Nicholas More: Anilao

The BBC’s Blue Planet 2 premieres today at an invitation only event at the British Film Institute IMAX cinema in London, UK. Greenpeace, in their Unearthed blog has posted an interview with the program’s creator, Sir David Attenborough about “On climate change, optimism and Blue Planet II.”
The Malay Mail Online reports that as of the end of 2017, shark fishing will be banned in Sabah’s 6 marine parks. The Tourism, Culture and Environment minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun has proposed a law that will allow offenders to be convicted if caught catching sharks. (Image from Shutterstock)
A lot of people go to Guadalupe every year, a lot of very interesting people. Most people are divers, and some are non-divers that want to check “seeing-a-great-white-shark-underwater” off their bucket list. And then there are some that are a little of both. A few weeks ago astronaut Terry Virts headed to Guadalupe aboard the Somar V to film some great whites in 360 and from the air, as well as check something off his bucket list.
Fantasea has announced their housing for the Sony a6000 mirrorless camera. The FA6000 uses the company’s FML interchangeable port system, giving compatibility to a “wide range” of lenses. It is equipped with an M16 accessory port, twin fiber optic ports and a leak detector as standard.
The World Shootout is calling for entries. The contest is offering prizes, including dive trips, gear and cash for photographers in 8 categories including: Amateur, Wide Angle, Macro, Fish & Fashion and Sharks. Images can be from anywhere in the world, but must have been taken between 2 November 2016 and 1 November 2017. The deadline for registration and entry is 1 November, please see the contest’s website for full rules and registration details.
In a study published this week in Science Advances, a team of international scientists analyzed publicly available data on seven species of sea turtles around the world in time frames that ranged from 6 to 47 years of data. They found that the populations of six of these species are increasing. In some cases conservation efforts date back to the 1950s, and the threats to their survival are clear and efforts are being made to manage them.
Wetpixel member Jon Anderson has launched a series of cold water extension knobs called EZKnobs for Inon and Sea&Sea strobes on Kickstarter. They are CNC machined from 6061-T6 aluminum, fit right over the existing strobe controls and are retained using a pair of stainless steel set screws.
Retra’s new underwater flash starts shipping to pre-order customers at the end of this week. Alex Mustard and friends share their thoughts and images after extensive testing of the strobe in Egypt, Cayman and Cuba. Alex notes that: “The Retra Flash is big news: a brand new strobe and a new manufacturer joining the underwater strobe market are rare events indeed.”