BSoUP's Sponsors

Website of the Week - Chris Walter

Chris Walter and been taking traditional black & white images on land and underwater for over twenty five years. He still uses film cameras and produces silver gelatin prints for landscape, but have recently started using a digital system underwater.

"Unusually, I design and build my own cameras: landscape and underwater, film and digital. Currently I am using two 12x6 medium format cameras built around the Schneider 47mm XL lens. One is for landscape and is made of wood, the other is an underwater camera and isnt. The major drawback of the underwater system is that you only get six shots per film."

More at http://www.chriswalter-photography.co.uk/

Pacific North West Diver - Latest issue

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

The May issue includes articles on Founding of Edmonds Underwater Park (1970), News Corner, Featured Photographers & Videographers, tured Operator/Resort, Upcoming Travel Opportunities, Technical Corner and the PNW Diver Team.

To downlaod your copy please visit http://pnwups.com/

A Complete Guide to Underwater Digital Photography

by Mathieu Meur

Whether you're an absolute beginner trying to determine what equipment to purchase, or a seasoned photographer seeking to further sharpen your skills, this book has it all from the most basic to advanced instructions on equipment, techniques, composition, lighting, post-production, to tips on getting published and winning photo competitions.

This book is available for download with iBooks on your Mac or iPad, and with iTunes on your computer. Multi-touch books can be read with iBooks on your Mac or iPad. Books with interactive features may work best on an iPad.

To purchase for just 7.49 please visit https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/complete-guide-to-underwater/id639388398?mt=11&uo=4

A Complete Guide to Underwater
Digital Photography by Mathieu Meur

Website of the Week - Suzy Walker-Toye

Suzy is from London, UK and happily married. She has been taking photographs under the sea since 2003, but not in cold British waters. With her blog posts & photographs she likes to raise peoples awareness of the beauty of life in the ocean before it is too late and all that life no longer thrives.

Until recently Suzy shot (mainly) underwater with a D300 in Subal housing, but now she's selling all her Nikon & Subal gear. Please contact her if interested. She is now now mirrorless with the Olympus OMD EM5 & Nauticam housing.

Suzy has 98 galleries and 3054 images online

Peter Scoones dies

We are sad to report the death of our co-founder Peter Scoones. He was 76 and died peacefully in his sleep with his family round him still wanting to return to the Red Sea one last time.

Recently the Society presented him with its first Lifetime Achievement Award for his exceptional contribution to underwater photography, an honour he richly deserved.

Summing up his career, our chairman, Joss Woolf said: He was a legend in his own lifetime.

Co-founder Colin Doeg added: He was a major influence and driving force in the creation, development and success of BSoUP.

Peter did everything his own way. Instead of doing National Service as quickly as possible he joined the RAF to learn something useful. That was photography. He became a complete photographer, skilled at operating and repairing both still and cine cameras as well as processing the resulting images.

This background formed the basis of his creativity and resourcefulness. He started making housings for his cameras from Perspex salvaged from aircraft but they became increasingly sophisticated and were always better than anything available commercially.

While serving in Singapore, where he was captain of the RAF sailing club, he was captivated by the colourful world he saw in the warm tropical waters while snorkelling to clean the hull of one of the boats. That led to his passion for underwater photography and a remarkable career. Returning to civilian life he worked in the photographic industry, becoming increasingly involved in the development of equipment for the off-shore oil industry before underwater photography took over as his main activity.

He filmed TV commercials and features but his main focus was always the natural history and documentary fields, where he became a core cameraman involved in many of the BBC Natural History Unit's projects from Reefwatch to Life in the Freezer and Blue Planet, frequently producing unique footage.

He won many awards for his work including an Emmy and a Bafta the British film industrys Oscars and on two occasions he was awarded a Palme dOr at the Antibes film festival in France.

We  extend our deepest sympathy to his wife, Georgette Douwma, and his two children by a previous marriage, Fiona and Robin.

For a fuller appreciation of Peter's life please see 'A legend in his own lifetime - Peter Scoones' by Colin Doeg.

See also DIVER Magazine, DIVE Magazine, Sport Diver Magazine (Facebook), wetpixel, The Telegraph, Daily Express

Splash-In 2014

This year's Splash-In (British Underwater Photography Championship) is being held on Saturday 5th July, 2014 at Portland, Dorset.

This year's event is being sponsored by Scuba Tours Worldwide, O'Three, Under Water Visions, AP Valves, Scimitar Diving, Paul Colley Underwater Photography and South West Nudibranchs.

There are some great prizes to be won in this one day in-water competition. All photographers are invited to compete, although BSoUP member's qualify for a reduced entry fee. This year there is a separate category for compact camera users.

Please register and book your accommodation and boat now. Further details.

British Wildlife Photography Awards

Deadline: 3 May 2013

The sixth annual British Wildlife Photography Awards competition is inviting entries, with the promise of fine prizes and exposure through publishing and display.

An overall prize fund worth up to 20,000 includes products from lead sponsors Sky and Canon, and the overall winner bags a cheque for 5000.

The competition, for terrestrial and aquatic photography in Britain by amateurs and professionals, covers stills - including a new section for black and white images - and video. Divers enter the Coast and Marine category, sponsored by WWF-UK.

Focus On - People - Results

Congratulations to Laura Storm who was the winner of this month's Focus On competition with an image of a freediver at one with a pod of Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin taken at White Sand Ridge, The Bahamas at 1/640secs. f/8.0 ISO 200.

Congratulations also to Rick Ayrton and Caroline Robertson-Brown who came second and third respectively. Rick's image features a triathlete training and was taken at Cromhall Quarry, South Gloucestershire with a Nikon D200, 10.5mm, 1/640, f4.5. Caroline's image features a swimmer in a pool.

How the top six scored:-

The top six may be viewed in the Gallery.

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

If you entered and were not in the top six but would like to know how your image fared please contact me.

Next month's Focus On competition is Silhouettes and is now open. Deadline Sunday 11th May. Please read the Rules before entering.

3rd © Caroline Robertson-Brown

MCS Good Beach Guide

MCS Good Beach Guide

A record number of UK bathing beaches receive the Marine Conservation Society's top water quality award after the driest summer since 2003

One of the UK's driest summers in recent memory has resulted in more bathing beaches than ever being Recommended for their excellent water quality in the MCS's annual Good Beach Guide, launched online today (Tuesday 15th April 2014).

MCS haverecommended 538 out of 734 (73%) UK beaches tested during last summer as having excellent water quality that's 135 more than the previous year.There were also fewer failures, with just fourteen beaches tested last summer failing to reach minimum water quality standards.

In the North East and South East of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland there were no failures at all meaning all of their monitored beaches reached minimum bathing water standards.

BSoUP Membership Subscriptions 2014

The annual BSoUP Membership subscriptions fell due on 1 February 2014. Quite a large number of members have paid already. Our thanks for doing so.

Please would those who haven't yet done so, make life a little easier for our Treasurer and Membership Secretary and pay your subscription now. There are lots of benefits in being a BSoUP Member. Some subscription rates have been increased for the first time in many years due to the high cost of hiring the meetings venue. Please see Join.php on how much and methods of payment. If you have underpaid please send us the balance. If you are not renewing please let us know.

BSoUP Members don't forget you can login to check and if necessary change your e-mail address and password. Select 'Edit my details' from the Members menu. If you have never logged in before you will initially be treated as a 'Guest' until an Administrator upgrades you to 'Member'. If we don't have your correct details we won't be able to post you copies of the magazine or send you information via e-mail. If you have moved, please let us know.

BSoUP Membership Subscriptions 2014

Colin Doeg

Next BSoUP Meeting

The next BSoUP meeting takes place on Tuesday 15 April at 7.30 for 8.00 p.m. in Meeting Room 3, Union Building, Beit Quadrangle, Imperial College, South Kensington, London SW7 [Entrance via Prince Consort Road] (Directions). New and prospective new members will be welcomed from 7.30 p.m. See Welcome.

Colin Doeg: Tethered Shooting. What is tethered shooting? Tonight those who have never heard of it will find out. The technique has long been favoured by studio photographers because it enables their clients to see the images on computer screens or monitors as they are being taken. It is also used during demonstrations at photographic exhibitions so images can be shown to audiences on big screens. Tonight Colin Doeg , co-founder and first chairman of the Society, will explain how it can be used to good effect when you want to experiment with ideas for lighting effects and lenses and how he wishes it had been available in the days of film when BSoUP was created and he was trying to improve his images!

Focus On People (divers/snorkelers/swimmers, the subject can be anyone in or under the water, and this time it can be taken in a swimming pool!)  The Competition is now closed. There are a total of 31 entries.  BSoUP Members only may view the entries in the Competition Slide Show. You will be asked to login if you have not done so already this session.

Warren Williams: THE  PLUTO H.U.D PROJECT (photographing in rivers with a pole-cam). This project started due to my constant desire to look into streams, brooks, and rivers. I started looking when I was about eight years old and have never stopped. Having gone full circle on the diving  scene I thought I would look again with a pole-cam configuration of my own design and construction. This is the sort of thing we did in the early days of BSoUP when equipment was not commercially available - we had to make it to do the job! I do miss the  BUZZ of those days. This presentation will show you some of the things I have found, but not all.  (From Martha - weve seen some stunning images from Warrens underwater exploration of rivers in BSoUP competitions over the last couple of years - now he is finally going to show us how he got them!)

Focus On - People

Warren Williams

Warren is a BSoUP Honorary Life Member and served nine years on the BSoUP Committee. He is well known for his design and construction of specialised underwater photographic equipment, has been involved in judging underwater photographs for national and international exhibitions and film festivals and has lectured to The Royal Photographic Society. He has won numerous awards for his underwater photography including British underwater photographer of the year at Diver Magazine's 1979 Brighton Festival of Underwater Photography, Underwater Photographer of the year at the Irish Underwater Council's Film Festival (3 times), BSoUP's Best of British Trophy (4 times), Dive International Magazine's Award for Best British Underwater Photographer, and 18 Gold, 6 Silver and 9 Bronze Medals together with numerous trophies in various national and international exhibitions and film festivals.

Website of the Week - Nigel Wade

Nigel Wadeis the Technical Editor ofDIVERMagazine UK specialising in underwater photography and scuba diving. Producing editorial and pictorial articles covering all aspects of diving fromtechnical equipment reviews,trip reports, course reviews and safety features. Examples can be found in the Commercial section of this site.

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

Having retired from the Fire Service in 2010 after 31 wonderful years of service he's now free to pursue a career in diving, photography and writing.

In 2008 Nigel was awarded the title of UK and Ireland Underwater photographer of the year. In 2013 Nigel was a nominated finalist in the photography section of the British Travel Press Awards.

Nigel is a member of the Royal Photographic Society havingbeen awardedan Associateship (ARPS) via assessment for a submission of 15 images captured exclusively underwater.

DEEP Indonesia Results

The prestigious DEEP Indonesia International Underwater Photo Competition is part of a unique series hosted by DivePhotoGuide & Wetpixel, in association with DEEP Indonesia, Indonesia's first and premier diving, adventure travel and extreme sports expo. ¨Photographers competed in seven themed categories to win over $40,000 in prizes, including underwater photo equipment and premium dive travel packages to some of the top photo destinations in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and The Maldives.

Congratulations to Bert Willaert who won Best of Show for his 1st place image from the Compact Camera category. It is the first time in the history the series that a compact camera winner has won the Best of Show. Winners can be seen online, and will be published by our media partners worldwide and exhibited during the DEEP Indonesia Expo in Jakarta, Indonesia.

As with all UnderwaterCompetition.com events, 15% of entry proceeds will be donated to marine conservation efforts.

Seacam Academy

Housing manufacturer Seacam has launched their online learning site. Entitled the Seacam Academy, there are currently 10 downloadable tutorials available to purchase at from €80 to €140 each in German or English, all presented by underwater photography guru Kurt Amsler.

Current topics include: Flash, Wide-Angle, Fish, Macro, Super Macro, Diver and Model and Wreck.

There is also a free introductory lesson entitled The Right Equipment, which runs for 38.05 mins.

NUPG Meetings in April

April 12th 2014

Spring Splash In

Just for fun take underwater pictures anywhere in the sea in North Wales on 12th April and submit them for the March meeting.

Categories Close up and Wide Angle, please state whether you are using a system camera with interchangable lenses or a compact camera. Submit your images by midnight Saturday May 10th for judging at the May meeting.

April 14th 2014

Monthly meeting

Talk by Martin Edge limited to 70 places must be booked in advance.

Competition Theme: Wrecks

Please email to let us know if you are coming, tickets free for members and 5 for non-members

BUPG - Next Meeting

Tuesday April 8th

The next meeting of the Bristol Underwater Photography Group takes place on Tuesday 8th PAril at 8.00 p.m. at the usualvenue - The Casson Centre, Rodway Road, Patchway, BS34 5DQ (map)

The Marchcompetition theme is 'People' - divers, snorkellers, swimmers etc, anyone in or under the water (no pool shots).

Alex Mustard has judged our Image of the Year Competition and his deliberations will be in the form of an AV presentation.

With the rise in popularity of vacuum systems it is now a good time to look at what is on the market. Peter Plume, Paul Colley, Trevor Rees, Rick Ayrton and Mark Drayton all have different systems installed and these will be discussed, as well as being available to examine. Aunique opportunity to have a close look at five of the six systems availableon the market today.

Website of the Week - JP Trenque

Born in France, I learnt to dive in 1980 to follow in my fathers footsteps.

After moving to the UK in 1994, I became a diving instructor and spent my holidays teaching people to dive. I also developed an interest in underwater videography, which I thought would be a great tool to share my passion of the underwater environment and would allow me to show non divers how beautiful and fragile coral reefs are.

Soon, I realised that, although I could obtain some decent footage, I often struggled to put it together into an interesting story. So I switched to still underwater photography in 2003 with a Nikon D100 and started attending BSoUP meetings on a regular basis. Listening to speakers such as Linda Dunk, Linda Pitkin or Alex Mustard offered a major source of inspiration.

Working as a volunteer RNLI crewmember on the Thames has given me access to new photographic opportunities, which I hope to explore further in the future.

Nudibranch Photo Competition 2014

Deadline: Wednesday, 2nd April

The Nudibranch Photo Competition 2014, sponsored by Nauticam UK, has been founded to celebrate nudibranchs and their allies. There are just two categories in this inaugural contest: British Nudibranchs and Nudibranchs of the Rest of the World. The prizes have been specially selected to appeal to nudibranch photographers.

The winner of each category will receive the brand new Super Macro Converter from Nauticam. Photographers can enter up to 10 images in total, split between the categories. The judges are Alex Mustard, Bernard Picton and Constantinos Petrinos.

For full details visit www.nudibranchphotocomp.com/

Nudibranch Photo Competition 2014.
Image © Alex Mustard

World Shootout 2014

Deadline: Thursday July 31st, 2014.

The World Shootout is on and will continue during January-July, 2014!

Cash and prestigious prizes, 9 creative categories, 3 winners on each category and complete freedom to choose your own diving destination!

Submit your best and most impressive underwater images, taken anytime and anywhere in the world, and win some of the most valuable prizes ever awarded to underwater photographers, including a $5,000 check for the 1st prize!

Further details at www.worldshootout.org/