Nicholas More: Anilao

The winners of the 2016 Ocean Art competition have been announced. The Best of Show image of a Portuguese Man Of War was shot by Matty Smith of NSW Australia. The 6th annual competition was judged by Tony Wu, Martin Edge, Marty Snyderman, and Scott Geitler.
The 2017 Oasis Photo Contest is calling for entries. Offering cash prizes, there is a specific category for underwater photography. The deadline for entries is 28 February 2017.
X-Ray Magazine issue 77 is now available to download. It contains destination articles about Mozambique, Greece, Hawaii and Wakatobi. Zena Holloway talks about using imagery to highlight causes and Mike Bartick lists where to find critter subjects.
DxOMARK has been benchmark testing a prototype of the new ED Helium 8K sensor and awarded their highest score ever. The testing gave the new sensor a score of 108, higher then the previous top score of 101 achieved by the RED Epic Dragon. For comparison, the Sony a7rII achieves 98 and the Nikon D810, 97.
Wetpixel reviews Callum Roberts’ and Alex Mustard’s book “Secrets of the Seas: A Journey into the Heart of the Ocean”. This large format, visually impressive book features some amazing imagery, but also weaves a tale about the oceans’ history, present conditions and some thoughts about their possible future.
The February issue of National Geographic magazine will contain an article titled Sea of Hope: America’s Underwater Treasures that features a photograph of president Barack Obama snorkeling underwater on Midway Atoll. The image is the first known photograph of a US president underwater and was shot by National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry. The magazine has published a short article with Skerry about his experience as well as a video.
Wetpixel and Alex Mustard will be returning to Lembeh Resort for their third series of macro workshops in October 2018 . Very much a “hands on” learning experience, the workshop focuses on developing, improving and enhancing the participant’s skills as macro photographers. The images produced during the previous workshops are still being seen at the awards ceremonies of many competitions and in publications.
Tilikum, the subject of the infamous Sea World documentary Blackfish, has died. The announcement comes on the heels of the termination of Sea World California killer whale performances less than a week ago. Tilikum made world headlines in 2010 when he killed trainer Dawn Brancheau. He had previously been implicated in two deaths in the nineties as well.