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Indonesia World Underwater Photo Contest

Deadline: 30 November 2013

The Indonesia World Underwater Photo Contest is now accepting entries. The competition, organized by the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, actually started to accept entries on 1 January, and will remain open until 30 November 2013. Images are being accepted in 7 categories, with prizes for each as well as a prize for Best in Show. Images must have been taken in Indonesia, and all entrants submitted are required to have taken the images whilst diving with a participating dive operator (PDO) and be accompanied by the local dive leader provided by them. Entries are free but must be submitted via the PDO Registration Form. Full rules and procedures are on the Indonesia Underwater Photo contest website.

Nikon D7100

Nikon has announced that they will release a successor to the popular D7000 SX SLR. The D7100 uses a new 24.1-megapixel DX-format CMOS sensor, and is supplied without an optical low pass filter (OLPF). The camera uses Nikon's proven EXPEED 3 image processing engine, and features a native SO range of 100 to 6400. It has a new 51-point AF system and a new Multi-CAM 3500DX AF module. For metering, it uses Nikon's 3D Color Matrix Metering II 2,016-pixel RGB sensor and Scene Recognition System. Uniquely and of interest for macro shooters, the camera offers a 1.3 x crop mode which gives an extra telephoto boost (2X) with 15.4 megapixel resolution. In addition, in 1.3 x mode, the 51-point AF array covers more of the frame. It will be available in March 2013 for the suggested retail price (SRP) of $1599.95

Adam Hanlon, wetpixel

EUDI - Italy's European Diving Show, Milan

Report by Alex Mustard

It was quite a weekend for dive shows, with Our World Underwater in Chicago, the Golden Dolphin in Moscow and EUDI in Milan. Italy's EUDI Show (European Diving Show) was actually the biggest scuba show that I have attended outside of DEMA, despite the talk on the ground of being smaller than people remember.

Compared to a British dive show (my reference in Europe) the EUDI show was more focused on equipment and training than travel. A talking point, this year, was the lack of the large glossy stands of the big Italian manufacturers like Mares and Cressi, but when I arrived on Saturday morning the show was super-busy. It was actually hard to move around, although it was quieter in the afternoon.

More at wetpixel

Focus On - Results

Congratulations to Paul Colley who was this month's winner of Focus On - Photoshop Bonanza. We invited members to submit any image and do their best to be creative with Photoshop (or whichever software they have). Paul's image is a compilation of various images taken in the Ascension Islands.

Congratulations also to Sean Arrowsmith who came second with an image showing fish transfering from one iPhone to another. The original fish image was taken in the Red Sea and involved several hours of masking.

Third place went to Keith Lyall with a Photoshoped shrimp originally taken in Bali.

1st © Paul Colley

2nd © Sean Arrowsmith

How the top six scored:-

The top six may be viewed in the Gallery.

BSoUP Members only may view all the entries (enlarged and with named photographer) in the Slideshow Archive. You will be asked to login if you have not 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 is the Theme Portfolio Competition. The competition is open to BSoUP Members only. Please read the Rules and gudielines before entering via the Competition Entry Form. Deadline is Sunday 10th March at one minute to midnight.

3rd © Keith Lyall

Our World Underwater - Results

The results of the 2013 Wetpixel/DivePhotoGuide 'Our World Underwater' contest have been announced. The contest attracted over 1500 entries from around the world, and the celebrity panel of judges which included Alex Mustard, Berkley White, Vincent Laforet, Keri Wilk, Mary Lynn Price, Steve Douglas and Eric Hanauer commented on how high the standard was this year. The overall winner and winner of the wide-angle unrestricted category was Sam Cahir with his portrait of a mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus), entitled "Paris the mako shark". The winner of the video category was "The Giants of Cenderawasih Bay" by John Boyle and Fionn Crow Howieson. Many congratulations to all the winners.

$40,000 in prizes will be awarded to the winners and the results will be announced live on stage during the Our World Underwater film festival in Chicago (February 15 & 16, 2013). You can view the full list of winning images on the UnderwaterCompetition.com. Winning videos will also be broadcast as episodes on DiveFilm HD.

February BSoUP Meeting

Wednesday, 20 February 2013

The next BSoUP meeting takes place on Wednesday, 20 February 2013 at 7.30 for 8.00 p.m. at our new venue, in Room G.01 in the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, South Kensington, London, SW7 5BD (Directions). New and prospective new members will be welcomed from 7.30 p.m.

One issue with our new venue is a lack of any local source for liquid refreshment, so we suggest you bring something for the break, some bottled water or something more substantial if you wish.  We are not aware of any rules regarding what can be brought into the building but discretion would be sensible. We are researching other refreshment options for future meetings and hope to find a better solution.

Martha Tressler

Martha Tressler : Photo Basics I - aperture, shutter speed, depth of field, ISO.

This is the first in a new Technical Talk series we will be offering, covering photo basics, lenses, mindset, lighting, composition, close-up & macro, supermacro, wide angle, and workflow (and anything else we think of).

Martha has been a BSoUP committee member for over 10 years including a stint as Chair before Joss and JP.  She started diving almost 25 years ago and first took a camera under water several years later, but blames a Martin Edge trip to Sipidan in 1999 for tipping her over the edge into full blown underwater photographic madness.

Focus On -Post-production Bonanza
The Competition is now closed. There were a total of 23 entries. BSoUP Members may view all the entries on the BSoUP website (Competition Slideshow). You will be prompted to log in if you have not already done so this session.

Paul Duxfield: Scrap metal salvage, an edit of a picture with potential, but quite a few problems, and how to correct them, lightning fast in Lightroom.

Duxy will demonstrate some down and dirty cheats using Lightroom to turn an image with potential, but lots of seemingly annoying and time intensive problems, into something printable (perhaps!).

Duxy, who you last saw up in front of BSoUP in August 2012, is now Scuba Travel's Photopro, providing photographic coaching on liveaboard trips as well as in the UK.

© Paul Duxfield

Easydive Leo II PRO underwater housing test/review

by Rico Besserdich

During my last underwater photography workshop in Egypt, I had the opportunity to test the LEO II PRO Video housing for the CANON 7D, designed by the Italian housing manufacturer EASYDIVE (www.easydive.it). During 5 full days of diving I took around 3000 shots and did some video, too. Before going into details I have to say that I was very pleased with that housing. Now, let's take a look inside:

Beneath the Seas - Results

The results of the 2013 Beneath the Sea (BTS) imaging contest have been announced. The three major awards were awarded as follows: The David Doubilet Award for Excellence in Underwater Photography to Peter G Allinson for his hunting sailfish image, the Jim Church Award for Excellence in Underwater Creative Imaging to Filip Staes for his creation of a winged model underwater and the Stan Waterman Award for Excellence in Underwater Videography to Erick Higuera for his film entitled Baja.

Full results at http://www.beneaththesea.org/

Subal D4 SLR Housing

Subal ND4 housing review

Underwater photographer Alex Mustard, has written a comprehensive 5 page review of the Subal ND4 housing for the Nikon D4 SLR. Alex was an early adopter of the D4, and published a review of the camera's performance on Wetpixel last May, so this review concentrates on the housing's performance. In characteristic style however, he includes a wealth of information and advice about techniques, tools and lens selections that are suitable with almost any camera and housing combination.

The article sections are as follows: Introduction, Subal ND4 housing, housing and camera controls, lens choices for the D4 and FX cameras and other notes, problems and conclusion.

Website of the Week - Simon Brown

Simon is a professional photographer, specialising in the underwater world. Simon 'takes an idea and creates an image'. His clients include Bike Magazine, the Daily Telegraph, Fourth Element clothing, the National Archaeological Society and many other publications worldwide. Simon is a member of the National Union of Journalists, holds the prerequisite HSE SCUBA qualification and HSE First Aid at Work certificate.

To see some of Simon's images please visit www.simonbrownimages.com/

Final call: DEEP Indonesia 2013

Deadline: Midnight on Sunday 10 February

Wetpixel and DivePhotoGuide's second major competition is making its final call for entries. DEEP 2013 offers over $40,000 in prizes from our sponsors with entries being accepted in 7 categories. New for 2013 are categories in surf and shark imagery. Judges this year include Diego Garcia, David Fleetham, Matt Weiss and Keri Wilk.

Please head on over to the UnderwaterCompetion site to view the contest's rules and make your entries.

Nikon D600 and Nauticam NA-D600 housing review

DivePhotoGuide has published a review of the Nikon D600 and Nauticam NA-D600 housing. Written by Keri Wilk and shot in the Cayman Islands, the review has some great images of "Stinky" the troublesome loner dolphin that has been a feature of diving in the islands recently.

Keri found the housing and camera's performance to be very good however, slow initial sales of the camera seem to suggest that many people have decided to choose the D800.

See www.divephotoguide.com/

Sigma publishes a preview of its 17-70mm lens

On its blog Sigma has published a preview of its revised 17-70mm f2.8-4.0 DC Macro OS HSM lens. Previous versions of the lens have been popular with APS-C shooters for underwater use as a "scouting" lens. New features which should increase this versatility include macro capabilities with a maximum 1:2.9 magnification (at 70mm) and faster maximum apertures at all focal lengths. Not a new feature, but this version also has Optical Stabilization. However, its minimum focusing distance of 22cm may mean that it will be best used with a diopter.

See http://blog.sigmaphoto.com/2013/first-look-17-70mm-contemporary/

British Underwater Underwater Championship

Mount Batten Centre, Plymouth, Saturday 6th July

Win a one-week liveaboard holiday to the Maldives (excl. flights) for two people courtesy of Maldives Scuba Tours

The 2013 British Underwater Photography Championships, organised by the British Society of Underwater Photographers (BSoUP), will take place on Saturday 6th July at Mount Batten, Plymouth, Devon. All underwater photographers are invited to participate, whether they are members of BSoUP or not.

BSoUP are delighted to announce that in addition to the main prize, Underwater Visions, Sea & Sea and AP Valves have agreed to sponsor this year's competition again by awarding prizes for category winners AND Edition Fifty Fathoms who have offered a copy of one of their books to each of the the runners-up. Further details at Splash/2013/intro.php

Lesley Boyes

Website of the Week - Lesley Boyes

Each week we highlight a BSoUP Members website.

'Into the Blue', the website of Lesley Boyes, is this week's choice. Lesley's photographs are intended to provide a window into the fascinating and beautiful realms beneath the seas. To capture a moment in time. To convey the joy and delight that is experienced on every dive and to share a passion for diving and underwater photography that never diminishes with time. These underwater photographs provide a glimpse of my photographic journey - grom Bali in Indonesia to the Red Sea and the Caribbean.

SUPS - Next Meeting

Tuesday 12th February, 2013

The next meeting of the Stevenage Underwater Photographic Society will be held on Tuesday 12th February at the Stevenage Community Arts Centre, Roaring Meg, Stevenage SG1 1XN. 8:00 pm start.

This month is their Annual Photographic Competition 2012. So dig out your best from the stunning images you took this past year and amaze us all. Vicki, their new Secretary, has sent out a copy of the rules (Some amendments this year), so read them carefully before you up-load your images onto the web-site for inclusion into the competition. Your prints can be bought along on the night, so arrive in plenty of time to have them registered before they are mounted on the wall frames. Tea and coffee will be served during the evening.

For further details about SUPS please visit http://www.sups-online.com/about.php

DIVE - Latest issue

The February edition of DIVE magazine is now available to download. In it, Pamela Stephenson Connolly writes about the diving in Belize and Honduras and Jo Mattock on Grenada. Cave diver and filmmaker, Becky Kagan Schott, is interviewed in this issue and Cornish couple Deeble & Stone are the featured filmmakers. Lastly, the magazine has a review of the Liquid Image Ego HD action camera and an article about the compact camera battle between Canon and Sony.

DIVE is available in version for Mac/PC as well as iOS and Android devices. It is free to download after a registration.

NUPG - Next Meeting

Monday February 11th

The next meeting of the Northern Underwater Photographers takes place on Monday February 11th at the Gurkha Grill, West Didsbury, Manchester (map).

Talk by Duxy: Lightroom for underwater photographers.

Competition theme interaction.

For further details about NUPG please visit www.nupg.org.uk

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013

Deadline: 25th February, 2013

The 2013 Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year is now open and accepting entries. Categories include Animal Portraits, Behavior: Mammals, Behavior: Cold-Blooded animals, Animals is their Environment and Underwater Worlds.

The deadline for entries is 25 February 2013. Full entry details and rules can be found on the Natural History Museum's website. There are also comprehensive guidelines on what is acceptable in terms of image editing.

Our World Underwater

Rosemont (Chicago), Illiinois, USA

February 17th-19th, 2013

Our World Underwater will take place between 15th-17th February, 2013 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. The festival includes seminars, workshops, symposiums and film shows.

For further details please visit www.xray-mag.com

Our World Underwater

BUPG - Next Meeting

Tuesday 12th February, 2013

The next meeting of the Bristol Underwater Photography Group will be on Tuesday 12th February, 2013 at their usual venue - The Casson Centre, Rodway Road, Patchway, BS34 5DQ (map)

Monthly Competition Theme: Crustaceans.

Annual Print Competition. See the Competition Rules for more details.

For further details about BUPG please visit www.bupg.co.uk/

Royal Geographical Society - Dive Lectures

The Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR

Friday 15th February 2013 at 6.00 p.m. for 6.30 p.m.

"These annual lectures run by The London Diving Chamber will once again be taking your minds off to stunning underwater locations around the World and diving with both beautiful and incredible animals.

This year we are delighted to have two great speakers whose lives we can only envy as they get to travel and dive some of the most special places around the world. EMMY Award winning cameraman, Michael Pitts and television presenter, Paul Rose, will be talking about some of their most exciting, unusual and

sometimes simply dangerous dives that they undertake to bring some underwater wonders to our front room.

The 'Dive Lectures' are held in support of Scuba Trust - a charity devoted to giving people with physical disabilities an equal opportunity to experience the pleasure and excitement of scuba diving and the underwater world. Entrance will be free, but please help us fill those Scuba Trust buckets on the night and let's make sure we beat last year's fantastic donation."

To register, please visit www.londondivingchamber.co.uk

Website of the Week - Dan Bolt

"Underwater photography is, first and foremost, my hobby. I enjoy immensely the challenges and rewards it provides and it allows me to switch off from my day-job in I. T.

I first learned to dive with Torbay branch of BSAC back in 1987 when I was 13 years old and I have not looked back since. Some years were spent with Brixham SAA/BSAC as well as the branch at my university in Cheltenham. I am now a Direct member of BSAC.

I started taking an interest in underwater photography when the digital era made it relatively cheap for sport divers to take up the challenge. Since then I have used a stream of Canon, Olympus and Fuji cameras, including a dSLR, but I am currently very happy with my Olympus PEN E-PL1 micro 4/3rds camera. For my style of diving/snorkelling it's small size, quick responses and superb image quality makes it the perfect companion."

More at http://www.underwaterpics.co.uk/about/

Dan Bolt