's deadliest waves in order to capture imagery of surfing, David developed an appreciation for the ocean's awesome power.  Over time his interest shifted to the ocean's vulnerability and the current threats to its delicate ecosystem.  Merging his love of cinematography and the ocean, his passion evolved into documenting the beauty and wonder of life under the surface. 

"When people can identify with marine life and see the ocean in new and interesting ways, they are more inclined to do something in their own lives to help preserve it."

Founder, publisher, and owner of Advanced Diver Magazine, the worlds largest advanced to technical diving publication. Curt Bowen has traveled across North and South America, Bahamas and the Pacific in search of previous undiscovered caves, wrecks, and reefs.

Specializing in extreme underwater photography, cave cartography, and graphic illustration he has produced over 50 dive magazine issues, hundreds of dive related editorials, and assisted with the discovery of multiple significant underwater archeological sites, hundreds of unknown caves and even several new species of underwater cave life.

For more information about Advanced Diver Magazine or Curt Bowen, go to:
http://www.advanceddivermagazine.com/

Samantha Whitcraft’s academic career began in Scotland where she earned her Masters Ordinarius in Literature and Arts from St. Andrews University. Whitcraft then returned to the U.S. where she completed her Bachelor's degree in Natural Sciences at Harvard University while interning at the New England Aquarium and then at the National Wildlife Refuge at Midway Atoll. During her studies at Harvard, she completed an independent research project on the management of sea turtle nesting beaches along the west coast of Costa Rica; and upon graduation worked as a sea bird field biologist for the State of Hawaii and radio/satellite tracked endangered Hawksbill sea turtles with Hawaii Wildlife Fund.

Through 2003, she managed the marine protected area of the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve for Hawai'i's Department of Land and Natural Resources and worked closely with the University of Hawai'i's Marine Option Program, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology’s Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (CRAMP), the National Marine Fisheries Service Monk Seal Program, the HI National Humpback Whale Sanctuary, and the U.S. Navy. Samantha returned to the mainland in 2004 to complete her Master's of Marine Affairs and Policy at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science where, as part of her thesis co-founded the Florida Atlantic Coast Telemetry (FACT) Collaborative.

Whitcraft is now a Senior Research Associate at the University of Miami’s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Science working on applying ecosystem-scale connectivity science to establishing functional networks of marine protected areas in the Caribbean and along the Mesoamerican reef. Samantha also volunteers with multiple grass-roots organization including Earthrace Conservation Organization and Shark Savers.  For more information about Samantha visit her website at: http://theselkiesociety.org/