Wetpixel/Under The Jungle Cenote Workshop 2021
Articles
Final call for entries: San Diego Undersea Film Exhibition
The 2012 San Diego Undersea Film Exhibition (SDUFEX) is making a final call for entries to the 2012 exhibition. There is no entry fee, and the selected entries will be projected onto a state-of-the-art 30 foot projection screen at the Irwin M. Jacobs Qualcomm Hall in San Diego, California. The event is to be held on 5 and 6 October.
The deadline for entries is 27 July.
The British Underwater Photography Championship
The British Society of Underwater Photographers (BSoUP) held the British Underwater Photography Championship in Plymouth, UK on Saturday 14 July. The event, which has been running for over 40 years, attracted 39 photographers from all over the UK and Wetpixel Editor Adam Hanlon was on-hand to capture all the action. As a splash-in, all contestants had one day to capture images, and then to submit their best images for judging.
Congratulations to all the entrants and winners, with especial congratulations to Wetpixel member Tim Priest who won both the Marine Life category and was also the overall winner.
Aquarius Reef Base threatened with closure
Brian Lam has reported on Gizmodo that NASA plans to shut down its last remaining undersea habitats. These are the Aquarius Reef Base, its sister program, the Hawaii Undersea Research Lab (HURL), and its two Pisces subs, all of which will lose their budgets by September 2012. This is due to budgetary constraints, as according to director of the Hawaii Undersea Research Lab, John Wiltshire:
“NOAA spent too much money on some extra weather satellites that weren’t budgeted.”
The habitats provide a wealth of information including constant measurements of the health of the coral, sponges, fish activity and ocean chemistry, in one place, for the last 20 years. In addition, the base is outfitted with a megabit internet connection designed by Motorola that spans the nearly 4 mile distance across the water to HQ, allowing scientists and reporters to broadcast live from under the sea. A fund-raising body called The Aquarius Foundation, has been established to try and keep the habitat open without governmental support.
The Digital Shootout 2012
A full account of the eleventh Digital Shootout, held this year on Little Cayman at the Little Cayman Beach Resort, has been posted online. A group of 80 participants and staff attended the shootout, with seminars and workshops run by Berkley White, Sterling Zumbrunn, Erin Quigley and Mary Lynn Price. The shootout also hosts an imaging competition and this year’s grand prize winner was Mark Devillier. Other prize winners included Jeff Honda, Philip Seys, Anthony Santos, Jeff Lemelin, Mark Devillier, Lureen Ferretti and Michael Maes.
The British Underwater Photography Championship 2012
The British Society of Underwater Photographers (BSoUP) are holding the annual British Underwater Photography Championship also known as “the Splash-in”, at Plymouth, UK on Saturday 14 July. Categories for the contest include Marine Life, Mankind in the Sea, Humorous and a theme category which will be announced on 13 July. The judging and results will be announced at the Hotel Mount Batten, Plymouth on the evening of 14 July. BSoUP invites all underwater photographers to participate, whether they are members or not.
Wetpixel Editor Adam Hanlon will be attending the event and will be posting “live” coverage here on Wetpixel, so please check back during the weekends for updates and news.
The 2013 Raja Ampat Entrance Tag Design Contest
Wetpixel is proud to announce the 2013 Raja Ampat Entrance Tag Design Contest is now accepting entries. The winning design will be attached to every diver’s BCD that visits Raja Ampat, and will be printed 8,000 times. These tags will inevitably then travel the world over. The contest is looking for photographic or graphic design entries that capture the spirit of Raja Ampat diving, on a 5cm (2”) plastic disk. Prizes include holidays at a number of Raja Ampat resorts and liveaboards. The rules have been slightly revised for 2013, please make sure that you are familiar with them before entering.
The competition is open for entries from now until midnight on 15 August. The entries will be shortlisted and those selected will be put to the public vote here on Wetpixel until 15 September, with the eventual winner to be announced on 20 September. Good luck!
Sharks on a collision course
PEW Environmental group has published a report entitled ““Navigating Global Shark Conservation: Current Measures and Gaps” ahead of the gathering of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for the FAO Committee on Fisheries meeting in Rome this month. The report notes that “although 55 percent of sharks that have enough data available to assess them (150 species) are threatened or near threatened with extinction, current shark management is woefully inadequate.” It goes on to list and quantify the demand and supply chain for shark fin, emphasises the lack of protection for sharks, and underlines the shark’s important role in the marine ecosystem.
The full report is available to download as a pdf.
X-Ray Magazine 49 available for download
X-Ray Magazine has released its July 2012 issue. Contained with issue 49 are location articles about diving in Malpelo Island: Columbia’s Pacific coast, Israel: Journey beyond the three seas and Hornby Island: British Columbia. Matthew Meier documents a squid orgy in Southern California, Bartosz Stróżyński visits the Falkland’s South Georgia Island and there is full coverage of the Rebreather Forum 3 report by Michael Menduno. Lastly, point-and-shoot underwater photography is discussed by Larry Cohen.
X-Ray Magazine issue 49 is free to download in medium and low rez pdf versions, and in iBook format for iPad.