scubamarli

Great video. Miss the Strait.

Anyone have one of these lying around? I am looking for one and don't want to pay the ridiculous price that it sells for new. Cheers, Marli

I have seen these at Lembeh; I call them Sumo crabs, due to the sponge suit. They are similar to Orangutan crabs, which are an Ocinopus species. To my knowledge, they are still undescribed. Cheers, Marli

Yes, I use Google Image search. I also simply type in my name and do an image search. That's how this latest one showed up. A few years ago, I found an image of mine that had been taken off the Slug Forum and was used for 5 years by a Korean Aquarium for their home page. I like to say that they bought the rear half of my fancy pooch, when they paid my Invoice. I simply used an image that I had had a request for by a non-profit, and poof. That's how I found it. Cheers, Marli

I do a number of things. Image search using "Images like", using my own name, common subjects that I shoot. Often stolen images have been downloaded of off secondary websites, and there is still a credit on it. One time, a thief had taken the image off of Scuba Diving's website. They asked me to prove it was mine. The rollover tag was still embedded on the photo. Duh. I am not going to find anything, and sometime's there's little point, as in the case of some Thai dive shop using an image of a British Columbia shrimp. In this instance, it was taken off a science site that I had given permission to use it. The website owener contacted me again, with proof of permission from some of the photos, with another apology. It looks like an oversight in this instance, but it happens far more often than we think.

Ok, After pointing out copyright law and infrigement issues.. in Canada it is clear cut. Here is the response: "Yes, I agree. Thank you Marli. I am going to revise my procedure about publishing images without hearing back (even if we send out the email) In your case, it is a blatant failure on my part, as it seems that email was not even sent. This is not acceptable. I am going to go through images in that article and ensure that all permissions were secured. If I find that it is not, I am going to take the article down until permissions are secured. Again, this is not what I condone - stealing - and this is why I am using "Google Search by Image", TinEye and other services to find out the source of images and contact the owner. But I think you are right that it is better to wait for permissions to come in. Will be revising the workflow to accommodate for that. (most of the time we do have permissions come in before publication, in fact we are better with this than most of the sites of this nature) But I am going to take special care Thank you"

I am now getting messages from this person with excuses and the lot....tail is between the legs...

Within minutes I received a response: Photo removed. I am really sorry this happened, as we take special pains to secure permissions for every image displayed. This must've fell between the cracks. We usually send emails asking for permission. Again, sorry - image removed. Best wishes from Canada Avi I let them know that other photographers images were being used. If you shoot sea slugs, you might want to check. Cheers, Marli

Hi everyone, I do a generic search from time to time to see if my images have been ripped off. Here is the latest: http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2012/04/impossible-plant-animal-hybrid.html It seems that there are bloggers that think that they are immune to copyright law. I noticed a few other Wetpixellians whose images have been lifted .Anyway, I have sent a cease and desist request. I suggest others do the same. Cheers, Marli

Ok, not jumping into this .....so sad no D400 or D7100. Cheers, Marli

Hellloooo.Wetpixel..... This has had so much hype, and there seems to be silence. Hello? Perhaps there is a time zone issue....I dunno, I have been looking at japan sites..... Hopefully the specs will be out soon, Marli

Congrats to you for bringing the specs up.

Do tell, Marjo. Inquiring minds want to know about options.... Cheers, Marli

For those in the U.S. it is easy: there is DAN. Elsewhere, for non-pro shooters there is your homeowners or tenant insurance. If you make 1 cent a year, they will demand business insurance. I have found coverage starting at $750 /year, with a $1000 deductible. One has to balance one's investment with the amount one has to pay for coverage. In Ben's case, yes, silly. Anyone that belongs to Pro Photographic Associations can access coverage, but most are at the rates I mention. They are also covering office equipment, like computers, and liability for those fees.

Well, after posting this, I heard from DEPP. They admitted that they are in bad standing with the Attorney General's office. They admitted that their website doesn't work. They would not provide names of paid clients due to privacy concerns (not surprising). I received a long diatribe of excuses, talk about making major changes, etc. etc., just as they did one year ago. There was a lot of blaming certain former clients, and then they cancelled my policy, as they were sure that I had made up my mind about renewing. Cheers, Marli

When some of my photo gear did not arrive this past July when I went to Bonaire, my heart sunk knowing what has been going on with DEPP. I emailed them and within minutes received a response...I was flabbergasted, especially now considering United took 47 days to respond. My bag eventually showed up. Shortly thereafter, I received a renewal notice, which I ignored as it was issued several months in advance. I looked up their status once again on the Kentucky Attorney General's website, and they are listed as "pending dissolution" and in Bad status. The last time I noticed this I contacted them with references to the bad "press" that they were receiving on forums. They did a song and dance routine, blaming everything on the expiry of $15 licenses. This time, I asked for some references of clients that had successfully had claims paid in a timely fashion. Funny, no response. What's with Kentucky? They should arrest these folks for fraud. Cheers, Marli

PM sent

There is an excellent book: Pacific Coast Pelagic Invertebrates, by David Wrobel and Claudia Mills.

You can also try posting a photo here in the Critter ID section. As one of the people that helped Nudipixel with ID's until recently, (it became overwhelming), I would be happy to try to help you out. There are also other very knowledgeable people that regularly help id critters here that may be of help. You also might want to check the thread on online ID sources to help figure out what your critter is. Cheers, Marli

Although from PNG, this critter is very similar: http://slugsite.us/bow2007/nudwk684.htm Cheers, Marli

I do not let anyone rinse my gear: this is not because of crew, but because of other divers that like to pile their gear on top of others' systems. Often when diving from inflatables or smaller boats, there is no dive platform, hence the use of the lanyard. I, too have had too many incidents where someone grabs the strobe arm and risks banging my gear. It also makes lugging my gear to the boat all that easier. Cheers, Marli

My lanyard is similar to Jim's above, but longer. When diving, it hangs just above the viewfinder. It allows me to hold up the lanyard above the housing when I hand it up to the boat. Stainless clips from a marine store, rope from same, bound together with dental floss for strength, and dishwasher hose. Cheap, easy to make, and appreciated by dive crew. My set-up is called my "purse". Cheers, Marli

I concur with Todd. I was just there for three weeks, and July did have comparatively poor visibility, but still better than a lot of other destinations. It improved the third week. Try to get out to Klein Bonaire. Dive Salt Pier (after 4:30 p.m. or on weekends). If the vis is better, dive the Hilma Hooker, and shoot ambient. All offer wide angle opportunities. Cheers, Marli

I shoot Nikon; sorry. I focus using the shutter button and just hold the lever down on my Aquatica housing, and then sort of float back and forth. I generally only use it when having difficulty auto-focusing.

I shoot a lot of macro. I don't shoot the 60 much, preferring the 105mm. I have focus gears for both, and they sit in a bag. The one use I consider is when using a teleconverter or a wetlens, like a Subsee. I tend to use the Focus lock button, even then. Cheers, Marli