TV Interview: Keith Bellows on French Polynesia

Susan Roesgen
National Geographic Today

August 1, 2001

Susan Roesgen interviews National Geographic Traveler
editor-in-chief Keith Bellows about French Polynesia. Underwater
photographer David Doubilet joins the discussion and shares his
insights on making images in the coral-lagoon
paradise.

Susan: National Geographic Traveler
magazine is preparing an article that will take readers to French
Polynesia, into a coral-rimmed lagoon. Editor Keith Bellows tells us
about it and National Geographic photographer David Doubilet
is here to share his images.

Guys, I would think that is the kind of place that you would lie in bed at night dreaming about.

Keith: Clearly this is classic paradise. French Polynesia—the island's name is Rangiroa—is about as good as it gets.

Susan: You go to some wonderful places in your magazine, but why this place, why now?

Keith: This has been in the works for quite some time; it really embodies a bunch of different stories.

The French government has essentially subsidized French Polynesia, and they are talking about pulling out in the middle of this decade. If that happens, if suddenly all of this money goes out of the system, they are going to have to replace it somehow, and they will probably do it by attracting more tourists.

More tourists, when we are talking about this kind of fragility, really can create some problems. Rangiroa is not built for volume. This is a very, very special place and we're concerned about it.

Susan: The photographs here really make me want to go. Tell us about taking pictures there.

David: Imagine this giant atoll, and it really is huge, it is 20 miles (32 kilometers) across and 30 miles (48 kilometers) long.

It has to empty and fill maybe as much as four times a day. And when the pass fills, the blue Polynesian water pumps into the atoll. That's when it gets terribly exciting.

You can photograph gray reef sharks and you can ride the pass into the atoll. You can photograph silvertips, which is what we did.

It's a very intimate experience with silvertip sharks. They are basically the Rolls Royce of the Carcharhinus world. They are beautiful, elegant sharks.

But the best part of this is that we were staying at the Kia Ora resort, which is the largest resort on Rangiroa. It is also like the silvertip shark, it is a very elegant place. You go from the luxury of a delicious breakfast croissant to facing this shark slicing merrily and cleanly through the water or watching it come in at night.

Susan: Again though, we are talking about the need of tourism to sustain this sort of place. What do you think will happen, David, if we got a lot of people coming here?

David: You have to manage an underwater system very, very carefully. You can't put too many divers into the system at Rangiroa without upsetting the balance or upsetting the ability to see things.

Keith: The writer on this story is Peter Benchley and he has been going to this place for a long time.

Susan: Peter Benchley who wrote "Jaws"?

Keith: Yes, he wrote "Jaws," and his sense was that this was one of the last, great paradises. It "hasn't been done" so to speak.

This is something that I talk about a lot on this show and others. It's just the notion of how much can we allow people to experience this, and if we can keep the experience small, containable and as David says, not ruin the thing that is the actual greatest attraction, you win.

Susan: Well, for those of us who won't be able to get to French Polynesia but maybe are planning a trip to Florida, David, can you just give us some quick tips for amateur photographers to get these spectacular underwater photographs?

David: The most important thing to make underwater photographs is time in the sea.

You have to spend as much time as you can and you have to have as much patience as you can. As far as making pictures underwater, it's not easy. There are no really good shortcuts or cheaper equipment to make the kind of intimate images that you see in your own mind. You have to have as much eye contact with a fish, with a shark, with anything else as possible. And of course, the fish's real desire is not to have its picture taken.

Susan: But, get down there at that level and try to get the good shots.

David: Get down there at that level, swim, watch, look around, and then begin to take pictures.

Susan: They are beautiful.Thank you so much for telling us and showing us this beautiful place.

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