LAUPS: The Los Angeles Underwater Photographic Society
Founded 1957 - Celebrating 50 years of underwater photography

This is a reminder that the 45th Annual International Underwater Photographic Competition is well under way and accepting entries postmarked by Sept 21, 2007.

The 45th International Underwater Photographic Competition and our gracious sponsors offer both experienced and novice photographers, and videographers the opportunity to win valuable prizes including dive trips, underwater photography and diving equipment!

So far this year includes trips with:
Bilikiki, Solomons
Nai'a, Fiji
Uncommon Adventures
Lagoon Resort, Fiji
Manta Ray Bay Hotel, Yap
Explorer Expeditions, Chuuk/Truk
Club Cantamar, La Paz
and more sponsoring daily.....

10 Categories include: “Macro” (print & digital), “Wide Angle”(print & digital), “Behavior” (digital only), “Cold/Green Water”(print & digital), “Marine Related Scenic” (digital only), "Video Raw" and “Video Edited”.

For complete details on eligibility, rules, and entry forms in .pdf files, please visit the official competition website at www.laups.org

If you have any questions, please contact competition@laups.org

Nikon announced its new cameras, one of which (D3) is full-frame. Both are 14 bit sensor, 12 megapixel cameras with live view. New lenses were also announced.


Details can be found here:

d3 review:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0708/07082312nikond3.asp
d300 review:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0708/07082313nikond300.asp
new zoom lenses:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0708/07082311nikonafs14-24-70lenses.asp
new VR telephoto lenses:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0708/07082310nikonsupertelelenses.asp

Jim Lyle reports on wreck diving in North Carolina. What did Jim find in NC? 3 hour boat trips, large swells, 100-115ft depths, 30% nitrox, spearguns, lots of fish, and lots of sharks.

Read the juicy details here, along with lots of great photos:
http://www.diver.net/bbs/posts002/72000.shtml

We had a good time at the August meeting. Tom Kendrick entertained us with stories of his career as an urchin diver, and a lot of us went home with his book, eager for more. Cory announced that there are still a few spot available for the september boat & shootout. Minicomp winners are posted (stills only so far), they were:

Novice:
1st place Fletcher Forbes
2nd place Scott Gietler
3rd place Scott Gietler

Open:
1st place Todd Winner
2nd place Todd Winner
3rd place Jim Lyle

Video:
1st Dwight Crumb
2nd Walter Marti
3rd Janet Crumb

We've got 3 big announcements on the web page right now.

The first is that at long last, the rules and entry form for our 45th annual International Competition are posted. Deadline is September 21st, friday night, at midnight PST. More detail and the forms are here.

The second is that our club is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. We'll have a celebration on August 25th at the Cabrillo Aquarium, all are welcome. More details on that are at this link.

Finally, we're looking forward to a great meeting this month, our speaker is Tom Kendrick, who has written a very exciting book on his years surfing, diving, and harvesting urchins in California. Scroll down one post for more info on the meeting.

This month's LAUPS meeting is on August 15th.

Our speaker will be Tom Kendrick, author of Blue Water Gold Rush.

A Sonoma county resident, Tom was a California sea urchin diver for 22 years. His diving career originated from his search for secret surf spots at the Channel Islands, and took him from Santa Barbara to Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, northern California, and the shark-infested Farallon Islands. His book, Blue Water Gold Rush, has been featured in California Diving News, The Surfer’s Journal, National Fisherman, and the pbs television show, Huell Howser’s California’s Gold. A screenplay is currently in production.



The theme for the minicomp this month is "Schools of fish"

Please name your files for entry as follows:
0708_open_your-title_your-name.jpeg for open entries.
0708_novice_your-title_your-name.jpeg for open entries.