Author Claire Nouvian

Discovering The Deep Sea

Photograph by Steve Haddock, MBARI.

French journalist Claire Nouvian’s life changed in 2001 when she visited an exhibit of deep-sea creatures at the renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. She was utterly transfixed by the indescribably bizarre and beautiful creatures she saw in an introductory film and a collection of aquaria. There were glowing jellyfish that looked like nothing so much as aliens, dragonfishes, and the vampire squid from hell. "I really could not believe what I was seeing," says Nouvian. It was an irresistible cast of characters, which would become the focus of her entire professional life.

Nouvian was so fascinated that she began searching for books that would allow her to see and learn more about the deep's dark, alien world. " I talked to everyone and started looking and found these images had really not been gathered yet," she says, certainly not to a degree that would satisfy her curiosity. So, she decided to create the book she was seeking herself. Some six years later, in March of 2007, Nouvian released The Deep, which has been internationally successful.

"What I think is great about Macs is that everything is so intuitive. I know how to turn my computer on and off, and you don't need to know much more." — Claire Nouvian

A Massive Library of Photos

Nouvian began contacting deep-sea scientists around the globe and found that they were more than happy to contribute photographs to the project, many of which she discovered were truly spectacular. This is due in part to the natural beauty of the creatures, but also to the skill of the many marine biologists whose work depends on these photos. Jellyfish and related animals, which are common in the deep, can grow over thirty feet long but they tend to be destroyed when collected because they are so delicate. Good photos are often the only way to identify species.

Nouvian ultimately amassed over 6,000 photos of deep-sea life. For organizing and manipulating this huge collection, she says she never considered using anything but Apple for the job. In fact, she doesn't think she could even have taken on the job without Apple. "Mac changed my life. I would certainly not have been able to have the same kind of career had I not run into Mac," says Nouvian. "What I think is great about Macs is that everything is so intuitive," she says, "I know how to turn my computer on and off, and you don't need to know much more."

Nouvian did all her work with a trusty PowerBook, and an array of external hard drives. For basic photograph viewing, she relied on Apple's Preview, because, she says, "It allows you to open any picture very quickly without launching big, powerful software." For more advanced work manipulating or cleaning up photos, she used Adobe Photoshop.

Making Visual "Music" with Macs

As her photo collection was expanding, Nouvian got a contract with a major French publishing house called Fayard, which arranged for her book to also be published in the United States by the University of Chicago Press. The company connected her with freelance graphic designer Anne-Marie Bourgeois. In partnership, the two began working closely to choose photos and design the book's stunning layout with large-format photo spreads designed to capture and hold readers' attentions.

Given the continued Mac dominance in the publishing world, it's not surprising that Bourgeois was another Mac aficionado. Bourgeois was already well equipped with three PowerMacs, and two PowerBooks. She would design pages on Quark Express 6.0, then convert to pdf files to send to Nouvian, who was living in Belgium at the time, for review and discussion. At times the pair would also work together during marathon weekend sessions at Bourgeois' house outside Paris. "Anne-Marie says that a book is like music: it has to flow but surprise you at times," says Nouveau, "and she had a real eye for that."

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