Monday, October 10th, 2011

Paper published about catfish aggregations

Wetpixel member Rémi Masson (Plongeur74) has co-authored a paper about the aggregations of Wels catfish (Silurus glanis) that occur in the Rhône River, France. The study shows that the aggregation of these large fish causes the highest biomass of any fresh water species. This in turn, has significant effects in terms of the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen that these animals excrete entering the water.

The study did not find any specific cause for the aggregations, but was able to eliminate it as being due to schooling, reproduction, foraging or anti-predator behaviors. The full paper has been published in the Public Library of Science ONE (PLoS ONE) journal.

Friday, October 7th, 2011

California shark fin bill signed into law

From the Governor of California, Jerry Brown:

“SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today signed legislation to protect the oceans and the environment. AB 376, by Assemblyman Paul Fong (D-Cupertino), bans the possession and sale of shark fins in California. The practice of “finning” for culinary purposes has led to substantial declines in shark populations worldwide.

“The practice of cutting the fins off of living sharks and dumping them back in the ocean is not only cruel, but it harms the health of our oceans,” said Governor Brown. “Researchers estimate that some shark populations have declined by more than 90 percent, portending grave threats to our environment and commercial fishing. In the interest of future generations, I have signed this bill.”

While many countries have already banned the practice, it continues unabated in unregulated international waters. By banning the possession and sale of shark fins, California joins Hawaii, Washington, Oregon and Guam in an effort to reduce demand and protect shark populations.

In addition to AB 376, Governor Brown also signed a companion bill by Assemblyman Fong, AB 853, which allows existing stocks of on-hand shark fins to be sold until July 1, 2013.”

If that doesn’t make you smile on a Friday, nothing will!

Friday, October 7th, 2011

Zacuto releases part three of the 2011 Camera Shootout

Zacuto has published the third and final part of their 2011 Great Camera Shootout. This episode is entitled “It’s Not So Black & White,” and focuses on motion artifacts, color and skin tone. As per the previous testing, the Single Chip Camera Evaluation (SCCE) testing technique was used. Motion artifacts involves seeing how close the cameras render movement compared to the way the human eye views it. The color test was designed to show the subtle differences that are too difficult to quantify on a subjective chart or numbers scale and the “Three Faces” test placed three actors with varying skin tones in the same lighting conditions and challenged the camera’s contrasts

Camera models tested were: Arriflex-435, Alexa, Canon 5D Mk II, Canon 1D Mk IV, Weisscam-HS2, Nikon D7000, Sony F35, Phantom Flex, Panasonic AF-100, RED ONE M-X and Sony PMW-F3.

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

Underwater Journal issue 22 available

Issue 22 of the Underwater Journal is now available to download. It includes an article and portfolio of Wetpixel member Jeff Hartog’s (loftus) images as well as features about diving with Utila Agressor II, solo diver training, and diving in Florida.

Underwater Journal issue 22 is available as a free .pdf download.

Wednesday, October 5th, 2011

Results of the SoCal Shootout announced

The results of the first annual SoCal Shootout have been announced. The event had entries of images shot on San Diego wrecks and reefs, Orange County oil rigs, in the deep open ocean on blue-water dives, and at the Southern and Northern Channel Islands from 16 to 18 September.

The overall winner was Nayan Savla, with a black and white sea-lion image. Many congratulations are due to all the winners, and as always it is great to see so many Wetpixel members in the placings.

Wednesday, October 5th, 2011

Wetpixel Sharks and Dolphins expedition 2012

Wetpixel is teaming up with Jason Bradley and Jim Abernethy’s Scuba Adventures to offer a 7 day trip to the Grand Bahama Banks. The trip will be visiting Bahamian reefs for viewing and photographing tiger sharks, reef sharks, lemon sharks, and Atlantic spotted dolphins.

The trip will run from 21-27 June 2012, and demand is expected to be high. Please visit the trip’s page and email Jason for more information or to book.

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

Veolia Wildllfe Photographer of the Year preview

Discover Wildlife has published a sneak preview of some of the winning entries in the Veolia Wildlife Photographer of the Year for 2011. The article does not state which category or position the images have placed in but it features underwater images from Alex Tattersall, Cyril Ruoss, Clark Miller, Gennady Fedorenko and Thomas P Peschak. The competition’s page on the Natural History Museum site also features a slideshow of all 67 commended images.

The full results of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year will be announced on 19 October 2011 and the exhibition opens to the public at the Natural History Museum on 21 October.

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

Adobe launches Creative Cloud and Touch Apps

Adobe has announced the November release of two new products: Creative Cloud and Touch Apps. The Creative Cloud will allow users to access desktop and tablet apps, access creative services and share work. By early 2012, it will give access to the new Touch Apps as well as Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Premiere Pro and After Effects. Adobe will also be releasing new tools such as Adobe Edge and Muse. Pricing has not yet been announced.

Touch Apps includes six touch screen applications for tablet or mobile devices. Based on the Creative Suite, the Touch Apps include: Photoshop Touch, Collage, Debut, Ideas, Kuler and Proto. Touch Apps will be available for Android devices from November, with iOS probably following in early 2012. Each app will be priced at $9.99.

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

Paper on seahorse shape adaptation

Nature has published a paper entitled “An adaptive explanation for the horse-like shape of seahorses”last January, which postulates that the horse-like shape of the seahorse gives it a distinct advantage when feeding over its evolutionary relative and ancestor, the pipefish. The study used biomechanical analysis to “show that the seahorse’s peculiar head, neck and trunk posture allows for the capture of small shrimps at larger distances from the eyes compared with pipefish”. This in turn enlarges the volume of water they can probe for food.

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

Mail Online features images of river dolphins

The online version of the UK daily newspaper, the Daily Mail, has featured images by Mark Cawardine of the Amazon River dolphin or “boto”. The images were shot in the Negros River and the article highlights that river dolphin populations throughout the world are at threat due to pollution, habitat loss and over fishing. There are three other species of river dolphin, Franciscana from southeastern South America, the Ganges river dolphin from India, and the Indus river dolphin from Pakistan.

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