Chris Newbert

     When Life Magazine published their Anniversary Edition entitled, ``150 Years of Photography, Pictures That Made a Difference", featured were the world's greatest names in the history of photography, such as Louis Daguerre, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Edward Weston, Dorothea Lange, Alfred Stieglitz, Cartier Bresson, Richard Avedon, Philippe Halsman, Eugene Smith, Mary Ellen Mark, and Ansel Adams.  Life included only one underwater photographer in this elite group, and gave Chris Newbert more page space in this issue than any of the above illuminaries

     Since taking up underwater photography Chris Newbert has won over 30 awards in international underwater photographic competitions.  His photos have appeared in over 300 books and magazines world-wide.  In 1985 he published his first underwater photographic book, Within a Rainbowed Sea.  Now in its 10th printing, this classic volume continues to gather critical acclaim as one of the most beautiful photographic books of all time. Within a Rainbowed Sea remains one of the most award-winning photographic book ever published and, with sales of over 100,000, is one of the largest selling books in its price range ($85 mean) ever printed.  Within a Rainbowed Sea is available in four editions, including a hand-bound Limited Edition, an autographed Authors Edition, the standard Trade Edition and a newly released Soft-bound Edition.

     Praise has come from all quarters of the publishing world. Publishers Weekly has called Within a Rainbowed Sea "one of the most remarkable photographic books ever published.", while Playboy Magazine referred to it as "the ultimate coffee table book."  The LA Times claims that Within a Rainbowed Sea has "exhausted critics' superlatives...(it) has won more gold medals than Edwin Moses."  The German magazine Stern devoted its largest non-news photo spread ever to a 16 page portfolio of selected images from Within a Rainbowed Sea.  The Tenth Anniversary Issue of Islands Magazine has included Chris Newbert's work in a portfolio of photographs from those who they consider ten of the world's great contemporary photographers.

     Receiving perhaps the ultimate honor, the Limited Edition of Within a Rainbowed Sea was selected by the White House as an official Presidential Gift of State to be used by the President as a gift to visiting dignitaries.  On May 4th, 1986, President Reagan gave copy number 85 to Emperor Hirohito of Japan, on the occasion of his 85th birthday and the 60th anniversary of his reign.

     Presently, Mr. Newbert conducts international dive tours for Rainbowed Sea Tours, Inc., a company founded by he and his wife, Birgitte Wilms, to provide small groups of traveling divers and photographers with rewarding underwater experiences on the finest reefs in the world.  Chris and Birgitte presently live in New Hampshire where they manage their stock marine life photography business from their horse farm adjoining the White Mountain National Forest.

     In late 1994, the much anticipated sequel to Within a Rainbowed Sea was released.  In a Sea of Dreams features the photography of both Chris and Birgitte, and text by Chris.  In a Sea of Dreams is destined to become the new standard for excellence in underwater photography.  In its first few months of release, In a Sea of Dreams won the World Grand Prize for Best Book of Underwater Photography, awarded in Antibes, France.

     Most recently, Birgitte and Chris had a two-person, four month long print exhibit at the Mariners' Museum, in Newport News, Virginia. They also had two person exhibit at Warner Brothers / Reprise Records headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee. Birgitte and Chris were featured in the premier segment of Discovery Channel's new show, Go For It, and were most recently featured on the Outdoor Channel's series on the top nature photographers, Nature's Best.

     Chris and Birgitte's photographs have been selected for the 16 page feature portfolio in the prestigious 1998 Photography Yearbook.  The Yearbook publishes work from the world's finest photographers, and this is the first time ever that underwater photographers will have been showcased in this distinguished British publication.

    Chris became the first recipient of the Wyland Foundation Award for Underwater Still Photography at the First Annual Wyland Foundation Awards Ceremony in Hollywood.  This nationally televised extravaganza featured celebrity presenters from the entertainment and sports industry.  Chris not only received this prestigious award, but his photographs were selected for the big screen background stills for this gala  event.  Other honored personalities included posthumous awards to Jacques Yves Cousteau and Lloyd Bridges.  Living recipients in addition to Chris included Jimmy Buffet, Sting, Dr. Sylvia Earle, Ted Danson, Dan Fogelberg, Bob Talbot and Al Gore among others.

   Chris and Birgitte currently live on their horse farm in New Hampshire.

Career Highlights

Within a Rainbowed Sea:  Major awards and honors:

*Presidential Gift of State

*Gold Medal for Best Photography  Art Directors Club of New York

*Gold Medal for Best Book Design  Art Directors Club of New York

*Best Book of the Year  Printing Industries of America

*STA 100 Award  Society of Typographic Arts

*10th Anniversary Gift Book Selection  International Center for Photography

*Gold Award for Photography  Art Direction Magazine

*Featured Book  Soviet-American Book Fair, Moscow

*Carey Thomas Award Nominee

Published in over 300 magazines world-wide, including:

*Life

*Omni

*Discover

* Smithsonian

*Islands

*Bunte (Germany)

*Animan (Switzerland)

*National Geographic

*Audubon

*National Wildlife

*International Wildlife

*Ranger Rick

*Natural History

*Travel and Leisure

*Ocean Realm

*Airone (Italy)

*Figaro (France)

*Outside

*Camera Arts

*Stern (Germany)

*GEO (Germany)

*Marie Claire (Spain)

*LA Style

*Aqua (Italy, U.S.S.R.)

*The New York Times Magazine

*Delta Sky Magazine

*Aeroflot in flight magazine

*United Airlines

*Canon Camera Co.

*Qantas Airways

*Warner Brothers Records

*AT & T

*Mutual of Omaha

*Eastman Kodak Co.

*Rolex Watch Co.

*Potlach Paper Co.

*Hyatt Hotel Corp.

*Northwest Airlines

*Private Music Co.

*Hearts of Space

*Fuji Film

*Oceanic U.S.A.

*Apollo Sports

*Australian Postal Service

National Television Features and Appearances

*Charles Kuralt Sunday Morning   (three times)

*ESPN special feature

*Merv Griffin Show

*CBS Morning News

*PM Magazine

*Discovery Channel, Go For It

*Outdoor Channel, Nature's Best

Exhibits and One-Man Shows

*International Photography Hall of Fame

*Honolulu Academy of Arts

*Boston Museum of Science

*International Center for Photography, New York

*Photo Show International

*Western States Museum of Photography

*Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

*Maritime Center of Norwalk, CT

*Steinhardt Aquarium/California Academy of Sciences

*Waikiki Aquarium

*Warner Brothers Records, Nashville

*The Mariners' Museum, Newport News, VA

Birgitte Wilms

     Born in 1966 outside of Copenhagen, Denmark, Birgitte Wilms began her underwater photographic career in 1988 at the age of 22 in the Egyptian Red Sea. Her work gained immediate acceptance with Danish publications. A number of magazines from her home country ran photo articles and interviews from her first underwater photography expedition.

     Danish magazines have featured her work on numerous occasions, with major photographic essays and interviews in Inspiration, Hendes Verden, Hjemmet and I Form. Some of these features have been translated and published in Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Denmark's largest newspaper Berlingske Tidende ran a feature story by Birgitte's on the Galapagos Islands, appearing on the front page of their weekly travel section.

     The prestigious German underwater photographic magazine UWF has published Birgitte's photos, including never before photographed species marine life. Other of her photographs have appeared in German / English marine life identification books.

     In the United States, the New York Times Magazine has published Birgitte's work.  Islands Magazine has featured her pictures, including photos appearing in a cover story on the Solomon Islands. The elegant coffee table magazine Ocean Realm has made regular use of Ms. Wilms photographs, highlighted by an 8 page feature portfolio exclusively of Birgitte's photographs. Noted Newsweek economic columnist Jane Bryant Quinn's book features one of Birgitte's photographs on its cover.

     The National Wildlife Federation has published several of Ms. Wilms pictures in their coffee table book entitled, Patterns. Her work has appeared in National Geographic books, National Wildlife Magazine, Natural History Magazine and BBC Wildlife Magazine, Delta Sky Magazine and Ranger Rick.  Ms. Wilms has had feature portfolios in Australia's Sport Diving Magazine. Birgitte's work was featured in the May 1995 issue of GEO Magazine, Europe's premier geographic publication.

     Chris and Birgitte's photographs have been selected for the 16 page feature portfolio in the prestigious 1998 Photography Yearbook. The Yearbook publishes work from the world's finest photographers, and this is the first time ever that underwater photographers will have been presented in this distinguished British publication.

     Most recently, Birgitte and Chris had a two-person, four month long print exhibit at the Mariners' Museum, in Newport News, Virginia. They also had two person exhibit at Warner Brothers / Reprise Records headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee. Birgitte and Chris were featured in the premier segment of Discovery Channel's new show, Go For It.  Most recently, Birgitte and Chris were featured in the Outdoor Channel's series on the finest nature photographers, entitled, Nature's Best.

     Ms. Wilms handles her own stock photography from her home base in New Hampshire.  She is Vice President of Rainbowed Sea Tours, Inc. and with husband, Chris Newbert, conducts international dive and photographic tours to the world's finest diving locations. Her stock photo files include subjects from the Red Sea, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Hawaii, Galapagos Islands and Cocos Island.

     In late 1994 Birgitte and Chris released their new coffee table book, In a Sea of Dreams. Featuring both Birgitte's and Chris' photographs, In a Sea of Dreams is destined to become the new standard of underwater photographic excellence. In its first few months of release, In a Sea of Dreams won the World Grand Prize for Best Book of Underwater Photography, awarded in Antibes, France. 

     Birgitte is currently working on a children's book series, which will be featuring Birgitte's and Chris images. The text will be written by her. She has been speaking and showing her children slideshows for the Sunshine Kids, at the Rocky Mountain Children's Book Festival in Denver and at diving conventions around the country.

     Birgitte and Chris presently live on their horse farm in New Hampshire.