photovan

Hey all, Darren Jew here. You may or may not know that I've been leading photography trips to the Kingdom of Tonga since 2001. So this season will mark 17 years of experiences with the humpbacks in Tonga. 2017 will once again will see us in the water for 50+ days of interactions. We are photography focussed, offering quality water time with the best skippers and guides to provide you with a variety of incredible experiences each day of your trip. We also provide after-boat tuition through our daily Workshops and Creative Lab Sessions. We have limited spaces on a few departure dates between late July until mid-October 2017. You can see details of availability and a heap of information on our website: www.whalesunderwater.com Feel free to contact me if you need any questions answered ... we'd love to have you along with us. If you Instagram, you might want to check out the hashtag #whalesunderwater16, which features both staff and guest photos from the 2016 season. all the best darren E: darren@darrenjew.com

Tigers, bull sharks, nurse sharks and lemons, black tip and grey reef sharks! Meet the superstars of the world famous ‘Cathedral’ in Beqa Lagoon, Fiji. Your 5 night/6 day tour gives you quality time in the water, up close and personal with these magnificent animals, plus you’ll explore some of the best soft coral diving the ocean has to offer. Not only will you experience some of the best shark encounters imaginable, you’ll receive a program of expert tuition designed to take your photography to the next level of technique and creativity. This is your chance to shoot alongside Canon Master Darren Jew and gain personal insights into the creative processes that goes into capturing his award-winning images. A mix of structured workshop sessions and supervised lab time will be led by Darren each afternoon and will ensure you make the most of the images you capture. Your Sharks Underwater – Beqa Lagoon tour price includes: • Expert photography guidance, tuition and education • Group transfers Nadi-Pacific Harbour-Nadi • Group boat transfer to our island resort from Pacific Harbour • 5 nights twin or double share per bedroom in our 2 bedroom apartments - • 4 guests per apartment with large living space, air conditioning, private bathroom with separate toilet. • All Meals from dinner on arrival day to breakfast on departure day • 4 days diving/ 9 dives, as per itinerary • Exclusive use of dive boat for our group • Free House Reef diving and snorkelling at any time • Nitrox Dive Package. If you are not Nitrox Certified an SSI Nitrox course is available at the dive shop on day of arrival, at extra cost) • Mask/snorkel/fins/wetsuit/BCD/reg set hire as required • Workshop and supervised Creative Lab time • Personalised photography tuition • Wi-fi (one device per person) Full Itinerary here: http://whalesunderwater.com/sharks-underwater/ Contact Darren Jew for further information: darren@darrenjew.com

Hello out there! I've been hosting photo groups photographing humpbacks underwater in Tonga since 2001 and I've just completed a new website covering all you need to know about the trips for upcoming seasons... which run August/September. www.whalesunderwater.com cheers darren

I just used the wet and dry (1200) and Silvo method described by John Bantin, with great success

Hi Alex, I ordered one on Sunday and it was shipped today, should have it by the 9th. Thanks again!

Alex, you're a star Will buy you a beer sometime.

Does anyone have a remote release that I could fit to myCanon EOS 1Dx/ Nauticam housing? Doesn't need it to be too long, just want to be able to do 'B' bulb exposures longer than 30 secs. If you have something and are willing to sell or hire it to me, give me a shout. I need it by April 10 and can return it after 20 April. Thanks!

Abraham Joffe from Untitled Film Works was in Tonga with me this past whale season, shooting a short film for Canon Australia on the 1DC in 4K. He's just written and blogged about the workflow he's using to shoot 4K projects. cheers darren

Anyone got any development on this?

Here's my favourite from 2012, shot in Swallows Cave in Tonga. The location will be very familiar to anyone who knows Tonga's Vava'u Island Group. I like the image because its shot in a place I snorkel with my groups on many occasions every whale season... and I try to do a new and different view each time I'm in there... Canon EOS 5DMKii EF 8-15mm f4 L Fisheye 1/30th @ f8 1250 ISO Aquatica w/megadome

It's whale swimming season in Tonga... I'm in the middle of my second group, with another 2 to go. Just thought I'd share this calf portrait from Saturday.

Orpheus Island 2012 Photography Workshop Presented by Les Walkling & Darren Jew | 30th September - 5th October 2012 Everyone here takes their photography pretty seriously, so i thought I'd let folks know about a workshop I'm once again co- presenting. This is a week of creative photography. It's more than shooting, its about capture to print and taking your work to a higher level, no matter where you are placed now. Run by the AIPP North Qld and presented for the last 7 years by Australia's leading colour expert Dr Les Walkling, participants live and breathe photography in a fabulous location. This year we've organised an option for 2 days of diving as well... one day on the outer Great Barrier Reef, the other on the fringing reefs around the Palm Group. So while not a dive-only trip, it's an opportunity for those with a passion for their photography to learn how to turn their vision into reality through capture, image processing and fine art printing... all under expert guidance. It's a live-in week where we take over the Orpheus Island Research Station in Far North Queensland and turn it into a full-blown digital imaging centre, with presentations, workshops, shooting, processing and print time. The labs are set up so you have access to the latest monitors, print technology and finest papers any time day or night. I have some info on my site, and from there you can click through to learn more about the workshop. It is a fabulous week. Love to see you there. http://darrenjew.com/?page_id=602

LAST DAY FOR SUBMISSIONS If you haven't done it already, please consider spending a few minutes on this. Only a few hours to go before the submission deadline. "You can't protect the Coral Sea without protecting the coral" http://www.protectourcoralsea.org.au/ darren

Evaluative is a good starting point. Remember the water is often darker then mid-grey, so a little minus exposure compensation will help... around 1/2 stop (or 2/3 stop if you're using thirds) will be good. darren

I have a date for my next foundation workshop Underwater 1.01 to be held in Brisbane (Qld, Australia) on the weekend of the 28 and 29th of April 2012. The workshop is made up of a combination of theory and pool sessions and is designed for anyone getting started in UW photography. The course structure is outlined on the Foto Frenzy website. Bookings are open now and as a special offer to Wetpixel Members you can choose the student price of $295 (a saving of $100) if you indicate you are a Wetpixel Member and provide your Wetpixel profile name in the "comments or questions" field on the booking form. regards darren