Great Barrier Reef at the Fleet Science Center

By Patricia Frischer

It is always a joy to go to a premier event at the Fleet Science Center and this was no exception. A wonderful DJ and some great passed canapes with a fun blue drink got us into the mood.    Great Barrier Reef is all about the world's largest living wonder with incredible scene in the IMAX theater that made you fell you were swimming among the fishes. Richard Fitzpatrick the Emmy awarded cinematographer was there to introduce the film.  The reef is 1600 miles of coral and that is huge, so even when the North End suffers as it had done with two back to back bleaching due to global warming, there are huge areas of the reef that are thriving. Fitzpatrick reminded us that even when the coral is bleached it is not dead and can come back to life if the algae returns to it.

The film has a heart throbbing moment which a sea horse gives birth to tiny little sea ponies. To get this shot Fitzpatrick had to wait for 72 hours and passed out cold after the event with the stress of waiting. He ended up in the hospital not from his run in with shark and venomous jelly fish but from this sweet moment captured brilliantly on film. 

I had never seen undersea images of creature being illuminated by a black light and what a show that created.  You see colors you never imaginedand everything is moving so colors are pulsating here, there and everywhere. 

Narrated by acclaimed Australian actor Eric Bana, the film celebrates one of the planet's most beautiful and biodiverse ecosystems as well as the "citizen science" movement, where volunteers help researchers gain a more comprehensive understanding of the natural world.