Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

Nauticam releases housing for Panasonic GF2

Nauticam has released a housing for the Panasonic Lumix GF2 EVIL camera. The NA-GF2 has access to all of the important controls on the camera including shutter release, zoom, movie record, and the control dial. The Fn (function) button is placed to be used by the right thumb. The GF2 command dial requires turning and clicking so Nauticam has separated the dial function into two separate controls on the housing. It also features a removable fibre optic bulkhead to allow for optical sync and TTL with external strobes, or the use of the internal flash. Ports are available for Lumix 4/3 lenses, including 14-24mm, 14mm, 8mm fisheye, Leica 45mm macro, Olympus 14-42mm and 9-18mm.

The NA-GF2 is available from 20 August 2011 at a retail price of $1750.

Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

Spaces available on Wetpixel Farnes seal trip

We have a few spaces available on the 2011 Wetpixel Farnes seal trip. We have booked skipper Paul Walker of Farne Island Divers for 5 and 6 September 2011; the late season being the best time for seal encounters. Paul has years of experience skippering and diving in the area, and many of the iconic seal images from the UK have been taken whilst diving with him. He runs a large RIB, which is the perfect platform for getting into the shallow areas that the seal prefer. Our aim is to get in the water for as long as possible with these amazing animals and to optimize the choice of dive sites to both our photographic needs and the prevailing conditions.

If you are interested, please contact Adam for more details or to book.

Sunday, August 14th, 2011

Sir Richard Branson swims with whale sharks

Wetpixel moderator, Shawn Heinrichs, has posted a film of the recent WildAid whale sharks trip to Isla Mujeres, Mexico onto Vimeo. Sir Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Group, was one of the participants, and he makes a plea for the cessation of shark finning:

“Believe it or not, some people cut the fin off these beautiful, beautiful creatures to eat and throw the rest of the whale shark back into the water to die. It’s too sad for words.”

Sunday, August 14th, 2011

Study show success of Mexican marine reserve

Scripps News has reported on a 2009 study conducted in the Cabo Pulmo National Park in Mexico’s Gulf of California by researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. It was carried out from 1999 to 2009 and that shows that the total number of fish in the reserve ecosystem increased over 460 percent within 10 years. The findings of the study are published in the Public Library of Science journal.

The survey also shows that fish biomass at the park has increased by 463 percent over the 1999 study, and that the biomass of top predators and carnivores increased by 11 and 4 times, respectively.

Sunday, August 14th, 2011

Shark week screens questionable footage

Shark Week on Discovery Channel, has thrown up some controversial footage. In the sequence, a tiger shark named Emma is baited and when she takes the bait, is pulled by the crew up towards the surface. The shark resists and the line holding the bait parts, causing the gantry arm to which it was attached to swing round and strike the crew. The film was shot by Guerney Productions as a segment called “How Sharks Hunt” with Dave Canterbury and Cody Lundin as presenters.

This raised two question: Firstly, is this sort of activity really acceptable for people’s entertainment and secondly, does this do any good for shark or marine conservation? Wetpixel moderator Drew Wong has posted about this in the forum and please feel free to discuss what, if any, action should be taken to attempt to stop filming like this from taking place.

Friday, August 12th, 2011

Dashwood announces 3D plug-in for FCP X

Dashwood Cinema Solutions has announced the Stereo3D Toolbox™ LE plug-in which provides the basic stereoscopic 3D post-production tools necessary to optimize stereoscopically acquired footage. The plug in will work within the latest versions of Adobe After Effects, Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Pro X, Final Cut Express, and Motion in Mac OS X Lion or Snow Leopard. It allows H.264 3D files from the GoPro 3D and Panasonic AG-3DA1 cameras to be imported directly into FCP X, for convergence adjustment via horizontal image translation and also to eliminate vertical, rotational and zoom disparity.

The plug-in has a free trial and costs $99.

Friday, August 12th, 2011

President Johnson Toribiong speaks on protecting sharks

An interview with President of Palau, Johnson Toribiong by Annie Crawley has been posted onto YouTube. He talks about declaring Palau a shark sanctuary to the United Nations and the need to protect all marine resources. President Toribiong believes we need the next generation to experience and love the Ocean so they grow up wanting to protect it. He states that:

“The need to protect our sharks much outweighs the need to enjoy a bowl of shark fin soup.”

Friday, August 12th, 2011

Call for entries: Outdoor Photographer of the Year 2011

The Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition 2011 (OPOTY) is calling for entries. Categories include British and world wildlife, junior, at water’s edge, spirit of adventure, nature in close up and between sunset and sunrise. The photographer whose image is judged to be best from amongst all the category winners will be announced as the Outdoor Photographer of the Year 2011.

Entry rules and procedures are listed on the OPOTYT website. Deadline for entries is 25 September, with the results to be announced in January 2012.

Friday, August 12th, 2011

Sony to release lens adapter for EVIL cameras

Photo Rumors has announced that Sony are planning to release an adaptor that will allow the use of A-mount lenses with NEX EVIL cameras.

Called the LA-EA2, the adaptor will have a translucent mirror to support AF. It is expected that the adaptor will be officially launched on 24 August, together with two new EVIL cameras and two new SLRs.

Friday, August 12th, 2011

Please act to save Australian grey nurse sharks

Grey nurse sharks (Carcharias taurus) have been protected in Australia since 1984 and were declared “critically endangered” in September 2008 by the NSW Fisheries Scientific Committee based on scientific evidence of their decline. A study in 2010 reported that recreational fishing methods (i.e. baited lines and jigging) were of “high risk” to grey nurse sharks in the area of Fish Rock, South West Rock; a NSW habitat where year-round aggregations of the sharks occurs.

In order to fulfil a pre-election policy promise, the newly elected state government has removed the existing fishing restriction in the area, and has now called for public consultation on the issue. Please use the online form to express your concern. As the form is somewhat aimed at Australian residents, local conservationists have suggested using the post code of 2431 on the form (this is the closest town to Fish Rocks). The closing date for submissions is 26 August.

Articles