Best Shark Photographs from the Last Ten Years of Photo Contests | Photos | Smithsonian Magazine

My photo got included in the Smithsonian's best shark photos submitted in the last 10 years!

Best Shark Photographs from the Last Ten Years of Photo Contests | Photos | Smithsonian Magazine

Paolo A. Santos LANDSCAPE CINEMATOGRAPHY

Paolo A. Santos Landscape Cinematography

PLEASE LEAVE NO TRACE: BISTI WILDERNESS, NEW MEXICO

PLEASE LEAVE NO TRACE: BISTI WILDERNESS, NEW MEXICO: The Bisti Wilderness is my favorite place in New Mexico, in fact, the one place that I will return to again and again in the world. The land...

BISTI WILDERNESS, NEW MEXICO

The Bisti Wilderness is my favorite place in New Mexico, in fact, the one place that I will return to again and again in the world. The landscape is filled with very delicate alien like structures that are enigmatic and easily sets the imagination on fire.

This is a designated wilderness; there are no markers, to trails or paths, no facilities or anything; so please tread cautiously for your safety. Bring what you need and don't forget to bring everything out. Please do not remove any plants, animals, fossils or rocks and do not climb or topple the hoodoos. The structures took thousands, if not, hundreds of years to form but can easily be destroyed in seconds. Please keep this amazing place pristine and sacred.

Please click on the images to enlarge them and to make the text legible. Thank you :-)

CHACO CULTURE, NEW MEXICO

This is the Chaco Culture ruins in New Mexico, a very intriguing place full of historical facts on the ingenuity and mystery of the Chacoans that populated this canyon in 850AD - 1250AD. It is a significant study of how an ancient society developed civilization and functioned within their natural environment while conducting business and trade.

It is located in Northwestern New Mexico. It is recommended that you take the north access via US 550 and County road (CR) 7900 and CR 7950. This place was inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987 and remains as one of only 20 World Heritage sites in the U.S. This place is a significant view into the world of the past.

For more info please visit: http://www.nps.gov/chcu/index.htm

My wife through lined windows.

This canyon is magical, please keep the decibels low to maintain the

atmosphere of awe for everyone. Help maintain this place by following

and staying on the designated paths.

YELLOWSTONE

Yellowstone is my favorite of all the National Parks on the Continental United States. It is vast, mysterious and just down-right gorgeous. This place is a gigantic active volcanic caldera that has the potential to devastate numerous states around it and profoundly disrupt lives both nationally and internationally. It is quite fascinating that a beautiful place like this can cause wonder and inspiration while hiking, and at the same token, fear and uneasiness at the slightest tremor underneath the foot.

Milky turquoise pools: amazing natural creations.

This clear jewel like pools are so inviting, but don't be fooled,

it is not a jacuzzi, entering them will come with a hefty fine

a boot out of the park and worst, the scalding.

This was a shot taken by my wife of me on top of this giant rock.

It is a great documentation of me in action but it definitely broke

one of my rules, I ruined the scenic shot for everyone else at that

time who wanted to capture this place and moment by me taking

up the negative space. I apologize.

Great beast demands great respect for your safety and their peace.

Morning fog: magnificent and mysterious indeed, but please

take precaution when driving in these conditions, I almost got

hit by a car, mind you, I did jetted out onto the road because I

was fleeing in mild-fear from the pack of wolves howling in the

mist.

Steam plumes and piping hot geysers.

The rusty colors are created by bacteria in the thermal pools.

TULUM, MEXICO

Below: A male Iguana taking in some sun. These guys are

everywhere and they make great trip photo subjects. They are

photogenic and active for video mementos. Please remember

to give them enough space when capturing them on celluloid,

tape or into digital image files. Getting too close just to get that

keeper shot is great for memories but not for your safety or their

stress level.

Tulum is a wonderful and quiet place. Far from the noise and

activity of other high tourist locations on the Yucatan Peninsula,

it has clean white beaches with very subdued and friendly locals

and tourist. Every morning the sand is raked and visitors are often

seen picking up litter washed onto the beach. It was cool to see

many respecting this picture postcard perfect place.

Unfortunately, just a few miles away from the eyes of visitors, is the

reality of what is truly the state of the beaches.

Below are beaches peppered with debris with plastics accounting

for almost 90% of it.

This is truly a horrifying spectacle. This garbage comes floating

in from the sea and illegal dumping. I think if we all pull together

and minimize the use of plastics in our daily lives, we can help

prevent further degradation of beaches like these worldwide.

It is an idealistic thought, but we need to start somewhere.

Below: The Grand Cenote. These subterranean sweet water ways

are spread across the Yucatan. Miles apart, they are all connected to

each other. Should one get polluted, they all will get polluted. When

visiting Cenotes, please do your best to keep the waters pristine by

not leaving anything in them. If possible, swim without sun screen

lotions or at the very least, use sun block rated to have the least amount

of environmental pollutants. I believe they have organic alternatives at

WholeFoods or other markets of the like.

Cenotes have beautiful emerald to turquoise waters. Some are in

open areas and others are in caves with stalactite ceilings. This

particular Cenote, is in an open area. The water entrance is of

modest size but quickly drops off to 30-40 feet. At the bottom,

underwater cave entrances lure divers to the dark unknown.

Below is a fun video summation of our trip to Tulum with the music

of What Made Milwaukee Famous, I hope they are cool with me

using their music :-).

In the video: Paolo A. Santos and Caroline Sicard

Music: "Sweet Lady" by What Made Milwaukee Famous - under BARSUK Records

Please visit them @: www.myspace.com/whatmademilwaukeefamous.com