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News - July 2006

Please send items for the News to Brian Pitkin

Sunfish in Cornwall - Google News
Splash In people
Focus on - Wide-angle - July
Linda Pitkin's Exhibition moves
BSoUP Print Exhibition closes
BSoUP July Meeting

UwP - latest issue free!
Last chance to visit the BSoUP Exhibition
Basking sharks invade Devon and Cornwall
Petition to stop whaling
Alan James scoops Grand prize at BSoUP Splash-in

Sunfish in Cornwall - Google News

Here comes the sunfish, riding on the crest of a heatwave
Independent, UK By Paul Kelbie. Britain's unusually high summer temperatures are attracting more than the usual sun worshippers to the Cornish coast. ...

Warm Cornish waters attract new marine life
Guardian Unlimited, UK. Sunfish feed on jellyfish, which generally live in warm waters. Scientists claim the existence of both in Britain proves the waters are getting hotter. ...

The two-tonne fish swim in with the heatwave
Independent, UK. Giant ocean sunfish have been spotted in UK waters off the south-western tip of Cornwall during an aerial survey of marine life. ...

Summer sun brings sunfish shoal
BBC News, UK. Giant ocean sunfish have been spotted off the Cornish coast in a survey of marine life. Nineteen sunfish, generally thought to be ...

Heat lures jumbo sunfish
The Sun, UK By JOHN COLES. A SHOAL of 19 massive sunfish has been spotted off Cornwall — lured by Britain’s heatwave. The monsters weigh ...

UK: marine wildlife surveys detect ocean sunfish invasion off ...
Fish Update, UK. - A MARINE wildlife aerial survey team have detected a sudden influx of the world’s largest bony fish, the giant ocean sunfish, into Cornwall ...

Sunfish spotted off Cornwall
Practical Fishkeeping, UK. An aerial survey of marine life has revealed the presence of numerous giant Oceanic sunfish living off the coast of Cornwall in south west England. ...

Giant ocean sunfish spotted in UK waters
24dash.com, UK. Giant ocean sunfish have been spotted in UK waters during an aerial survey of marine life. The sunfish, which can weigh more than ...

Giant ocean sunfish seen off Cornish coast
PhysOrg.com, VA. An aerial survey has reportedly detected a sudden influx of the world's largest bony fish - the giant ocean sunfish -- into Cornwall's coastal waters. ...

Splash In people

Images of people taken on the day of the Splash In at the Mount batten Centre have now been posted to the website.

If you have any digital images taken on the day that you would like to see on this page, please forward them to Brian Pitkin.

Focus on - Wide-angle - July

1st - J P Trenque - 51 points
2nd - Steve Jones - 47 points
3rd - Anita Marshall - 42 points
4th - Tony Baskeyfield - 37 points
5th - Alexander Mustard - 27 points
6th - Martha Tressler - 25 points

Congratulations! The first two each month qualify for the final in October, at which the overall winner will receive the BSoUP 'Focus On' Trophy - see Focus On

Linda Pitkin's Exhibition moves to London Zoo Aquarium

BSoUP member Linda Pitkin's Exhibition of prints has moved from the The Gallery Dental Practice in Cuckfield, Sussex to London Zoo Aquarium.

The exhibition runs from 19 July to 3 November and features a selection of her stunning images of marine animals and scenes from tropical and temperate waters around the world.

London Zoo is open every day except Christmas from 10.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. until 23 October and to 4.00 p.m. there after. There is a charge for admission unless you are 3 or under!

Further details www.lindapitkin.net

BSoUP Print Exhibition closes

Our 2006 Splash-in Print competition has now finished a very successful run at the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth.  With 56 British prints and 78 Overseas prints we had more than twice the number of entries as last year.  We were delighted with both the quantity and quality of the entries and with the excellent venue in the Aquarium overlooking Plymouth Sound. Aquarium staff have told us that they received numerous compliments about the exhibition from visitors with several hundred taking the opportunity to vote for the winners.

Congratulations to Simon Brown (winner, British prints) and Charles Hood (winner, Overseas prints).

And many thanks to those who put significant time and effort into creating the exhibit – Gill McDonald who opened, sorted and logged every one of those 134 entries, Gill, Anthony Holley, Jane Morgan and JP Trenque who gave up a Saturday evening to prepare the prints for display, Anthony who accompanied me to Plymouth to set up the display and Dave Peake (our “man in Plymouth”) who helped set up the display, kept an eye on things throughout and took it all down at the end!  Also thanks to the Aquarium staff, in particular Emma Knapman, who helped with the set up, counted the votes and looked after things for the five weeks of the display.

Martha Tressler

BSoUP July Meeting

The next BSoUP meeting takes plcae on Wednesday 19th July 2006 at 7.30 for 8.00 p.m. in The Holland Club, Imperial College, South Kensington, London SW7. See Directions with linked maps.

A real treat this month, we are thrilled to present an evening with Peter Scoones.

Splash-in 2006 review by the event's MC and our president and webmaster - Brian Pitkin.

Focus on - Wide Angle - Slides: see Rules and instructions. Digital images: See Web submission form .

Main Event: Peter Scoones

It is hard to know where to begin describing Peter's career. He has been a videographer on 'The Blue Planet', 'Planet Earth', 'Life in the Freezer'.... the list goes on.

Peter will talk about using and developing underwater broadcast video equipment from the first Live outside broadcast to 'The Blue Planet' and will include the amazing High Definition technique for 'Planet Earth' and 'Galapagos'.

Starting underwater photography with the RAF in Singapore, his first film 'Breathless moments' won the premier award at the 1st Brighton International Film Festival.

Peter has won countless awards and accolades including the coveted Palm D'or at Antibes three times and two Emmys for Photography for 'The Blue Planet' and 'Great White Shark' which he filmed for the BBC and National Geographic.

Peter was also co-founder of BSoUP in 1967 with Colin Doeg and still attends meetings regularly when filming allows. We are really excited to be seeing him on Wednesday and do hope those of you who can will be able to come along.

gill mcdonald

Underwater Photography is a web magazine edited by Peter Rowlands with articles by BSoUP members (Alex Mustard, JP Trenque and Peter Rowland) and others.

The July/August 2006 issue of Underwater Photography (UwP no. 31) is now available for download free at Underwater Photography.

BSoUP Exhibition at the National Marine Aquarium

Last chance to visit the BSoUP Exhibition

The prints entered into BSoUP's annual Splash-in competition will be displayed at the National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth until this Friday - 14 July. If you are in the Plymouth area this week, do drop in and take a look. A total of 134 prints, 56 British and 78 Overseas, were submitted for the exhibition in conjunction with BSoUP's annual Splash-in.

Basking sharks invade Devon and Cornwall

Large numbers of Basking sharks have been reported feeding off the south coast of Devon and Cornwall. Last Wednesday, the Western Morning Post carried an article by well known BSoUP member and Dive's Chief correspondent Charles Hood. On Monday, after the BSoUP Splash-in, four members - JP, Jane, Linda and I - joined Charles on the RIB he jointly owns with John Boyle to snorkel with these incredible animals at Mousehole. Despite the overcast and slightly choppy conditions [you should have been here last week!] this was a truely amazing experience. We came across a group of 15-20 sharks feeding close together and most of us got some great images. Linda's best shot (right) was taken with a Nikonos V and 15mm lens on Fuji Provia 100 at f.4 at 1/125th - pushed 1.3 stops. See also: Basking Shark Identification Project & Basking sharks - Code of Conduct

Basking shark by Linda Pitkin

Petition to stop whaling

Every year thousands of whales are slaughtered in the name of so-called 'scientific research'.

Whales Revenge is an ambitious campaign to gather 1 million signatures for a petition to stop whaling.

Please visit their website at www.whalesrevenge.com to sign their petition and please forward their web address to everyone you know.

[6-July-2006]

Alan James scoops Grand Prize at BSoUP's Splash-in

Congratulations to Alan James who's close-up digital image of a lobster was the overall winner on the day at our recent annual Splash-in. Alan was awarded the Grand Prize, a week's holiday on one of Tony Backhurst Scuba's Red Sea liveaboard boats generously donated by Tony Backhurst.

Alan's image was selected by a panel of judges comprising Kelvin Boot, Director of the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, John Boyle, a well-known freelance videographer and the Society's co-founder Colin Doeg. Colin stood in at the last moment for Tony Backhurst who was unable to attend. Full results