BSoUP's Sponsors

Website of the Week - Jane Morgan

Jane is a freelance underwater photo journalist, diving instructor and commercial diver. She dives substantially in the UK and overseas and is available for commissions.

Jane discovered underwater photography during a trip to the Southern Red Sea in 2001 and never looked back. She moved to digital photogaphy in late 2004, and now uses a Nikon D300s camera in a Sea & Sea housing with twin Inon Z240 strobes.

Jane's work has been widely published in the UK diving press and national newspapers.

Dolphins: Spy in the Pod. John Downer Productions

Dolphins: Spy in the Pod

Wildlife film maker John Downer has a new wildlife documentary series titled Dolphins: Spy in the Pod. The series not only promises never before filmed behavior, but also employs underwater robotic cameras disguised as sea creatures.

The robotic cameras are meant to trick the dolphins by hiding the cameras within. The underwater robot entourage includes dolphins, a sea turtle, nautilus, tuna, and ray. All camera lenses were hidden within the eyes.

Dolphins: Spy in the Pod, narrated by David Tennant, is on BBC1 from January 2 at 8pm.

Read the full article here.

Hidden Treasures, Guam's Marine Preserves

Second Edition by Tim Rock

More photos and more pages showcasing Guam and it's marine world. Introduction by National Geographic's David Doubilet. Inside this 236-page (20 more pages than the first edition) book find more than 440 full color images, maps, descriptions and insights into this special Pacific marine world. The small but scenic island of Guam in Western Micronesia is blessed with one of the world's richest coral reef marine environments. It thrives with more than 1,000 fish species and over 400 kinds of hard and soft corals, 1,600 mollusc species and a dozen different marine mammals.

This book is now available worldwide through Amazon.

Dive Photo Guide - Photographer of the Week

Dive Photo Guide started a series of articles in December entitled 'Photographer of the Week'.

This week's photographer is BSoUP Member Nick Blake. Diving primarily around the UK and particularly in the many quarries and lakes of the north west of England, it is only in more recent years that Nick's long standing interest in photography has extended into the water. Under the guidance and tutelage of underwater photographer Martin Edge, Nick's development over recent years has been extensive.

Dive trips to more tropical climates including Indonesia and Egypt have supplemented Nick's growing portfolio, and his images have gained honours in a number of national and international underwater photography competitions.

Read more at www.divephotoguide.com/

London Diving Chamber - Lectures

Wednesday 19th March 2014, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm)

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

The Dive Lectures return for 2014 and we have another inspiring line up of speakers for you. Run by the London Diving Chamber at the Royal Geographical Society, these annual lectures are an opportunity for the diving community to be transported to the extreme, exotic and exhilarating underwater world of our country's most renowned and exciting subaquatic adventurers.

It is with great pleasure that this year we welcome award winning wildlife photographer and filmmaker Doug Allan and welcome back to the Dive Lectures stage, popular TV presenter and adventurer Monty Halls.

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 but please help us fill those Scuba Trust buckets on the night and let's make sure we beat last year's fantastic donation.

Register early as tickets for this event never hang around for long.

Winner © Jackie Campbell

Open Portfolio Competition 2013 Results

The Open Portfolio announced as the winner at last night's meeting has withdrawn their entry, as it included two images used previously in ealier portfolios which had been in the top three. As a consequnece every other portfolio moves up one place.

Congratulations to Jackie Campbell who was the winner. Jackie's portfolio includes Jawfish with eggs taken on the Barge in the Red Sea; Glassfish on the Giannis D, Juvenile batfish; Tompot Blenny taken at Swanage Pier; Diver with Anenome taken in the Red Sea; and Giant Squirrel fish taken in the Red Sea.

There were a total of 29 portfolios, including the one withdrawn.

How the top six scored:-

2nd © Andrew McKelvie

3rd © Robert Bailey

The top six may be viewed in the Gallery by clicking on the photographer's name in the table above.

BSoUP Members can view all the entries in the Competition Archive Slideshow (enlarged and named), but you will be asked to login if you have not already done so this session.

Next month's competition is open to BSoUP members only. The competiiton will open shortly. Please read the Rules and guidelines before entering your portfolio of six images in two rows of three as a single jpg image at 1400 x 1050 pixels and 72 pixels/ inch.

Ocean Art Results

Congratulations to BSoUP members Mark Fuller, who came Second in the Portrait category with an image of Seahorse with backlighting in the Red Sea, and to WIll Clark who received Honourable mentions in the Compact Marine Life Behavior and Compact Macro categories for his images of Blue-ringed octopus at night, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia and a Rhinopia yawning against a dark background, taken in Lembeh Strait.

The overall winner was Viktor Lyagushkin with an image of a Diver under the ice in Lazurny quarry, Russia.

The full results may be viewed at www.uwphotographyguide.com/

Underwater Photography: Art and Techniques

by Nick Robertson-Brown

Nick's book, Underwater Photography: Art and Techniques, has been published early and is now available online from Amazon and Waterstons or directly from Nick (frogfishphotos@gmail.com).

"This practical book explains and offers advice to the reader on both the art and the science involved in capturing stunning underwater shots including:-

Advice on the equipment you will need to get the most from your underwater photography, Descriptions of underwater habitats and animal behaviour, Guidance on how to be a responsible photographer, Direction and assistance on topics including composition, natural and artificial lighting, exposure and underwater conditions

Nick Robertson-Brown, a BSoUP Member, is passionate about marine wildlife. Having trained as a diving instructor, he now teaches underwater photography and regularly contributes to the photographic press."

Field review: Nikon D7100 and Subal ND7100

Wetpixel Associate Editor and BSoUP Member Alex Mustard provides an in-depth field review of the Nikon D7100 SLR and the Subal ND7100 housing. The D7100 currently represents the most advanced DX camera in the Nikon line-up, so if of particular interest to macro shooters and to those that are holding out for a new pro DX camera from Nikon.

More at http://wetpixel.com/

Nikon D7100

Website of the Week - Gill McDonald

"My world is full of water, light and words. I have dived worldwide for 24 years, making pictures for over half that time. My very first open water dive back in 1989 was at Temple in the Red Sea. I will never forget the arid, dusty desert morphing into an explosion of bright, teeming, colour-filled reef and I was immediately hooked."

"Underwater photography flickered into my consciousness during a four month marine conservation survey in Belize in the early '90s. After subsequently flooding a film camera in the Cayman Islands I thought "right, time to get serious". Some research with Steve Warren at Ocean Optics and pouring over dive magazines later (yes gentle reader, this was pre-Google days) decided me on a Nikonos V and a Martin Edge weekend course in Bournemouth."

"That decision led to an ongoing journey of discovery, breath-taking beauty, a career u-turn, lifelong friendships and a passion for underwater photography and writing that has seeped into my every pore to become an integral part of my life."

"I consider myself very fortunate to have a large, varied and immensely talented group of friends around the world who share my joy and wonder at the fabulous, mesmerising underwater world. Many, like me, do their best to raise awareness of the need for conservation and protection of this incredibly valuable and highly threatened natural resource that covers seven tenths of the earth."

Next BSoUP Meeting

The next BSoUP meeting takes place on Wednesday, 18 December 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. Remember that this is our last meeting in the Royal School of Mines Building as from January we move to the third Tuesday of the month in the Student Union Building across the road.

Annual Event:  Annual General Meeting.
The papers for the AGM have been already sent. As usual the AGM will (hopefully) take no more than 15 minutes!

Annual Event: Open Portfolio Competition:
A portfolio of 6 images. The competition is now closed. BSoUP Members only may view all 29 entries in the Competition Slideshow, but you will be asked to login if you have not done so this session. Please preview the entries before the meeting if you are attending

Annual Event: Christmas Party.

Open Portfolio Competition 2013

BSoUP / DIVER Print Competition in the media

As well as featuring on the BSoUP website, accounts referring to the BSoUP / DIVER Print Competition have appeared on the following websites:-

Divernet
Oonasdivers
Trevor Rees

If you know of any others please let us know.

The event will feature in the next issue of DIVER.

Beneath the Sea

Deadline 31st December, 2013

Beneath the Sea is calling for entries for its 2014 international underwater imaging contest. Competition categories include: General/Marine Life, Green/Cold Water, Macro/Close-up, Underwater Behavior, Conservation, Novice and Creative and the deadline for entries is 31 December 2013.

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

Beneath the Sea 2013

Go Wild UNCUT

Sunday, 15th December

"Go Wild for the Philippines" was conceived by Monty Halls (Great Escapes) as a one off, extraordinary event created by the wildlife-filming and diving community to support those communities ravaged by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

The response to the afternoon "Go Wild for the Philippines" event on 15 December in Bristol has been so overwhelming, in fact it completely sold out within 48 hours of going live, that the organisers have decided to add an extra special event in the evening. This is "Go Wild - UNCUT".

"The evening will again showcase top wildlife speakers - we have Doug Allan, Steve Backshall and Miranda Krestovnikoff already on board, with Ben Fogle doing his best to attend (he needs to be on a fishing boat in the Shetlands the next morning, so it's a good effort all round really). Ellie Harrison is also trying to make it. Monty and Reuben will also be there of course Please keep an eye out for updates."

Tickets are in the form of a donation of �10 to the nominated charity Shelterbox, who are working night and day to provide shelter, water purification, tools and hope to the people in the areas ravaged by the typhoon. With this in mind please be aware it is a blanket fee of �10 + a small handling fee for every person attending.

All money generated by the event goes directly to the work Shelterbox is doing in the Philippines. There are no additonal fees as everyone concerned is working for free.

Please join us for this special, extra event on the evening of 15 December at the Victoria Rooms in Bristol (full details at http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/)

Please note if you have already made a donation and have tickets for the afternoon "Go Wild for the Philippines" event and wish to attend the evening as well, you will need to make another donation and purchase a separate ticket for the evening event. If you have tickets for the afternoon these are not refundable and are not transferrable to the evening event.

Diving Dreams Calendar 2014

BSoUP Members Jeremy & Amanda Cuff's 2014 "Diving Dreams" calendars are now available to order at a cost of �9.00 (including Post & Packing within the UK).

To order please visit www.ja-universe.com/

For orders outside of the UK, please enquire (info@ja-universe.com) and they will provide a costing including postage & packing.

Red Sea Photocall

Deadline: 8th January 2014

Do you have underwater photos taken in the Red Sea that you're busting to show off? Photos that could win you a week's diving holiday for two in Egypt aboard Emperor Asmaa on the new Fury Shoal & St Johns itinerary? Or, if you'd rather be land-based, photos that could win you a week at the Zabargad Berenice Hotel in Hamata, with diving all the way?

Both holidays should provide excellent opportunities to take further inspiring photographs - and your preference is the prize in DIVER's Red Sea PhotoCall online competition. But do upload your entries fast, because you have only until 8 January. All accommodation and diving is hosted by Emperor Divers and return flights from the UK provided by the Egyptian Tourist Office.

Sixty entries will be short-listed by a BSoUP panel of judges and prints displayed at the London International Dive Show in February. Visitors will be invited to vote for their favourites, with the British Society of Underwater Photographers(BSoUP) overseeing the display and judging at the show.

The overall winner receives the holiday prize, and a selection of short-listed pictures will be published in DIVER and also displayed at the DIVE 2014 Show at the NEC later in the year.

Full details, including Terms & Conditions and entry form, at www.divernetxtra.com/

Books - updated

The Books pages on the BSoUP website have recently been updated. If you are an Amazon.co.uk customer then you can now purchase any of the included Books or DVDs with an Amazon link.

Similarly you can now purchase Books & DVDs and Kindle e-Books and Electronics including Laptops, Tablets and Smart phones via the BSoUP Online Shops.

You can also use the search facility in Online Shops to find any product on the Amazon.co.uk website.

Plese select Books from the main menu for the full list of submenus.

Every purchase you make from Amazon.co.uk via the BSoUP website earns a small commission for BSoUP, but costs you no more than you would pay by going direct.

BSoUP Online Shop

Website of the week - Arun Izzy Madisetti

Izzy qualified as a marine biologist and has spent a lot of his life doing marine research. He first began taking photos to document the life he was seeing and gradually moved to taking photos to promote the underwater environment to non divers.

Promoting environmental awareness is something he continue to do through school educational programs. He is also a regular contributing editor in Domnitjen Magazine.

Please visit http://images-dominica.com/

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014

From displays of extraordinary animal behaviour to unexpected views of nature, the hunt is on for the planet's best wildlife images for the 50th Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition.

The competition remains the most prestigious wildlife photography contest in the world, championing the ethical discovery and enjoyment of the natural world through the power of photography. To be in with a chance of seizing one of the coveted awards and grand titles, entries must display creativity, innovation, authenticity and technical excellence.

The competition opens on 9 December 2013 and closes 27 February 2014. Amateur and professional photographers alike are invited to submit images to 18 categories, with four categories open exclusively to those aged 17 and under. Full details can be found, and entries submitted at www.wildlifephotographeroftheyear.com

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

BUPG - Next Meeting

Tuesday 10th December

The Meeting (start time 20.00 hrs) will be at our normal venue - The Casson Centre, Rodway Road, Patchway, BS34 5DQ (map)

The December competition theme is 'Open'

Open Portfolio competition

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

Website of the Week - Zac Macauley

Zac's career spanning over 20 years as an underwater photography specialist has taken him and his crew all over the world shooting for a wide variety of agencies both advertising and editorial for many and varied clients. He likes to use a strong graphic element in his photographic style, using colour and composition as a thread that runs through his work.

He is as happy shooting commercial advertising shoots in purpose-built flooded studios, tanks or private pools for ultimate control as he is in the open sea on assignment. He has built up countless fix it contacts all around the world to help facilitate your production and a large knowledge of locations to help you find that special beach or bay just right for your shoot.

Zac uses the latest digital camera systems, waterproof housings and software. More ..