Friday, September 5th, 2008

Manta Fest 2008 Wetpixel Coverage - Day 3

We have had two good days of manta action so far—I guess it must have to do with the name “Manta Fest!” Our first day featured 2 dives at Goofnuw Channel, and both proved to be successful. We had encounters with three different mantas on the first dive and one long encounter with a small male manta on the second.

The evening was capped off with drinks in the restaurant and a slideshow by Eric Cheng on the big screen. The slide show was entitled “Big Animals” and featured some of Eric’s best photos of large marine animals from around the world: sharks, rays, whales, dolphins, sea lions, pigs, and more. The show created a good buzz amongst the crowd with many folks asking him for his autograph! (well, maybe just Mike..) ...

Friday, September 5th, 2008

Dome Port Diaries - Introduction

Getting my first underwater camera reminded me a lot of having a child; an insanely expensive endeavor that you somehow instinctively know you will take on “someday”, it’s just a matter of knowing when you’re ready. With children, a friend once noted, “If you wait until you’re ‘ready’ to have children, you’ll never have them.” I think the same is true of an underwater camera system…

Friday, September 5th, 2008

Fantasea Line X Flash Naming Competition

Fantasea Line has announced the upcoming release of a new underwater flash for compact digital housings with a guide number of 20 and designed with four pre-flash settings and power output adjustable from 10% - 100%. Built to utilize 4xAA batteries, the flash is fiber-optic cable compatible, and can deliver approximately 240 flashes per charge.

There’s just one problem - the Fantasea X Flash is as yet unnamed. Fantasea Line wants your help to name this new product, and is offering a free Nano Double Pro Lighting Set if the name you suggest is selected! Continue reading for more information about this new product and details on how to submit a name - submissions must be received before October 1, 2008!

Thursday, September 4th, 2008

Tony Wu blogs from Tonga: Week Four with Humpbacks

Wetpixel friend Tony Wu has sent in an update to his fourth week of encounters with the humpback whales of Tonga:

After a nice spell of weather at the beginning of the week, a big rainstorm hit on Wednesday evening, and the weather really deteriorated again this week on Friday. We were out on the water, getting beaten up by 20+ knot winds, criss-crossing chop, whitecaps, tall swells and occasional cold, pelting rain. Not nice.

It is, of course, possible to go look for whales when it’s dark, grey and raining. It’s the winds that really make things difficult though, especially if you’re in a small speedboat. Within a few minutes, you feel both shaken and stirred, with a good measure of scrambled tossed in. The splash and spray kicked up by the winds gets in your eyes. It’s difficult to see your hand in front of your face, much less detect the subtle nuances of whale breath…

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008

Manta Fest 2008 Wetpixel Coverage - Day 1

Wetpixel’s Eric Cheng and Mike Veitch have both arrived in Yap to help host Manta Fest 2008. Great weather has greeted us with sunny skies and flat seas - this is Eric’s second visit to the island and a return to home for Mike who lived here for close to 3 years before relocating to Bali.

The festivities of Manta Fest 2008 kicked off tonight with a welcome cocktail and introduction of the week’s activities by Bill Acker, the founder of Manta Ray Bay Hotel and a legend of Micronesian diving. It also gave a chance for Mike and Eric to introduce themselves and explain a little about what they will be doing over the coming two weeks. The schedule for tomorrow’s first official Manta Fest day was introduced, and the morning dives will be at the famous Goofnuw Channel…

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008

2008 9th annual San Diego Undersea Film Exhibition coverage

The 9th annual San Diego Undersea Film Exhibition (UFEX) was two weekends ago, August 22 and 23, at the magnificent Qualcomm Hall auditorium, with its state of the art digital projection system. Thirty two of the 60 films submitted made the final cut, all but five in high definition. Attendance numbered over 900 for the two nights.

The first exhibition was held in 2000, featuring short videos limited to 5 minutes maximum, with no entry fees and no prizes except for the distinction of having your film selected by the panel of three independent judges. The same principles are in force today, as the show has become international in scope with near sellout crowds…

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008

NYUPS hosts presentation on Digital Workflow Basics

On September 2, 2008, the New York Underwater Photographic Society (NYUPS) will host an informal presentation by society president Jason Heller on “Digital Workflow Basics.” Topics may include a comparison between “RAW vs. JPEG, whether megapixels really matter, histograms and white balance, color space, cataloging, editing, and the best options for backups.”

The event will be held at 7PM at the Arctica Bar & Grill in New York, NY. Admission is free by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) - to learn more or confirm your attendance, continue to view event details...

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008

Online underwater show TheUnderwaterChannel.tv 2008 launch

TheUnderwaterChannel.tv is an online underwater on-demand TV show created by Nicholas Claxton that has relaunched today, September 1, for the 2008 season. Dedicated to “exploring the mysteries and the marvels of the underwater world,” it is produced by divers and conservationists, and involves Julie Anderson of the Shark Angels, and Wetpixel’s own Dr. Alex Mustard for the monthly program “Splash!” and a “Creature Feature” look at underwater species, respectively.

Continue reading for the full press release with more information, or continue to TheUnderwaterChannel.tv to begin watching…

Friday, August 29th, 2008

Diving with sixgill sharks in Seattle

Wetpixel’s Eric Cheng and Matt Segal returned recently from a trip to Seattle to dive with and photograph sixgill sharks.

Travis told us that sixgill sharks typically show up “between 9:30pm and 10:30pm.” And it is certainly not a sure thing. The last expedition had been virtually skunked, with only one brief encounter over three nights of diving.

We were lucky. Just as the sun was going down, multiple sixgill sharks appeared on camera. They were actually quite difficult to see in the video feed beamed from the site, but the hypnotic waving of their long, ribbon-like tails provided enough for a clear ID.

Check out the full trip report for photos, videos, and more.

Friday, August 29th, 2008

Nikon announces D90 SLR

Nikon has announced the D90 digital SLR, a 12-megapixel camera capable of shooting at 4.5 fps. The new D90 emphasizes Live View mode, and is the first SLR capable of shooting video. Video is 720p high definition, and the camera can shoot for 5 minutes at a time. The D90 also feature face-recognition and support for the new GPS Unit GP-1, an unobtrusive hotshoe attachment that allows the camera to store GPS information in each image’s metadata.

It is still unclear whether the D90 will fit into any existing underwater housings, but Wetpixel members are already discussing the possibility in the forum.

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