17 replies to this topic

[rramaley]

Hello fellow Wetpixelians,

I attach my latest labour of love: a video I pulled together from footage I took on two dive trips to Tasmania - the first early last January (2012) and the second just this past week. Both times we dove with Eaglehawk Dive Centre (a very well run operation).

Tasmania is a harsh and heartbreakingly beautiful island both above and below the water.

We returned home not a day too soon: the day after our departure, the majority of the Tasman Peninsula (where we were staying) was overcome with bush fires. The dive centre is still without power and the one road off of the peninsula is still closed. Our thoughts are with the residents of the peninsula.

Hope you enjoy.


[vimeohd]56847176[/vimeohd]

[jonny shaw]

Great work Rebecca, sad that they are in such decline. I have heard the Bruny Island is does still have good Kelp Forests, but it is a real shame about EagleHawk

[MortenHansen]

Well done, I really enjoyed that, nice and informative as well!

Thanks for sharing, Morten

[Pete L]

Wow, that is some great stuff Rebecca. Very sad indeed.
What camera was that shot with?
Cheers Pete.

[rramaley]

Wow, that is some great stuff Rebecca. Very sad indeed.
What camera was that shot with?
Cheers Pete.

Hi Pete,

I used my Sony HDR 550 in a Bluefin Pro Housing. Not pleased with how the camera handles low light situations - gets grainy and fuzzy - but when there is sufficient light, it captures colours beautifully (at depths < 20 metres). I did minimal post production adjustments except to adjust brightness and add a bit of contrast where needed. I also got all of that footage from 1 short dive in 2012 and 1 dive last week. Not a bad amount of material considering, though I would have liked to get more footage of critters and the forest roots / undergrowth.

I want to go back soon to see how the Canon 5dmkIII will manage the forests ... Just need to get a lens and housing and so on for my new camera body.....

[Pete L]

I had the same issue when i was using my SR12/Bluefin combo. With plenty of light the colours were sensational & tack sharp, really nice stuff, BUT, once you took it deeper or low light then it would bump up the gain to handle the low noise & get terrible results, plus the white balance fell apart pretty quickly at depth.
Having said that, when it was in the sweet spot it took some beautiful footage.
In the end, i was using my Sola 4000s with it & well that made a hell of a difference.

Having just setup a 7D in a nauticam housing for my wife (yes i may have a little play with it from time to time) i know from experience what JUST getting a lens & housing entails.....
Abit more than you think....but worth every cent.
Keep the footage coming, very nice stuff thankyou.
Cheers pete.

[Daniel_Aus]

Nice work Rebecca, for both the imagery and highlighting the concerns with the reduction of the kelp.

Good to hear you left in time as well. The images seen on the news are not good.

[doubtingGunnel]

Beautiful footage. I'm glad you had a chance to capture the Fortescue Bay forest before it disappeared. Thank you for sharing this and highlighting the disappearance of kelp forests and the impact it's causing.

[rramaley]

Thanks all for your compliments. I should add that I would be keen for any improvement suggestions. What works, what doesn't?

[rramaley]

Great news! Given the message and purpose of the video, I have also just been given permission by the composer to use his music in this (with of course certain stipulations). Sometimes you just have to ask!

What a great outcome.

[Oceanshutter]

Very nice indeed!

Dustin

[AllisonFinch]

Wonderful job, but how terribly sad. I am truly heartsick, seeing this. The only improvement I would suggest is keeping the text up just a bit longer. I had trouble finishing it before it was gone. It didn't allow me to read without feeling rushed.

[Ronyx]

thank you so much for sharing this wonderful film. It is absolutely Gorgeous. You communicate the plight of this eco system very effectively.

[rramaley]

I'm very pleased - my video has received some coverage last week from the local Tasmania newspaper!

 

http://www.themercur...odays-news.html

 

 

[SimonSpear]

That was really excellent Rebecca.  So sad to see them disappearing like that

[HDVdiver]

By coincidence I had a long chat with Mick on the phone just after watching your movie. Each time we chat he reminds me that it's time to go back to Tassie to video the kelp forests while they are still there. I must make the time to do so before this wonderful resource is gone for ever.

 

Very nice video.

[rramaley]

Here's an updated link to the video as it seems that the old link is no longer working...

 

[uwxplorer]

We've got an urchin problem here to in SoCal, bust mostly because of a ban on sea otters (to protect abalone fisheries!) from what I heard. This actually might change as the State gave up on that policy recently. But it will take time before the otters colonize the Coast back...

I am not sure warming is that much of an issue (yet) but it might. I surely don't notice it myself!

This being said, wherever there has been a kelp restoration project going on, involving "relocating" sea urchins and "planting" back kelps, kelp forests have rebounded. It's a lot of work (I kudo those who do that as volunteers BTW) but it has an effect. However, where nothing is done, we sometime end up with urchin barrens. Not a pretty sight either...

Actually, your nice video would have had a great ending with the contrasting picture of the gone forest!