AdamSkr

Thanks for the heads-up John. Appreciate it. Adam.

Hello, After 10 years, my trusty Scubapro Glide 2000 is beginning to give up on me. I have looked at the options available to me locally (want to fit a bcd before purchasing so internet is a no-no for me) and basically narrowed it down to a Dive Rite Travelpac and a Scubapro T-force. As I am not really familiar with Dive Rite i was wondering if anyone here has used the Travelpac and what the experience has been like - i did find some older posts about the transpac harness, but nothing on the travelpac. I am told that the travelpac is basically a transpac harness with a travel exp wing, but without the versatility of changing the wing. I do all of my diving in tropical waters and with a single 12l tank, occasionally strapping a 4l pony to the tank and was told that it would be OK so not being able to change the wing for a bigger one is a non-issue for me. I will get a chance to try a travelpac (although a size or two too large for me - which is why I am still asking for long term use opinions) in a few days to see if I am happy with a back wing, as i have only done a handful of dives with backplate/wing as part of a course in the past but that was with twin tanks, never tried a wing set-up with a single tank though so i want to test the 'being pushed forward theory' for myself. At the moment the + points of both my options are as follows: Scubapro: Familiarity Dive Rite: weight, versatility (except for the wing options), lower profile, price. Familiarity is a very strong point hence any opinions you can offer on the travelpac will be much appreciated and can sway the decision either way. PS. I am not trying to start a jacket vs wing discussion. Thanks, Adam.

Sounds like a perfect candidate for the "instant weightbelt release punishment". This action accomplishes two things: 1. removes the individual from the environment they were damaging. 2. with sufficient depth, removes the individual from the gene pool preventing future environment damage. Adam.

Gotta say all great and inspirational shots above, each and every one would probably make my best 25 list. Not been diving much this year and hard to find a favourite, but it's a tossup between these two. Although they seem just like your regular nudi shots the reason i singled these out is that normally i struggle to get the fine detail on small subjects, but these seem to work and show the texture of the subjecs.

Thank you Gentlemen, 8858 is a supermacro shot of the inside of the seasquirt, you shoot inside the opening, while making sure you have your strobes just on the outside of the squirt pointing at 90 degrees to the wall, you'll need your strobes on manual for this shot, it is actually just a copy of a much better image i have seen in one of the diving publications.

Thanks Stephen, Karel. I'm using a D80 with the 105 VR lens, 2 x Inon 240Z, also wet diopters on some of the shots.

Thanks, I'm glad you liked the galeries. The jawfish is one of my favourite shots from the trip.

The non nudi gallery can be found here Next year, work schedules and girfriend permitting I shall be going back to Anilao for a while, but hopefully with a few day excursion further down south.

After last year's trip to Anilao and PG i decided to go back. Given the per dive productivity levels and the limited time i had this year i decided to limit my trip to anilao at Club O. Below are links to 2 galerries from this year and a few sample photos. Nudi gallery here

I'll second that. Also with the 105 VR you can have the lens set to auto, but still make adjustments using the focus ring. I use this quite often and it definately helps.

I'm no expert but i suppose it's ok as long as he does not imply that the photo is his and the copyright owner is clearly mentioned- which he is - but then again this may varry by region. Going back to the photo, I have never seen a turtle doing this, but would not put it past them so hard to call, but would give it the benefit of doubt.

Thanks for the kind words on the website guys. Don, you are right on the The Giant Clams being the best macro site in PG, did 3 dives there and managed a few photos. In PG i was always diving as part of a group which limited time spent with subjects unfortunately. Steve, I use a D80 with two Inon 240z strobes. For Macro i shoot the 105 VR lens and occasionally pop on an Inon close up lens or two. I tend to shoot at aperatures between 36 and 51 and then do some sharpening is PS. A.

few more

Recently returned from a trip to Anilao and Puerto Galera in the Philippines. Below are a few images taken during this excursion. Recently there were a few questions posted on the board regarding both destinations, I can now safely recommend Anilao and Club O specifically for anyone interested in muck diving, the first day I experienced what can only be described as 'critter overload' and it took a few dives to get a more disciplined approach to shooting. The macro life in PG is not as abundant, but the visibility tends to be better so it offers more of a mix of macro and wide angle shooting. Complete galleries from both locations can be seen by following the links below. Anilao PG Adam.

Hi Steve, Have a look at their website, there is a very comprehensive trip report on another forum that they have linked to. I'm booked with Ocellaris for first half of March but that will be my first stay there so can't give a first hand account at the moment. Adam.