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PROJECT OCEAN VISION'S PHOTO GALLERY

This is a small selection of photographs from our travels over the years. This page is very 'graphics-intensive' so please give it a moment to load fully.

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Carol Courtnage	Courtney	Expedition Benthic Monitor	Expedition Benthic Orchid 1
Expedition Benthic Orchid 2	Expedition Ocean Vision 1	Expedition Ocean Vision 2	Expedition Ocean Vision 3
Expedition Ocean Vision 4	Expedition Ocean Vision 5	Elysium Strand

CAROL COURTNAGE

Carol Courtnage has run Project Ocean Vision and Elysium Strand with Courtney since 2006. She is the Project Ocean Vision Team Leader, logistical organizer, primary stills camera operator and backup videographer. She is a keen diver. Carol plays piano, sings and writes for Elysium Strand.

Carol Courtnage Carol Courtnage, Chinnor 2006	Carol Courtnage Carol Courtnage, Buckinghamshire 2007	Carol Courtnage Carol Courtnage, Red Sea 2007
Carol Courtnage Carol Courtnage Diving in the Red Sea	Carol Courtnage Carol Courtnage, Rutland 2008	Carol Courtnage Carol Courtnage at her marriage to Courtney

LINKS: Click here to visit Carol's page on the Project Ocean Vision website

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COURTNEY

Courtney is the Project Ocean Vision diving officer, primary underwater videographer and production engineer. He writes for Elysium Strand and plays keyboards and guitars. Courtney served in the Royal Air Force for 30 years before studying and working for The Open University.

Courtney Courtney and Harry Kemsley 1993	Courtney Courtney Diving 2001	Courtney Courtney and CBR600, 2002
Courtney Courtney in the Magrathea Studio 2007	Courtney Courtney at Rutland, 2008	Courtney Courtney, Yorkshire 2009

LINK: Click here to visit Courtney's page on the Project Ocean Vision website. Click here for Courtney's Journal.

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EXPEDITION BENTHIC MONITOR

Expedition Benthic Monitor was Courtney's first marine research expedition. Benthic Monitor took a small team of Royal Air Force divers to Ascension Island in the South Atlantic in 2004 to carry out marine research serveys for the island's Conservation Officer. The primary aim was to catch and tag hawksbill turtles, but the team also undertook surveys of key marine species as well as giving a presentation to the island's school about the region's wildlife. The Team was awarded a commendation for this work by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace.

Expedition Benthic Monitor Benthic Monitor 2004 - The Team	Expedition Benthic Monitor Benthic Monitor 2004 - Ascension Island	Expedition Benthic Monitor Benthic Monitor 2004 - Courtney
Expedition Benthic Monitor Benthic Monitor 2004 - Green Turtles	Expedition Benthic Monitor Benthic Monitor 2004 - Hawksbill Turtle	Expedition Benthic Monitor Commendation for Benthic Monitor

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EXPEDITION BENTHIC ORCHID 1

Expedition Benthic Orchid 1 was undertaken as a result of the 2004 Asian ("Boxing Day") Tsunami. The Team Leader, Kev O'Neill, was deployed to western Thailand immediately after the tsunami to assist the local police. He decided to put together a team to survey the reefs in the Similan Islans (off the west coast of Thailand) to measure the damage caused by the tsunami. This first survey expedition was conducted in 2006 (roughly 12 months after the event). The team also raised funds for a local school and orphanage where we carried out some reconstruction work. The Team was again awarded a commendation by The Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace.

Expedition Benthic Orchid 1 Benthic Orchid 1 - The Team	Expedition Benthic Orchid 1 Benthic Orchid 1 -Humanitarian Project	Expedition Benthic Orchid 1 Benthic Orchid 1 - The MV Harmony
Expedition Benthic Orchid 1 Benthic Orchid 1 -Laying Survey Lines	Expedition Benthic Orchid 1 Benthic Orchid 1 - Reef Survey	Expedition Benthic Orchid 1 Benthic Orchid 1 - Video Logging

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EXPEDITION BENTHIC ORCHID 2

Expedition Benthic Orchid 2 was conducted in the Spring of 2007 and continued the work started in Orchid 1. The aim was to develop further the protocols for reef surveys (for REEFCHECK) and to resurvey the sites that we examined the previous year in order to measure coral regeneration. The Team was awarded the Gold Award by The Duke of Edinburgh.

Expedition Benthic Orchid 2 Benthic Orchid 2 - The Team	Expedition Benthic Orchid 2 Benthic Orchid 2 - Kev O'Neill, Team Leader	Expedition Benthic Orchid 2 Benthic Orchid 2 - Recording the Reef
Expedition Benthic Orchid 2 Benthic Orchid 2 - Manta Ray	Expedition Benthic Orchid 2 Benthic Orchid 2 - Recording Survey Results	Expedition Benthic Orchid 2 Benthic Orchid 2 - Gold Award

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EXPEDITION OCEAN VISION 1

After leaving the Royal Air Force, Courtney set up Project Ocean Vision with Carol and together they started planning a series of expeditions in order to develop further their diving and underwater filming skills and to start filming footage to make accessible dovumentary videos about a range of marine conservation issues. Expedition Ocean Vision 1 was the first of this series and took the Team to The Red Sea in June 2008 to film coral and the local marine wildlife.

Expedition Ocean Vision 1 Expedition Ocean Vision 1 - Courtney and Carol	Expedition Ocean Vision 1 Expedition Ocean Vision 1 - Hawksbill Turtlel	Expedition Ocean Vision 1 Expedition Ocean Vision 1 - Courtney
Expedition Ocean Vision 1 Expedition Ocean Vision 1 - Yolanda Reef	Expedition Ocean Vision 1 Expedition Ocean Vision 1 - Carol	Expedition Ocean Vision 1 Expedition Ocean Vision 1 - Nudibranch

LINKS: Visit the Expedition Ocean Vision 1 report page or watch the Expedition Ocean Vision 1 Video Diary

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EXPEDITION OCEAN VISION 2

Expedition Ocean Vision 2 was to Thailand and the Similan Islands in March and April 2009 to film for a number of purposes. The Team were keen to garner further coral footage and to film the manta rays and whale sharks. On land we also wanted to film in Bangkok, Wat Chalong on the Island of Phuket and to get some footage on Thailand's favourite sport, Thai Boxing. We started researching and filming Thailands native elephants.

Expedition Ocean Vision 2 Expedition Ocean Vision 2 - Carol	Expedition Ocean Vision 2 Expedition Ocean Vision 2 - Manta Ray	Expedition Ocean Vision 2 Expedition Ocean Vision 2 - Courtney Filming
Expedition Ocean Vision 2 Expedition Ocean Vision 2 - Whale Shark	Expedition Ocean Vision 2 Expedition Ocean Vision 2 - Thai Elephant	Expedition Ocean Vision 2 Expedition Ocean Vision 2 - Wat Chalong

LINKS: Visit the Expedition Ocean Vision 2 report page or watch the Expedition Ocean Vision 2 Video Diary

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EXPEDITION OCEAN VISION 3

Expedition Ocean Vision 3 saw Carol and Courtney return to The Red Sea in October 2009 to continue the work from the previous summer. The emphasis this time was on on obtaining as much underwater footage as possible, using two video and two stills cameras.

Expedition Ocean Vision 3 Expedition Ocean Vision 3 - Carol Filming	Expedition Ocean Vision 3 Expedition Ocean Vision 3 - Anemone Fish	Expedition Ocean Vision 3 Expedition Ocean Vision 3 - Courtney Filming
Expedition Ocean Vision 3 Expedition Ocean Vision 3 - Courtney	Expedition Ocean Vision 3 Expedition Ocean Vision 3 - Carol on the Sehss	Expedition Ocean Vision 3 Expedition Ocean Vision 3 - Thistlegorm

LINKS: Visit the Expedition Ocean Vision 3 report page or watch the Expedition Ocean Vision 3 Video Diary

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EXPEDITION OCEAN VISION 4

The original plan for 2010 was to conduct two expeds, one to Thailand and one to The Red Sea to finish the previous year's work. However, Courtney's daughter, Sophie, and her boyfriend, Matt Geraghty, decided to get married in Australia - where they had been living for a couple of years. This was a golden opportunity for The Project and so we re-arranged our plans and set off on Expedition Ocean Vision 4, a long trip to Australia during November and December of 2010. After Sophie's wedding, we spend time in the tropical north of Queensland to film on the Great Barrier Reef and in the Daintree Rainforest. A very successful exped.

Expedition Ocean Vision 4 Expedition Ocean Vision 4 - Sydney	Expedition Ocean Vision 4 Expedition Ocean Vision 4 - Didgeridoo	Expedition Ocean Vision 4 Expedition Ocean Vision 4 - Cockatoo
Expedition Ocean Vision 4 Expedition Ocean Vision 4 - Crocodile	Expedition Ocean Vision 4 Expedition Ocean Vision 4 - Bronze Whaler	Expedition Ocean Vision 4 Expedition Ocean Vision 4 - Courtney

LINKS: Visit the Expedition Ocean Vision 4 report page or watch the Expedition Ocean Vision 4 Video Diary

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EXPEDITION OCEAN VISION 5

We decided to run a this exped slightly differently to the previous ones in that we wanted to get more of a view of the country we were visiting; Courtney had not been to Malta before and Carol had not been for some 35 years. We planned two periods of diving with a few days between during which we travelled Malta and Gozo, visiting the walled cities of Mdina, Valletta and Victoria.

Our diving concentrated on the wrecks and caves that typify the best diving around Malta and we found an environment that was very different to our previous explorations. Most notably, the Mediterranean has suffered quite badly from over-fishing and, outside of the numerous fish farms, the sea does not enjoy the richness of sea life that, for example, the Red Sea, has to offer.

However, it was an enjoyable and interesting expedition.

Expedition Ocean Vision 5 Expedition Ocean Vision 5 - Mdina	Expedition Ocean Vision 5 Expedition Ocean Vision 5 - Paul Courtnage	Expedition Ocean Vision 5 Expedition Ocean Vision 5 - Carol Courtnage
Expedition Ocean Vision 5 Expedition Ocean Vision 5 - Mdina	Expedition Ocean Vision 5 Expedition Ocean Vision 5 - Mellieha	Expedition Ocean Vision 5 Expedition Ocean Vision 5 - The P-29

LINKS: Visit the Expedition Ocean Vision 5 report page or watch the Expedition Ocean Vision 5 Video Diary

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ELYSIUM STRAND

Carol and Courtney set up their band, Elysium Strand, to write and compose soundtrack music for their Project Ocean Vision videos in 2006. Elysium Strand rapidly grew to become an entity of its own and they now aim to produce an album roughly each year.

Elysium Strand Elysium Strand - Courtney Recording	Elysium Strand Elysium Strand - Courtney Live	Elysium Strand Elysium Strand - Pandora Album Art
Elysium Strand Elysium Strand - Carol Live	Elysium Strand Elysium Strand - Live at Zero	Elysium Strand Elysium Strand - Carol and Courtney

LINK: Visit the Elysium Strand webpage

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