Alex Mustard and Martin Edge played host to over 240 underwater photographers in a packed lecture theatre at Imperial College, London on 6 November. UK equipment suppliers Cameras Underwater organized the event, with tickets on sale via their web site and in their shops. The fact that the turnout was so high is an indications of quite how eagerly awaited the Mustard/Edge combination lecture has been.
Technical Lighting Control (TLC) has released the Aqua LED 800 focus and video light. The lights maximum output is 800 lumens, and it can be dimmed via a single button control in four stages. It is powered by two Lithium rechargeable batteries that can be removed and replaced, and is housed in an aluminum casing.
It’s that time of year again! Wetpixel and our friends at DivePhotoGuide will be hosting our annual DEMA cocktail night on Thursday, November 18, 2010 from 7-11pm. I won’t be able to attend DEMA this year, but Sterling Zumbrunn and Adam Hanlon will be in Las Vegas covering the show for Wetpixel. Sterling, Adam and Jason Heller (DPG) will have information about the party, so track them down on the floor! As always, you can also keep your eyes on the Wetpixel.com front page for party details.
Remember: what happens at the Wetpixel/DPG DEMA party stays at the party… unless it is captured on camera and blasted all over the web!
Earlier this year, Nautilus announced the Nautilus Swell, a new boat in their liveaboard dive fleet. The Swell is a beautiful, 90-foot ship with 7 ensuite staterooms that accommodates up to 14 divers.
Wetpixel’s June 11-23, 2011 expedition to Alaska will now be aboard the newly-refit Nautilus Swell and will run from Juneau to Sitka. Photographer Jason Bradley leads the trip. We have transferred our charter over from the Explorer, and have 5 spots remaining. Continue reading for full details!
Panasonic has announced the release of the LUMIX GF2 Micro 4/3 camera. This interchangeable lens model features an aluminum body and has a smaller and lighter form factor than its predecessor, the popular GF1. Other features include a 12.1 megapixel sensor and full HD (1920 x 1080) recording capability at 60i/50i (NTSC)/(PAL).
The short film “Together: Dancing with Spinner Dolphins”, depicting the tender dance between New York choreographer/filmmaker Chisa Hidaka and wild dolphins premieres on 6 November, 2010 at two film festivals: The Big Apple Film Festival at Tribeca Cinemas in New York, USA and the Colorado Environmental Film Festival in Golden, Colorado. The film can also be downloaded.
The thirty-seventh Festival Mondial de l´image sous-marine was held in Marseille in France between 27 and 31 October 2010. The Festival, which moved from Antibes to Marseille two years ago, is a major meeting place for enthusiasts of underwater images and the marine environment. The honorary president for this year was Jean-Michel Cousteau. The Festival celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of his father, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, and many of those who took part in the Calypso odyssey were present.
Congratulations to all the winners, and it is great to see so many Wetpixel members in the list.
Commercial fishing around the Chagos Islands ended on 31 October making it officially the largest no-take marine protected area (MPA) in the world. Any remaining fishing licenses have now expired, following the British Foreign and Commonwealth Offices decision to create the MPA on 1st April.
It is estimated that around 60,000 sharks, an equal number of rays, and potentially countless other species, have been legally caught as by-catch from commercial fisheries over the past five years in Chagos, something that will be prevented as a result of the fishing ban. Dr Heather Koldewey, who manages Zoological Society of London’s international marine and freshwater conservation programme, says:
“The implementation of a no-take marine reserve in the Chagos will provide a highly unique scientific reference site of global importance for studies on both pelagic and benthic marine ecosystems and the effects of climate change on them.”
Currently estimates are that 1.17 per cent of the world’s ocean is under some form of marine protection, with only 0.08 per cent of these protected areas classified as no-take zones. Scientists are urging governments to set up more MPAs if they are ever to meet the agreed target of 10 per cent by 2012, agreed at the 2002 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
Grass Valley has announced the release later this month of its EDIUS Neo 3 editing package. it claims to have increased speed, wider format support, the ability to work with video formats up to 1080 50/60p and the fastest native AVCHD editing ability in the industry requiring no transcoding, even when different compression formats and image resolutions are mixed.
Also included is “3D Layouter”, a tool for managing 3D digital effects, an audio mixer, full-screen preview and motion menus for DVD and Blu-ray Disc production.
Posted in the forums, and recently shown at the “An Unforgettable Evening” event, Leandro Blanco’s short film “Dalirium” is inspired by artist Salvador Dali. Leandro asks:
“what if Salvador Dali could paint our oceans today?…” And “what would it be like if we could dive into that surrealistic abyss?…”