Wetpixel columnist Don Silcock offers his first impressions of ONEUW’s 160X strobes. Don was able to test them during a 15 day trip around Southern Australia and has tested them against his existing Sea&Sea YS250 strobes. In addition, Wetpixel Associate Editor, Alex Mustard has been testing them in the Red Sea, and we will be posting his results shortly….
Adam Leaders of AdLe Photo describes two shoots he undertook recently with model Julia Pretzel on a wall and a wreck in the Gulf of Thailand. The pair describe the challenges of setting up and creating images like these, particularly compounded by the depth and environmental conditions. The images are stunning!
Mike Bartick of Saltwater Photo provides a beautifully illustrated article about the mysterious and iconic blanket octopus. These open ocean creatures sometimes reach 2 meters in length. Mike describes their biology and lifecycle before recounting his own encounters and photographic experiences with these remarkable creatures.
Underwater photographer Nicholas Samaras shares a moving and beautifully illustrated story about the resilience of seahorses. Stratoni, a bay in the Aegean Sea was a known habitat for seahorses before it suffered from environmental collapse due to overfishing and habitat destruction. Nicholas’s story described the return of the iconic creature to this denuded habitat and the hope for the future that this provides.
Mike Bartick of Saltwater Photo provides a beautifully illustrated primer on making, buying and using reflection rings to achieve their signature circular reflection effect. He describes how images produced with this tool can be used to provide variety in a photographer’s portfolio.
In the next installment of his series, award-winning photographer Mike Bartick has written an extensive article about the recent Anilao slugfest, illustrated with his stunning images. The event added more species to the master list of species extant in Anilao, bringing the number recorded to over 1,000. In his article, Mike also shares a primer about nudibranch behavior and some tips on how to find and photograph these charismatic animals
Don Silcock describes the incredible shark encounters that occur at Protea Banks, off the East coast of South Africa. The bank is washed by the fertile Agulhas current, bringing nutrients and food that allows a significant population of apex predators. Don describes diving with blacktip, ragged tooth, Zambezi, tiger and hammerhead sharks and shares the beautiful images of his experiences.
Scientist and researcher Maarten de Brauwer is studying the impact that divers and photographers have on the marine environment. His most recent paper Time to stop mucking around? Impacts of underwater photography on cryptobenthic fauna found in soft sediment habitats was published in the Journal of Environmental Management earlier this year. In this article, he kindly provides a synopsis of his research and some guidelines about ways in which underwater image makers can help avoid inadvertent environmental damage.
Wetpixel Editor Adam Hanlon presents a review of most of the available rectilinear wide-angle lens choices for Nikon full-frame camera. The aim is to evaluate individual lens’s performance underwater, but also for this to be a reference for those seeking information about lens choices. As other test lenses come available, the tests will be added to, so please keep checking back for updates
For over 40 years, Peter Rowlands has been a central figure in the underwater imaging community. He is an award winning photographer, filmmaker, mentor, designer and innovator. He is also the publisher of Underwater Photography Magazine (UwP) and has just released its milestone issue number 100. Alex Mustard and Martin Edge have kindly contributed to an interview about Peter, UwP magazine and underwater imaging over the past 45 years.