In those week’s episode of underwater photographer Norbert Wu’s favorite images column, he tells the story of how he came to be an underwater photographer, and shows us some of the first images he took. They were shot with a Nikonos IV and feature macro images of a spotjaw blenny (Acanthemblemaria rivasi).
When Carter Warden first started his Flickr page, it was more for a place to back up and display the thousands of underwater images he took in and around Tennessee. That’s why he was surprised when a National Geographic researcher contacted him about using two of his images for an upcoming project.
Sightings of basking sharks off the coast of Gloucester, Massachusetts are common this time of year, but not many people get to see them. Last friday local resident and drone enthusiast Martin Del Vecchio got a tip from a friend that basking sharks were right offshore. He headed down to the shoreline with his drone and captured some amazing footage of two large basking sharks gently cruising offshore.
Earth Touch’s Wild Oceans channel features footage from Andiamo in Indonesia shot by Wetpixel Moderator Mike Veitch. It features large schools of fish, from hundreds of yellow-spotted fusiliers (Caesio teres) to cruising batfish and a school of convict blennies (Pholidichthys leucotaenia) hovering close to the reef. Beautifully coloured soft corals, sponges and amazing sea fans decorate the sea floor.
Sealux has announced the HXP70 housing for the Sony PXW-X70 XDCAM compact camcorder. The aluminum housing features a rear display window allowing the camera’s monitor to be viewed. It has 90mm bayonet mount for ports and can be fitted with an external monitor if required.
Ikelite has announced a dome diffuser for their DS161, DS160 and DS125 strobes. The diffusers increase and soften the spread of the beam, while the material has a high transmissivity which allows the strobes’ full output through. The strobes’ color temperature is unchanged at around 4800°K when the diffusers are used.
When Pamukkale University’s Sea Turtle Research, Rescue and Rehabilitation center collaborated with the Turkish company Btech Innovation, they worked to fix the jaw of a wounded sea turtle. By using 3-D printer technology and titanium, a sea turtle whose only hope for survival would have been a life in captivity now has the chance to survive in the wild with a new titanium jaw.
Panasonic has announced the LUMIX DMC-G7 mirrorless micro 4/3s interchangeable lens camera. It offers 4K video at 30/24p, a 16.00-megapixel Digital Live MOS Sensor with the Venus Engine image processor and an ISO Range of up to 25,600. Autofocus is via contrast detection with low-light capability down to -4EV.
FIX is shipping their new Neo 1000 video/dive light. It has an output of 1000 lumen and user selectable 100° or 30° beam modes. It also features an LED screen giving information, internal or external charging and output control at 25% or 1% steps. Burn time is 120 minutes at high power in spot mode and 90 minutes at high power in wide mode.
The Bird’s Head Seascape reports that Dr. Mark Erdman has discovered and recorded a new species of cardinalfish endemic to specific areas of the Brird’s Head seascape. Cercamia melanogaste has been confirmed as a new species by DNA analysis in the Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation.