Monday, June 5th, 2006

Kona Classic 2006 Contest Winners + Photos

The 5th annual Kona Classic was great fun this year, with over 30 participants competing the photo competition during the week of diving in Kona. Sport Diver’s Ty Sawyer and photo pros David Fleetham, Eric Cheng, and Marty Snyderman were the judges of this year’s contest, with Dan Baldocchi representing video and Fred Dion on hand to fix gear problems.

In an incredible upset, this year’s Best of Show image was shot by Kate Mitchell with a Canon point & shoot camera! Photo contest winners and photos from the event follow…

Monday, June 5th, 2006

Stephen Wong and Takako Uno Exhibition: Form & Dance

Stephen Wong and Takako Uno, husband and wife marine photojournalist team, are showing their images in an exhibition entitled, Form & Dance, which will be held in Hong Kong from 6 to 23 June at 1/F Devon House, Taikoo Place, Island East, from 08:00 to 21:00 each day. Instead of a documentary approach to marine photography, the couple present a more lyrical and artistic style, symbolized in the title of the exhibition. Stephen and Takako use light and colour to create a surreal mood highlighting marine animals and their environment, which they hope will help increase people’s concern toward protecting our marine world.

Stephen and Takako’s work has appeared in numerous international marine and wildlife books, journals, photo agencies, exhibitions, and websites, and the couple’s images have won dozens of international photographic competitions. Their marine photo books include An Ocean Odyssey, Gorontalo — Hidden Treasure, and Celebrate the Sea.

For more information, contact: +852-2844-5094. (via FiNS Blog)

Friday, June 2nd, 2006

X-Ray Magazine #11 is available for download

Our friends over at X-Ray Magazine have released issue #11, which is now available for download. X-Ray is one of the highest-quality underwater magazines we’ve seen, and it’s free! Issue summary:

Patagonia, Argentina. El Hierro, the Canary Islands, Coral Bleaching and Global Warming. Crossing the Atlantic on a research vessel. The Conveyor Belt, the oceans global circulation. Building reefs on the Maldives. Cosmetics for Divers. Leigh Cunningham: The Wake-up call. Travelling with Camera Equipment. Japanese wrecks off Palau. Portfolio: Patrick Chevalier.

Thursday, June 1st, 2006

Nikon D2Xs announced

Nikon announced the D2Xs digital SLR today, which has subtle improvements over the original D2X. Improvements include a larger, 2.5” LCD monitor, electronic masking of the viewfinder screen when in high-speed crop mode, modified metering in high-speed crop mode, a longer-lasting battery, black & white mode, Adobe RGB color space in all color modes, custom tone curves, 1/3 ISO boost, in-camera trim, image authentication compatibility (requires additional equipment), the ability to save and load settings between cameras, and more.

Thursday, June 1st, 2006

Vodan 2006 9th Underwater Photo & Video Contest

VODAN 2006 is soliciting entries for its 9th International Underwater Photo & Video Contest in Nova Gorica, Slovenia. Categories include ambience, fish, and macro in both tropical and cold water, as well as fresh water, images from digital compact cameras, and underwater video. The grand prize is a Seacam underwater housing or flash.

Entries must be received by September 7, 2006 in order to be eligible for the competition. The pdf entry form can be downloaded here.

Saturday, May 27th, 2006

Scuba InTenCity Tour 2006

On May 6, 2006, Eric Cheng gave two talks at Dolphin Scuba in Sacramento, California. Mike Johnson, the owner of Dolphin Scuba, was a wonderful host, and his store was all but mobbed with people there for the talks, discounts, free discover scuba classes, and raffle prizes. Eric (that’s me, and I’m finding talking about myself in the third person to be awkward) gave a talk on Digital Photography Techniques and one on Photoshop for underwater photography. Wetpixel’s own James Wiseman gave talks at the event in Plano, Texas. Photos follow…

Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006

Sea & Sea DX-D200 Underwater Housing for Nikon D200

Many reviewers talk of the D200 as the much-desired and wished for “digital F100”, and in many areas the D200 exceeds that venerable body’s capabilities. So it is no surprise that the D200 is probably the hottest thing going in the Nikon underwater dSLR world at the moment, and every major housing manufacturer has either announced, shipped or planning a housing for this body. As a one-time user of the F100 in a Sea & Sea housing, and with a collection of compatible ports to hand, I ordered the Sea & Sea DX-D200 housing as soon as it was announced. The purpose of this review is to go over some of the features and ergonomics of this housing, particularly from the perspective of someone who has used the older F100 housing by the same manufacturer…

Monday, May 22nd, 2006

Medes Festival in L’Estartit, Spain, June 6-10, 2006

The festival of underwater images MEDES IMATGE I MEDI AMBIENT (Medes image and environnment) will take place in L’Estartit, Spain, from the 6th to the 10th of June 2006. Meded Imatge I Medi Ambient continues its international trajectory as one of most important festivals of underwater images in Spain, and has acquired a well-known name in Europe. Continue reading for schedule and contact information.

Monday, May 22nd, 2006

Light & Motion announces Bluefin HC3 housing for Sony HDR-HC3

Light & Motion has announced the Bluefin HC3 underwater housing for the Sony High Definition HDR-HC3, the smallest HDV camera on the market. The HC3 supports one-touch white balance and features L&M’s trademark self-locking latches and electronic grips. The housing can be purchased as a solo housing or as part of a complete Travel Package including dual lights, batteries, O-ring kit and custom case.

Monday, May 22nd, 2006

Amphibico announces Phenom Basic, HD monitor, new lens

Amphibico has announced new and upcoming Phenom housing accessories, including a new Phenom Basic housing (with a domed, flat-port lens), a 4.5” High Definition 16x9 monitor, a manual white balance bracket, and a new lens system that solves the wide-angle vignetting problem that plagued the original Phenom port. Amphibico will “upgrade” your old lens for $200 + shipping, resulting in a lens that gives you a full 94° of coverage without vignetting, but requiring the sacrifice of the housing’s 2nd flip filter.

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