Wetpixel/Under The Jungle Cenote Workshop 2021
Articles
A short film about chivalry
Elly Wray of Ocean Frontiers has produced a short film of a flame box crab and his mate at Stingray City, Grand Cayman entitled “Chivalry”. Whilst the subjects aren’t altogether unique, the behavior that they show and the editing make the film a delight!
New mounting options and reduced prices for Housing Sentry
UnderWater Camera Stuff has announced a $100 reduction in the price of it’s Housing Sentry and three new mounting options. While the original units required the user to make an extra hole in the housing, the new options allow fitting via: A half-inch bulkhead, a bulkhead with an unused Nikonos connector or an unused bulkhead in a Nauticam housing. Using an existing opening simplifies the installation process.
The Housing Sentry creates a vacuum inside the housing and then monitors it to ensure a continued watertight seal.
Tony Wu releases results of humpback whale study
Tony Wu has released a summary of the results of his Tonga humpback whale calf study for 2010. This incorporates the 24 juvenile humpback whales that he was able to identify during the 2010 season. These results, when compared to those of the previous two years, are showing some interesting patterns emerging from the data. Only time will tell whether the trends continue, but it’s certainly rewarding to see results from the time and effort we’ve put in.
Tony would welcome input from anyone with sightings of the calves listed in his study, or of calves not listed from the 2010 season. He plans to return to Tonga this year, and may have a few slots available for interested parties.
Howard Hall’s sperm whale video from Dominica
Howard Hall has posted a video of a sperm whale encounter in Dominica taken a couple months ago with a RED camera / Gates housing. As expected, the footage is buttery smooth and has been paired with the perfect music. I’m not in any way taking credit away from Howard’s impeccable technique, but this brings up one of the main differences between large and small underwater video rigs. A large rig is inherently more stable; those of us who have taken underwater video using a housed dSLR know that it is almost impossible to get stable footage on the surface.
Randall Aruaz awarded Goldman Prize
Randall Aruaz has been awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for his work in drawing international attention to the inhumane and environmentally catastrophic shark finning industry and his leadership of the campaign to halt the practice in Costa Rica, making his country the new international model for shark protection. The Goldman Environmental Prize is the world’s largest award for grassroots environmentalists. Randall is quoted as saying:
“”Shark finning is not only cruel, it is irresponsible and unsustainable fishing at its highest degree. In spite of this, it has been close to impossible to attain any international binding management and conservation measures to curtail this practice.”
Gates VL24 video lights in action
Gates Underwater Products has released footage of test dives done with their VL24 video lights. Shot by Tom Jackson and Joe Berg, the unique footage is from Florida, including footage taken inside the Vandenburg, and on night dives on various reefs.
Sea & Sea announces MDX-D7000 housing
Sea & Sea has announced the release of the MDX-D7000 housing for the Nikon D7000 camera. It is machined from a solid block of aluminum, protected by a highly corrosion-resistant coating. Other features include: A port lock mechanism, two fiber optic ports and one optional electronic port and a built-in leak sensor.
Prices are still to be announced, and the housing will be available from March in the US.
Phuket dive sites closed
Phuket Wan Tourism News reports that seven coral reef sites off Phuket and the Andaman Coast will be closed to divers from Friday 21 January 2011, with the intention of keeping the sites closed for up to five years. The closures are in response to the coral damage caused by the bleaching episodes during 2010. The sites affected are in Phang Nga, Krabi, Satun and Chumporn provinces, and the penalties for diving on the closed sites include a penalty of between 1000 baht and 10,000 baht.