Wetpixel/Under The Jungle Cenote Workshop 2021
Articles
New study collates manta sightings
A paper published in the Public Library of Science (PLOS) ONE journal has collated the sightings of manta rays (Manta alfredi) at Lady Elliot Island in the southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The sightings were then compared to behavioural, weather and oceanographic data collected over a three-year period, in order to examine the link between the relative number of sightings of manta rays, the biophysical environment, and the habitat use of individuals. The results suggest that mantas visit specific sites for different purposes and that he overall number of manta rays at the island was higher in autumn and winter, around the new and full moon, and when wind speeds were lower. The sighting data was collected by volunteer divers and staff at local diver operators, highlighting the role of “citizen scientists” as an important tool for data collection.
Photo essay: The BLUE Ocean Film Festival 2012
Jason Bradley of Bradley Photographic and Wetpixel Editor Eric Cheng present an exclusive photographic report of the 2012 BLUE Ocean Film Festival. This was held from 24 to 30 September in Monterey, California. Jason writes that BLUE isn’t just a film festival, as it also plays host to a conservation summit, industry seminars, panel discussions, lectures and, of course, film showings. This year, it even had submersibles on display from Nuytco and the Virgin Oceanic.
Jason and Eric have provided Wetpixel members with a unique pictorial record of the 2012 event. .
Nauticam receives Red Dot Awards
Nauticam International Managing Director and Wetpixel member Edward Lai, with Nauticam General Manager Jacqueline Lai received two Red Dot design awards at a ceremony held at Essen, Germany. Nauticam’s ND-D7000V housing and their White Balance Dome Port both received product design awards for 2012. Both products will now form part of an exhibition of product design at the world’s largest permanent exhibition of contemporary design. Nauticam are the first housing manufacturer to have been selected for a Red Dot award.
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Nauticam announces housing for Panasonic LX-7
Nauticam has announced the release of their housing for the Panasonic DMC LX-7. The NA-LX7 is a very compact housing offering full access to all camera controls from the grip sculpted into the housing including the camera’s aperture ring and built-in neutral desity filter.
Additional features include removable fiber optic ports for strobe triggering and both M10 threaded and cold shoe attachment points on the housing body. The NA-LX-7 will be available from 20 October at a retail price of $950.
Sea Sanctuary Trust seeks volunteers
The Sea Sanctuary Trust is seeking individuals to volunteer to assist with its conservation operations in Raja Ampat, Indonesia. The organization is looking for a Project Leader, a marine biologist and qualified divers to conduct marine surveys, manta tows, commercial fish biomass assessments, habitat description and collation, cetacean surveys, teach snorkeling to local students and adults, teach English language programs and to assist with marine patrol system development.
If you are interested, further details can be found on the Sea Sanctuary Trust website.
Call for entries: Ocean in Focus 2012
The Ocean in Focus contest this year will focus on the human-ocean connection. The Marine Photobank is seeking entries depicting human impacts on the ocean, its inhabitants and its resources, both good and bad. The photo contest is open now and will accept photos until January 31, 2013. The Finalists will be selected based on their photo submissions and will then be eligible to compete in the second stage of the contest. they will be required to submit 3-4 images for a photo essay of 400-600 words. The judges will judge the photo essays and the winner will receive recognition as SeaWeb’s Photographer Of The Year.
Olympus updates OM-D E-M5 firmware
Olympus has released a firmware update for its OM-D E-M5 EVIL camera. Firmware 1.5 includes the changes promised for the suspended firmware v1.2 and also allows the use of the camera’s in-body stabilization while video recording when using non-native lenses. This requires that the lens’ focal length is specified. The update also reduces the humming noise generated by the camera’s stabilization system. The update can be downloaded and installed via the Olympus Camera Updater software.
the update is a free download available from the Olympus support site. (Link is to Olympus USA).
Adobe updates Lightroom and Camera Raw
Adobe has released full versions of Lightroom 4.2 and Camera Raw 7.2. These were both available as release candidates previously. Both updates add significant support for new cameras, including the Nikon D600, Canon EOS 650D (Rebel T4i), EOS M, Fujifilm X-E1, Panasonic DMC-G5, Sony NEX-5R, NEX-6 and RX100. A large number of bugs have also been patched in both programs.
Lightroom 4.2 for Windows and Mac is available on the Adobe site or via the in-built update process within Lightroom. Camera Raw updates via the mechanism in Photoshop CS6.