BSoUP's Sponsors

Festival Mondial de l'Image Sous Marine

The 40th Festival Mondial de l'Image Sous Marine takes place from 31 October to 3 November 2013 at Parc Chanot, Marseilles, France.

The Festival is composed of :

19 contests
75 prices

The Festival lasts 5 days on average in which :

films, slide and slide shows are screened in 3 rooms
prints are exhibited
there are a hundred of stands
for children, discovery games are organised in some stands
conferences take place
the Festival band plays its best pieces of music

Full details at http://www.underwater-festival.com/

RSMAS Underwater Photography Contest

2013 Amateur Contest

Congratulations to Kyle McBurnie who was the winner of this year's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science's Underwater Photography Contest, which recognizes amateur photography

Congratulations also to BSoUP Member Alex Tattersall who came first in the Wide-angle category with an image of a lion fish and bait fish.

Started in 2005, the contest has grown in popularity, with over 700 entries submitted this year, according to university scientist and contest judge Jiangang Luo.

"All the pictures we got were large, and high quality," said Luo. "It was a really tough job to narrow it down to a few."

Inon's Z240 and D-2000 E.V. dial labels

Back in February, Inon launched a poll on their Facebook page for alternative designs for their Exposure Value (E.V.) dial labels and have just released a new decal that can be fitted to the E.V. dial that aims to simplify use.

Wetpixel's Adam Hanlon got a sneak preview of them and wrote a short review.

"The new decal is supplied separately to the strobe and can simply be stuck over the existing markings. Fitting it is a straightforward, simple process". "In use, it definitely is simpler than the old darken and lighten instructions. The scale is easier to read and compatible (as the pictures show) with cold water accessory knob extenders. For those of us with eyesight that is not as good as it once was, the new scale is much clearer and easier to read. I dont usually need corrective lenses underwater, but have found that the older scales did take some peering at."

More at wetpixel

Website of the Week - Ross & Mary Gudgeon

Ross (aka Gudge) and Mary met and started diving together in 1984 and married two years later. Along with their dog Digger, they now live in Exmouth, Western Australia and dive regularly on Ningaloo Reef.

In Australia Gudge and Mary have dived the south coast of New South Wales, Melbourne & Perth areas, Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and of course Ningaloo Reef. Overseas dive trips have included Fiji, Vanuatu, Hawaii, Solomon Islands, Mexico, Honduras, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Maldives. Their favourite overseas destination is Indonesia with trips to Bali (5), Lombok, Bunaken (3), Lembeh (3) and Wakatobi.

RIP Hans Hass

Hans Hass, underwater filmmaker and diving pioneer, died last weekend aged 94 in Vienna. He was perhaps the original creator of the niche underwater filmmaking with his 1951 film, Adventure in the Red Sea, being one of the first films to make the underwater world observable to all. During his long career, he published 32 books, produced 73 films and was awarded numerous accolades. His later life has been dedicated to zoological research, particularly into predation. He was a life-long and passionate advocate for sharks and devoted much time and effort to correct the public misconceptions about them. He is survived by his wife and collaborator Lotte and we send her, his family members and friends our condolences at what must be a very difficult time. The oceans have lost a pioneer, advocate and scientist.

Adam Hanlon, Wetpixel

Hans Hass

Focus On Results - Predation - June

Congratulations to Mark Pickford who was the winner of this month's Focus On Competition with an image of a squid eating a fish taken at Halmahera with a Nikon D300 and 60mm lens.

Congratulations also to Trevor Rees and Anthony Holley who came second and third respectively with images of a Wolf fish eating brittle stars taken at Eyemouth and a Lizard fish feeding taken at Sangeang, Indonesia.

There were 20 entries in total.

How the top six scored:-

The top six may be viewed in the Gallery.

BSoUP Members only may view all of the entries in the Competition Slideshow Archive. You will be asked to login if you have not already done so this session.

Next month's Focus On Competition is Reflections. Its all about the angle. (OK, and the light, and the surface, and the subject). The deadline is Sunday 7th July. Please read the Rules before entering via the Online Entry Form.

June BSoUP Meeting

The next BSoUP meeting takes place on Wednesday, 19 June 2013 at 7.30 for 8.00 p.m. 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. See Welcome.

Show and Tell

We have four members up front:

Richard Boucher - showing a sequence of behaviour shots

David Allan - discussing a missed opportunity!

© Paul Colley's Focus On Winning Image

Alex Tattersall - demonstrating the use of a clever toy

Paul Colley showing us how he created the image that won the February Focus On (Post-production Bonanza)

Focus On - Predation

The competition is now closed. There were a total of 20 entries. BSoUP Members may view all the entries in the Competition Slideshow. You will be prompted to log in if you have not already done so this session.

Mark Pickford: Alternative Lighting. Mark will talk about snoots and their applications and will also will also discuss his use of fluorescence imaging.

Mark has had a lifelong interest in photography, land photography as well as underwater. He has been diving since 1999 and taking pictures under water since 2007.He started with a Nikon Coolpix but has graduated to a Nikon D300 in a Subal housing with Inon strobes. He has had a number of successes in BSoUP competitions in recent years including winning the Open Portfolio competition in December 2012.

Website of the Week - Jason Gregory

I was already a keen photographer including natural history photography when I decided to extend my range into the underwater world. I learned to dive with the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) because their standard training included learning skills for all types of sea conditions. I live in Yorkshire, England.

My first underwater camera was the Sea & Sea MX-10, a handy and effective little thing. Second was a Nikon F90x in a Subal Housing with twin Sea & Sea YS90 strobes. Both camera and housing gave faultless service. I also had a Nikon Nikonos V, its lenses, particularly the wide angle were superb.
I resisted the change to digital photography but replacing my camera system and housing was inevitable. And so in December 2007 I left the convenience and simplicity of film photography behind. Approximately 50% of images shown on the web site are scanned from 35mm film 'slides'.

Adobe releases Lightroom 5

SAN JOSE, Calif. June 10, 2013 - Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the availability of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 for Mac OS and Windows. The product is available as an individual license or as part of Adobe Creative Cloud. Designed for both photography enthusiasts and professionals alike, Lightroom 5 adds critical photo editing capabilities and creates groundbreaking workflows. Lightroom 5 was initially released as a free, public beta in April 2013. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 is available now for immediate download for Adobe Creative Cloud members. Standalone software is available at Adobe.com and participating retailers for $102.57 or $57.67 for the upgrade. For more detailed information about product features, upgrade policies, pricing and language versions, please visit www.adobe.com/go/lightroom.

Epson International Pano Awards

Entries are now open! - $40,000 prize pool!

Earlybird entries are open until Sunday 14th July, 2013.

There will be a late entry period from Monday 15th July until Sunday 21st July, 2013. Late entry fees will apply. The fourth Epson International Pano Awards is dedicated to the art of panoramic photography. Advances in digital photography and software such as PTGui and Adobe Photoshop has resulted in an explosion in image stitching, especially in the panoramic format. Panoramic film photography also remains alive and well.

The Epson International Pano Awards showcases the work of panoramic photographers worldwide and is the largest competition for panoramic photography.

The 2013 competition is now open for all professional and amateur photographers with a record combined prize pool in excess of US$40,000 including US$8000 cash!Prizes include an Epson Stylus Pro 7900 printer, an Epson Stylus Pro 4900 printer, and an Epson EB-1775 Ultra-slim Projector! Full details www.thepanoawards.com/

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, and other great prizes.

The 2013 British Underwater Photography Championships (Splash-In), 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.

Please note the deadline for registration is Monday 22nd June.

Further details at Splash/2013/intro.php

Digital Photography Review

Photo Editing Programs (that aren't Photoshop)

Adobe's recent announcement that everything beyond Photoshop CS6 will need to be rented as part of its Creative Cloud lineup has caused a fair amount of disquiet (some of which has been pretty loud), but Photoshop isn't the only game in town, and never has been.

Digital Photography Review has published a review by Tim Moynihan of 10 Photo Editing Programs that aren't Photoshop. These include ACD Systems ACDSee Pro 6 and ACDSee Photo Editor, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4, Apple Aperture 3. Corel PaintShop Pro X5, DxO Optics Pro 8, GIMP 2.8, Paint.net, Phase One Capture One Pro 7, Pixelmator 2.2 'Blueberry', Pixlr Editor, and Adobe Photoshop Elements 11. Read the reviews at www.dpreview.com/

Website of the Week - Paul Flandinette

For over twenty years I've been writing, producing and directing films for some of the world's leading businesses and government organisations and have also produced a number of documentaries for broadcast. Over the years my production company has been lucky enough to have had our work recognised by top awards at US Film and Video Festivals and World Media Festivals.

I'm a keen scuba diver - my first SCUBA course was in 1973 and I qualified as a BSAC intructor in 1993 - over the years I've travelled widely and dived as much as I could, especially in the Far East, the Red Sea, the Caribbean and the UK.

In 2005 I re-discovered underwater photography after a long break when my old film camera and I got 'separated' on a dive. It wasn't until I realised how exciting and liberating digital photography had become that I decided to return to underwater photography.

Nowadays Gill, my very patient wife and diving partner, and I are increasingly spending our time in the Far East accompanied, of course, by our dive gear an 'stills cameras.

There are very few things I would rather do than photograph the underwater world and its wonderful variety of marine life. I wanted my website to be more than just a place where fellow web travellers could look at my photos, I hoped it could also be a useful resource where I could share the information I have learned about the ocean environment and the marine life I have been lucky enough to see.

I hope you will not only enjoy browsing my galleries but find the information here interesting and informative.

Underwater Journal - Latest Issue

The latest verson of the FREE Underwater Journal is now available to download.

Issue #28 includes Maldives - Ari Atoll - Resort-Based Diving in the Rainbow Sea, Diving the Beagle Channel - Discovering Patagonia's Underwater Attractions, Subspace RED EPIC-X Underwater housing, Profile - UW Cameraman, Didier Noirot, DAN - Mastering the Art of Buoyancy Control, Freeze Frame - Chambered Nautilus.

To get your copy visit www.underwaterjournal.com/

UnderwaterPhotography.com photo contest winners announced

ABOUT THE CONTEST

The UnderwaterPhotography.com photo contest is the longest running and most prestigious online, or off. If you want to make a name for yourself it is THE place to do it. One of our medals is the reward for all the hard work underwater photographers put in chasing those great shots in far-flung destinations. It's the industry's most coveted prize because it says you succeeded in the most competitive environment there is, against the top talent of the moment.

2012/13 WORLD CHAMPION CHRISTIAN VIZL

This year's World Champion and breakout star is without doubt Mexican u/w photographer Christian Vizl.

Christian only joined UnderwaterPhotography.com in March 2012 but has demonstrated consistently high quality over such a relatively short period of time. He is the only u/w photographer in our history to take Gold, Silver and Bronze in one year. He did this with three very different model shots that he entered in the Freshwater category. This is a good tactical move because it is a category that is under subscribed so give you better odds of being placed. These shots were so good they would have got medals in the Divers or Wide Angle categories. For good measure he also won a gold medal in the sharks category and a bronze in the Wide angle category.

Christian describes himself as a photographer and artist, which is confirmed by his strong graphic sense exhibited in his entries.

GRAND MASTER - NICK BLAKE

UK photographer and BSoUP Member Nick Blake becomes a Grand Master by building on his success in previous year with five placings this year including a Gold in temperate waters category and a silver in the Wide Angle Close Focus. The latter was a tropical waters shot but we know Nick best for his temperate waters work shot whilst diving around the UK. His usual environment is therefore a difficult one to work in, yet he always delivers the goods. See also Mail online

Other medal winners include BSoUP Members Leena Roy, Elaine White and Ellen Cuylaerts

African Diver - Latest Issue

Our featured diving destination in Issue 27 is the busy port and tourist hub of Eilat, where the diving is relaxed and underwater photography opportunities are plentiful. Heading south from Eilat we feature Angie Gullan's work with dolphins in southern Mozambique where she merges eco-tourism with research and data collection. Sticking with the dolphin theme we have Rainer Schimpf's images of a disabled killer whale in Algoa Bay and the story behind the images.

Our conservation section celebrates World Turtle Day activities in Mozambique led by Jess Williams of the Marine Megafauna Foundation working with Eyes on the Horizon and All Out Africa.

Our featured photographer is Dave Caravias and we're sure you'll enjoy his shark pictures as much as we do. There's a spread on the Durban Undersea Club Shootout 2013 with cracking images taken from Cape Town to Mozambique.

And finally, we review the Sharks and Rays DVD/App that is a must for your desktop or Apple product or Android phone. If you're interested in sharks and rays, this one is for you.

Download your FREE copy of African Diver from www.africandiver.com/

Backscatter Airlock vacuum integrity check system

Wetpixel Editor Adam Hanlon has written a review of Backscatter's Airlock vacuum housing integrity check system. These, and similar devices from other brands, have been one of the most hotly discussed accessories over the past few months on the wetpixel forum, with several active threads devoted to them.

Adam says "Despite some proselytizing from some individuals, no vacuum system by itself can guarantee that a housing will not flood. In fact, there have been examples of the units themselves causing floods! The attitude of saying that because a light is flashing, or a unit is holding a pressure, the housing will not let water in is misguided. Avoiding leaks still relies on rigorously following a standard procedure with regard to o-ring maintenance and housing assembly. Once this has been carried out, then a leak check system can verify the effectiveness of the process."

Read the full review at wetpixel.com/articles/

Stevenage Underwater Photographic Society

SUPS - Next Meeting

Tuesday 11th June, 2013

The Next meeting of the Stevenage Underwater Photographic Society takes place on Tuesday 11th June at the Stevenage Arts Guild, Community Arts Centre, Roaring Meg, Stevenage, Hertfordshire (map)

Focus On: Stripes

Talk: TBA

Calendar 2014 Images

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

NUPG - Next Meting

Monday 10th June 2013

The next meeting of the Northern Underwater Photography Group takes place on Monday 10th June at Gurkha Grill, 198 Burton Road. West Didsbury, Manchester, M20 2LH (map).

Talk: Tony New first experiences with mirrorless Sony NEX 7

Elaine White's favourite 5

Competition: Self portrait

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

BUPG - Next Meeting

Tuesday June 11th, 2013

The next meeting of the Bristol Underwater Photography Group takes place on Tuesday 11th June at their normal venue - The Casson Centre, Rodway Road, Patchway, BS34 5DQ (map)

The June competition theme is 'Predator'.

Our main presentation will focus on diving in Iceland, recently visited by Trevor and Rob.

Charles Erb will give a presentation on the Go Pro Hero video camera.

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

Basking Sharks in CornwallA quick update on the situation by Charles HoodThe water is unseasonably cold but the top layer is warm so there is loads of plankton around, which has started to bring the sharks in. We had a fantastic encounter on Saturday with a 4.5m male, well over 2 hours! He was so intent on feeding that he was completely oblivious to our presence and for some strange reason appeared to like swimming around the RIB!
...
Other contacts are also reporting shark sightings as well. The forecast is for plenty of sun so fingers crossed we will have larger numbers immanently. I have spaces on a few odd days during the week in June are still available - see http://charleshood.com/calendar for details.

Basking Sharks in Cornwall. Charles Hood

Website of the Week - Charles Erb

Charles is a school Science teacher based in the middle of England with a passion for UK diving and underwater photography. His favourite locations are along the UK's South West coast, Western Scotland, West Wales and the North East coast. His website exists to showcase some of his favourite images and communicate some of the passion behind their creation.

He is a member of Worcester Divers and the British Society of Underwater Photographers, as well as a sometime contributor to Dive Magazine. His regular dive buddies are Trevor Rees and Rob Bailey.

Charles regularly give talks about UK diving, the challenges and excitement of underwater photography and dispelling the myth that there is little of beauty or interest to see beneath the waters around UK waters.

To learn more about Charles and see some of his images please visit www.undersea-images.com/