With great regret, we’d like to inform our community of the passing of Ike Brigham, founder of Ikelite Underwater Systems.  Founded in the early 1960s, Ikelite had a huge influence on the birth of consumer underwater photography and continues to shape the underwater imaging market today.

In December of 2001, Ike joined Wetpixel as member #15—only 4 days after our forums were launched. During his time here, he posted 939 messages full of his notoriously self-deprecating, dry humor.  Our staff and users came to love the “Addled Shopkeeper” (his self-appointed title), and as a representative of his company, Ike’s integrity was unparalleled. We shall miss him dearly.  Continue reading for more thoughts about Ike Brigham.

Our sponsor and good friends at Backscatter are looking for a new salesperson! In addition to working with the latest underwater photographer and video gear, Backscatter employees are highly encouraged to make use of the rental / demo equipment and are required to expand their personal imaging skills. That means you can grab demo gear, get your dive equipment out of your dive on-site dive locker, and jump into the water before or after work!  Continue reading for full job details…

There has been a lot of activity in our conservation forums lately, and some of the most active topics are discussions about shark conservation and the exploitation of shark fins. Wetpixel member Justin Ebert has just returned from Raja Ampat in Indonesia and started a discussion where he shows images of fishermen taking fins and disposing of the shark bodies in the waters of Indonesia.

In another related topic our members discuss how differently the subject is viewed in Asia, where most think that no harm is being done. Please join us and drop a line in the discussions. Sharks are more threatened than most people think, and it is important that we as divers and underwater photographers keep ourselves well informed!

It’s that time of year again, and the Wetpixel staff and I are pleased to wish everyone a happy and dive-filled holiday season! There’s been a lot of new photography gear out in the last year, and I can only imagine that some of it is on everyone’s wish list.

Jeff Leicher, owner of Jack’s Diving Locker, managed to send in a tropical holiday greeting from Kona, Hawaii. Continue reading to see Jeff offering free photos underwater with Santa…

The Northern California Underwater Photographic Society, Backscatter Underwater Video and Photo and Wallin’s Dive Center are sponsoring an underwater photography seminar next January in northern California, entry is free:

FREE two-day underwater photo and video weekend seminar with world-renowned underwater digital photography expert, Berkley White.  The two-day event begins with the “Underwater Imaging Today” seminar, on Friday evening, January 12, 2007, from 8:00 p.m. – 10 p.m. in Millbrae.  On Saturday, January 13, 2007, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., in the Wallin’s Dive Center 10,000-gallon heated pool, in San Carlos, Berkley continues with five hours of intensive hands-on, in-water product training.

Researchers with Japan’s National Science Museum captured and filmed a live 24-foot giant squid at the surface near the Ogasawara Islands. The team attributed their success to having followed sperm whales that they believed the were eating the squid. Previously, the team had photographed a giant squid at a depth of 2,950 feet.

The video footage shows the species with a striking bright red coloration. Contribute your thoughts on the team’s results in the ongoing giant squid discussion…

After the enormous success of the best shot of 2005 discussion just over a year ago, there was no question that a similar thread would appear to show off the creative results of the Wetpixel members following another year of underwater photography.

Whether it’s your ‘favorite’ or your ‘best’ photograph (and there may be a distinction), be sure to contribute to the current favorite shot of 2006 discussion - you may be surprised at just how difficult it is narrowing down your selections…

Seacam USA owner Stephen Frink wanted to know which of Canon’s lenses performed suitably for underwater use:

A few months ago I decided it was time to find out what would be optimal underwater performance of my particular lenses in my particular dome ports. So, that meant the tedious trial and error of pool testing with a variety of lenses, ports, port extension, and diopters. I even borrowed some lenses from Canon Professional Services to test a few lenses I did not own...

Continue reading to see how Stephen tested each lens and port combination, and to find out exactly which ones made the cut...
 

Photographer Jason Bradley had the opportunity to accompany the Tagging of Pacific Pelagics (TOPP) elephant seal team into the field in 2006 and record the proceedings. The story of the experience can be found in this month’s issue of Fathoms Magazine, in the article ”Deep Diving Pachyderms: fathoming the elephant seal,” written by Diane Richards and featuring Jason’s photographs.

The TOPP website has recently been updated with additional findings (and more of Jason’s seal images) from the excursion, and also links to the Fathoms article. Each piece is unique, and you can learn exactly how Jason got close to these large and wary marine animals…

Adobe has announced today that a beta version of Photoshop CS3 will be available for download tomorrow (December 15th). To use CS3 you will need a valid CS2, Creative Suite 2, Creative Suite Production Studio, Design Bundle, Web Bundle or Video Bundle serial number. Without a serial number this beta of CS3 will expire in two days.

Along with a range of new features and user interface changes the biggest news with CS3 is universal binary support for Mac OS X, providing much better performance for the new Intel Macs. The CS3 beta will be available for download here.