Thursday, March 10th, 2011

Photographer records remarkable nudibranch behavior

Brad Pryde captured an image of mating nudibranchs whilst diving in Tulamben, Bali in November 2010. He entered the image into the Ocean Art Photo competition 2010 in the compact camera behavior category where it received third prize and as a result of which it was viewed by Dr. Richard Willan, Curator of Molluscs at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Australia. He determined that the image shows reciprocal mating between two different species, the first time that this has been recorded. For the record, the two molluscs are a Risbecia tryoni (above) and a Risbecia pulchella(below.) He concluded that:

“So certainly, these species have never heard of sex as a species-isolating mechanism!”

Thursday, March 10th, 2011

Daily Mail reports on manta and mobula fishing.

The UK Daily Mail has published an article about the fishing of manta and mobula rays. The paper states that Chinese practitioners believe the consumption of the ray’s gills helps reduce toxins in the blood by purifying and cooling it, reducing body temperature and aiding blood circulation, and that they boost the body’s immune system. One kilogram of gill rakers from a mature Indonesian manta sells for up to $200 in the dried seafood markets of China.

The rays are pulled from the ocean, either with fine gill nets or spears, and slaughtered to meet this growing demand and it is reported that in some fishing villages in Indonesia alone, fishermen are catching more than 2,000 mantas each year. Due to slow maturation and reproductive cycles, this level of harvesting is likely to be unsustainable, the paper reports.

Thursday, March 10th, 2011

Avid releases Media Composer 5.5

Avid has released Media composer version 5.5. It is now available for download purchase from the Avid website ($149 upgrade for MC5 owners). The download is for the Avid MC 5.5 application only, it does not include the 3rd party software Avid calls the Production Suite. Boxed units with Production Suite will begin shipping March 18th. The only software in the Production Suite that has been updated is the Boris Continuum AVX, which goes from ver 6 to 7 while all other 3rd party software remains the same. It is available for Windows and Mac operating systems.

The upgrade download from version 5 costs $149, while the full product download is $1,895.00.

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

San Francisco Ocean Film Festival opens tomorrow

The eight San Francisco Ocean Film Festival opens tomorrow, 9 March with an opening-night filmmakers reception and screening from 6:30-10:00pm. The reception will be held at the Aquarium of the Bay before the first screening, which will be in Theatre 39 next door. The line-up for Wednesday night includes Yao Ming-Shark Fin Soup PSA by Kevin Donovan, The Krill is Gone by Jeffrey Bost and Matt Briggs, Sex Under the Sea by Etienne Verhaegen and Sanctuary in the Sea by Bob Talbot.

The Festival runs through until Sunday 13 March, with a full schedule of films. Please see the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival website for full details of screenings and for ticket availability.

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

Review: Eizo CG245W Self-Calibrating Computer Monitor

Steve Douglas presents a review of the Eizo CG245W Self-Calibrating Computer Monitor. This large screen 24.1” monitor is equipped with a spectroradiometer and software that allows the creation of custom color presets without any additional hardware or software. Eizio claim that:

“While the Apple Cinema Display and many other monitors on the market try to achieve 92% of the Adobe RGB, the Eizo CG245W ColorEdge series monitor, with its proprietary sensor achieves 98% of the Adobe RGB which translates into a wider color gamut and coverage. “

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

Full results of Nature’s Best Ocean Views contest announced

Nature’s Best Photography Magazine has announced the winners of the 2011 Ocean Views Photography Contest. Over 5,000 were received for the competition.The winning images will be displayed in the Nature’s Best Photography Ocean Views 2011 Awards gallery that will be published in our Spring/Summer print edition, due out in May. Additionally, the selected images may also appear in the Spring issue of Alert Divers magazine. Congratulations to all the winners and as always, to the many Wetpixel members featured in the results.

The next Ocean Views competition will open for entries for 6 June to 30 November, 2011.

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

X-Ray Magazine issue 41 available

Issue 41 of X-Ray Magazine is now available for download. Included in this issue is special coverage of the Cayman Islands by Cathy Church and Lawson Wood, Don Silcock on the mystical haven of Halmahera in the Maluku Islands, Rob Rondeau on the issue of wrecks leaking fuel and Aaron Gekoski on the shark finning crisis in Mozambique and the documentary film, Shiver. In addition, Keri Wilk writes on the use of snoots in underwater photography and Sayaka Kajita Ganz has her porfolio of wondrous fish sculptures made of reused plastic and metal objects featured.

X-Ray Magazine is a free download available in .pdf and iBook versions.

Monday, March 7th, 2011

New MPA announced for Cocos Islands

National Geographic is reporting that Costa Rica has just announced the creation of a large new marine protected area (MPA) around Cocos Island National Park. This new 9,640-square-kilometer MPA, called the Seamounts Marine Management Area, encompasses a group of deep seamounts located 35 miles south of Cocos, plus other important waters for shark and tuna nearby.

Purse seining for tuna is now outlawed in this area, but long-lining for tuna in some of its waters will still be allowed, which may still have a significant impact on the shark population. (Image © Conservation International/ photo by Sterling Zumbrunn.)

Sunday, March 6th, 2011

Review: Nik Software Silver Efex 2

A review of Nik Software Silver Efex Pro version 2. It’s predecessor was the industry standard in black and white conversion software, so we take a look at the latest version to see how it stacks up:

“Most pro photographers use different techniques, software or workflows to achieve their creative objectives. However, when talking about black and white or mono conversions, there seems to be a degree of unanimity. Although most image processing software contains mono options, if you pick most of the mono images you see around and ask how they were processed, the majority of answers will include reference to Nik Software Silver Efex Pro.”

Saturday, March 5th, 2011

DivePhotoGuide announces 2010 photo of the year

DivePhotoGuide (DPG) has announced that Debi Henshaw’s Ribbon Eel portrait was voted the best image of the year. This was based on a public vote for the favorite from among the winners of the DPG 2010 monthly photo competitions, Debi’s photo having been awarded first place in the January competition. Many congratulations to Debi.

On a similar note, 2010 Wetpixel Picture of the Week winners will be entered into a Picture of the Year competition. Please check back here soon for more details.

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