dwashbur

We've had something similar going on up here in Puget Sound.  The extremists have decided that any wooden structure or old pier is going to be leaking creosote into the water so they all have to be removed.  There was a dive site known as Edmonds Oil Dock that was just about the most diverse and rich mini-ecosystem in the entire Sound.  It hasn't been a working dock for ages, so it was just a very nice dive site.  The powers that be decided it had to come out because it MIGHT still be leaching creosote into the water and threatening the underwater life.  Now, nobody even bothered to test the water and see if there was actually any creosote left in the pilings, but what's  that got to do with it?  It was all politics.  After it was ripped out, who knows how many invertebrates pointlessly destroyed, zillions of fish robbed of habitat, and the site turned into a barren wasteland, the truth came out: some rich folks in condos living on the hill above the site didn't want to look out their windows and see the old dock.  And it didn't matter to them how much life was rubbed out or what was done to the actual ecosystem; they were going to have their nice view no matter what.  And they got it.  How?  By tossing a few hot-button words at the environmental extremists and then sitting back and watching things snowball out of control.

There has to be a way to counter the extremists.  As a diver, I'm an environmentalist.  But you don't save an ecosystem by destroying it.  As with so many other things in life, it's all about balance.  But try telling that to the politicians.

Just F everybody's I, neither Backscatter location works on these cameras any more. The east coast one referred me to Southern Nikonos. I've contacted them and will pass along any info I get from them.

Nikonos IV make great door stoppers.

Michel

Could be. In the meantime, if someone has a couple of parts for one that they don't want, let me know. I need the cover for the strobe connection port, and the battery cover since this one is stripped and doesn't screw in properly.

Hi All:

Anyone have any words of wisdom photographing small, translucent invertebrates (like 1" jellies), in our Seattle area temperate waters where there is a great deal of detritus and current. Most recently I used my Nikon d300 (cropped sensor), 105 mm lens, auto focus, 60th @ f14. Often times I will focus right through the critter.

I have thought about bringing a black slate to place behind the subject for more contrast. Any thoughts? I suppose another option would be to switch to manual focus, rack the focus out, and move my rig to focus.

Any help greatly appreciated. The rest of the set-up is a Subal housing, twin Ikelite 125 strobes, one set on full, the other on half power, and a Hartenberger focus light set on 2-3 power.

Thanks!

Since both of my regular buddies and  I wear black gloves for the nice Puget Sound cold water, one of us will often put a hand behind the critter while the other takes pictures.  Not a perfect system, but we get some decent pictures.