After logging thousands of hours of underwater photography, National Geographic’s Brian Skerry will share some of his work at the Performing Arts Center (PAC) on Wednesday, May 15 at 7:30 p.m.
Skerry’s display of his underwater photographs will be the third event of the National Geographic Live series, co-hosted by Cal Poly Arts and the PAC this year. The event will be in the Harold Miossi Hall, the largest venue in the PAC.
“Brian Skerry is one of the most preeminent underwater photographers in the world and he has logged 10,000 hours underwater taking photos,” Cal Poly Arts Director Steve Lerian said. “As you can imagine, he has thousands and thousands of images and he will select many of the most interesting and unique shots, and will tell stories about how he got them, what the circumstances were, and he’s a very engaging speaker.”
Student rush tickets are available at the PAC Ticket Office for $10. Other tickets range from $17.60 to $70 depending on desired seats. Cal Poly Arts and the PAC have sold about 700 tickets for the event, but Lerian said by the start of the event, he thinks there will be about 800 tickets sold.
Bioresource and agricultural engineering junior Chase Oleson attended the first two National Geographic Live events, featuring worldwide photographer Annie Griffiths and NASA astronaut and photographer Terry Virts respectively, and said he attended to “learn and see more of our world.”
“Both events humbled me, leaving me with a desire to do my part to better the world,” Oleson said.
Skerry will speak about his experiences and share his photos of his underwater explorations for about an hour and 15 minutes, Lerian said, and will continue the event by taking questions for about 15 minutes afterwards.
“I think if you have an interest in science at all, or oceanographic science, this would definitely be something you would not want to miss. In general, if you appreciate great photography, it’s also going to be beautiful,” Lerian said.
As an audience member, there is not much hands-on activity, Oleson said. But Oleson said he feels immersed in the presentation with the aid of visual media. He said he feels the National Geographic Live events leave an impact on Cal Poly students like himself.
“Cal Poly students are the world’s future. These events are exposing many participants to the world that they are not familiar with and encouraging dialogue that is bigger than ourselves,” Oleson said.