A Fascinating Life

A local photographer, filmmaker, and explorer passed away Wednesday while diving. By any definition, Wes Skiles was a cool guy. He had done things that most of us would never even attempt, such as mapping underground waterways and exploring uncharted caves. He directed films, worked in TV, and has the cover photo in this month's National Geographic.

I was able to get to know Wes a little bit over the past 6 years or so. As someone who wanted to be a filmmaker at one time, I was fascinated by his work. He was a big idea guy and was able to see some of those ideas come to fruition. I know he had a lot more that he hoped to accomplish as well.

He recently had a photo selected for the cover of National Geographic Magazine. You can see some of his work here.

His wife, 2 children, and other family are in our thoughts and prayers.

Awesome Video Saturday CXLVIII

A few months ago Wes Skiles died accidentally, while diving off the coast of Florida. He was a great guy, and this video was put together as a tribute for The Jacksonville Film Industry Reception. He shot all of the video, including the musicians.

Dive Deep

There is a new movie coming out on February 4th, Sanctum. It was inspired in part by an experience that the filmmaker had while diving with Wes Skiles. I've written about Wes before. He passed away in a diving accident last June and was a great guy.


You can read more about the origin of the film and how Wes took Jim Cameron on his first cave dive a few years ago.