crubie

Final two...

A few more...

Hi, Finally got round to posting a few shots from my first try at Macro / Super Macro during a trip to Wakatobi. Was mostly concentrating on getting sharp focus... Found it pretty challenging with the straight viewfinder during the first 2 days. A 45 degree would help. (Was using the Canon 5D MKIII, Canon 100mm F2.8, Nauticam housing, 2 Inon Z-240s and the Nauticam Super Macro converter.) Below is a selection of the best results. Minor post processing in Lightroom, a little spot removal and vignetting. Would appreciate any thoughts and suggestions. Many Thanks

Tim, Beautiful selection ! Having finally switched this summer to still photography, and being in the middle of selecting / post processing the 2500 pictures from my first trip, these pictures truly set a standard to look up to. Cheers Chris

Very Nice ! Good choice of Music.

Hi, Travelled to Belize a few years ago especially for the Whale Shark Aggregations in Gladden Spit. The best place to stay as a base is Placencia a small town / village that is about a 60-90 min boat ride away (depending on sea conditions) from the protected marine park. The trips a usually day trips with 1 dive in the morning and 1 early pm on the site. They limit the number of boats on site to 1 hour slots. In between dives the boat usually anchors on a reef nearby. Divers are free to snorkel during that time Important to note that although comfortable the boats are usually small with no toilets. The dives themselves are blue dives and basically can be hit or miss. On some dives we had up to 6 whale sharks, dolphins, Bull sharks, inquisitive raymoras and thousands of snappers and on a couple other dives, just deep blue dives.... It was however a fantastic experience. I stayed in Placencia itself at The Turtle Inn (owned by Francis F Coppola) and used their dive shop which was great with few divers on each trip. Some other operators on larger boats might have a mix of divers / snorkelers... Placencia itself is a fantastic village that feels relatively untouched by tourism (they have managed to keep the Cruise business at bay so far). Local people are very friendly, and there are some very nice local restaurants. To me the town had a typical carribean vibe without the usual downside re safety etc... People can walk around the place at night without a worry (at least when I was there...) Hope this helps and don't hesitate to let me know if you have any specific questions Christophe

Hi. Travelling to Mauritius at the end of Feb. Anyone have any tips on Dive operators (Photographer friendly) & Dive sites ? Ideally would like to dive the Famous Shark Pits if possible this time of year. Any advice appreciated. Many thanks Christophe

Hi, I have only been diving with Jim Abernethy's - Scuba Adventures. In general I like Jim's approach to the dives. Can't comment on shark Diver.

I would check out Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures in Palm Beach. Shark dive Specialists and do dives at Blue Heron Bridge.

I can confirm that Placencia is fantastic. I used the dive shop from the Turtle Inn Resort who were very professional. The star dives during that time of year are the whale shark dives in Gladden Spit. These are blue dives with whale Sharks and the best Time to go is right around the full moon (3-4 days before and after). However one thing to keep in mind is that the boat ride from Placencia is 30-45 min sometimes more depending on sea conditions. Trips are usually for a full day. Gladden Spit is a protected marine area and they only allow a limited number of boat / divers in the area at any given time. Operators usually book on time slot in the morning and one in the afternoon and spend the downtimee moored at a nearby reef. Fantastic experience ! Not to miss this time of year !

Just stumbled on this. Great Documentary : http://vimeo.com/28404579

Thanks Steve !

I have used a sony HDR-HC7 (still prefer tapes for underwater filming, just a matter of convenience, especially when on a liveaboard...) with an Amphibico Dive Buddy Evo. Love the setup, and have received excellent service from the team at Amphibico. Used this rig quite intensively on a week long trip on the Shearwater and never had a single issue. Very well built in my opinion. PM me if you would like links to videos shot with this setup or have any questions.

Kit still For sale to Best Offer. Following is a link to footage shot with this setup : http://www.vimeo.com/17263154 Pictures of setup upon request

For Sale : - Amphibico Dive Buddy Evo HD - Amphico 10 Arc Video Light - Amphibico Travel case - Sony HDR-HC7 - Extra batteries with charger Kit is in great condition, only used once on the Wetpixel / JASA Shark & Dolphins Expedition Can provide pictures of Kit and sample videos shot with this setup on request. Asking $4000. for full Kit or best offer Contact : chrisrubie@mac.com