Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

Winter 2012 issue of Alert Diver published

The winter 2012 print and iPad versions of Alert Diver have been published and should be hitting US DAN members mailboxes and devices soon. Wetpixel member and Alert Diver publisher Stephen Frink has posted an article on his blog about the publication process. The magazine features include: Papua New Guinea by Michelle Westmorland and the Cocos Islands by Andy Sallmon and Alison Vitsky. Other articles take in Brian Skerry on “The Art of Marine Conservation” and a focus on “unique techniques” incorporates photography of bioluminescence, snoot photography and using pole cams.

Alert Diver as a print or iPad version is a member benefit of DAN US membership.

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

Dogs underwater images go viral

Huffington Post reports about Los Angeles based photographer, Seth Casteel, who “woke up to a bunch of money in my (his) bank account” after his images of dogs underwater were posted on social networking sites. His Facebook gallery has received nearly 30,000 likes and 22,000 shares since it was posted last week. He has also received over 1,000 requests for shoots from all over the world.

“”Over the course of several thousands of years, we’ve taken wolves and made them Boston terriers,” Casteel told Huffington Post. “But still, at the heart of it, dogs have wild instincts. For me, it’s all about seeing those wild instincts come through underwater. They’re getting back to being wild. They really love being wild. And under water, they have the best chance of doing that.”

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012

Maldives travel advice updated.

The UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has updated its travel advice for those wishing to visit the Maldives. The country’s democratically elected president Mohamed Nasheed stood down yesterday due to riots on the streets of the Maldivian capital Malé and reports of a widespread police mutiny. He has been replaced by a new leader, Mohammed Waheed Hassan and has blamed the collapse of his regime on a cabal of the country’s all-powerful hoteliers.

The FCO’s guidance advises visitors to avoid Malé, but states that:

“There are currently no reports of social unrest or demonstrations at Malé International Airport (which is on the island of Hulhule), or at the tourist resorts. The airport remains open and is operating normally. There have been reports of unrest on other non-resort islands generally around municipal buildings such as police stations and courtrooms. You should exercise caution and check with your tour operator or travel company for further information.”

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012

Review: Accusys A08S-PS RAID PCI Express

Steve Douglas provides an extensive review of the Accusys A08S-PS 8-bay RAID tower. He briefly reviews the functions and types of RAID available, and the goes on to test the Accusys in a “real-world” environment using the Black Magic Design Speed Test. He concludes that:

“It is abundantly clear that the ACCUSYS A08S-PS RAID is absolutely blazingly fast. Just for kicks, I used the Aja speed test to apply a 16 gig stress test and the results show a minimum reduction in the write mode and an actual slight increase in read speed.”

Monday, February 13th, 2012

Guide to Tropical Marine Fish app volume 3 released

Volume 3 of Guide to Andrea & Antonella Ferrari’s Guide to Tropical Marine Fish is now available from the iTunes store. The guide will eventually encompass 8 apps for iPhone and iPad. Each app comprises an archive of 100 different tropical fish species, and aims to allow a full immersion into the reality of the underwater tropical marine universe. Within the app, each species has a full-screen zoomable high-quality photo and a fully detailed info file describing common and scientific names, distribution, size, habitat, color, pattern, life habits and identification features.

Volume 3 is available now from the iTunes store for $2.99.

Sunday, February 12th, 2012

The Mentor

Wetpixel Senior Moderator Mike Veitch writes about the various opportunities that exist to improve our underwater photography. He looks into the PADI Digital Underwater Photography Speciality, on-location photo workshops, photo shootouts with celebrity judges and one on one photo pro courses. In his article, Mike lists the advantages and disadvantages of each type of program.

The Mentor is a part of a series of articles originally published in Scuba Diver Australasia magazine, which Mike has re-written and updated for Wetpixel.

Sunday, February 12th, 2012

Rethink the shark: Meet Wilson

The AfriOceans Conservation Alliance has released a public service announcement (PSA) as a part of their “Rethink the Shark” campaign. This is based around the fact that every time someone is bitten by a shark it gains international attention despite the statistical probability of such events being incredibly low. The new PSA features a new character called “Wilson” and was produced by a group of students from the Cape Town Animation School.

Friday, February 10th, 2012

Doug Allan to speak at the Broadcast Video and Production Show

Cameraman Doug Allan will be speaking on “Stay Cool in the Cold” at 11.00 on Thursday 16 February at the Broadcast Video and Production Show, Earls Court, London. He will also be present with some of his camera equipment on the Cameras Underwater stand at the show before and after his presentation.

Michael Pitts, Crispin Sadler and Richard Bull will be presenting a panel discussion at the same event on 14 February entitled “How to get the most of working Underwater for Film & Television.”

Thursday, February 9th, 2012

Olympus announce housing for E-M5

Tucked away in a press release put out by Olympus Australia are details of a housing for the newly released E-M5 EVIL camera. The PT-E08 is a departure from previous Olympus housing designs as it features a lens port that is bayonet-mounted and replaceable. The standard underwater lens port will accept the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 II, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 IIR and M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 9-18mm f4.0-5.6 lenses. Ports will also be available for two lenses; the ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 8mm f3.5 Fisheye and ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 50mm f2.0 Macro.

Prices and availability are still to be confirmed.

Wednesday, February 8th, 2012

Olympus announces plans for 60mm macro lens

In the press release about the new E-M5 EVIL camera, Olympus mention that they are working on producing the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 60mm F2.8 Macro for their EVIL cameras. It is further highlighted in a press release on the Olympus Global site. This will be the first truly useable macro lens for underwater use with EVIL systems. It will offer 1:1 life size magnification (equivalent to 2:1 in 35mm) at the closest focusing distance of 0.19m/0.62ft and will feature a dust and splash-proof design.

It is expected to launch by the end of the 2012. Specifications and price are not yet determined.

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