Underwater Photography and Videography, News, Forums, Trips, Photo Contests :: Wetpixel.com

Underwater photographers have a nasty reputation in many dive destinations for being irresponsible when it comes to the handling of marine life.  Although, whether we collectively cause more damage than the hordes of new divers crash-landing on coral reefs is debatable.  Will Heaton has started a very interesting thread about interacting with marine life, and it should be a good show (join in!). 

Wetpixel.com and DivePhotoGuide.com have teamed up to celebrate the beauty and delicacy of the marine environment by developing the first instance of a new, annual, international underwater photography competition. For this inaugural event, only digital entries will be accepted.

Photographers will compete in six categories to win more than $25,000 in prizes, including premium dive travel, underwater photography equipment, and more! Dive packages in the prize list include trips to some of the top photo destinations in the world: the Solomon Islands, Lembeh Strait, Raja Ampat, Komodo, the Galapagos Islands, Papua New Guinea, Palau, and the Bahamas! Other prizes include HID lighting systems, camera housings, and other valuable items (see complete prize list below). 15% of entry proceeds will be donated to marine conservation efforts.

Winners will be announced on stage at the 2006 Our World-Underwater festival in Chicago, Illinois (February 24-26, 2006).  Continue reading for details and submission guidelines.

In the November issue, Scuba Diving Magazine presents their first ever Editor’s Choice Awards, honoring the best in the dive industry.  We are proud to announce that Wetpixel.com received the “Best Dive-Related Website” Editor’s Choice Award!  Scuba Diving Magazine presented Wetpixel with an award on stage at this year’s DEMA Show, which was accepted by Christa Loustalot on behalf of Wetpixel.

I’d like to thank our community for making our site such a success!

I’d like to get some input on how some of you are ending up here at Wetpixel.  There’s a discussion going on in the forums, and if you have some time, pop on over there and let us know!

Pixmantec has just announced the availability of Rawshooter Premium 2006 (Windows-only).  The preview version of Rawshooter (2005) showed a lot of promise, with blazing RAW-conversion times and a focus on workflow and usability.  Rawshooter 2006 is on sale for $59.00 until October 31, 2005, after which the price will increase by $40.00.  Download the trial and compare it with your current RAW conversion software.

As more divers travel to more remote destinations to experience the beauty of our underwater world, there are greater concerns regarding medical care. Eric has asked me to put together what I would consider a Medical Save-a-Dive Kit. I’ll preface this by saying I’m a cardiologist, not an infectious disease (ID) specialist. This list was put together based on my travel experiences and after discussions with one of my ID colleagues.

It looks like Nikon leaked photos of the D200, which people are speculating may be released in mid-December.  We’ve cached images of the camera on a thread in our forums. Join in and help us figure out how to get the thing underwater!

Wetpixel is going to be upgrading software between Tuesday, October 25th and Friday, October 28th.  Expect some downtime as we work on the code…

*UPDATE* 5PM, Oct 25: Wetpixel is back up, for now!

The LAUPS has posted the winners of this year’s photo competition.  A number of Wetpixel members placed or earned honorable mentions in the international competition.  Particular Wetpixel friend and shark-lover Jim Abernethy took Best of Show with his photo of a Great Hammerhead.  This year, LAUPS’s contest page features comments from the judges explaining why they chose the winning images.  This is a very educational feature and something that will help future entrants to understand what makes for a “winning shot.” Continue reading for a list of the winners, Wetpixel winners (at least the ones I know) are highlighted in bold.

Alex Mustard reports on the 9th annual Visions In The Sea underwater photography conference, which took place on 22nd October in London, England. The focus of this year’s conference was once again digital imaging underwater, and in the traditions of the conference, all the presenters took a much more technical approach to their talks not necessarily showing their strongest images, but really sharing the secrets behind their pictures. The speakers included Charles Hood, Martin Edge, Peter Rowlands and Jason Isley.