Wetpixel/Under The Jungle Cenote Workshop 2021
Articles
Cook Islands declares shark sanctuary
The BBC reports that the Cook Islands has approved the creation of a shark sanctuary within its waters, which abuts onto the one created by French Polynesia last week. This gives an area of around 6.7 million square kilometers (2.6 million square miles) in which shark fishing and the sale or possession of shark products is banned. Teina Bishop, Cook Islands minister of marine resources, said:
“We join our Pacific neighbours to protect this animal, which is very vital to the health of our oceans, and our culture.”
Adobe updates Lightroom and Camera RAW
Adobe has released the final versions on Lightroom 4.3 and Camera RAW 7.3, both of which had been released as release candidates earlier. The new versions have added 20 new cameras including: Canon EOS 6D, Canon PowerShot S110, Canon PowerShot G15, Canon PowerShot SX50 HS, Nikon 1 V2, Nikon D600, Olympus PEN E-PL5, Olympus PEN E-PM2, Olympus STYLUS XZ-2 iHS, Panasonic DMC-GH3, Sony DSC-RX1, Sony NEX-VG30 and Sony NEX-VG900. It also adds support for retina displays, fixes the issues of AVCHD videos not importing correctly, TIFF files having tonal shifts and the problem that occurs when deleting the top image in a stack making all the images disappear.
For a full list of new camera support and bug fixes, please see the Lightroom Journal. The updates are available via the update mechanism within Lightroom or Photoshop.
Microsoft updates Raw support
Microsoft has released a Camera Codec Pack for Windows Vista, 7 8 and RT, The update allows native Microsoft applications to view Raw files and in this case, adds support for 43 new camera models. These include: EOS M, EOS-1D X, PowerShot G1 X, PowerShot G12, PowerShot G15, PowerShot S100, PowerShot S110, 1 J2, CoolPix P7000, CoolPix P7100, OM-D E-M5, PEN E-PL2, PEN E-PL3, PEN E-PM1, XZ-1, Lumix DMC-FZ150, Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix DMC-GF2, Lumix DMC-GF3, Lumix DMC-GH2, Alpha NEX-7 and Alpha NEX-C3.
Windows Vista and 7 users will have to download the update from the Microsoft support site, whilst Windows 8 and RT users will be able to access the Codec Pack via Windows Update.
Our World Underwater and DEEP Indonesia call for entries
Wetpixel and DivePhotoGuide’s in-house competitions have been announced and are now calling for entries. Together, they represent over $80,000 worth of prizes, supplied by our amazing competition sponsors. Our World Underwater 2013 has categories for macro and wide-angle in both restricted and unrestricted classes, compact, novice, video and commercial, conceptual and fashion. DEEP Indonesia 2013 has categories for divers, animal portrait, animal behavior, reefscapes , compact cameras and two new ones for 2013: Surf and sharks.
OWU has a deadline of 19 January 2013 and DEEP Indonesia’s is 10 February 2012. Full details, rules and entry requirements are on the UnderwaterCompetition.com website.
Beluga aggregation from the air
Arctic Watch has posted an amazing aerial image of the annual beluga whale aggregation that occurs in the Canadian arctic each year on its Facebook page. To quote Arctic Watch’s Richard Weber:
“Every summer about 2,000 beluga whales go to Cunningham inlet in Nunavut to take advantage of the warmer water to molt their skin, nurse their young and socialize. They stay for about one month.”
During this period, the whales come very close to shore, sometimes “only a few feet away” from photographers. The aerial image was shot from a Twin Otter aircraft by Gretchen Freund of Arctic Watch.
Nauticam announces the NA-D600 housing
Although an early version was shown at the 2012 DEMA show, Nauticam has today announced the final version of their housing for the Nikon D600 SLR camera. The new hoeing is smaller and lighter than existing Nauticam designs, and features dual paddle levers on both left and right hand sides. These control video record and AE-L/AF-L on the right and playback and ISO on the left. The NA-D600 has a new design of mode dial control, which allows the mode dial to be locked in position. The housing has fiber optic strobe triggering ports as standard, but is equipped with an accessory port for the addition of an electronic flash trigger bulkhead, HDMI bulkhead or other accessory.
The NA-D600 will be available from 20 December at a US retail price of $3,300.
Sea Save Foundation hosts charity auction
The Sea Save Foundation has launched its annual charity auction. Now in its second year, the online event has increased in size with over 40 items up for grabs, including dive trips, insightful lunches with Hollywood producers, underwater imaging equipment, books and art. All the items have been donated to generate funds for Sea Save’s conservation and environmental education projects.
For a full list of the items and to place your bids, please see the auction’s page on Charitybuzz. This is a great way to help the oceans and get some great deals.
Histograms Explained available in the App Store
Newmediasoup, in conjunction with photographers David Fleetham and Marty Snyderman, has released a new app which aims to explain how a camera’s histogram works and can be used to gauge correct exposures underwater. Entitled “Histograms Explained”, the app has eight sections of tips, with photographic examples accompanying the text and explanations. Suitable for iPad and iPhone, it is fully narrate and has quizzes to reinforce the learning.
“Histograms Explained” is available now in the App Store at $4.99.