12 Shades of Exploration
by Anthony Gordon
Having filmed adventures and explorations of sorts for the best part of 2 decades, there is not many things I haven’t seen or heard in relation to human feats of endurance.
From the heights of the Himalayas, through the rain forests of Ecuador and the Oman desert, including both the poles and beyond, one is always questioning the relevance of these endeavours.
When we pursue the near impossible and push the boundaries of what is believed to be possible, it seems to qualify us to be explorers. What does that mean and what value does it bring to the masses, yet still why have a club?
The answers became incredibly clear recently when I was asked to take part in the ANZEC Chapter of the Explorers Club’s first exploratory adventure. We were to set sail from Port Lincoln in South Australia aboard the MV Rodney Fox, Australia’s premier Great White Shark vessel.
We were to be joined by Explorer Club Members for a dive adventure to meet face to face with the Great White Shark. Beyond this I had no expectations other than to help inspire all those aboard to tell new and refreshing stories that would place the Great White in a more favourable position than that painted by mainstream media.
Little was I to know how my view and narrative toward exploration would change as a result. Were relative novice explorers (by common perspectives) diving in the protection of a cage honestly going to qualify this as an expedition and were the moving images that I was to shoot going to generate more than just some delightful memories?
Fast forward to the end of the first day when I was editing aboard the Rodney Fox. I realised very quickly, as I pieced together the narrative expose of the previous 12hrs, that exploration was not about suffering and enduring, it was about experiencing. More so, being able to share that experience so others get a sense of exploration and wonder. To learn and to understand.
The pure passion and insight that my teammates exhibited through the interviews that I conducted were Attenborough worthy, and the imagery of the Great White was choreographed by Neptune Himself. Something was happening here that I did not expect.
By journeys end there was a 22min film that was released to the world’s critiques of film festivals and broadcasters. Such a panel of piers are far more dangerous than the Great Whites, trust me. I was prepared for a series of rebuttals that tempted a hidden anxiety that I had not represented an Expedition.
Quite simply I was wrong. Film festival’s were awarding it and the world’s leading adventure platforms were taking it, 12 Shades of Grey was resonating as one of the most unique Great White Explorations of its time.
Your see, explorers are actually messengers. They carry the most vital of cargo, that of experiences that many cannot ever attain themselves. Through our films they provide understanding and aptitude that in essence makes the world a better place.
People were learning from a 22min film that the Great White Shark, if nothing else, needs to be understood more fully before it is judged. This all came from a group of like-minded individuals that I call explorers, pioneers even, for going beyond their comfort zones below the surface to send a message.
This is exploration, and this is why the Explorers Club exists. To simply make the world a better place through providing a platform for experience.
