Lionfish43

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not looking at only Aniloa. perhaps something with better general diving would be better. Aniloa has some pretty reefs but many of the sites that I visited were macro specific.

As the topic title stated I'm looking to do a dive trip to the Philippines with very nice accomodations. I have done Club Ocelaris in Anilao and I like it, but my wife just wouldn't tolerate the spartan lodging. I'm looking for a venue that can keep us both happy.

Amazing work. I think the available light shots set you apart from the ordinary.

I really don't think there's that much difference between a human and animal subject when it comes to eye contact. I think this shot has a lot to commend it and it definitely would work as part of a story where it was the final shot of the girl swimming away. But taken out of that context and standing on it's own I think it's a little lacking. It's a very nice shot, I'm not knocking it, just giving my opinion....since you asked for it. Larry

It's different in the fact that you don't see that many underwater nudes. I don't really like the perspective though. If this was a fish shot it would be getting knocked as a tail shot with no eye contact. I like the idea though. I think I'd like it a lot better as a profile as opposed to the model swimming away.

The first color one is killer. Nice goin' Jeff.

Nice work Jeff. I find the placement of the watermark on the first one very distracting. I wouldn't have put it right across her eye.

Excellent images. Perfectly balanced lighting. It looks like a great time.

Really great stuff Jeff. Congratulations.

Very nice Marcelo. I like the layout, the images load quickly, and the quality of the content is superb.

These are super. Normally, pool shots don't do much for me but these look very natural. Kudos for the tenacity to get these right. I think both of them are stunning.

I think you need SP3 for XP to run NX. I downloaded NX2 recently (I'm still on the 60 day trial) and I absolutely love it. The control point technology is a huge leap forward when it comes to making selective adjustments. I'm also a firm believer that you can get most from your raw files with the proprietary Nikon converters. It wouldn't fit your criteria for cheap though.

I use an Epson 3800 and I find I get the most consistent results with Epson papers. I have dropped a lot of money testing various papers Ilford, Crane Museo, Innova and others and although a particular print may give a spectacular result on say, Museo Silver Rag, other prints may not work as well. Right now I'm a big fan of the Epson Exhibition Fiber - pricey but a great paper. Ilford would be my second choice for an all around paper. Their Galerie line is good for general use and their profiles work well with Epson ink. The other puchase, besides the 3800, that I'm very happy with is QImage. This is very similar to a rip and I use it to make all my prints. All my resizing and sharpening is done in QImage during the printing process. This allows me to keep one base file for each image from which I can make any size print I want. A very handy program. I don't find much difference printing from a JPEG or TIFF as long as the JPEG is 1st generation.

I've been to Provo a couple of times and it's not a great macro location. If it was me, I'd go with the 10-17 and 60 for UW and bring the 17-70 for topside.

If someone doesn't pay their entry fee doesn't that automatically disqualify them? If they don't pay they can't win. We should start a data-base that rates contests based on a variety of criteria. First and foremost would be the number of prizes and how well they deliver them. I have entered most of the larger contests over the years and there are many that do a great job and others that continually drag their feet when it comes time to pay out. I often hear the same excuse "we're only volunteers." If you're running a contest, it can and should be done right.