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The Ocean Speaks: A photographic journey of discovery and hope
Discover the fascinating story of the Earth’s open oceans with telling insights from the bold adventurers who love it most.
The Ocean Speaks brings together 60 ocean enthusiasts who have taken ocean protection into their own hands, documenting the unknown and telling stories that aim to connect humans with water. Whether they are divers, marine biologists, surfers, influencers, conservationists, photojournalists or filmmakers , each of these ocean lovers is playing a part, however small, in deepening our understanding of our planet’s largest life support system. The ocean might just be the world’s most underrated resource. More than 80% of the ocean is still unmapped, unobserved and unexplored.
Split geographically by oceans and continents, the stories include a project that documents the world’s largest population of tiger sharks in the Maldives, divers who unofficially patrol a UNESCO world heritage site near the volcanic ‘Ring of Fire’ in the Tropical Eastern Pacific, a visit to the touching but ghostly turtle graveyard in Malaysia , and incredible natural spectacles like the mass spawning of grouper in French Polynesia or the humpback whales who flock to the remote Silver Bank in the Dominican Republic to birth and mate.
With over 200 underwater images from every ocean on the globe, The Ocean Speaks is a stunning celebration of the world under the surface, a unique glimpse into the biggest habitat on the planet and marks a small point on the journey towards protecting it. This inspiring collection of testimonies is a must for anyone concerned about our waters and those wanting to protect our environment. The battle to protect the deep blue is ongoing but stories like these are taking us in the right direction.
The Ocean Speaks brings together 60 ocean enthusiasts who have taken ocean protection into their own hands, documenting the unknown and telling stories that aim to connect humans with water. Whether they are divers, marine biologists, surfers, influencers, conservationists, photojournalists or filmmakers , each of these ocean lovers is playing a part, however small, in deepening our understanding of our planet’s largest life support system. The ocean might just be the world’s most underrated resource. More than 80% of the ocean is still unmapped, unobserved and unexplored.
Split geographically by oceans and continents, the stories include a project that documents the world’s largest population of tiger sharks in the Maldives, divers who unofficially patrol a UNESCO world heritage site near the volcanic ‘Ring of Fire’ in the Tropical Eastern Pacific, a visit to the touching but ghostly turtle graveyard in Malaysia , and incredible natural spectacles like the mass spawning of grouper in French Polynesia or the humpback whales who flock to the remote Silver Bank in the Dominican Republic to birth and mate.
With over 200 underwater images from every ocean on the globe, The Ocean Speaks is a stunning celebration of the world under the surface, a unique glimpse into the biggest habitat on the planet and marks a small point on the journey towards protecting it. This inspiring collection of testimonies is a must for anyone concerned about our waters and those wanting to protect our environment. The battle to protect the deep blue is ongoing but stories like these are taking us in the right direction.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2024
3 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
May 13, 2024
The Ocean Speaks is full of reverence and concern for the oceans and marine life. It has so many absolutely gorgeous photos - sharks, whales, seahorses, turtles, coral reefs, seagrass and even icebergs - with accompanying short essays focusing on the beauty of the marine life as well as dangers to its survival and need for conservation and protection of habitats that are vulnerable due to human activity and climate change.
The photos are fantastic and the beauty of nature is spectacular and stunning. It’s hard not to feel awed and mesmerized — and also a little bit responsible for at least trying to not harm life on this wonderful planet of ours.
As always in those books, I want more details and more explanations of the wonderful nature, but this book actually gives just enough to capture attention and peak interest and perhaps encourage more research after all the lovely photos.
4 stars. I just may have to get me a physical copy of this book.
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Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The photos are fantastic and the beauty of nature is spectacular and stunning. It’s hard not to feel awed and mesmerized — and also a little bit responsible for at least trying to not harm life on this wonderful planet of ours.
As always in those books, I want more details and more explanations of the wonderful nature, but this book actually gives just enough to capture attention and peak interest and perhaps encourage more research after all the lovely photos.
4 stars. I just may have to get me a physical copy of this book.
——————
Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
April 10, 2024
Many great photos of the ocean and its inhabitants, above and below. Texts by a diverse collection of authors. Ocean protection and climate change are overarching topics. Entertaining, educational, approachable and great to look at. If you love the ocean, you will enjoy this.
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher or author through NetGalley. All opinions are my own and I was not required to give a positive review.
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher or author through NetGalley. All opinions are my own and I was not required to give a positive review.
April 30, 2024
A stunning book with exquisite photographs and stories from ocean experts around the globe. A must read for everyone who wants to keep this planet healthy, including our oceans. Highly, highly recommended!
March 2, 2024
Oh, my. What can I say about this? It is a must. A must for any ocean lover, shark lover, earth lover, conservationist, and person who cares for the earth and the sea.
Oh, and anyone who cares whether or not we have a future on this planet. The photography is achingly beautiful, the concept heart-rending, and the fact that there are people out there who are doing this is one of the few things that gives me hope for the human race. Do we deserve to survive? Some of us perhaps, most no. And if we carry on this way, we won't. But hopefully, the earth will endure, and the magnificent ocean world that is so breathtakingly beautiful - and vital to our survival - will live beyond us and our sickening greed and selfishness.
I cannot recommend it enough. For yourself, for a friend, as a gift, as a reminder. Especially as a reminder.
Oh, and anyone who cares whether or not we have a future on this planet. The photography is achingly beautiful, the concept heart-rending, and the fact that there are people out there who are doing this is one of the few things that gives me hope for the human race. Do we deserve to survive? Some of us perhaps, most no. And if we carry on this way, we won't. But hopefully, the earth will endure, and the magnificent ocean world that is so breathtakingly beautiful - and vital to our survival - will live beyond us and our sickening greed and selfishness.
I cannot recommend it enough. For yourself, for a friend, as a gift, as a reminder. Especially as a reminder.
May 14, 2024
Happy release day!
As always, thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
The photography was beautiful and haunting. The photos of manta rays especially, I took a long moment to ponder what that must've felt like to see in real life, truly awe inspiring. This is a lovely book, absolutely made to go on a nature lover's coffee table. The photos are really nice quality, and the blurbs beneath/beside them are informative and interesting.
As always, thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
The photography was beautiful and haunting. The photos of manta rays especially, I took a long moment to ponder what that must've felt like to see in real life, truly awe inspiring. This is a lovely book, absolutely made to go on a nature lover's coffee table. The photos are really nice quality, and the blurbs beneath/beside them are informative and interesting.
May 15, 2024
Absolutely stunning book. I could sit and flip through it all day. Really loved all the background info and how the book was divided by ocean. This would make a beautiful gift for the ocean lover in your life!
April 11, 2024
Beautiful books! The images picked are incredible and show how magnificent the ocean is. It is well explained and non-scientist will find it easy to follow. I particularly like the effort to link each part with the effect of human impact on the environment. Highly recommend!
March 9, 2024
Matt Porteous and Tamsin Raine created the Ocean Culture Life ( OCL) charity aiming to bring attention and focus on life in the remotest oceans of the planet and the impact of human activity and climate change.
This beautiful book of photographs shows the wonders beneath and above the tide. The images are accompanied by powerful messages from some of the world's renowned conservationists, photographers and marine experts.
The stories they tell describe the beauty of the oceans but also the very immediate and imminent threat to the survival of the oceans. The descriptions of travels, locations and dives are breathtaking and moving .
This stunning book is a celebration of the marine world but also 'a call to arms '; a recognition that much of what has been observed, described, photographed may well disappear in the coming decades. By increasing all of our understanding The Ocean Speaks is a vital book to educate more widely what is happening across the globe whilst celebrating this unique world hidden from the eyes and awareness of the human race.
Let's hope this book and OCL can bring even more attention to the plight of oceans and its millions of sea creatures and their ultimate survival.
Highly recommended.
This beautiful book of photographs shows the wonders beneath and above the tide. The images are accompanied by powerful messages from some of the world's renowned conservationists, photographers and marine experts.
The stories they tell describe the beauty of the oceans but also the very immediate and imminent threat to the survival of the oceans. The descriptions of travels, locations and dives are breathtaking and moving .
This stunning book is a celebration of the marine world but also 'a call to arms '; a recognition that much of what has been observed, described, photographed may well disappear in the coming decades. By increasing all of our understanding The Ocean Speaks is a vital book to educate more widely what is happening across the globe whilst celebrating this unique world hidden from the eyes and awareness of the human race.
Let's hope this book and OCL can bring even more attention to the plight of oceans and its millions of sea creatures and their ultimate survival.
Highly recommended.
April 3, 2024
Gorgeous photographs, interesting article. I liked that this was broken down by each ocean with the focus on one subject .
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.
March 24, 2024
I have been in awe of the water since I was a small child, and I love any opportunity to learn more about our oceans and the life within. This book is packed full of stunning photographs and stories from all around the globe, and I very much enjoyed delving deep into this topic once more.
While there was not always enough detail (each experience is only given 2-3 pages and much of that is taken by the images - I really wanted more explanations and data), I did learn a lot and was struck by the common threads linking each section together - how much of the ocean's problems are human derived, how delicate the balance of life is, and how community led solutions are driving much of the change around the world. I was especially intrigued by the contrasting ideas about eco tourism. Definitely worth a read. Thanks to #NetGalley for providing a copy of #TheOceanSpeaks
While there was not always enough detail (each experience is only given 2-3 pages and much of that is taken by the images - I really wanted more explanations and data), I did learn a lot and was struck by the common threads linking each section together - how much of the ocean's problems are human derived, how delicate the balance of life is, and how community led solutions are driving much of the change around the world. I was especially intrigued by the contrasting ideas about eco tourism. Definitely worth a read. Thanks to #NetGalley for providing a copy of #TheOceanSpeaks
February 27, 2024
A beautiful book filled with photographs of the oceans, who lives there, and the people who work to preserve it.
Alongside the photos, there are stories from the 60 enthusiasts, who have given their career to saving the oceans.
Split geographically by oceans and continents, the stories include a project that documents the world’s largest population of tiger sharks in the Maldives, divers who unofficially patrol a UNESCO World Heritage Site near the volcanic ‘Ring of Fire’ in the Tropical Eastern Pacific, a visit to the touching but ghostly turtle graveyard in Malaysia , and incredible natural spectacles like the mass spawning of grouper in French Polynesia or the humpback whales who flock to the remote Silver Bank in the Dominican Republic to birth and mate.
Alongside the photos, there are stories from the 60 enthusiasts, who have given their career to saving the oceans.
Split geographically by oceans and continents, the stories include a project that documents the world’s largest population of tiger sharks in the Maldives, divers who unofficially patrol a UNESCO World Heritage Site near the volcanic ‘Ring of Fire’ in the Tropical Eastern Pacific, a visit to the touching but ghostly turtle graveyard in Malaysia , and incredible natural spectacles like the mass spawning of grouper in French Polynesia or the humpback whales who flock to the remote Silver Bank in the Dominican Republic to birth and mate.
March 22, 2024
Absolutely gorgeous photography and compelling stories, categorized by the different oceans around the world. I sometimes wish I had become a marine biologist, so I've pored over many underwater photos through the years. These are beautifully presented, and varied enough between not only region but also topic, framing, perspective, and size of the creature, that the book manages to illustrate what a truly wide variety of life our oceans contains. Of course, the variety of life in the oceans is actually SO vast that it would be impossible to really represent it in a single book, but this one does an excellent job of showing us a sliver of that enormous reality.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this eARC.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this eARC.
March 1, 2024
4 stars. I received this book from Netgalley. What initially drew me into this book was the beautiful pictures of the ocean and ocean life. I love going to the beach and jumped at this opportunity to learn more about the ocean and how to protect it. It explores topics such as marine wildlife and problems ocean life is currently facing such as illegal bottom trawling that kills and destroys ocean creatures and their habitats. The founders of Ocean Culture Life are well educated on the topics of marine life and I learned a lot from this book.
March 15, 2024
Absolutely beautiful book that explores the world ocean, highlighting wildlife, people, and conservation efforts to protect this blue planet.
The photography is absolutely stunning and will inspire anyone who picks up this book.
I received a free ARC via NetGalley for this book. Thank you to NetGalley, publisher and author!
The photography is absolutely stunning and will inspire anyone who picks up this book.
I received a free ARC via NetGalley for this book. Thank you to NetGalley, publisher and author!
December 29, 2024
The gorgeous photography makes even familiar sea landscapes and animals appear alien and intriguing.
August 20, 2024
A book with great intentions, and even greater photographic class – but one whose ultimate purpose may be just too much out of reach for it. What we have is over 50 stories from people who know our seas and what lives in them – or, if you read this too far in the future, what lived in them. From dragging the seabed up in fishing, to coral bleaching, to this and to that, there are numerous threats to the oceans, but here is testimony at least that people are trying their best to do something about it. Each subject is generally on four, sometimes six, pages, and there's not a spread without a fabulous image on.
But I think you can see where this is going. The text is often reduced to half a dozen paragraphs, and so each and every essay is more or less an introduction only to the issue. Don't get me wrong, it's not all doom and gloom – there is space here for a nudibranch specialist just to tell us what inspired him, as well as praise their looks for their photogenic qualities. Someone fell in love with Californian rays, and there are balls of them swirling around here in all their glory. But even given six sides they only get enough text for two pages of a paperback novel, we only get a good glimpse at things, and the whole thing is on to the next one, with everything washing over us.
This then is one of the more verbose coffee table books – I think it's rightfully unapologetic about how wonderful it all looks, but what will the glamour do in the finish? Draw the eye for a while, and then what? Yes this is all honest science and reportage, yes it is straight from the sea-horse's mouth, so to speak, but with the best will in the world this is probably just preaching to the converted. And I think many more people will see that and move on than will stay with this and join in with any necessary change. This may possibly inspire enough of its readership to think again and make a mini-change, and become more sea-aware, and I can only hope it does at least that, but part of me still thinks that beyond its gorgeousness it's on a hiding to nothing and remains on the 'inessential' shelf.
But I think you can see where this is going. The text is often reduced to half a dozen paragraphs, and so each and every essay is more or less an introduction only to the issue. Don't get me wrong, it's not all doom and gloom – there is space here for a nudibranch specialist just to tell us what inspired him, as well as praise their looks for their photogenic qualities. Someone fell in love with Californian rays, and there are balls of them swirling around here in all their glory. But even given six sides they only get enough text for two pages of a paperback novel, we only get a good glimpse at things, and the whole thing is on to the next one, with everything washing over us.
This then is one of the more verbose coffee table books – I think it's rightfully unapologetic about how wonderful it all looks, but what will the glamour do in the finish? Draw the eye for a while, and then what? Yes this is all honest science and reportage, yes it is straight from the sea-horse's mouth, so to speak, but with the best will in the world this is probably just preaching to the converted. And I think many more people will see that and move on than will stay with this and join in with any necessary change. This may possibly inspire enough of its readership to think again and make a mini-change, and become more sea-aware, and I can only hope it does at least that, but part of me still thinks that beyond its gorgeousness it's on a hiding to nothing and remains on the 'inessential' shelf.
May 2, 2024
The Ocean Speaks by Ocean Culture Life is an utterly spectacular book loaded with 200 magnificently detailed photographs and information on the oceans and the teeming life therein. Information separated into geographical regions written by various ocean enthusiasts includes topics such as conservation, an organization to ban bottom trawling fishing, cenote caves, importance of archaeology, pollution and invasive species.
What grabbed me most is the vast array of life in the depths. I learned more about dugongs, icebergs, luxuriant kelp forests, the eerie turtle tomb, stunning leafy sea dragons, cuttlefish mating (which I've seen in an aquarium), coral hermit crabs, whale sharks and Munk's devil rays. The ocean photography is amongst the most startlingly beautiful I've ever seen and swept me away. I am besotted by all things ocean and this book hit me in all the right places.
My sincere thank you to Quarto Publishing Group Group - White Lion and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this astounding book.
What grabbed me most is the vast array of life in the depths. I learned more about dugongs, icebergs, luxuriant kelp forests, the eerie turtle tomb, stunning leafy sea dragons, cuttlefish mating (which I've seen in an aquarium), coral hermit crabs, whale sharks and Munk's devil rays. The ocean photography is amongst the most startlingly beautiful I've ever seen and swept me away. I am besotted by all things ocean and this book hit me in all the right places.
My sincere thank you to Quarto Publishing Group Group - White Lion and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this astounding book.
January 12, 2025
An absolutely incredible book that portrays the work of many talented photographers, all with the purpose of sharing the beauty of the oceans and inspiring people to protect them. We need more books like this one!
May 16, 2025
This book is incredible! The photography is striking but the stories from people who live or work in each location are super empowering. They strike awe, and at the same time remind the reader that these oceans need to be protected and cared for.
September 25, 2024
Wonderful photos of places that most of us will never see. Amazing photos of ocean dwelling animals and articles that go along with them.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews