Tuesday, March 11th, 2008

Ars Technica reviews Aperture 2, compared

Dave Girard at Ars Technica reviews Aperture 2 and compares its RAW conversion to Bibble Pro, Capture One, and Lightroom.

Aperture 2 isn’t doing anything groundbreaking over the previous version, but the better overall speed and Quick Preview combined with background processing alone will be worth the cost of the upgrade for many users. If you’re just checking out Aperture since running like the wind from version 1.0, rest assured that Aperture 2.0 is a completely different animal and produces very good results most of the time. Its new interface is easier to navigate and is more customizable, so it will accommodate different users’ workflows…

Monday, March 10th, 2008

Fishing charter captain finds TOPP salmon shark tag

In August 2007, graduate student Aaron Carlisle SPOT tagged three salmon shark in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Salmon sharks “are big: they can grow to 10 feet long and weigh 900 pounds…and they can swim 50 mph.” After collecting data for six months, the tag popped off in Yakutat Bay and a $1,000 reward was offered to each of the six charter captains in the area. One captain, Geoff Widdows, searched for and found the tag after only four days.

Tagging of Pacific Predators (TOPP) has the full story, including photos of the tagging, the search, and the shark’s path recorded by the GPS beacon. Also, check out the TOPP poster (1.6mb PDF) advertising the shark tags.

Monday, March 10th, 2008

Erik Henchoz presents Digital Workshop in Marsa Alam, Egypt

Erik Henchoz has announced a digital workshop organized jointly with NITAL (Italian dealer for Nikon products), Diving Ocean and Fraco Sub (Italian importer of Sea & Sea products) to be held in Marsa Alam, Egypt from May 17-24, 2008.

Erik will have at the workshop new Nikon D300 and D80 digital SLRs and the accompanying Sea & Sea MDX-D300 housing and DX-1G underwater camera system. Diving in the Abu Dabab Bay, you may have the chance to “photograph the Abu Dabi Dugong, and, with a little chance, the Longimanus sharks of Elphinstone Reef.” Sign up soon - the registration deadline is March 19, 2008!

Friday, March 7th, 2008

Carol Grant Takes Rare Photos Of Newborn Manatee

Last week, Wetpixel Member Carol Grant (seagrant) took some extraordinary photographs of a newborn manatee in Crystal River, Florida. Manatee expert Bob Bonde commented “I am certain it is a newborn male calf probably born during the night. Photos of newborns underwater in the wild exist but are rare.” Carol has generously allowed Wetpixel to be first to showcase these remarkable shots. The photo (right) shows the newborn manatee on the back of an adult. Visit the forums for updates from Carol and more images.

On a personal note, I have been fortunate to visit Crystal River with Carol and see first hand her dedication to observing and photographing the manatees. I am very happy for her that her many hours in the water there have been rewarded with such a wonderful moment.

Friday, March 7th, 2008

Wetpixel launches surf photography forum

Wetpixel announces the immediately availability of a forum dedicated to surfing and wave photography! Surf photographers are a different breed of underwater photographers, but we hope you will take advantage of the vast amount of underwater photography knowledge here on Wetpixel. Likewise, we will learn from your knowledge, and will bow down before your bronzed figures.

Um… or something like that.

What I mean is… welcome! Share photos! Share techniques! The forum can always be found at http://wetpixel.com/surf, or you can navigate there through our general forums (near the bottom, Other Underwater Photography -> Surf Photography). Special thanks to Norbert Wu for encouraging us to start a surf photography area.

Thursday, March 6th, 2008

Moscow Golden Dolphin 2008 winners announced

The results of the 2008 Golden Dolphin International Photo and Film Festival have been posted, and we can see a few Wetpixel members who have been honored. The grand prize was awarded to Olga Kamenskaya for a photograph of sea lions, and to Danny Van Belle for the video The window of life.

Congratulate the winners on their placings in the Members in Media forum, or continue reading for the full press release from the festival…

Thursday, March 6th, 2008

London International Dive Show 2008 digital photo clinic

Wetpixel Associate Editor Alex Mustard will be co-hosting the Digital Photo Clinic, with Photoshop expert and Wetpixel member Saeed Rashid, at this coming weekend’s London International Dive Show (LIDS) on March 8-9, 2008. The session will run on both days between from 1:45PM-3:00PM and much of this interactive presentation will focus on helping you get better images. Alex will be advising on how to improve your in water photographic techniques and Saeed demonstrating how RAW conversion and Photoshop processing can improve those images you have already taken.

If you are thinking of coming to LIDS and would like direct feedback on how you can improve your shots please email two or three of your images to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (the address can handle files up to 20mb, so RAW’s or JPEG’s are fine). Alternatively you can bring your pictures to the show and give them directly to Alex on the BSoUP stand at the show.

Thursday, March 6th, 2008

Wetpixel joins Facebook

Wetpixel finally has a Facebook page! Since underwater photography and videography is, for the most part, a hobby for folks that are a bit further along in life, we didn’t see the need to create a Facebook page for a long time. But now that more and more folks out of college are signing up for Facebook, we need a presence there. Check it out, and become a fan!

If you don’t know what Facebook is, you should go over there and check it out. If it still doesn’t make sense, you probably wouldn’t use it, anyway. :)

Wednesday, March 5th, 2008

Fantasea announces FL-18 and FS-210 housings

Fantasea Line has recently released their FL-18 and FS-210 camera housings for the Nikon Coolpix L15/L16/L18 and S210 digital cameras, respectively. Both housings are rated to 200 ft, and feature access to essential camera functions, an anti-glare hood and built-in diffuser, and a 46mm threaded port ring for accessory lenses or filters.

As with all Fantasea housings, purchase includes a year of pre-paid flood insurance. These new products join a Fantasea lineup of housings for nearly all Nikon Coolpix cameras.

Tuesday, March 4th, 2008

Michael Patrick O’Neill is Pictures of the Year International winner

A photograph taken by Wetpixel member Michael Patrick O’Neill (Michael) was awarded First Place in the Science/Natural History category of the 65th Pictures of the Year International competition, the “largest, oldest and most reputable photo journalism competition in the world.”

The image of an underwater photographer and Goliath grouper, taken in South Florida, will be presented among other winning images during the awards ceremony at National Geographic in Washington, D.C. on April 17 and 18, 2008. Congratulations, Michael!

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