kathymm

This system is SOLD! Thanks to everyone who expressed interest.

I've moved to a smaller camera/housing system and am selling my D300 with its housing. I'm also selling my ports, sync cords and strobes. This is an excellent system that has worked well for me. Nikon D300 and Sea&Sea MDX D300 housing - $1200 Includes camera charger, body cap, manual, and camera original packaging. Sea&Sea 10" dome port - $500 Sea&Sea flat (macro) port - $250 Double sync cord - $150 Single sync cord - $85 Sea&Sea YS110 strobes (two) - $300 each I will sell all of the above for $2500. Also selling a Nikon 16mm f/2.8 fisheye lens - $600. Contact me at kathymm@hotmail.com Most of the images taken on my website http://www.divermaiden.com were taken with the D300. Take a look at the Underwater Gallery.

While I cannot comment on events during and after the fire on the Mandarin Siren, not having been there, I can say that during my trip on the Indo Siren one of the owners was on board and it was clear that he felt that the crew was like part of his family and they felt the same. I feel confident that WWD&S are taking care of all crew and guests on board, but after a disaster like this it can take some time for everything to get back to normal. I would feel absolutely confident in boarding any of the WWD&S boats today, tomorrow or anytime in the future…In fact I wish I was boarding one of their boats today or tomorrow instead of having to wait for a future trip. Kathy Mendes divermaiden.com

I am offering one of my D300 camera bodies and SEA&SEA housing for sale as a complete system. I love the camera and system (I am keeping one D300 body for topside use) but need to downsize for health reasons. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3I71IxA7hyI/TKjm...ogImage-4-2.jpg Included: D300 body 16mm Fisheye lens (includes filters and pretty gold box too). S&S Housing Dome port (fisheye) Flat port w/gear for 60mm macro lens S&S double sync cord S&S single sync cord S&S YS110 strobes (2) And of course all O'rings and I think I have the manuals for everything also. This is a complete system ready to take underwater except strobe arms. Let me know if you're interested. $4600 or make offer. U.S. only. I also have a Nikon D70 DSLR and SEA&SEA Housing. No ports or anything else. Best offer. I have a Nikon 28-200 AF lens I will sell with the D70 (or separately) if you're interested ($200). Send me a message or email kathy@divermaiden.com. Kathy www.divermaiden.com

Bonnie, Randy and I have two questions. 1. How did you manage to get everything into one check-in and two carry-ons? 2. Did you check how much it would cost to go swimming in the pool on the top of those three buildings that are connected at the top? Randy wants to know...I will not be seen up there unless really drunk or drugged. ;-) BTW...We loved the Singapore at night photos! Kathy

Randy and I stayed at Lankayan Resort March 2009. The resort is really nice and we had a large 2-room chalet all to ourselves with air conditioning and an outdoor bathroom. The diving was ok...vis was not great but we did see turtles, a few sharks etc...The snorkeling right off the beach or the dive platform is great! Our last full day we did not dive but instead just snorkeled around the island. But the draw is the resort itself, one resort on one small white sand island in the middle of the ocean, very nice atmosphere, very nice people working at the resort and the food was great! My trip report is here, http://www.divermaiden.com/Borneo2009/Borneo_2009_Menu.htm. Best, Kathy

Eric, Thanks for hosting the party! It was fun as usual and it is always nice to see everyone (and all in one place!) :-) Thanks to the sponsors also! Best, Kathy

Check out Digi-labs. http://www.digi-labs.net/calendars.shtml We having been using their calendar software and printing services for several years now and they are very good. The software is easy to use and very customizable and there are several different sizes and styles of calendars. The paper is 80lb cardstock and the printers they use do a great job on the color...even blue water. And I believe they are having a special right now for free shipping if you upload in October! Kathy

Hi Allison, After reading your post I had to go read our conservation rules again and do some research on their background. I believe our conservation rules are based on the EPIC conservation rules. However over the years they have been changed slightly, mostly to consolidate while still conveying our desire to preserve the marine environment. I can't imagine any competition not having some form of conservation rules. I too searched and found the EPIC conservation rules on their website and reviewed them. Best, Kathy Mendes NCUPS SEA Competition Coordinator DEADLINE OCTOBER 9, 2009 Rules, regulations and entry forms at www.ncups.org

Nice shots! #6 is very interesting, creative and good use of depth of field (or lack of it). And the purple Rinopias is one of my favorite Lembeh subjects. As far as advice on improving...several of those shots would have looked good with a vertical orientation. When you're composing, look at the subject and visualize it both horizontal and vertical. Kathy

Hi Aqua_soul, Most competitions will provide an explanation of the various categories offered by their competition in the rules and regulations. If you need further explanation usually there is a way to contact the organizers with questions. I haven't heard of one single list of explanations, and this is probably due to the fact that many competitions use different definitions. Best, Kathy NCUPS SEA Competition Coordinator www.ncups.org

Rich, Although not a week-long warm water photo seminar, the Northern California Underwater Photographic Society meets sort of close to you and has several very good educational seminars planned for this year starting out with Berkley White from Backscatter in February and Jack and Sue Drafahl in March. Check the NCUPS website (www.ncups.org) for more information. I would agree with Phil also about the Bonaire Digital Shootout. Although I have never attended I know many uw photographers who thought it made a huge difference in their photography skills. Jack and Sue Drafahl run photo weeks and are great teachers also, not only with photography skills but with Photoshop and Lightroom also. http://www.jackandsuedrafahl.com/ Best, Kathy

Congratulations to all the winners! The winning images are now displayed on the NCUPS website http://www.ncups.org. Again this year, the competition was very tough and the judges had their work cut out for them in picking the winners. The judges this year were Jason Bradley, Steve Rosenberg and Bruce Finocchio. Judging comments will be made available on the SEA 2008 page as soon as I write them up. But I will say that due to the high quality of images in the competition often it came down to the smallest detail in determining the winner over the places. All entrants should be proud of their work! Best regards, Kathy Mendes SEA Coordinator www.ncups.org

Bring abalone.

Deadline approaching quickly! Only four days left to get your entries in, including today! The SEA 2008 International Underwater Photographic Competition is October 10, 2008. All entries must by postmarked by that date! The SEA competition is open to amateur uw photographers and videographers from around the world. Already entries have been received from the United Kingdom, France, Hungary, Australia, Italy, India, and from several US states! Award sponsors of the SEA 2008 competition, with prizes totaling in the tens of thousands of dollars, include SCUBA ecotourism resorts, travel agencies, and luxury live-aboards, as well as SCUBA and photography equipment manufacturers. Sponsors include: Nai'a Cruises, Fiji; Kararu Cruises, Indonesia; Bilikiki Cruises, Solomon Islands; MV Febrina, Papua New Guinea; Pindito Dive Cruises, Indonesia; Manthiri, Maldives; Stormcase, Lowepro, SanDisk, Ultralight Control Systems, Ikelite, and Backscatter Underwater Photo and Video. The SEA 2008 underwater photographic competition will issue awards for the best work in categories including Macro, Wide Angle, Underwater California, and Marine Conservation; a traditional print category; creative categories in print and digital; and a video category. In the creative categories entrants are encouraged to use any and all tools available to express their individual creativity. The SEA International Competition Best of Show, in addition to a selected prize from the prize list, is awarded the prestigious Bob Commer Award of Photographic Excellence! All media; digital still, print and video, are eligible. The winner of the Bob Commer Award receives $500.00 and a handcrafted glass trophy of an underwater photographer. (For additional info: http://www.ncups.org/commer.html). Get your entries in now! There is a new online entry procedure for digital entries...makes entering easier! Download Rules, Regulations, and the Entry Form from the NCUPS website at http://www.ncups.org. Entries can be submitted (CD, DVD or prints) at the October 10, 2008 NCUPS meeting featuring a presentation on diving in British Columbia and Alaska by Clinton Bauder. Good luck, Kathy Mendes SEA Coordinator SEA@ncups.org