Join Eric Cheng and Indonesia dive-guide extraordinaire Graham Abbott in two chartered expeditions to Indonesia designed especially for serious photographers. Instead of hopping around from dive site to dive site, we will take our time with a flexible itinerary designed to give us a lot of time at areas that are rockin’ with life.

EXPEDITION #1: Sorong, Halmahera, Ambon | March 7-22, 2009 (15 days)
UPDATE: 2 spots left as of Feb 1, 2008

EXPEDITION #2: Ambon, Banda Sea, Maumere | March 25-April 9, 2009 (15 days)
UPDATE: 9 spots left as of Feb 1, 2008

We’ll be aboard the Seven Seas, a fantastic luxury liveaboard vessel.  For more information, visit our Ultimate Indonesia info page.

After spending a month in Papua New Guinea, Wetpixel friend Tony Wu has posted an excellent trip report detailing his travels through Loloata and the Eastern Fields areas aboard the MV Golden Dawn. Despite inclement weather and a saddening rarity of shark sightings, Tony shares his knowledge of diving in the area, sprinkled with a few anecdotal stories and beautiful photography:

Anyone who knows me has probably heard me rant and rave about the Eastern Fields. It’s just awesome...The lack of pressure from people means that the reefs are truly pristine, and fish number in the gazillions. Visibility is almost always excellent, and you’ll not likely to run into anyone else out there. In all of human history, only a few hundred people have ever dived the Eastern Fields...

53 sea lions, among them 13 pups, 25 youngsters, nine males, and six females, were found massacred on Pinta island in the Galápagos Islands nature preserve. Park officials have stated that ”each [animal] was killed by “a strong blow from someone”, though the motive is unknown.” The bodies of the sea lions were not mutilated, unlike an incident in 2001, when poachers killed 35 sea lions for their genitals and teeth.

With no natural predators on land, sea lions are unafraid of humans - is enough being done to protect them (and other species) in the Galápagos Islands?

On Monday, Nikon announced a new 10.2MP DX-format (1.5x-crop) digital camera, the D60, advertised as ”Nikon’s smallest digital SLR.” The new camera can shoot at 3 frames per second and features an ‘Active Dust Reduction System,’ a 2.5” LCD, and media slots for SD memory cards. The D60 is expected to be available in March 2008.

Also announced were three new Nikon lenses also to be available in March, the AF-S DX Nikkor 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6 ED VR, the AF-S Micro 60mm f/2.8 ED, and the PC-E 24mm f/3.5D ED, with estimated selling prices of USD$650, $550, and $1930, respectively.

Keith Phillips, Scuba Diving magazine’s editor, writes in with news of a paper format change in the magazine:

Check it out: Starting with the March 2008 issue, Scuba Diving magazine has a new look, whiter paper and a larger page format that will allow us to showcase the very best in underwater and topside photography.

The March issue began mailing to subscribers this week and will be available on newsstands Feb. 19. You’ll find it at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million and at more than 650 local dive centers. (preview the March issue)

Wetpixel reader Jeffrey Hartog (loftus) has posted a great guide in our forums for folks who want to critique photographs.

Excerpt: What makes a good or great photograph is a subject of much debate. There is however some general agreement on things that one should consider when viewing and evaluating a photograph. For experienced photographers most of these considerations have become second nature; for less experienced photographers I think it can be valuable, particularly when submitting photographs, to do some self-evaluation according to some of these generally agreed upon principles...

Welcome to our new server! Along with the hardware change, we will be working in the next few weeks to optimize Wetpixel for speed.

January 31, 2008 is the deadline for entries to be received for the 2008 British Underwater Image Festival. The festival has Open, Young Photographer (under-30), Digital Compact, and Portfolio categories for still photography, and Documentary-style and Open categories for video. The winners of the festival are presented on March 14-16 at the Birmingham NEC as part of the Go Diving! show.

Prizes include Suunto and Scubapro dive computers, regulators, digital cameras and accessories, and cash! Best of all, entry is free, and open to all photographers and videographers! Visit the BUIF 2008 page at Dive Magazine UK for more information and to download an entry form…

Professional photographer Brian Skerry was interviewed for this month’s edition of ‘Behind the Lens’ in American Photo Magazine. Skerry, who has worked primarily with National Geographic, talks about his introduction to underwater photography and how he began shooting professionally, and ends with a few recommendations for aspiring photographers.

The interview is an excellent read for all Wetpixel visitors, and provides a sampling of Skerry’s provocative imagery…

Canon today announced the 12.2MP EOS 450D/Digital Rebel XSi, the replacement to the Canon 400D/Digital Rebel XTi. The 1.6x crop camera features a 14-bit CMOS sensor, 3.5fps, a 3” LCD, and Live View shooting (with autofocus in this mode). The camera will retail in April for USD$799.

Also introduced are new telephoto and super-telephoto lenses: the EF 200mm f/2L IS USM and the EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM, with the latter sized the same as Canon’s 600mm f/4L, but weighing nearly 2lbs less. The lenses come in at hefty retail prices, USD$5,999 and USD$11,999, respectively, and are expected to be available in Spring 2008.