CDesperado

Spotted Porcelain Crab. This little fella was about a little less than an inch across and was VERY shy. I have a LOT of pictures where he moved behind the tentacles of the anemone, but I managed to get a few that worked out ok. (Canon 10D, 100mm. 1/60 at F16.)

Spotted Porcelain Crab. This little fella was about a little less than an inch across and was VERY shy. I have a LOT of pictures where he moved behind the tentacles of the anemone, but I managed to get a few that worked out ok. (Canon 10D, 100mm. 1/60 at F16.)

Here ya go... just for you. Longsnout Seahorse, with fleshy tabs (Night dive in Secret Bay) (Canon 10D, 50mm. 1/60 at F11)

And just because I'm a smart ass, I provide Exhibit B for another angle of the infamous Bobbitt Worm (named after none other than the psycho b*tch herself). :-) I prefer Bud Light, if you please, sir. (LOL!) (Canon 10D, 50mm. 1/60 at F11) Note the mandibles and the upper area of the mouth with the smaller tentacles. I am guessing it was sticking up about four inches from the sand in this second photograph.

I'm posting two of these.... I am not color correcting nor adjusting these whatsoever. This is really what it looks like. For those of you (and you know who you are), who said that Bobbitt Worms "are never found" in Secret Bay, I proudly present Exhibit A. Note that the mouth is composed of two distinct functional parts, the larger portion towards the left has the toothed lower mandible and the area to the right can be used to snare. (Too bad I didn't have my 100mm on, huh?) (Canon 10D, 50mm. 1/60 at F11.)

Black-fin, out in the open. This guy hung out in the open sand, motionless, for nearly seven minutes. My friend fired off quite a few times and I took 15 pics myself. I have never seen a black-fin out in the open like this and neither had my friend, and he has over 10,000 dives. Notice how he has positioned himself running parallel with the algae.... (Canon 10D, 50mm. 1/60 at F11)

Not bad for a 50mm, huh? This is the full image, not cropped. I was _REALLY_ close! This black-finned snake eel just posed for me for quite some time, and then held his position for my friend to snap a few. (We found another one out in the open sand later.) (Canon 10D, 50mm. 1/60 at F11)

Yeah, I know... the shrimp's head is just _slightly_out of focus, but I thought I would throw this in anyway bc it sets up the next shot. (Canon 10D, 50mm. 1/60 at F11)

(Canon 10D, 50mm. 1/60 at F11.)

I came across this juvenile lionfish during a night dive at Secret Bay (Gilimanuk, Bali). Who says fish aren't smart? This little guy hung out next to this seapen for at least thirty minutes waiting for his midnight snack. (Canon 10D, 50mm. 1/60 at F11.)

Charlie and Bob.... Friends forever. (Canon 10D, 50mm. 1/60 at F11.)

So... I'm in Secret Bay and come across this yellow frogfish sitting comfortably on a yellow sponge. I stop to take his picture... (scroll down) And as I am taking his picture, his buddy hops in front of my camera. I saw this through my lens, then looked over the top of the camera to make sure I hadn't gotten narc'd in twenty feet of water, and sure enough, there he was. I imagine their conversation went something like this: (For some reason my seahorse has a Minnesota accent - and I think Frogfish just talk really slow with a low voice.) Seahorse: Oh... Hey there Bob, how ya doin', eh? Frogfish: Hello Charlie... I'm fine. Just watching the sand shift... Seahorse: Ohhhh... looky there. It's one of those loud bubble blowers. Frogfish: Uhhhh, yep. Seahorse: Ohhhh weeeee... those lights sure are hookily dookily bright, eh? Frogfish: Uhhhh, yep. I tried to blink but I dont have no eyelids. Seahorse: Say.... look at that. He must be one sharp fella... he's shooting a Canon! That was the conversation as I heard it, anyway. B) (Canon 10D, 50mm. 1/60 at F11.)

And... one more.

Just curious about something....

I'm hesitant to share my two cents for fear that if everyone tries to do what I do, soon I may not be able to do it. However.... Like many of you, I want to carry my sensitive camera equipment onto the plane with me. I used to use a modified Pelican case measuring 16x20x10 (# ). However, I hated the attention the case drew, particularly when moving through crowds. I felt like I had a $1000 taped to my forehead and a shirt that says, "Hey y'all! I'm a rich American moron - someone mug me!!" I now use a hiker's backpack that would never fit inside the metal frames used to measure carry-on luggage. This is an REI backpack that holds my laptop, two camera bodies, and seven lenses - PLUS my journal and several other essentials. Although I am carrying over $10,000 worth of equipment in just this one bag, I never worry about getting mugged when I walk down the street bc the pack itself is worn and dusty. I _almost_ look like a bum. My second bag is a Columbia shoulder bag, the same style bag you would see a bike messenger use. As I carry this bag slung across my shoulders, it appears to be just wide enough and just tall enough for the carry-on measurement frame. However, were they to look at the depth, they would see I have snuck on several more inches. I carry my housing in this bag, plus an 8 inch dome port or other things. I also carry my airline tickets, passport, and other valuables in this bag. (http://www.cerfbag.com/columbia_dev/product_detail.asp?id=91) Carrying your things in a roller-bag is great and convenient, but I prefer to carry it on my back - but here is the catch - I sometimes carry 40+ pounds on my back. so this solution may not work for most people. Another friend of mine uses a roller-bag specifically designed for photo equipment with the dividers and all, but I can carry a LOT more than him onto the plane because of the way I can adjust things within my pack. If anyone ever asked me to actually stick my backpack in the measurement thing, I would be flat out screwed, no question about it. Fortunately that hasnt happened yet. (knocking on wood vigorously)

Btw... the pics are coming. I have about 500 more I want to go through and THEN I will start the final cuts. LMAO OH MY GOD!!! I'm looking for THREE pictures!!! Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that some of the people who are really really getting involved in shooting digital tend to exhibit some obsessive/compulsive traits?

LOL... if you think his looks topheavy, wait until you see what I made!!!! The only downside to mine is that you have to be real careful as the mount for the modeling light could easily act as a lever that could turn the port loose and cause a leak. It almost happened twice, actually. But fortunately, I was VERY lucky and got away with it.

Hello.. my name is Jake, and I'm a Digitolic. (Everybody say "Hi Jake!") Counselor: So Jake... tell us, when did you first realize you had a problem? Jake: Well ma'am, I spent a long time in denial actually.... it started so easily and innocently, you know? Counselor:Tell us Jake, how did it start? Jake: Well ma'am... it started when I was a kid. Back in those days, everyone used film, you know. I just took pictures and got my film developed. Back then, no one knew about the addiction or the craving... Counselor:Yes, yes... go on. Jake: And then... (sobbing begins)... it just... I don't know. It just happened. My tolerance for film got so low... only 36 hits from the roll. So you know, I had to move onto something stronger, something more powerful. My first taste of the sweetness of the forebidden digital fruit was a Kodak DC-40 and then a little Sony, but soon even those weren't enough. I needed more. More more... MORE I SAY! MORE! Counselor: Jake, calm down. You are scaring the kids. Jake: Shut up, this is my story. Counselor: Please, Jake... tell us when you knew you had a problem.... Jake: (sobbing continues) It was after a trip to Indonesia.... I was looking through over 5000 images on my laptop and that was AFTER I had already deleted a lot of the obvious discards.... that was when I knew. Counselor: Knew what Jake, it's ok, you can tell us. Jake: I knew... (sniff).... that I was a Digitolic and the file folders, organized by location, date, and dive number... those were proof of my addiction. There was no denying it anymore. I was out of control. I shot 130 pictures of pygmy seahorses on one dive then went back later and shot 184 more pictures of them!!!!!! Counselor: Well Jake, thank you for sharing that moving story with all of us. Jake: Arent you going to counsel me and help me with my problem? Counselor: Actually, no, I was going to go buy a nice DSLR for myself. Jake: But I'm an addict. Arent you supposed to like, say something encouraging or give me advice or something? Counselor: Jake, this is a Weight Watchers meeting. Jake: Oh. Weight Watchers, huh? So who wants a chocolate donut? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Digitolicism... It can happen to anyone. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This message was brought to you by your friends at WetPixel because we care. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After talking with my friend Woody (the Nexxus Woody), I decided to invent my own modeling light set-up. The "professional" modeling light set up would have cost me about $250 - I made my own for about $40. Overall I am very happy with my little invention, but I am sure eventually I will build something a little more professional looking. I will take pictures of everything and post them in my review....

Hey guys, I am processing images on another PC as we speak and I will get some posted as soon as I can. These will not be color-manipulated in any way, although some of them have been adjusted using the exposure control within CaptureOne (this feature brightens or darkens the image). A few quick thoughts for YChng... I am shooting RAW, both top side and underwater, but my needs may be slightly different than yours. However, DO NOT shoot JPEG underwater as you will have major problems when trying to adjust the light balance or color within your images later. I heavily recommend using a 1 Gig card. I am using Lexar cards right now and will probably stick with those even though the Write Accelerator technology does not work with Canon cameras. At a minimum, get a 1 gig and a 512 card.... and leave the 128s at home. Go to the store NOW and buy at least one extra camera battery. Here in Texas, they cost about $50 and are well worth it. I already have two extra and am probably going to go buy another one later. As far as tips, I am working on a review of the Jonah housing and am hoping to finish it by this weekend. Overall, I am extremely happy with this housing although there were a few minor design issues I am talking with Dr Kim (the owner) about.

Hey y'all.... I just got back from Indonesia and I really did NOT want to come back, but short of living on the beach the rest of my life I supposed I have to come back sometimes. I left in early September with the Jonah Housing and my Canon 10D and I took over 3500 underwater pictures using this rig. I am working on an in depth-review, but suffice for to say that I was EXTREMELY happy with the performance of the housing. I was shooting macro primarily, mostly using my 100mm but also to a lesser degree with my 50mm. I got some really unique shots - including a Bobbit worm, a pregnant pygmy seahorse, and we think I have discovered a new species. The Technical Stuff..... I was shooting with two S&S 90DX's and I had absolutely zero problems shooting in manual mode. (For those of you who dont know, I had considered picking up a Nikon D100 and buying Nikon lenses just so I could continue to shoot TTL using the Fuji S2 Pro.... MAN am I glad I decided to just go back to shooting manual!!!!!) I have a LOT of work to do in compiling my notes and moving through these images to pull out the top 25 or so. I will post some soon, maybe as early as tmrw. I LOVE MY CANON 10D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rattus, yes... the eyepiece was removed. Kdietz.... What did you actually use for the cushion? I am experimenting with felt and cork.

Howdy gang... I am looking for some suggestions/comments/ideas to help me resolve an issue I am facing. There are NO bad ideas here.... Here is the deal: I have a brand new housing. Inside the housing, the button have a typical little rubber nipple that would push up against the camera buttons and allow you to access things like the histogram and other digital information. Unfortunately, the buttons on the back of the housing sometimes reach the back of the camera and a few times did not. Since the buttons reached the camera a few times, I know they are vertically lined up properly, therefore, my guess is that the camera itself shifts slightly while inside the housing, putting the buttons just out of reach. (Basically, I think left side of the camera is shifting slightly forward and the right side of the camera is shifting slightly backwards.) Right now, I am going to experiment with placing some cork in front of the camera to prevent the left side from creeping up and have also thought about using a felt pad on the back of the camera to provide a slightly extended reach for the buttons. Does anyone else have any ideas or suggestions that they used to address this issue? I will keep you posted...

Thanks for the explanation Ike. After reading your post, I remembered a conversation I had with another manufacturer who echoed the statements you made about S&S angle of coverage being overstated.

I just posted this in another section and realized maybe I should put it on the main board. S&S has discontinued all support for the YS60 strobe and will now focus only on strobes with a completely detachable sync cord, such as the YS90. So... if you have an S&S YS 30, 50, or 60, pick up any spare parts now!!!!! In particular, the dual sync cords with a Nikonos connector will become particularly hard to come by and the manufacturer is saying they have no more left. Other things like diffusers and possibly O-rings for the 30s could become scarce too (the YS-90 uses the same size O-ring as the YS60, so no worries there).