Wide-angle techniques by Keith Lyall

For BSoUP Members who missed the September meeting or need a recap, Keith Lyall has prepared a pdf file of the slides from his presentation on Wide-angle techniques.

Members only may select the pdf document in the document archive but you will be prompted to login if you haven't already done so this session.

Keith has been diving since 2000 and is a PADI Divemaster. Prior to learning to dive Keith was a keen land photographer and as such underwater photography was a natural extension of this interest, in fact the interest was significantly rekindled through diving. To learn more about Keith and see some of his images please visit www.kclyall.co.uk

Google adds coral reef panoramas to Street View maps

Panoramic images of several coral reefs have been added to Google's Street View service in its maps, allowing users to navigate their way around the sites.

The material was gathered by the Catlin Seaview Survey - a project studying the health of the reefs, including the impact of global warming.

The programme's director said the effort would help scientists analyse ecosystems and raise general awareness.

It is also a publicity coup for Google at a time of growing competition.

Google has previously offered computer-generated views of the sea floor terrain, but this is the first time it has incorporated underwater photographs into its mapping product.

Read more on BBC Website

NUPG - Next Meeting

Monday 8th October, 2012

The next meeting of the Northern Underwater Photography Group takes place on Monday 8th October at the Gurkha Grill, West Didsbury, Manchester (map).

Guest Speaker: Paul "Duxy" Duxfield
Title: "To Infinity and Beyond: Mirrorless Magic"

Duxy will be weaving his magic for the NUPG audience on Monday 8th October, showing us his wonderful images from recent trips to Egypt and Indonesia with Scuba Travel. He will be singing the virtues, and giving us the low down, of the mirrorless camera systems available today. Duxy is a superb public speaker, so please try and come along! £5 for non-members. All welcome.

The monthly competition theme is "The Top 1m"

For more details of venue, times and competition entry please visit www.nupg.org.uk

Northern Underwater Photography Group

CORNSoUP - Next Meeting

Monday 15th October

The next meeting of CORNSoUP takes place on Monday 11th October, 2012 at the Watersports Centre, Falmouth at 7.00 for a 7.30 start.

Charles Hood will give a fascinating illustrated talk on his photographic career, covering early manual cameras to working with the latest digital systems and his trips to locate basking sharks and blue sharks.

Charles is a photojournalist author and skipper working with RIB Logan out of Falmouth and writes for SCUBA Magazine among others.

Further details at www.facebook.com

Website of the Week - Chris Walter

Chris Walter and has been taking black and white photographs of Mountains and Forests and in the Ocean and on Reefs for over twenty five years. He is based in London and Tuscany but takes photographs all over the world. Both above and below the water Chris is intrigued by creating images of natural scenes with a certain abstract quality. He enjoys having to move his eye across an image and work out what he is seeing rather than having it led straight to the punch-line. Chris makes his own cameras for both landscape and for underwater. These are either made of wood or aluminium and all utilise the Schneider 47 mm XL lens with a variety of 6x12 and 6x9 backs. To see more of Chris's images please visit www.chriswalter-photography.co.uk/

Winner © Trevor Rees 1/3
Shoal of perch by a wooden jetty taken at Stockholm archipelago, Sweden using a Nikon D90 with a Tokina 10-17mm zoom lens

Underwater Excellence - Results

Congratulations to Trevor Rees who was the winner of this year's Underwater Excellence Competition. Trevor's portfolio included a shoal of perch by a wooden jetty taken at Stockholm archipelago, Sweden using a Nikon D90 with a Tokina 10-17mm zoom lens (left); an Alabaster/White lined Dirona nudibranch taken in British Columbia, in Browning pass, Vancouver, Canada with the same camera/lens combination; and an Angler fish taken in the Lofoten Islands, Norway with a D50 with a Nikkor 18-55mm lens.

Trevor wins a cheque for £250 courtesy of DiveQuest and an individual glass trophy.

A total of 35 portfolios were submitted and the best 12 were pre-selected for projection by a panel of 3 judges and judging at the September BSoUP Meeting by the audience present.

How the top six scored:-

The top six may be viewed in the Gallery

Winner ©Trevor Rees 2/3
An Alabaster/White lined Dirona nudibranch taken in British Columbia, in Browning pass, Vancouver, Canada
D90, Nikkor 60mm lens

Winner © Trevor Rees 3/3
An Angler fish taken in the Lofoten Islands, Norway with a D50 with a Nikkor 18-55mm lens.

BSoUP Members only may view all of the submitted entries in the Competition Slideshow Archive but you will be asked to login if you haven't already done so this session.

If you were not one of the top six and would like to know how you scored, please contact Brian Pitkin.

Next month's competition is the Best of British Portfolio Competition, sponsored by Sport Diver. The is open to BSoUP Members only. The Competition is now open. Please read the revised Rules. The deadline is Sunday 7th October.

Note: landscape format images must be 1400 pixels wide and portrait images must be 1050 high. Any smaller and images will look less sharp when projected.

EMUP - October Meeting

Wednesday 3rd October 2012

Nauticam workshop with Alex Tattersall

Dr Alex Tattersall of http://www.uwvisions.com/ one of the leading underwater photographers in the UK and the sole distributor of Nauticam housings has kindly agreed to come to Stoney Cove to give hands on and practical help with all your camera needs and he will get wet too.!!

When.!!!. Well that's the good bit the day will coincide with Stoney's late night opening of WEDNESDAY 3rd October 2012. From a hands on approach Alex will be able to answer your questions both compact and DSLR also give configuration advise on the many set ups we have.

Subject times and programme:

1. Enter the water no later than 19.00hrs and cap the dive to 45 minutes. By all means enter sooner, plus Stoney will be open all day, so why not make a day of it.

2. Exit the water, de-kit clean up and sort camera equipment and remove your memory cards safely as we will need these to look at our images in Nemo's. Bring your Lap tops and lap tops will be on hand for viewing images.

3. Head into Nemo's function room for 20.30/21.00 try to be prompt. We plan on making the critique side of the evening for the second half of EMUP downstairs at Nemo's.

Next BSoUP Meeting

Wednesday 19th September, 2012

The next BSoUP meeting takes place on Wednesday, 19 September 2012 at 7.30 for 8.00 p.m. atour usual venue the Holland Club, Imperial College, South Kensington, London, SW7 5BD.  New and prospective new members will be welcomed from 7.30 p.m. See Welcome.

Keith Lyall: Wide Angle techniques

Wide angle photography can provide dramatic images of the underwater world, however capturing effective wide angle images is often seen as complex and many underwater photographers favour macro instead. Keith will talk about wide angle techniques and will aim to simplify wide angle photography by introducing a simple step by step reproducible approach. The talk will include camera settings, lighting options (both natural and artificial), composition, use of models and other considerations resulting in the creation of effective wide angle images.

Keith has been diving since 2000 and taking a camera underwater since those early days, but even prior to learning to dive Keith was a keen land photographer with underwater photography becoming a natural extension of this interest. His first experience of underwater photography was with a disposable camera in a plastic housing but he has since progressed to a Nikon D300 in a Subal housing! He has numerous awards to his credit in competitions run by BSoUP, Photosub and the British Underwater Image Festival and regularly teaches underwater photography courses.

Competition: Underwater Excellence - A Portfolio of 3 images

The Competition is now closed. A total of 35 entries (105 images) have been received. BSoUP Members only may now view a slideshow of the 12 pre-selected portfolios at Competition Slideshow. You will be asked to login if you have not already done so this session.

Keith Lyall

Linda Pitkin: 2020Vision Part II 

2020VISION is the most ambitious nature photography project ever staged in the UK. Using the power of visual imagery, it aims to enthuse the public at large about the value of restoring our most important habitats - not just for healthy wildlife, but for the well-being of us all. In November last year Linda told us about the first phase of her work on this amazing project.  This month she will bring us up to date on what she has done since and how the project has come to fruition

Linda Pitkin is the author of four books and has over a thousand published images to her credit. She is one of only two underwater photographers on the project (the other is Alex Mustard). She will talk about her assignments and show many of the images she has taken this year. The project has pushed those involved to new challenges. Linda has had a mixture of successes and failures, battling with near impossible missions and British weather!

New sponsors for BSoUP/DIVER Print Competition

Deadline: 19th September 2012

BSoUP are delighted to announce that Ocean Leisure Cameras have generously agreed to sponsor this year's BSoUP/DIVER Print Competition again by donating a £250 voucher to the winner of the Advanced British and Irish Print category.

BSoUP are also delighted to announce that the winning Advanced Overseas Print will receive the Mikes Dive Store Overseas Print Trophy and a £250 voucher to spend at Mikes Dive Store.

Print entries are invited from all underwater photographers in BSoUP's annual competition. The best 80 entries will be displayed at the DIVE Show held at the NEC Birmingham over the weekend of 27th - 28th October, 2012 and the public invited to vote for their favourites.

Further details

LAUPS call for entries

Deadline: 28 September. 2012

The Los Angeles Underwater Photo Society (LAUPS) is calling for entries for their 2012 International Photo and Video Competition. Now in its fiftieth year, it has 7 categories for amateur photographers: Macro, Wide Angle, Behavior, Cold Water, Compact Macro, Compact Wide Angle and Compact Cold Water. In addition, there are two categories for amateur videographers: Video Raw Footage and Video Edited Footage.

Full details of the contest are available on the LAUPS website.

Festival Mondial de l'image Sous-Marine

Deadline: 15th September, 2012

The Festival Mondial de l'image Sous-Marine, known colloquially as the Antibes festival (despite the fact that it is now held in Marseille) has announced a final call for registration of entries for the 2012 festival. All entrants must have been registered by 15 September to be considered. The event will be held this year from 1 to 4 November at the Congres Center, Chanot Park, Marseille, France.

Full entry and registration details are available on the contest's website.

British Wildlife Photography Awards

Mall Galleries

Monday 17th - Saturday 22nd September 2012, 10am - 5pm

Established in 2009 these Awards celebrate the talents of both amateur and professional photographers, while simultaneously highlighting the great wealth and diversity of British natural history.

The competition has captured the imagination of photographers from all over the UK, who collectively, have created an incredible series of images which showcase British wildlife at its best.

Further details: http://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/

North Sea Film Festival

Deadline: September 17th, 2012

The fifth edition of the North Sea Film Festival, the only underwater film festival in the Netherlands, will
take place November 10th and 11th. The venue is theatreLantarenVenster in Rotterdam, a location surrounded by water. This state of the art cinema with comfortable chairs, restaurant, well stocked bar and huge foyer will guarantee a great festival ambiance.

The festival organisers hope to welcome many filmmakers to interact with the audience through Q&A sessions after the screening of their movies.

The deadline for film entries is September 17th.

Full details at http://www.northseafilmfestival.com/

Nauticam Camera Equipment Day

Saturday-Sunday, 22-23 September 2012

Welsh inland diving site, the National Diving & Activity Center (NDAC) at Chepstow, UK is hosting a Nauticam demonstration weekend over 22 and 23 September, 2012.

Nauticam UK / Underwater Visions will be in attendance along with a selection of Nauticam's DSLR, EVIL and compact camera housings.

The NDAC is located close to the M4 and M5 interchange, on the Welsh side of the old Severn bridge (see map).

Nikon D600 announced

Nikon has officially announced the D600 FX format SLR. The lightweight and compact camera has a 24.3 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor with a native ISO range of 100 to 6400 combined with Nikon's EXPEED 3 processor. It also features Nikon's Scene Recognition System for AF, combined with a 39 point MultiCAM 4800FX AF module and has 100% overage through the viewfinder. Video functions include 1080p video at 24p, 25 or 30, 720p at 60, 50 and 30 and the video image can be displayed on the LCD screen while simultaneously shown on another monitor through the HDMI, with or without shooting data. In addition, uncompressed video can be recorded through the camera's HDMI connection.

The Nikon D600 will be available on September 18, 2012 for the suggested retail price (SRP) of $2,099.95.

The British Wildlife Photography Awards 2012

The British Wildlife Photography Awards are proud to announce the winners for 2012. The competition has captured the imagination of thousands of photographers, who collectively have created a stunning and innovative series of images which showcase British wildlife at its best.

With twelve separate categories covering everything from marine life and animal behaviour to creepy crawlies and urban wildlife; the awards beautifully reveal the unseen splendour and surprising diversity of Britains wildlife.

The winning image was captured on a remote location off the North coast of Scotland. BSoUP Member Dr Matt Doggett who took the winning image said It was an incredible experience being in the water surrounded by these high speed divers. Judge Greg Armfield from WWF described the photographï "A striking image that manages to capture in parallel the raw power and grace of the diving gannets. A beautiful and evocative shot."

Outdoor Photography - 2020VISION Portfolio

The Autumn issue of Outdoor Photography magazine features a portfolio of 2020VISION Images which include BSoUP Member Alex Mustard's stunning image of a Puffin swimming underwater and BSoUP Member Linda Pitkin's equally stunning image of Charr at Ennerdale.

Linda will be giving a presentation on her 2020VISION missions to photograph freshwater life in the UK (part 2) at the next BSoUP meeting on Wednesday, September 19th 2012 at our usual venue The Holland Club, Imperial College, South Kensington, London. The meeting starts at 7.30 for 8.00 p.m.

Charr © Linda Pitkin (2020VISION)

Essence of Surrey. Cover image: Nick Blake

'Essence of Surrey' features Nick Blake

Surrey's premier lifestyle magazine "Essence of Surrey" featured a cover shot of a Grey Seal in the Farne Islands by BSoUP Member Nick Blake. In addition, a double page feature inside focussed on his Taxi & Diver image as well as a Whaleshark image taken in Djibouti.

The feature can be viewed http://content.yudu.com. You will need Adobe Flash Player 11 to to turn the pages

Diving primarily around the UK, it is only in more recent years that Nick's long standing interest in photography has extended into the water. Having initially bought an Olympus underwater compact camera in 2004 and subsequently a Nikon D300 DSLR, one to one tuition with renowned Underwater Photographer Martin Edge has proved instrumental in Nick's development. Now fuelled by dive trips to more tropical climes as well as continued UK diving as a member of Woking based BSAC branch Surrey Aquanauts, you can see a selection of Nick's more recent underwater photographs together with images of personal interest above the water in his portfolio at www.nickblakephotography.co.uk/

'Project Shark in the Maldives in 2013

Diving tour operator blue o two are pleased to announce that resident marine biologist, Nikki Weeden, will be taking their 'Project Shark itinerary to the Maldives in January 2013.

Nikki, who joined the blue o two team in 2011, studied marine biology at Plymouth University and wrote her undergraduate thesis on shark populations in the Bahamas. Her work contributed to papers validating the use of baited remote underwater video surveys for assessing the diversity, distribution and abundance of sharks in the Bahamas. Nikki will now be able to go back to roots by hosting the 'Project Shark itinerary from the Red Sea in the new location of the Maldives onboard the luxurious M/V Carpe Diem.

The current 'Project Shark itineraries offered onboard blue o twos luxury liveaboard fleet in the Red Sea were established in 2007 when Dr. Elke Bojanowski, founder of the Red Sea Sharks trust, joined the blue o two team. Elke began her Longimanus Project in October 2004 and since this date she has been actively collecting underwater photographs and video-clips of Red Sea sharks for cataloguing, review and analysis. Elke was able to continue her research by offering divers the opportunity to learn about sharks in the Red Sea, collect and analyse data, and learn about globally endangered marine species. Research will be continued by Nikki with the extension of 'Project Shark to the Maldives early next year contributing to existing Maldivian trust research projects.

Company Director Jason Strickland commented We are thrilled to be able to extend the good work of Project Shark to the Maldives, giving customers the opportunity to experience the valuable work of this itinerary in a new and beautiful location.

For details of blue o two's Maldives itineries please visit www.blueotwo.com/Liveaboards-Maldives-Itineraries

Pacific North West Diver. Cover image: Martin Heyn

Pacific North West Diver - Latest Issue

The latest issue of the FREE Pacific North West Diver is now available to download.

This months photographers include Seattle photographer and videographer Martin & Julie Hyne, BC videographer Peter Mieras, Washington videographer Ryan Amberfield, and Oregon photographers and underwater photo instructors Jack & Sue Drafahl. Nautilus Swell is this months featured operator.

Other articles of interest include: Up-Coming October 13 Underwater Photo Walk in Edmonds, Carbon Monoxide in Air Fill Concerns, Optical Ocean Sales Information, ReefNet Fiber Optic Snoot Review, Neptunic Shark Suit Archive Article.

To download your copy please click here.

Website of the Week - Nigel Wade

Nigel is a freelance photo journalist specialising in underwater and scuba diving, producing editorial and pictorial articles covering all aspects of diving from trip reports, technical equipment reviews, course reviews and safety features for Diver Magazine UK. Examples can be found in the Commercial section of this site.

Nigel lives with his wife Karen and two Birman cats in the beautiful county of West Berkshire in rural southern England.

In 2008 he was awarded the title of UK and Ireland Underwater photographer of the year.

Nigel is an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society and BSoUP.

To view some of Nigel's images please visit www.wadeimaging.com/

African Diver - Latest Issue

The latest issue of the FREE African Diver is now available for download.

Issue 24 includes Ed's Logbook, Diving Mombasa, African Diver Adventurers,Camilla Floros, Sardine run 2012, DUC Shootout 2012 Winners, Pemba and Mafia, Matemo and Medjumbe.

To get your copy please visit www.africandiver.com/

UwP - Latest issue

The latest issue of the FREE Underwater Photography is now available to download.

The Sept/Oct issue includes: New Products, Product reviews, Events, Marine life, Locations, Techniques, Parting Shot

To get your copy please visit http://www.uwpmag.com/

NUPG - Next Meeting

Monday, 10th September 2012

The next of the Northern Underwater Photography Group meeting will be on Monday, 10th September, Manchester (Map)

Review of the NUPG Splash In images.

Nick & Caroline Robertson-Brown destination talk Statia

Competition: Edible

Further details about NUPG

BUPG - Next Meeting

Tuesday, September 11th 2012

The Meeting (start time 2000hrs) will be at our normal venue - The Casson Centre, Rodway Road, Patchway, BS34 5DQ (map)

The monthly competition theme is 'Natural Light'.

The main event will be a video-based presentation by Chris Lewis who will show footage from trips to Bali and the Sardine Run. He will also discuss the video potential for users of still cameras, many of which now have excellent video capability.

Further details at http://www.bupg.co.uk/nl0812.htm

EMUP - Next Meeting

Tuesday September 4th September 2012

The next meeting of the East Midlands Underwater Photographers will be on Tuesday September 4th August 2012 at the usual venue - downstairs in Nemo's Bar, at Stoney Cove at 7:30 sharp. All pub facilities will be open so refreshments will be on hand.

Plymouth Splash-in review

Tuesday September 4th 2012

Competition: First Dive

A Minute Beneath UK Waves by Jo Horrocks

BSoUP Member Jo Horrocks has posted a short video entitled 'A Minute Beneath UK Waves' on YouTube.

The video is a fast paced glimpse at the variety of marine life that can be found around the UK coast, from barnacles to basking sharks.

The video was shown at BSoUP earlier this year.

To view the video please visit www.youtube.com/

Cameras Underwater sponsor BSoUP Competition

Deadline: 19th September 2012

BSoUP are delighted to announce that Cameras Underwater have generously agreed to sponsor this year's BSoUP/DIVER Print Competition again by donating a voucher for the winner of the Overseas category (non-advanced).

Print entries are invited from all underwater photographers in BSoUP's annual competition. The best 80 entries will be displayed at the DIVE Show held at the NEC Birmingham over the weekend of 27th - 28th October, 2012 and the public invited to vote for their favourites.

Further details