Sunday, March 9, 2008
Archive & Update, new location
Sunday, February 24, 2008
February Minicomp Winners
Results from the first 2008 minicomp are posted here:
February 2008: "How to Eat Fried Worms"
Congratulations to all the winners! And thanks for everyone's patience during my first attempt at running the comps at the meeting - hey, I can only improve, right?
February 2008: "How to Eat Fried Worms"
Congratulations to all the winners! And thanks for everyone's patience during my first attempt at running the comps at the meeting - hey, I can only improve, right?
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Meeting this Wednesday 2/20!
We've got our first regular meeting of the year this Wednesday, February 20th, at 7:30 PM at the Natural History Museum. We haven't been there in a while, so we're not sure if there's still construction in our normal lot. You may still have to park in the neighboring lot with the entrance on Menlo, just south of Exposition Blvd (Google Map image here).
This month's mini-comp theme is worms (Leslie Harris's favorite subject!). All the mini comps this year will have movie titles, this month's is "How to eat fried worms."
Friday, February 8, 2008
Prizes for the LAUPS International Posted
Prizes for the 2007 45th international Competition have now been posted at:
2007 - 45th International Underwater Photographic Competition Winners
Thanks very much to all of our wonderful sponsors who make this contest possible!
We again apologize for the delay in posting this year.
Introducing the ECOCEAN Whale Shark Photo-identification Library
Over 1100 Whale Sharks Identified!
ECOCEAN is celebrating over 1100 identified whale shark thanks to global efforts by hundreds of ‘citizen scientists’ and eco-tourists. The 1000th shark was reported by a major contributor to the ECOCEAN Photo-ID Library, Simon Pierce, a marine biologist studying sharks and rays in Mozambique.
Scuba game for the Wii
Can't get in the water this week? Maybe you should get a Wii and "Endless Ocean":
‘Endless Ocean’ may sink its hooks into you - Games - msnbc.com
‘Endless Ocean’ may sink its hooks into you - Games - msnbc.com
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Club Competition Results from the Banquet
From the LAUPS Banquet:PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR JIM LYLE
VIDEOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR DWIGHT CRUMB
_______________________________________________________________________________
2007 MINI CLUB COMPETITION
NOVICE CATEGORY
THIRD PLACE
SCOTT GIETLER
SECOND PLACE
MARGARET WEBB
FIRST PLACE
JEFF LAITY
____________________________________________________________________________
2007 MINI CLUB COMPETITION
OPEN CATEGORY
THIRD PLACE
BILL VAN ANTWERP
SECOND PLACE
TODD WINNER
FIRST PLACE
JIM LYLE
_____________________________________________________________________________
2007 MIN CLUB COMPETITION
VIDEO
THIRD PLACE THIRD PLACE
JANET CRUMB NANNETTE VAN ANTWERP
SECOND PLACE
WALTER MARTI
FIRST PLACE
DWIGHT CRUMB
2007 SLIDESHOW COMPETITION
NOVICE CATEGORY
THIRD PLACE
CAROL YIN
SECOND PLACE SECOND PLACE
LINDA BLANCHARD MARGARET WEBB
FIRST PLACE
JEFF LAITY
2007SLIDESHOW COMPETITION
OPEN CATEGORY
THIRD PLACE
KELLY BRACKEN
SECOND PLACE
SCOTT WEBB
FIRST PLACE
JIM LYLE
2007 CALIFORNIA SHOOTOUT
THIRD PLACE THIRD PLACE
SUELLEN HIATT JIM LYLE
SECOND PLACE
SCOTT WEBB
FIRST PLACE
CAROL YIN
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2007 CALIFORNIA SHOOTOUT
VIDEO
SECOND PLACE
ANASTASIA LAITY
FIRST PLACE
WALTER MARTI
2007 EDITED COMPETITION
VIDEO
THIRD PLACE
JANET AND DWIGHT CRUMB
SECOND PLACE SECOND PLACE
JUDY CARLSON NANNETTE VAN ANTWERP
FIRST PLACE
ANASTASIA LAITY
2007 INTRA CLUB COMPETITION
CALIFORNIA
NOVICE CATEGORY
THIRD PLACE
MARGARET WEBB
SECOND PLACE SECOND PLACE
FLETCHER FORBES CAROL YINN
FIRST PLACE
JEFF LAITY
______________________________________________________________________________
2006 INTRA CLUB COMPETITION CALIFORNIA
OPEN CATEGORY
THIRD PLACE
DAVE NESHEIM
SECOND PLACE SECOND PLACE
MELISSA BOAG JON GONDOS
FIRST PLACE FIRST PLACE
KELLY BRACKEN JIM LYLE
2007 INTRA CLUB COMPETITION COLOR
NOVICE CATEGORY
THIRD PLACE
JEFF LAITY
SECOND PLACE
BONNIE ZALESKI
FIRST PLACE FIRST PLACE
MARGARET WEBB FLETCHER FORBES
2007 INTRA CLUB COMPETITION COLOR
OPEN CATEGORY
THIRD PLACE
MATT SEGAL
SECOND PLACE
KELLY BRACKEN
FIRST PLACE
TONY FRANK
2006 INTRA CLUB COMPETITION COLOR PRINTS
THIRD PLACE
MATT SEGAL
SECOND PLACE
BILL VAN ANTWERP
FIRST PLACE
JIM LYLE
2007 INTRA CLUB COMPETITION CALIFORNIA PRINTS
THIRD PLACE
BILL VAN ANTWERP
SECOND PLACE
BONNIE ZALESKI
FIRST PLACE
JIM LYLE
2007 INTRA CLUB COMPETITION MARINE RELATED
NOVICE CATEGORY
THIRD PLACE
BONNIE ZALESKI
SECOND PLACE
JOHN NOLAN
FIRST PLACE
MARGARET WEBB
2007 INTRA CLUB COMPETITION MARINE RELATED
OPEN CATEGORY
THIRD PLACE
JIM LYLE
SECOND PLACE
KELLY BRACKEN
FIRST PLACE
DAVE NESHEIM
2007 INTRA CLUB COMPETITION
FREESTYLE
THIRD PLACE
JEFF LAITY
SECOND PLACE
JIM LYLE
FIRST PLACE
BONNIE ZALESKI
_________________________________________________________________________________
MEMBERS MOVING TO OPEN CATEGORY:
FLETCHER FORBES
MARGARET WEBB
JEFF LAITY
BONNIE ZALESKI
MEETINGS NEXT YEAR:
3 LOCAL DIVES
MAY 31, 2008
??????? DATE NOT KNOWN YET
SEPTEMBER 20, 2008
FEBRUARY MINI COMP WILL BE HOW TO EAT FRIED WORMS (WORMS) (
Saturday, December 22, 2007
LAUPS Banquet - Sat Jan 19th
It's time again for our wonderful awards banquet - Saturday January 19thLocation: Ports' O' Call Restaurant in San Pedro
Time: 6:30-7:30 Social Hour - no host bar
Dinner at 7:30
Please indicate whether you want filet, salmon or vegetarian dinner when you send in your reservations.
Price: $40.00 per person
Send your checks to LAUPS P.O. Box 2401 Culver City, CA. 90231
A reminder to all members. If you pay your 2008 dues by the banquet, you will receive $5.00 in bonus bucks which can be used for the raffle, international competition or t-shirts which we have for sale.
Thanks,
Bobbi
Sunday, November 25, 2007
International Results Posted!
The results of the 2007 - 45th Annual LAUPS International Competition are now posted!
Link to Results
Congratulations to all the winners!
Thanks to our judges and sponsors, without whom the contest would not be possible.
And thanks to all out entrants. The judges had a tough time this year. We'll soon post comments from them on the competition, as we have in years past.
Our apologies for the delay in posting results, many of our members helping to run the competition had trips to make after the competition (and not all for diving!)
Link to Results
Congratulations to all the winners!
Thanks to our judges and sponsors, without whom the contest would not be possible.
And thanks to all out entrants. The judges had a tough time this year. We'll soon post comments from them on the competition, as we have in years past.
Our apologies for the delay in posting results, many of our members helping to run the competition had trips to make after the competition (and not all for diving!)
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
International Results Posted Soon...
International Results will be posted this saturday. Sorry for the delay.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Members' Trip Reports: Lembeh, Wakatobi, and Malasia
Our members have been traveling a lot lately, and here are two great trip reports.
First, from Jim Lyle, a report on his trip to Lembeh Straits and Wakatobi. Several LAUPS members were on this trip including Scott and Margaret Webb, John Nolan, and Roger and Judy Carlson.
Indonesia – Part I Lembeh
Indonesia – Part II Wakotobi
Next, from LAUPS and OCUPS member Kevin Lee, a report on his Malaysian Sea Slug expedition with Dave Behrens of Sea Challengers:
The 1st Malaysian Sea Slug Expedition, organized by David Behrens, included twelve enthusiastic nudiphiles, all in serious search of opisthobranchs. Larger, colorful and conspicuous slugs were easy to spot and photograph, in situ; however, the majority were mighty small, even as tiny as a grain of rice, well camouflaged, and hiding, making them very challenging to see, let alone photograph. The most favorable and productive hunting results came from keen concentration on food sources or recognizing tell-tale signs such as egg masses. Also, overturning rubble and rocks, and simply waiting for something to "move" yielded nice finds. Only uncommon or unrecognized specimens were gathered in collection bags and brought aboard. Of course, care was taken not to harm live coral or disturb other marine life, during the collection process.
Once on board, the slugs were gently placed in a shallow tub of ocean water and allowed to settle on some rocky substrate for more photographs, identification and recording. Known species were returned to the ocean, at the approximate depth they were found. The rarer or unknown specimens were preserved for further examination and analysis (electron microscopy, dissection, DNA) by the California Academy of Sciences. The expedition found 153 species, 8 previously unknown to science and 18 still un-described. The process of identifying, publishing and naming new species is arduous and can take years to complete. Studying sea slugs helps us understand evolutionary patterns, from which we can better understand our planet (and hopefully make it better, not worse).
We can expect to see some of the Malaysian opisthobranchs in print for the first time, next June, when a new book, with 1500 species, will be published by Dave Behrens and his associates. Many of the Malaysian Opisthobranchs, found during our expedition and photographed by me, have been uploaded, to the Photo Gallery of www.ocdiving.com. There's more to come, pending proper identification.
http://www.ocdiving.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=21354
Some topside pix of our Malaysia Sea Slug Expedition:
http://www.ocdiving.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=21758
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Dive Photo Guide's coverage of DEMA
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Wetpixel coverage of DEMA
Monday, September 24, 2007
A Slug's Life
Saturday, September 22, 2007
International Competition Update 9/22
If you emailed entries, you should have a confirmation email from us by now. Please contact us at webmaster@laups.org if you have not heard back from us.
thanks and good luck!
thanks and good luck!
Thursday, September 20, 2007
International Competition Update
The email entries are coming in hot and fast right now. You will get a confirmation email from us letting you know we got payment, entry form, and entries, but due to the volume right now, it might not be immediate.
If you have any trouble using the comp entry address, please contact us at webmaster@laups.org without an attached photo and we'll work out the issue.
Thanks for your patience and good luck!
If you have any trouble using the comp entry address, please contact us at webmaster@laups.org without an attached photo and we'll work out the issue.
Thanks for your patience and good luck!
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Entry Deadline for 45 LAUPS International Competition less than a week away!
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
September 2007: Another busy month for our club
Our monthly meeting is Wednesday September 19, It is our 2nd intra-club competition ENTER-ENTER-ENTER any one could win even if you did not entered the 1st competition of the year.CATAGORIES:
Creative Freestyle-digital
(filename 0709_freestyle_your-title_your-name.jpeg)
Novice Color-digital
(filename 0709_color_novice_your-title_your-name.jpeg)
Open Color-digital
(filename 0709_color_open_your-title_your-name.jpeg)
Novice West Coast-digital
(filename 0709_west_novice_your-title_your-name.jpeg)
Open West Coast-digital
(filename 0709_west_open_your-title_your-name.jpeg)
Novice Marine Related-digital
(filename 0709_marine_novice_your-title_your-name.jpeg)
Open Marine Related-digital
(filename 0709_marine_open_your-title_your-name.jpeg)
Novice & Open Judged Together Color Prints
Novice & Open Judged Together West Coast Prints
September 22nd is our final California dive trip for the year. Come and join the fun there are a couple spots left, call Cory Gray to sign up 310-568-0797
Digital Photo Workshops with Bilikiki Cruises at NO EXTRA CHARGE!
Bilikiki Cruises will once again be hosting photo professionals on board MV Bilikiki and MV Spirit of Solomons in 2007 and 2008.
Nov 13 - 27, 2007 Join Fred Dion of Underwater Photo-Tech. Receive equipment and photo instruction on a one to one basis at NO EXTRA CHARGE! Great way to improve your photography and have fun doing it! Check it out at http://www.uwphoto.com/travel.html#6
Aug 12 - 26, 2008 will be hosted by the Digital Duo Sue &Jack Drafahl. Enjoy evening slide shows, and instruction in digital photography and Photoshop at NO EXTRA CHARGE. For more information go to http://www.jackandsuedrafahl.com/tripssolomon1.html
Oct 14 - 28, 2008 will be hosted by Rod Klein. Take advantage of Rod's expertise in Digital photography. Join his Digital Workshop at NO EXTRA CHARGE! For more information on Rod and his clinic go to http://www.rhkuw.com/workshops.html
All of these departures are a full 14 nights with 13 days of diving!! And all of the workshops are being offered at NO EXTRA CHARGE over our regular charter rates.
Obviously demand will be high so book now to secure your space. Call or email us with any questions or to confirm a booking.
Send us your photos!
Many of you have uploaded your images to our guest photo gallery and there are really some great shots there. Check it out at http://bilikiki.com/gallery.php or to upload your images go direct to http://bilikiki.com/guestupload.php.
Let us know if you would also like to see them appear as our main images at the top of our web pages. These change on a random basis every time you reload a page.
All the best to all of you from all of us at Bilikiki Cruises!
Wetpixel launches Wetpixel Quarterly
Wetpixel launches Wetpixel Quarterly, a new quarterly print magazine
Magazine focuses on spectacular underwater imagery and the marine environment
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — September 7th, 2007 —
Wetpixel LLC announces the arrival of a new quarterly print magazine devoted to high-quality underwater photography. Wetpixel Quarterly brings fans of the underwater realm spectacular imagery in a landscape-oriented, high-resolution format. As well as celebrating the beauty of the deep, Wetpixel Quarterly provides a forum for a necessary dialog on marine conservation among photographers, researchers, conservationists, and the general public. To help foster this community, the magazine accepts and encourages contributions from professional and amateur photographers alike. Wetpixel.com is the most respected online destination for all things related to underwater imaging; Wetpixel Quarterly presents an exciting new venue for showcasing the work of this community in print.
The magazine’s founders, Eric Cheng and Elijah Woolery—both avid divers and underwater photographers—hope to foster environmental stewardship by highlighting conservation concerns in Wetpixel Quarterly‘s theme-based issues. “By drawing attention to the links between the beauty of the underwater world and the action required to sustain these environments,” says Woolery, “we’re hoping to increase interest in preserving threatened areas around the globe—and to help protect those areas that are still pristine.” Through interviews, articles, open contests, and, most importantly, the lenses of its contributors, Wetpixel Quarterly brings to the page a new sense of the fragility and splendor of underwater life.
About Wetpixel Quarterly:
Wetpixel Quarterly was founded in 2007 by Eric Cheng and Elijah Woolery to create a high-quality quarterly showcase of the best in underwater imagery in conjunction with news and information about marine research and conservation. Wetpixel Quarterly is printed in landscape orientation using 50% recycled materials.
For more information, visit http://www.wetpixelquarterly.com/
DivePhotoGuide Does Wakatobi
AMAZING REEFS ARE JUST THE BEGINNING Situated in a small archipelago just Southeast of Sulawesi, a large Amoeba shaped island in the center of Indonesia, Wakatobi is truly a slice of paradise in the middle of nowhere.
Read more of Dive Photo Guide's trip report to Wakatobi here:
DivePhotoGuide Does Wakatobi
Monterey Bay Aquarium has 3rd White Shark on Exhibit
For only the third time ever, the Moneterey Bay Aquarium placed a young white shark in the Outer Bay exhibit on August 28. The shark—a male 4-foot, 9-inches and 67 ½ pounds—will remain in the exhibit as long as he's in good health and is small enough for us to return safely to the wild.Tracking tags on the first two sharks recorded their movements back in the wild. Data from their tags, and those on other juveniles and adults, is expanding scientific understanding of white shark migrations. That’s information vital to efforts to protect these threatened predators.
You can meet the white shark in person when you visit, or try to spot him on our Outer Bay cam as he swims in the exhibit. The aquarium will be open until 8 p.m. this Saturday, September 1 and Sunday, September 2. We’ll post regular online updates on how he’s doing.
Learn more about our new white shark.
New Canon DSLRs Offer Exciting UW potential
Read Dive Photo Guide's review of the exciting new Canon SLRs here:
New Canon DSLRs Offer Exciting UW potential
The songs that make sharks frisky
They might have a reputation as being fearsome killing machines but scientists have discovered that even the ocean's ultimate predator appreciates a decent tune.
A new study by German scientists has discovered that playing certain music to sharks gets them in the mood for mating.
The songs that make sharks frisky
A new study by German scientists has discovered that playing certain music to sharks gets them in the mood for mating.
The songs that make sharks frisky
10 Solutions to save the Oceans
Great ideas can pop open whole new vistas. And they can come in many forms. They can be as big and sweeping as a new business model or as focused as a single piece of equipment. What’s key is that they are leverage points that have the potential to turn tides. Saving the world’s oceans is going to take more than passionate declarations. Conservation Magazine asked a select group of innovative thinkers to go out on a limb. What string should we pull to give marine conservation a decided edge? Here are their answers.
10 Solutions to save the Oceans
10 Solutions to save the Oceans
Friday, August 31, 2007
LAUPS 45th International Open for entries!
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
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Nikon announces new D300, D3 dSLR cameras
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
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
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Lions and Tigers in North Carolina
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
Read the juicy details here, along with lots of great photos:
http://www.diver.net/bbs/posts002/72000.shtml
Saturday, August 18, 2007
August Meeting & Minicomp results
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
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
Sunday, August 5, 2007
3 big announcements: 45th International, 50th anniversary, and a great speaker.
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.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
August club meeting announcement, speaker Tom Kendrick
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.
Monday, July 30, 2007
50 years of LAUPS - Anniversary Party 8/25!
The Los Angeles Underwater Photographic Society is celebrating our golden anniversary on Saturday, August 25th. Past and present members, and interested visitors, are invited to help us celebrate with dinner at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium.Bring stories to share, old (and new!) camera rigs to show off, and any photos for show and tell.
6-10 PM
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
3720 Stephen M White Drive
San Pedro, CA
$40 includes Polynesian BBQ, beer, wine, and soft drinks
RSVP to Bobbi Flusser at 310-838-9745 or 213-629-5565
click here for flyer
Fifty years ago a collection of recreational and commercial divers with a mutual interest in underwater photography got together and formed a dive club. Rather than call it a “club,” they named it a “society.” And thus, on September 1, 1957, the Underwater Photographic Society was born in Los Angeles. With only a handful of charter members and the backing of Skin Diver Magazine and the Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation Underwater Section, the UPS put together its first underwater film festival by December of that year. The tradition was to continue for many years and was augmented by an international underwater photographic competition.
Most of the early underwater photographers used home-made housings for land still and movie cameras. Other than the Rolleimarin housing, there just wasn’t much commercially available, so it was out to the garage to fashion a housing from wood, plastic or metal. One member made his camera housing out of his mother’s pressure cooker. Another started a small business supplying assemble-yourself housing kits. The club logo, designed by early member Bob Figueroa, reflects the nuts and bolts approach. A lot of cameras got flooded in those days. Remember, this was before the Nikonos or even its predecessor the Calypso were available.
Among the founders and first directors of the UPS was Zale Parry. Some may remember her from the Sea Hunt television series. She was the perennial “damsel in distress” who was saved from innumerable underwater perils by Lloyd Bridges as Mike Nelson. Zale is still an active diver and looking forward to trying out her new dry suit while diving in Alaska.
Many affiliated and independent underwater photographic societies have been formed across the land and around the world during the last 50 years. The original organizing chapter is now known as the Los Angeles Underwater Photographic Society, or LAUPS for short. Close to 1500 individuals have become LAUPS members since 1957. Among them were such notables as Mel Fisher, Ron Church, Stan Waterman and Al Giddings. Jacques Cousteau was an honorary member and Underwater Photographer of the Year in 1957.
Membership in the LAUPS is open to anyone with an interest in underwater photography. Monthly meetings provide a great learning environment with speakers, workshops, and competitions. Beginners can ask questions of the more experienced about equipment, techniques and locales for best results. Local boat charter dive trips are scheduled several times a year, and ad hoc trips to exotic sites are always being put together.
Annually, the master event is the distinguished International Underwater Photographic Competition. This is the oldest and one of the largest competitions of its kind with worldwide participation and fabulous prizes. In recent years, entries from as many as 19 countries and 26 states have been received. Details of this year’s (45th annual) competition can be found on the website www.LAUPS.org.
A grand 50th birthday party is in the works for Saturday, August 25, at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro, and the club would like to see as many former members and interested guests attend as can make it. A sharing of experiences from long ago would provide great entertainment. Only a few early members have been located, most of whom say they’ll come to the party. So if you know any we haven’t found, ask them to contact us! And if you’re interested in attending yourself, please RSVP to Bobbi Flusser at 310-838-9745 or 213-629-5565
Taking Care of Your Video Equipment So It Takes Care of You: Part 1
Dive Photo Guide's report from the Long Beach Scuba Show
Here's a report from the Long Beach Scuba Show from our friends at Dive Photo Guide:
SCUBA Show 2007 Makes a Splash in Long Beach
Congrats to LAUPS members Bonnie Zaleski and Roger Carlson who placed in the Under the Blue photo competition sponsored by the Scuba Show, Wetpixel, and Dive Photo Guide!
Deadline August 15th!
The San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition (UFEX) had its debut in 2000 with a night of underwater digital films presented at the Otto Center of the San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park.
Initiated in response to the need for a local venue to showcase some of the best of the underwater video creations of area divers, the first San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition was organized by a small group of people who had been meeting regularly to share information on shooting and editing underwater video.
That first year was a rousing success, and laid the groundwork for an approach to presenting underwater digital video in San Diego that emphasizes the enjoyment and appreciation of underwater images. That approach includes affordable tickets, no prizes except the fun of sharing one's film with a receptive audience, and an independent film selection process that has included judges who are among the top in the field of underwater imaging. It's a labor of love by all involved!
We're now in our eighth year of putting on the San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition, and looking forward to our best year yet. We hope you'll join us on Friday and Saturday, October 12th and 13th, 2007 for the 8th Annual San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition at Qualcomm Hall's beautiful state-of-the-art digital projection theater.
for more info:
The 8th Annual San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition
Thorfinn removed from reef, refloated
The Thorfinn, a Truk livaboard, ran aground on a reef while refueling in Pohnpei. After 37 days on the reef, it has been refloated.
Thorfinn refloated, moored in safe harbor at Pohnpei
Thorfinn refloated, moored in safe harbor at Pohnpei
Review of LED-display notebooks
The next generation of notebooks will have LED displays, rather than florescent. They'll offer more battery life, and are made with less toxic chemicals. But how do they look? here's a first review of an LED screen in a mac notebook, from Rob Galbraith:
Evaluating the MacBook Pro 15 inch LED-backlit display
Evaluating the MacBook Pro 15 inch LED-backlit display
Norbert Wu's Blog
Professional photographer has started a blog. Sor far his interesting posts include his experiences with insurance, and travelling with coolers as luggage. Check it out at:
http://norbertwu.blogspot.com/
http://norbertwu.blogspot.com/
Friday, July 20, 2007
July Minicomp Winners Posted
Winners from July's minicomp ("Wrecks") have been added to the LAUPS Gallery:
July 2007 Minicomp: Wrecks
July 2007 Minicomp: Wrecks
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Speaker this month is Scott Geitler!
Our speaker this month is Scott Geitler. One of our club members, he's made many trips to Bali, and unlike the organized group trips most of us typically take, Scott plans his own trips and diving. He's spent a lot of time in this fantastic area. He'll be talking about Dive Operators, Critters, and Dive Sites
Scott has been enjoying diving and underwater photography for a little over 3 years now. He's squeezed in over 500 dives, mostly in southern California but also in Costa Rica, Fiji, Thailand, Turks & Caicos and Mexico. Bali remains his favorite place for diving, since its where he met his wife Penny, and its where they spent their honeymoon, diving of course. Scott used to shoot with a trusty old Fuji F10, but has recently upgraded to a Nikon D80 in a Sea-n-Sea housing.
Scott also beach dives a lot here in southern California, and has taken the best photos I've ever seen taken at Veteran's park in Redondo Beach, a fun local dive that Scott makes look like Lembeh Straight.
Also at this meeting: Minicomp theme is "Wrecks". Please name your files for entry as follows:
0707_open_your-title_your-name.jpeg for open entries
0707_novice_your-title_your-name.jpeg for open entries
thanks!
Scott has been enjoying diving and underwater photography for a little over 3 years now. He's squeezed in over 500 dives, mostly in southern California but also in Costa Rica, Fiji, Thailand, Turks & Caicos and Mexico. Bali remains his favorite place for diving, since its where he met his wife Penny, and its where they spent their honeymoon, diving of course. Scott used to shoot with a trusty old Fuji F10, but has recently upgraded to a Nikon D80 in a Sea-n-Sea housing.
Scott also beach dives a lot here in southern California, and has taken the best photos I've ever seen taken at Veteran's park in Redondo Beach, a fun local dive that Scott makes look like Lembeh Straight.
Also at this meeting: Minicomp theme is "Wrecks". Please name your files for entry as follows:
0707_open_your-title_your-name.jpeg for open entries
0707_novice_your-title_your-name.jpeg for open entries
thanks!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Club Meeting July 18th, 7:30PM
The next club meeting is Wednesday, July 18th, 7:30PM, at the Natural History Museum.
The mini-comp is wrecks, which should bring in a great group of photos!
Hope to see everyone there!
The mini-comp is wrecks, which should bring in a great group of photos!
Hope to see everyone there!
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Meeting this Wednesday 6/20! Lots of comps and DIY Housing Service
We've got a great meeting this Wednesday, featuring several competitions. We'll have the images from our second California Shootout on the Sundiver from last weekend. We'll also have our first ever digital slideshow competition, and the video competition is "3 minutes edited".To keep the meeting to a reasonable length, we'll have a short workshop but no speaker. Workshop will be by Roger Carlson on "Do It Yourself Housing Maintenance". See you there!
Please name your entries, as usual:
for the shootout:
0706_shoot_open_your-title_your-name.jpeg for open entries
0706_shoot_novice_your-title_your-name.jpeg for novice entries
for the slideshow (if you are entering a file and not a DVD or tape):
0706_show_open_your-title_your-name.jpeg for open entries
0706_show_novice_your-title_your-name.jpeg for novice entries
for the video comp (if you are entering a file and not a DVD or tape):
0706_video_open_your-title_your-name.jpeg for open entries
0706_video_novice_your-title_your-name.jpeg for novice entries
Friday, June 1, 2007
Scuba Show this weekend!
Head down to Long Beach this weekend to take in the Scuba Show! visit us at booth 749, right next to our friends from OCUPS!
Mexican legislation to protect sharks opens closed areas to longliners
Mexican regulation NOM-029-PESCA-2006 Took Effect May 16. This new regulation was promoted as a way to protect Shark and Ray populations from overfishing. Instead, it permits thousands of longline fishing boats inside parts of the Sea of Cortez that are now supposed to be protected from commercial take.Several sections of the regulation will act as "Trojan Horses" to reverse the intended effects of this new regulation. These Trojan horses include a reduction in protected zones, permission to keep any bycatch caught while fishing for sharks, and no reduction in current permits.
Basically, longline boats can now fish for sharks in areas formerly closed to them, and keep any fish caught while fishing for sharks.
More information and an electronic sample letter opposing the regulation are available at:
http://www.seawatch.org/mail_campaign/alert.html
Scuba Diving Magazine Photo Contest Winners Posted
Rodale's Scuba Diving magazine has posted the winners from their annual contest. Congratulations to LAUPS member Jim Lyle for several winning photos!
ULCS announces new bouyancy arms
ULCS has announced new buoyancy arms, now with even more floatiness!Arm Length Amt. of buoyancy
8" 4.5 oz
10" 8 oz
12" 11 oz
14" 14.8 oz
16" 1 # 2 oz
AC-CSL
With two arm lengths, 1 AC-CSL, 2 AC-CSF, and 1 strobe and 1 base adapter:
Arm lengths Amt. of buoyancy
Two 8" neutral
8" & 10" 1.75 oz
Two 10" 7 oz.
10" & 12" 8.3 oz
Two 12" 11.2 oz
12" & 14" 15 oz
Two 14" 1 # 3 oz
14" & 16" 1 # 6 oz
Two 16" 1 # 9 oz
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Gallery Update
Monday, May 14, 2007
April Minicomp winners posted
Better late than never - winners from the April minicomp, "A Face Only a Mother Could Love" have been posted in the gallery:
April 2007 Minicomp Winners
April 2007 Minicomp Winners
Monday, April 23, 2007
Under the Blue photo contest at the Long Beach Scuba Show, deadline May 12!
This year the Long Beach Scuba Show and Wetpixel are hosting an underwater photo competition.
Under the Blue Photo Competition
Come on, LAUPS members, get out your best images and enter! Winning images will be announced and exhibited at the show! Imagine how you'd feel if someone from the other side of the world (or worse, Orange County!) won a comp right here in our own backyard!
Deadline for entries is May 12.
From the website:
Next in the series of Underwater Competition.com underwater imagery events, and on the heels of the popular Our World Underwater & DEEP Indonesia competitions, Wetpixel, DivePhotoGuide and the 2007 SCUBA Show are proud to bring you “UNDER THE BLUE 2007”.
Photographers will compete in four still image categories, including a category for images that focus on California’s unique and beautiful underwater environment, and one video category. Winners will share in more than $20,000 in prizes, including premium dive travel, underwater photography and diving equipment! Travel prizes include trips to some of the top photo destinations in the world including Fiji, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, South Africa and Australia.
2007 CATEGORIES
1. Majesty of the Oceans
2. The Macro World
3. Man & the Sea
4. California Underwater
5. Video
15% of entry proceeds will be donated to marine conservation efforts.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
It's Earth Day. Calculate your carbon impact, and do something about it!
What's your carbon impact? The Nature Conservancy has launched an online Carbon Calculator. The long flights we make for dive travel sure add up. My filghts - mostly business travel, unfortunately - push me from 18 tons of CO2 a year, below the national average of 27 tons, up to 72 tons a year. Time to think about offsetting this.
There is another carbon calculator, with a donation tool, The Conservancy Fund's Go Carbon Zero Page. They calculate the donation that will take you down to zero impact, and it's not much, the cost of a cocktail or coffee or so, per round trip.
Delta Airlines is offering customers the chance to offset the carbon emissions from their flights by donating to the Conservation Fund, they will kick it off with donations for passengers on Earth Day and all their employees.No need to wait for your airline to do it, though, you can start doing it yourself with The Nature Conservancy, The Conservancy Fund, or many other organizations. Put $5 in a jar every time you fly, and send it in at the end of the year.
From the Delta Press Release:
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 18, 2007 – Delta Air Lines is partnering with The Conservation Fund, a leading environmental nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting land and water resources, to become the first U.S. airline to help its customers give back to the environment by buying trees to help offset carbon emissions associated with air travel. To kick off the program, Delta is making a donation to The Conservation Fund for every customer taking a Delta mainline or Delta Shuttle flight on Earth Day, April 22, and is pledging a commitment to plant a tree for each of the airline’s 47,000 employees.
Beginning June 1, customers who purchase a ticket online at delta.com will have the option to contribute toward the offset of carbon emissions associated with air travel through a donation to The Conservation Fund. Contributions of $5.50 for a domestic roundtrip flight and $11 for an international roundtrip flight will be used by The Conservation Fund to plant trees throughout the U.S. and abroad. A small portion of the donation also supports the organization’s education and outreach efforts.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Great Turtle Race Update
The turtles are well on their way, many are out past Cocos Island. Take a look at their progress at The Great Turtle Race.PhotoRescue 3.0 Released
PhotoRescue has been updated to version 3.0.PhotoRescue is an advanced data-recovery solution for digital photography media. Whether you have erased your pictures or formatted your card by mistake, or you have experienced a crash, PhotoRescue may help.
PhotoRescue V3
Thursday, April 19, 2007
The I-Use-Film-Ribbon
The Online Photographer has nominated the logo at left for those who want to identify themselves as film shooters on their websites.
The I-Use-Film-Ribbon
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Club Meeting this Wed 4/18
We've got a club meeting this Wednesday!
Speaker is Chuck Berman, on Digital Workflow. His Bio is below.
Minicomp theme is "A Face Only a Mother Could Love". Send your entries in or bring them with you.
Filenames should be:
0704_open-or-novice_Title_Your-Name.jpg
Enjoy the meeting!
Chuck Behrman Bio
Chuck Behrman has spent more than 30 years in professional photography including more than 10 years utilizing digital imaging techniques. Chuck’s engineering background enables him to creatively blend highly technical as well as artistic attributes into his images.
C.H. Behrman Photography produces images for advertising and business purposes as well as fine art photographic prints for home and business décor.
Although he is currently exclusively using digital photography, many of Chuck’s fine art images were originally captured with film.
Chuck uses various processes for his images; including archival pigment giclée for color images and carbon pigment Piezography for grayscale images. All images are produced on 100% cotton fine art papers to insure an archival print lifespan of the maximum attainable with current technology.
In addition to principal photography, Chuck currently consults and coaches one-on-one and teaches very interactive workshops and classes for professional and serious amateur photographers. These address intermediate and advanced Photoshop techniques relating to fine art, commercial and portrait photography and have been presented in such venues in addition to his studio as San Luis Obispo Art Center, The MacGathering, Professional Photographers of Los Angeles, etc.
Chuck has authored several comprehensive tutorial CD’s, each containing up to 5 ½ hours of screen captured video to coincide with the topics of the workshops and classes.
www.chbphoto.com: Advertising Photography, Workshops, Tutorial CDs, Consulting & Coaching
www.fhoto-art.com: Fine Art Photography
Friday, April 13, 2007
X-Ray Magazine #16 available for download
X-RAY MAG is an international dive magazine. It is complimentary and published in pdf-format and distributed worldwide over the internet every other month.
Index of X-Ray 16:
PHILIPPINES - Diving the Visayas.
AMBON - the spice islands in Indonesia.
Protecting the Sharks: Wolfgang Leander + Rob Stewart/Sharkwater movie.
Divemedicine: Why antioxidants protects divers.
NEW Zealand - land of the Kiwis.
Rebreathers: Comfort and Efficiency.
WHY shoot video.
SPRING DIVE Fashion.
Science: The Black Sea.
New Equipment.
Report from Moscow.
X-Ray Mag
Nat Geo: Jumbo Squid, Sperm Whale Study Reveals How the Giant Creatures Feed, Hunt
For the first time ever, researchers have electronically tagged sperm whales and jumbo squid swimming together off Mexico's Pacific Coast to learn more about how the giant creatures hunt and feed.
It's probably the only time tracking devices have been applied simultaneously in the same waters to deep-diving predators and their prey.
Nat Geo: Jumbo Squid, Sperm Whale Study Reveals How the Giant Creatures Feed, Hunt
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Beneath The Sea 2007, from DivePhotoGuide
The 31st annual Beneath the Sea show kicked off this weekend to another bustling and energetic crowd.As always, DivePhotoGuide was there to cover the show from a photographers and videographers perspective. The DPG booth was the place to be for underwater imagery. One of the "cooler" elements of our booth was a converted old Nikonos V turned mystical fountain. Now that's art!
Tour of Beneath The Sea 2007
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Tracking Giant Sea Bass
Since 2000, scientists at the PIER have been performing an involved study of the movements of the giant sea bass, Stereolepis gigas, in the California Channel Islands. This is the first intensive study of the behavior, movements and habitat usage of the giant sea bass.Studying the Behavior and Habitat Preferences of Giant Sea Bass (Stereolepis gigas)
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Yahoo News: Quake lifts Solomons Islands out of the Sea
RANONGGA, Solomon Islands (AFP) - The seismic jolt that unleashed the deadly Solomons tsunami this week lifted an entire island metres out of the sea, destroying some of the world's most pristine coral reefs.
In an instant, the grinding of the Earth's tectonic plates in the 8.0 magnitude earthquake Monday forced the island of Ranongga up three metres (10 foot).
Submerged reefs that once attracted scuba divers from around the globe lie exposed and dying after the quake raised the mountainous landmass, which is 32-kilometres (20-miles) long and 8-kilometres (5-miles) wide
Yahoo News: Quake lifts Solomons Islands out of the Sea
Map of the area from http://www.world-of-islands.com
In an instant, the grinding of the Earth's tectonic plates in the 8.0 magnitude earthquake Monday forced the island of Ranongga up three metres (10 foot).
Submerged reefs that once attracted scuba divers from around the globe lie exposed and dying after the quake raised the mountainous landmass, which is 32-kilometres (20-miles) long and 8-kilometres (5-miles) wide
Yahoo News: Quake lifts Solomons Islands out of the Sea
Map of the area from http://www.world-of-islands.com
San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition Call for Entries
Submit your films to the San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition, And Make a Difference!This is a call for entries for the 8th Annual San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition, scheduled for Friday and Saturday evenings,
October 12th & 13th, 2007 at the Qualcomm Hall located at 5775 Morehouse Dr, San Diego, Ca. 92121
Here is your chance to see your work projected in Standard or High Definition formats in a state of the art venue on a giant screen. There is no entry fee! Each evening will feature a different program consisting of 14 to 16 short underwater films from locations all over the world.
* Submission deadline is August 15, 2007.
* For further information on UFEX see our website, www.sdufex.com
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Luminos Landscape: Antartica Trip. Gallery; What Worked, What Didn't
The Luminous Landscape website and photographer Michael Reichmann recently led a photo trip to Antartica. See the gallery here, and take a look at an interesting essay on what worked and what didn't on a trip that was tough on a lot of cameras.The Luminous Landscape: Antartica 2007 Portfolio
The Luminous Landscape: Antartica 2007: What worked, what didn't
Thursday, April 5, 2007
The Great Turtle Race
For more than 100 million years, leatherback turtles have graced our oceans. At an astonishing eight feet long and up to 2,000 pounds, they journey between continents and dive to incredible depths. But in the last 10 years, 95% of the leatherbacks in the Pacific Ocean have vanished, victims of human pressures.
The Leatherback Trust, Tagging of Pacific Predators, Conservation International, Costa Rica's Ministry of Environment and Energy, and Yahoo! invite you to join the Great Turtle Race. Follow 11 leatherback turtles on a two-week journey as they swim from their nesting sites on Playa Grande beach in Costa Rica to the Galapagos Islands.
The Great Turtle Race
LAUPS welcomes VIP sponsor Weldon Color Lab
We'd like to welcome a new LAUPS sponsor, Weldon Color Lab.
See the Weldon Difference yourself!
LightJet prints from digital files on Fuji Crystal Archive or Ilfochrome paper.
Drum scans and flatbed scans.
Mounting, finishing, and custom backlit display prints.
Weldon Color Lab
8945 Exposition Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
888.893.5366
Weldon Color Lab
OC Register: Bald eagle chicks a Catalina surpise
From the Orange County Register:
Bald eagle chicks a Catalina surpise.
Chicks hatch on their own, likely for the first time in more than 50 years.
A pair of bald eagles nesting on Santa Catalina Island have hatched chicks without human help - the first time that's known to have happened since the mid-1940s.
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1639657.php
OC Register: Bald eagle chicks a Catalina surpise
Bald eagle chicks a Catalina surpise.
Chicks hatch on their own, likely for the first time in more than 50 years.
A pair of bald eagles nesting on Santa Catalina Island have hatched chicks without human help - the first time that's known to have happened since the mid-1940s.
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1639657.php
OC Register: Bald eagle chicks a Catalina surpise
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Gallery Updated
The winners from the March minicomp ("Patterns in Nature") have been posted in the LAUPS gallery, along with some winners from previous competitions. New albums are:
- March 2007 Minicomp ("Patterns in Nature")
- February 2007 Minicomp ("Pairs")
- August 2006 Minicomp ("Poisonous Creatures")
- September 2006 Intraclub
Monday, March 19, 2007
March meeting announcement
Wednesday, March 21st is our meeting this month!
Speaker:
Glenn Allen presents:
The BBC’s “Wild Florida”
(A West Coast Premiere Sneak Peek...)
Glenn is here in California for a couple of months and then will head back to South Florida. He would like to share the new BBC thirty-minute film, "Wild Florida," and some “Behind the scenes” stories from the production. It is the film that he worked on all of last year with producer and DP Tom Fitz.
The film shares the experiences of five local Floridians and their interactions with the wildlife in the wetlands of the “Sunshine State.” We meet: 87 year-old artist and Everglades enthusiast, Sam Vinikoff. Alligator wrangler and back country guide, Mark Emory. Turtle researcher and conservationist, Larry Wood. Manatee-Watch volunteers, mother and daughter team, Heidi-Jo Baker and Joan McCarley, and we watch as Dolphin researcher, Laura Engleby documents some astonishing feeding behaviour in the Florida Keys. Diverse people, places and animals, but with the common connection of water and the stunning natural beauty of Florida.
It has not yet aired in the USA, but the "Numbers" have been VERY good in the UK. It premiered there four weeks ago with an 11.7% share. That translates to 2.3 million viewers! It aired again the following Tuesday with an additional 1.9 million viewers for a 4.2 million total. These were "Prime time" showings on BBC 2 on Sunday and Tuesday evenings! (Not bad for a small wildlife film... everyone involved with the production is very pleased.)
Glenn is proud to have been a part of the production and to work with Tom Fitz. The film has a great shooting style, story and a few surprises. I hope that you will all enjoy it.
It will be great to see you there!
-Glenn
Workshop: Roger can't make the meeting again this month, housing self-service us postponed until April. So this month, (if there is time) Roger made a 10 minute video of new gear from the PMA show.
Comp: MiniComp. Theme: Patterns in nature for stills and video.
Please name your stills as follows:
0703_open_your-title_your-name.jpeg or
0703_novice_your-title_your-name.jpeg
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Gear for Sale Updated
Items on the gear for sale page include a Canon Digital Rebel with Aquatica Underwater Housing.LAUPS Gear for Sale
Take a look!
Congratulations to LAUPS Members Linda Blanchard, 1st in Conservation and Matt Segal, 3rd in Novice Macro!
Underwater Images 2007 Photo/Video Competition-Final Results
Chamber Day & Evening 2007
-739567.jpg)
Registration is now underway for the 19th annual Chamber Day events (to be held on Wednesday, May 2 this year). In case you’re not aware of it, Chamber Day is a fund-raiser for our Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber, and is the largest single-day scuba charity event in the United States.
As you may or may not know, the Catalina Chamber is dedicated strictly to the treatment of diving accidents on a 24/7/365 basis. Although we hope you’ll never need it, having the Chamber available gives divers a vital safety net in the event something should go wrong with your dive. Although there is a grant from LA County, and the Chamber gets income from some outside activities, Chamber Day provides a significant portion (close to 50%) of the Chamber’s annual budget.
The great thing about this event is that ALL the monies raised goes to the Chamber. No administrative fees are deducted from the proceeds, the local SoCal boats donate their time and services, the manufacturers donate gear for raffle prizes (roughly $30,000 worth), the Aquarium of the Pacific donates their facility for the evening event, hundreds of volunteers donate their time, and you (hopefully) donate your money. Last year we raised over $105,000 (last year's summary) and this year we’re hoping to do even better. The event has many facets and there are multiple ways for you to get involved.
The main event is Chamber Day, a full day of diving (two dives) at Catalina plus a walking tour of the Chamber at the Isthmus. Cost for this is $90 (plus $30 for food & airfills) which gets you the diving, the tour, a t-shirt, and five raffle tickets.
Chamber Day & Evening 2007
Friday, March 9, 2007
Petition: stop distribution of shark fins
The practice of shark finning (where sharks have their fins cut off while still alive and are thrown back in the water to die) is brutal, wasteful, and often, illegal. A web search for shark finning will show you in mere minutes how terrible the practice is.
Please show your support for the world's dwindling shark populations by signing this petition against Alibaba.com, one of largest online traders of shark fins. Signing the petition takes less than a minute and requires only your name, e-mail address, and geographic location. You can also protect your privacy by showing yourself as "anonymous," if you wish. [via wetpixel.com]
Please show your support for the world's dwindling shark populations by signing this petition against Alibaba.com, one of largest online traders of shark fins. Signing the petition takes less than a minute and requires only your name, e-mail address, and geographic location. You can also protect your privacy by showing yourself as "anonymous," if you wish. [via wetpixel.com]
Monday, March 5, 2007
Nikon Announces D40x
Nikon has announced the D40X. We'll see if any more significant SLRs are announced this week (The PMA convention starts Thursday). They also announced a lens, the AF-S DX VR 55-200MM F/4-5.6G IF-ED lens.
D40X:
Nikon Corporation is pleased to announce the D40X, a new digital SLR incorporating a 10.2-megapixel CCD. The D40X is scheduled to launch worldwide at March 22, 2007 (TBD) and is a sister model to the D40, which has a 6.1-megapixel CCD.
While maintaining the compact size and portability of the D40 camera body, the D40X produces even more outstanding, detailed pictures thanks to its 10.2-megapixel CCD and cutting-edge digital technologies. Its resolution power makes it easy for users to print up to A3-size pictures or crop aggressively without losing any fine details. The D40X is loaded with everything you need for truly amazing images: a 10.2-megapixel CCD, Nikon’s exclusive 3D Color Matrix Metering II, an improved Image Processing Engine and superb Auto White Balance. Together with a world-famous Nikkor lens, these features combine to ensure perfect exposure, refined details and natural, vivid color.
Lens:
The AF-S DX VR 55-200MM F/4-5.6G IF-ED lens., a high-quality compact 3.6x DX zoom designed specifically to work with Nikon’s market-leading D80 and D40/ D40x cameras. The AF-S DX VR 55-200MM F/4-5.6G IF-ED is an affordable entry-level lens which features Nikon’s cutting edge Vibration Reduction stabilization system and exclusive Silent Wave Motor for fast, quiet and precise autofocussing.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Olympus announces 3 SLRs, 4 lenses, 2x teleconverter
In advance of PMA, Olympus has announced 2 SLRs (E410, E510) and made mention of a 3rd (E1 successor), all with live view. In addition, they have announced 4 new lenses and a 2x teleconverter.
The E410 and E510 both seemed to be based on the E400 body, which has a very small form factor. The E410 will fit in an E400's housing (currently only Olympus). The E510 has a larger grip, uses a larger battery, and has image stabilization good for up to 4 stops (interesting potential for great DoF & small apertures, when combined with the high DoF inherent in the small 4/3 sensor). Few details are provided on the E1 replacement, other than it will have live view, and with the new lenses will offer "world's fastest-class autofocusing."
The lenses announced don't seem to offer much for the UW photographer, other than good brightness in some and large zoom ranges. None are particularly wide, none seem to have macro.
ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-60mm (24-120mm) 1:2.8-4.0 SWD
ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 50-200mm (100-400mm) 1:2.8-3.5 SWD
ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-35mm (28-70mm) 1:2.0 SWD
ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 70-300mm (140-600mm) 1:4.0-5.6
Press releases:
E410 Boy, that looks small.
E510
Lenses & E1 successor
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Fujifilm introduces Velvia 50
[If you know a film shooter, please print this out for them or read it to them. ;-) ]
FUJIFILM INTRODUCES FUJICHROME VELVIA 50 FOR PROFESSIONALS
PMA 2007 Booth # E100
http://www.fujifilmusa.com/pma
Valhalla, NY, February 22, 2007 - FUJIFILM U.S.A., Inc. is introducing new Fujichrome Velvia 50 for Professionals (RVP 50), a high color saturation, high contrast transparency film at the PMA 2007 Annual Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas, NV.
At the beginning of 2005 Fujifilm announced the discontinuation of previous Fujichrome Velvia for Professionals (RVP) due to difficulties in procuring some of the key raw materials used to produce the product. However, since the last stocks were sold earlier last year, the company received many requests from photographers worldwide to restart manufacturing, as they had used Velvia for many years and consider it unmatched in terms of quality and character. One of Fujifilm’s main priorities is to nurture the culture of photography, so those requests were taken very seriously. As a result, Fujifilm research and development teams have been working hard to develop substitute raw materials and new manufacturing technologies that enable the company to restart production of this famous emulsion.
"We are so pleased to respond to requests from our photographer customers in this way and we look forward to seeing the work they will produce with this wonderful new film," said Christian Fridholm, Director of Marketing, Picture Taking, Imaging Division, Fujifilm USA.
The characteristics of new Velvia 50 will mirror that of the previous Velvia. Velvia 50 will be the film of choice for leading landscape, nature and other photographers who will appreciate its high color saturation, image depth and dramatic color reproduction.
Velvia 50 offers the following noteworthy features:
Vivid color Reproduction with Ultra-high Color saturation: Velvia 50 delivers the vivid color and high saturation for which the original Velvia was famous
Fine Grain: Velvia 50 features a fine RMS granularity of 9.
Neutral Grey Uniformity and Unsurpassed Shadow Depth: A uniform neutral grey is reproduced all the way from the highest highlights to the deepest shadows
The initial shipments of the new Velvia 50 are scheduled for early summer 2007.
For additional information, go to www.fujifilmusa.com/pma
Saturday, February 24, 2007
How Californians Can Help Sea Otters: State Tax Check-Off
How Californians Can Help Sea Otters: State Tax Check-Off
In 1938, a lone colony of California sea otters, once feared hunted to extinction, was discovered off of Big Sur. Conservation efforts ensued, but by 1977 sea otters were listed under the Endangered Species Act. They remain there to this day, still threatened with extinction. This tax season, Californians can help sea otters through a simple act of generosity: checking a box on their tax returns that sets aside funds for otter research and recovery. The Ocean Conservancy helped pass legislation to create this easy check-off, but the box will disappear unless California taxpayers donate $250,000.So, this April, please give to the CA Sea Otter Fund when filling out your tax forms. Learn more about sea otter conservation in California:
Text to be displayed
Friday, February 23, 2007
March Classes at Paul's Photo
From LAUPS Sponsor Paul's photo:
It's that time of the month already!!
March 1 Advanced Thursday “Stay on Target” -6pm Mexican Dinner 7:15 class
March 3 Saturday Intermediate Travel “People”- 8am
March 5 Monday Intermediate Portrait “Lighting Patterns”- 7pm
March 6 Tuesday Intermediate Exposure “Right White”- 7pm
FYI... You snooze, you lose!
March 17 Rob Sheppard’s Photoshop Essentials 1- 4 openings
June 2-3 Lewis Kemper Photoshop Plus- 8 openings
May 17-20 Weston- Carmel figure Workshop- 3 openings
Oct 25-28 Yosemite Fall Adventure- 3 openings
Mark Comon
PAUL'S PHOTO
23845 Hawthorne Blvd
Torrance, CA 90505
www.paulsphoto.com
Thursday, February 22, 2007
XXIXth International Underwater Photo and Video Contest "Città di Faenza" 2007
We wish to remind all our friends and fans the XXIXth International Underwater Photo and Video Contest "Città di Faenza" 2007.
MARCH 28th 2007: Deadline for submitting all the works in competition.
APRIL 1st 2007: Judges' meeting.
APRIL 21st 2007: Exhibition opening.
APRIL 28th 2007: at 17.00 hrs. Prize-giving Ceremony of all the winning works and "Visitors' prize" 2007 award.
APRIL 29th 2007: at 19.30 hrs. Exhibition close.
The new 2007 Regulations, the registration forms, the list of the sponsors who have already joined the 2007 exhibition until now and supported it are available on the exhibition site: www.ameba.org/csf
Many thanks to everybody and looking forward to meeting you in Faenza!
Best regards
Andrea Giulianini e Rosa Donati
Centro Sub Faenza
MARCH 28th 2007: Deadline for submitting all the works in competition.
APRIL 1st 2007: Judges' meeting.
APRIL 21st 2007: Exhibition opening.
APRIL 28th 2007: at 17.00 hrs. Prize-giving Ceremony of all the winning works and "Visitors' prize" 2007 award.
APRIL 29th 2007: at 19.30 hrs. Exhibition close.
The new 2007 Regulations, the registration forms, the list of the sponsors who have already joined the 2007 exhibition until now and supported it are available on the exhibition site: www.ameba.org/csf
Many thanks to everybody and looking forward to meeting you in Faenza!
Best regards
Andrea Giulianini e Rosa Donati
Centro Sub Faenza
More Sharks added to endangered species list
All three species of thresher sharks and the scalloped hammerhead shark have been moved to the endangered Red List, with increasing pressure on blue sharks (a 70% decrease in number).
Read the article here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070222/sc_nm/climate_sharks_dc
Read the article here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070222/sc_nm/climate_sharks_dc
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Two compacts for the video shooters
Two compact HD video cameras recently announced, both 720p with 7 megapixel stills:
The Canon Powershot TX1
The Sanyo Xactia HD2
Canon announces EOS-1D Mark III
Now we're getting somewhere... Canon make the first SLR anouncement of the 2007 PMA season: the EOS-1D Mark III, "the world's fastest digital SLR camera."
Canon press release
-10 frames per second
-10.1 megapixels, APS-H size CMOS sensor, 28.1 by 18.7mm, 1.3x magnification factor.
-bursts of 110 Large JPEGs or 30 RAW files
-ISO range of 100 to 3200 with extensions to ISO 50 and a highly usable ISO 6400
-Liveview LCD with remote capability [Ed: great for composing and polecams!]
-integrated cleaning system, dust-removing vibrating sensor cover
-14 bit raw images
-Highlight tone priority extends the dynamic range of highlights by about one stop and improves gradation within highlight areas [Ed: could this be the first digital to do sunbursts?]
-estimated shooting capacity has significantly improved from 1200 shots for the 1D Mark II N Digital SLR to approximately 2200 shots for the EOS-1D Mark III Digital SLR under normal shooting conditions.
-Up to six frequently used menu options and Custom Functions can be registered in a new user-friendly feature, called "My Menu."
-Up to 10 sets of camera settings can now be saved to one recording medium and moved from one camera to another.
-Up to five Personal white balance settings and five custom white balance data items can now be registered.
-Another breakthrough option is the ability to record to external USB storage devices connected to the camera via the optional WFT-E2A Wireless Transmitter [Ed: download with a sealed housing?]
-Yet another new option is automatic switching of recording media
Furthermore, Canon today unveils several new accessories, including the EF-16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Lens and the Speedlite 580EX II Flash.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Lightroom vs Aperture
This week brings the release of Adobe Lightroom 1.0, at an introductory price of $199, then up to $299. (Next week may bring a rev to Apple's Aperture, they have a booth at PMA). Both apps have free 30 day trials and probably have enough of a learning curve that you should take advantage of a good fraction of that before deciding which one works the way you do.
In honor of the release, the OReilly blogs "Inside Aperture" and "Inside Lightroom" are having a 10 day comparison between the two applications.
Inside Aperture
Inside Lightroom
In honor of the release, the OReilly blogs "Inside Aperture" and "Inside Lightroom" are having a 10 day comparison between the two applications.
Inside Aperture
Inside Lightroom
Friday, February 16, 2007
Club meeting this Wednesday 2/21
We've got our club meeting coming up this wednesday.
Speaker: Allan and Barbara Jones on Diving the Banda Sea and Raja Ampat Region
Allan and Barbara Jones have been dive buddies for the past 30 years.
Starting with the Sea Sabres Dive Club where they learned to dive and survive in California waters, they have progressed from underwater tourists, to game takers and now as serious amateur photographers.
They consider themselves fortunate that as husband and wife they can pursue their mutual interest in diving and photography as a team. Allan handles the technical aspects, equipment repair and gear cleaning, while Barbara has the artistic flair required for recognition of subjects and composition. Their diving experience includes California, Caribbean, and Indo-Pacific waters.
Their images have been published in various magazines including Islands, Discover Diving, Dan’s Alert Diver, AustralAsia Scuba Diver, Asian Diver and Ocean Realm. They have placed in numerous contests and have received the David Doubilet Award for Excellence in Underwater Photography.
They are long term members of the Orange County Underwater Photographic Society and are volunteer divers at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA
Workshop: Tony Frank, monitor calibration
Comp: MiniComp. Theme: Pairs
Submit your images with the following names, please:
0702_open_title_yourname
0702_novice_title_yourname
Bring the images with you or submit them ahead of time to comp_entry@laups.org. Thanks and good luck!
DP Review sets up PMA 2007 Page & RSS feeds
Interested in tracking the camera announcements leading up to PMA or the action at the show? DP Review has set up two web pages with RSS feeds for you. Bookmark the RSS feeds to stay up to date.
DP Review PMA 2007
feed://www.dpreview.com/feeds/shows/pma2007_products.xml
feed://www.dpreview.com/feeds/shows/pma2007.xml
Rockfish Identification Guides
Algalita Marine Research Foundation at work: State agency calls for action on plastic waste
The Ocean Protection Council of the state Resources Agency convened in Santa Monica to consider its own proposals to stem the tide of plastic. Amid urging by various members of the environmental community, the council also adopted all the proposals made by Heal the Bay.
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/5708616.html
Text of the resolution
Algalita Marine Research Foundation
Man Tracks Down And Gets Prosecuted Baggage Handler Who Stole His Camera, Delta Still Won't Refund
Man Tracks Down And Gets Prosecuted Baggage Handler Who Stole His Camera, Delta Still Won't Refund
Read more
Read more
How lenses are made
Kodak Restructuring Continues
Kodak is entering their last year of restructuring, with additional layoffs (payroll headcount at 1930's levels)
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/16653269.htm
They have had their first profitable quarter since 2004. This quarter was also the first with more earnings from digital than film).
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/rss/16589535.htm
And have released a new printer with AFFORDABLE ink.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/16632962.htm
2007 California Fishing Regs Available
In case you are taking any of your new friends home with you:
The electronic version of the 2007 California Ocean Sport Fishing Regulations booklet is now available on the Marine Region's web site at: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/sportfishing_regs2007.html
This bookmarked PDF file features bolded, italicized bookmark headings which denote sections that have changed or are new for 2007.
The booklet will be printed and distributed in February 2007.
Please note:
* New groundfish regulations are in effect as of January 19, 2007. This includes regulations pertaining to all species listed in Section 1.91 Federal Groundfish and Rockfish, Cabezon and Greenling (RCG Complex).
* All other regulation changes for 2007 are expected to become effective on March 1, 2007 after filing by the Office of Administrative Law.
Member Walter Marti's squid run videos and webpage
In case you haven't been able to see the Redondo squid run, LAUPS member Walter Marti has recorded a video that is truly the next best thing to being there. Really great footage. Be sure to check out Walt's other award winning clips on his new homepage.
Squid run video "They Come"
Walter's Page
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Member Scott Geitler's Squid Run Videos
From Scott:
as some of you know, we had a nice squid run up here in Los Angeles over the last week...
I thought I'd share a couple videos I made (with my P&S camera) so you could experience a little bit what the squid run is like, in case you've never seen one. They come into the redondo submarine canyon each winter, although there wasn't a squid run last year.
Squid run video: Jan 26th
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXdBcQVfXLM
After the squid run: bat ray city, eating the squid: Jan 30th
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qAl__sJvoU
enjoy!
Scott
see Scott's web page at: http://www.ladiving.org/
as some of you know, we had a nice squid run up here in Los Angeles over the last week...
I thought I'd share a couple videos I made (with my P&S camera) so you could experience a little bit what the squid run is like, in case you've never seen one. They come into the redondo submarine canyon each winter, although there wasn't a squid run last year.
Squid run video: Jan 26th
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXdBcQVfXLM
After the squid run: bat ray city, eating the squid: Jan 30th
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qAl__sJvoU
enjoy!
Scott
see Scott's web page at: http://www.ladiving.org/
Two Online Dive Magazines to download
Download the premiere issue of Underwater Journal:
www.underwaterjournal.com
And download issue 15 of XRay Dive Magazine:
http://www.xray-mag.com/article/295
www.underwaterjournal.com
And download issue 15 of XRay Dive Magazine:
http://www.xray-mag.com/article/295
Mantas Guaranteed or your Money Back!
April is the Manta Mating Season and mantas are everywhere! Just in case you miss one, Manta Ray Bay owner Bill Acker is offering a Manta Money Back Guarantee. If a diver purchases an April 2007, 7-night/10-dive package (or more) and does not see a single manta during his 10 dives, Manta Ray Bay resort will refund the diver's money. How could someone spend 10 dives in Yap's water and not see a single manta, especially during April, one of the most active times for mantas? Although it is unlikely, divers could possibly miss a manta sighting because they are distracted by Yap's many other underwater attractions: sharks, turtles, pipefish, frogfish, nudibranches and of course, Mandarin fish. We offer guests over 50 dive sites. So this April, take Bill up on his offer. He guarantees that a week in Yap will be one of your greatest diving adventures, ever! (photo by resident pro, Mike Veitch).
http://www.mantaray.com/
INTRODUCING SCRIPPS'S NEW E-MAGAZINE!
Beginning next week, Scripps will bring you the same high-quality features previously found on the pages of Explorations in an exciting multimedia format available through e-mail and online. Sign up for explorations@scripps and you'll receive exciting Scripps science stories and news e-mailed to you FREE every month!
* Explore Scripps science behind-the-scenes with exciting interactive multimedia features available only online.
* Dive into a rich online archive of ocean and earth science information, including high-quality videos, feature articles, and the photo of the day.
* Share your favorite Scripps news with friends and family with the click of a button.
* Surf our e-magazine online and help reduce paper waste and carbon dioxide emissions connected to print magazine production.
Sign up today at: http://supportscripps.ucsd.edu/Signup/
* Explore Scripps science behind-the-scenes with exciting interactive multimedia features available only online.
* Dive into a rich online archive of ocean and earth science information, including high-quality videos, feature articles, and the photo of the day.
* Share your favorite Scripps news with friends and family with the click of a button.
* Surf our e-magazine online and help reduce paper waste and carbon dioxide emissions connected to print magazine production.
Sign up today at: http://supportscripps.ucsd.edu/Signup/
Kodak releases photo enhancement plugins
Kodak has released two photo enhancing plugins for photoshop, with free trials:
The DIGITAL SHO Plug-In, for ADOBE PHOTOSHOP and compatible programs, automatically reveals image details hidden in shadow areas with the professional version also revealing details from highlights and supporting 16-bit. Great for fixing common exposure problems caused by backlit subjects, uneven flash illumination and partial shade.
The DIGITAL GEM Plug-Ins, for ADOBE PHOTOSHOP and compatible programs, automatically reduces and manages noise and grain in digital images without causing excessive softening or blurring. The professional version adds a powerful new grain/noise reducing algorithm, a "Noise Preview" screen, 16-bit support, and more.
Kodak's Austin Development Center - Photoshop Plugins & More!
http://www.asf.com/
Monday, January 29, 2007
Time is getting close for the 54th Western States Pro Photo Expo Convention and Trade Show, only 10 days away.
Where is it? Pasadena Convention Center, 300 E Green St., Pasadena, CA
When is it? Convention is Feb 7-10, Trade Show is Feb 8-10. Pre-convention business seminar is Feb 6.
If you haven't registered yet there is still time to do so!
Saturday morning only "Early Bird" workshops are open to convention and trade show attendees at no extra charge!
Trade show only registration is available on line at www.prophotoca.com for just $10.00. Trade Show registration at the door will be $20.00. Sign up now and save yourself $10.00. The trade show is the biggest and best on the West Coast!
www.prophotoca.com
New classes at Paul's Photo
LAUPS sponsor Paul's Photo has announced new classes in the upcoming months:Just added to our Saturday Class schedule:
Dave Welling's Wildlife Photography
Saturday, March 24 (9am to 4pm)
and
Sunday, March 25, 2007 (5:30 AM to 4pm)
Lewis Kemper's Photoshop Plus
Extend your Dynamic Range
Saturday, June 2
and
Sunday, June 3, 2007 (9am to 4pm)
Photoshop Essentials with Rob Sheppard
This is another "don't miss" series of 4 classes from Rob.
Minke Whales prefer Great Barrier Reef!
The post season Minke Whale Workshop on ‘Management of Swim with Whale (Dwarf Minke Whale) Activities’ in the northern Great Barrier Reef took place in Cairns, Australia on December 15, 2006. Alastair Birtles, team leader of the Minke Project said “Minke whale sightings occur all around the Southern Hemisphere however, the predictable aggregation of substantial numbers of dwarf minkes in the Cairns Section of the Great Barrier Reef in June-July is unique. There is nothing like it known anywhere else in the World. Given the extraordinary experiences they can provide - we are immensely privileged and carry a particular responsibility to ensure our interactions are ecologically sustainable.”
Data from Cairns showed increases from the 2005 season data of:
Boat contact hours increased from 295 to 387 hours.
Whale encounters increased from 674 to 826.
Whales per-encounter increased from 2.6 to 3.2.
Members of the Cod Hole and Ribbon Reef Operators Association, including Mike Ball Dive Expeditions, Nimrod, Taka and Undersea Explorer, received awards and recognition for their contribution to the Minke Project.
For the second year running Mike Ball Dive Expeditions received the award for the ‘Highest Number of Still Images for Whale Identification’, 1591 images in total. For information on next seasons Minke Whale Expeditions contact mbde@mikeball.com.
Adobe announces Lightroom 1.0
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Jan. 29, 2007 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced that Adobe Photoshop® Lightroom™ 1.0 software is now available for pre-order and is expected to ship in mid-February 2007. Photoshop Lightroom enables professional photographers to import, manage and present large volumes of digital photographs, helping photographers spend more time behind the lens and less time at the computer. With more than 500,000 photographers participating in the public beta program over the last 12 months, Photoshop Lightroom now includes a wealth of innovative features that streamline digital photography workflows. Recognizing the photography community for their efforts, Adobe is offering Photoshop Lightroom at a special introductory price of US $199 through April 30, 2007 at the Adobe Store. Photoshop Lightroom will later sell for an estimated street price of US $299.
Adobe Lightroom
Sunday, January 28, 2007
PMA 2007: Las Vegas, March 8-11
The Photo Marketing Association has their expo in Las Vegas this year March 8-11. Expect to see a lot of new cameras announced over the next few weeks in the lead-up to the show.Good sources for camera announcements are:
DP Review (grab the RSS feed to stay up to date)
Steve's Digicams
Claude Ruff creates 80 shot panorama of "le Rubis" submarine
Over at Wetpixel, photographer Claude Ruff trumped the "best photo of 2006" discussion thread with his 30 image panorama of a submarine.
Head over for a look.
Japan's dolphin hunting season underway
The nation's annual hunting season is underway, a tradition stretching back centuries. Now, though, protesters from abroad are trying to end this way of life. David McNeill reports from Taiji.
Read more
Read more
New AA NiMH CHarger from MAHA
Those of you who still use AA NiMH batteries might want to take a look at the nem MAHA MH-C9000 battery charger. It has 4 independant circuits, an LCD display, and many charging and battery conditioning cycles.
Take a look
713-lb. Giant Sea Bass May Be Largest Ever Photographed
In early November, a Mexican sardine seiner working out of Puerto San Carlos on Baja California Sur's Bah'a Magdalena incidentally captured what may be the largest giant sea bass ever recorded. The fish, according to a brief report in the Spanish-language daily El Sudcaliforniano, measured 2.50 meters long (about 8 ft., 2 in.) and weighed 324 kg. (about 713 lbs.).
Read more, and see a photo
Talks tackle tuna-stock decline
Talks tackle tuna-stock decline
Conservationists say tuna is facing commercial extinction
A five-day meeting aiming to reverse the decline in tuna stocks worldwide is under way in Kobe, Japan.
Five regional bodies responsible for managing stocks of tuna, one of the most valuable and endangered species, are at the meeting.
They are to discuss plans to set up a global tracking system to certify the origin of every tuna that is sold.
Conservationists blame illegal and unregulated fishing and unsustainable quotas for tuna's dramatic decline.
In the western Atlantic, the number of bluefin tuna capable of spawning is less than one-fifth of what it was 30 years ago, according to the body that monitors fish stocks there.
In a statement issued at the start of the meeting, the environment group WWF said Atlantic bluefin stocks were at a dangerously low level.
"Atlantic bluefin, used for high-end sushi and sashimi, is massively over fished and the spawning stock of southern bluefin in the Indian Ocean is down about 90%," the statement said.
Certificates of origin
Last year, Japan admitted over fishing southern bluefin tuna and accepted a deep cut in its quota as punishment
Photoshop CS3 Beta One-on-One Preview at Lynda.com
On December 14, 2006, Adobe announced the first-ever public beta for an upcoming version of Photoshop, its flagship image-editing software. Best-selling author and Photoshop guru Deke McClelland has teamed up with lynda.com to create the first video training on this landmark release. Photoshop CS3 Beta One-on-One Preview offers a personal video tour through a series of real-world examples that illustrate each of the key features and enhancements in the Photoshop CS3 beta. Major and minor features alike are covered in meticulous detail.
NY Underwater Photo Society Forming
NYUPS aims to bring together underwater photographers and videographers from the tri-state area to share and learn about the world of underwater imagery. Even those from outside the region are welcome to become members.
Exciting monthly featured speakers will include internationally renowned photographers, filmmakers, marine biologists, explorers, and adventurers from around the world.
Come meet new friends who share your underwater interests. Participate in monthly workshops, photo & video contests and exhibitions. Meetings will take place in Manhattan, location TBA.
Beginning in 2008, NYUPS will host annual photo expeditions to some of the world’s most bio-diverse hot spots. The society will also launch an international underwater photo and video competition & festival.
Whether you are a novice, amateur or professional -- shoot wide or macro -- film or digital -- one strobe or two -- you’ll be among friends at NYUPS.
We hope to see you at our very first meeting this April.
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