Wetpixel/Under The Jungle Cenote Workshop 2021
Articles
Close Focus: Rig Diver by Alex Mustard
Wetpixel, in conjunction with PADI, has launched a series of columns discussing the stories behind great images. The goal is to show how amazing imagery does not normally occur by chance, but is due to dedicate, technique, research and experience. The profusion of and accessibility to underwater imagery has lead to a misbelief that achieving great imagery is somehow “easy.” In this inaugural edition, Wetpixel Associate Editor Alex Mustard, talks about how he achieved his award winning image of a cormorant hunting beneath an oil rig off California.
SwellPro announces Splash Drone 3
SwellPro has announced a new amphibious drone. The SwellPro Auto 3 can land and take off from/in the water and is equipped with a camera with a 1/2.3” CMOS sensor on a waterproof gimble. It can capture 4K video and 14 MP stills. It can fly in winds up to Beaufort Force 4 and has a 16 minute flight time per charge.
Winners of the 2017 University of Miami Underwater Photography Contest announced
The winners of the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science 2017 Annual Underwater Photography Contest have been announced. Marchione Giacomo’s photograph of a cleaner shrimp (Periclimenes venustus) on the tip of a black-saddle snake eel (Ophichthus cephalozona) sticking out of the sand in Raja Ampat was the overall winner.
tutvid posts 4 hours of free Photoshop tutorials
YouTube Channel tutvid has posted 4 tutorials with over 4 hours of in-depth details about 30 techniques within Photoshop that are useful to photographers. Entitled “30 Techniques Every Photographer/Retoucher Needs to Know!” the mini course is free to view.
NOAA Launches Virtual Dive Gallery
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has posted a Virtual Dive Gallery that features 360° virtual reality images of five U.S. National marine sanctuaries. Currently featured are: The ship graveyard of Thunder Bay in Lake Huron, the Florida Keys, Gray’s Reef in Georgia, Flower Garden Banks in the Gulf of Mexico, and the coral reefs around American Samoa.
Free Online Shark Course returns
Cornell University and The University of Queensland have announced that they will be running their Sharks! Global Biodiversity, Biology, and Conservation online course again. The course starts on 25 July and is completely free, although it is possible to purchase an optional completion certificate for $49. It will run over a total of 4 weeks, with 4 to 6 hours required per week.
Jellyfish Lake closure announced
The Republic of Palau government has announced that the famous Jellyfish Lake (Ongeim’l Tketau) will remain closed to visitors. Severe drought had affected the numbers of endemic golden jellyfish in early 2016, and the continued closure is to allow the authorities “to better understand the factors negatively impacting the Jellyfish Lake and to inform appropriate policy decisions and management actions.” (Image from Shutterstock.)
How blue whales became the largest animals to ever live on earth
In a study published this week in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B scientists have zeroed in on the cause and effect of blue whales colossal size. The scientists equated whale gigantism to climatic change and greater food source. Since baleen whales such as blues, fins, and bowhead whales filter feed on small organisms, a boom in krill and other similar food sources sparked the leap to giant size. Prior to the boom, which correlated with ice sheets covering the Northern Hemisphere 4.5 million years ago, blue whales were a fraction of the size they are today.