adamhanlon 0 Posted February 2, 2014 As I write, folks from around the world are winging their ways towards Labuan Bajo, where they will board The Seven Seas for 11 days of amazing underwater encounters and imaging opportunities. After a brief spell in port, a second group will arrive and will embark for a further 11 days. We will be diving in the Komodo National Park, concentrating on the Deep South. At this time of year, the north west monsoon completely changes the south sides of the Komodo Island group. This means that the area is washed by crystal clear currents and as the wind moves form south east to north west, the swells flatten out and the southern upwellings cease. Here is some video shot by Linda Johnson in the south: We plan to add updates to this thread as we sail, although it is likely that internet connectivity will, at times, be limited. Please keep checking back for updates and images from the trip. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adamhanlon 0 Posted February 4, 2014 We are all now gathered in Bali and met up for a group meal at Mama San: We were joined by Keri Bingham and Robert Delfs. We catch an early flight tomorrow to Labuan Bajo, from where we will board The Seven Seas and start the trip "proper." I'll be posting updates here whenever I get the opportunity, and encouraging my fellow travellers to do the same! Adam Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
echeng 0 Posted February 6, 2014 Hello, everyone! We are having a great time on our 2nd day of diving aboard the Seven Seas here in Komodo. Yesterday's dives at Wainilu were great, for critters. And today? Mantas! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adamhanlon 0 Posted February 6, 2014 The Wetpixel Komodo Expedition has now boarded The Seven Seas, and has sailed from Labang Bajo. We spent the day yesterday shooting macro and super macro at Wainilu, a mixture of rubble and corals. Lots of great macro subjects: The boat moved today and anchored at Karang Makassar, a long barrier reef which gets plenty of macro action at this time of year. The first dives had mantas in a very strong current along the inside of the reef, which made photographing them a challenge. We will post some images of the diving today later on. The boat will move South later tonight, and it is expected that we may lose internet connection as we move. I'll try and keep the community updated whenever I get the chance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
echeng 0 Posted February 6, 2014 During this trip, I'm shooting a BMD Pocket Cinema Camera for the first time, underwater. The Nauticam USA housing for it is fantastic, and the Panasonic 8mm fisheye lens is pleasing with the slight crop factor. Best of all, I'm shooting CinemaDNG (raw) with a Magic Filter. The colors in today's manta shoot, which was in murky water, looks pretty good after light processing in Lightroom! I don't think I have enough hard disks, though. CinemaDNG is around 3.6 GB per minute, and I'm shooting about 30 GBs worth of frames per dive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Barry Russell 2 Posted February 6, 2014 Oooooh! Have fun out there guys, looking forward in seeing your pics! cheers Barry Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adamhanlon 0 Posted February 15, 2014 Since my last post, the Wetpixel South Komodo trip has been out of cell phone range and hence internet connection. From our shake down dives, we headed out to look for mantas at Karang Makassar. Although there were plenty of them around, strong currents meant that, for the most part, encounters were brief and hard to capture. Hence, we moved on to Bahlia, a mixed wide-angle and macro site. Unseasonal conditions meant that there was still cool, relatively poor visibility water, which limited wide-angle potential somewhat. Our next stop was at the wonderful anchorage in Horseshoe Bay. This gives access to a variety of wonderful sites, including the legendary Cannibal Rock, Yellow Wall, Eagle's Head and Penekan wall. We have spent the past three days here, with the visibility improving considerably, and some really memorable and spectacular diving. We have also visited a beach with (Komodo) Dragons and spent some time visiting the scenic and beautiful coastline around South Komodo. Pat is needed back in the States, so we are currently wending our way towards Labuan Bajo in order to get her within speedboat distance of the port. We dived this afternoon at a great site called the Three Sisters, full of great macro and super macro life. The boat and crew of The Seven Seas have not only found us great subjects to shoot, but also kept us in truly luxurious style. They are now getting somewhat used to Eric's daily quadcopter flights! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adamhanlon 0 Posted February 15, 2014 Some more images: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
echeng 0 Posted February 15, 2014 Hi, everyone! We have just motored into mobile data range near Labuanbajo. The trip was fantastic, although when we arrived in Horseshoe Bay, it looked like it often does in the dry season: green and murky. By the end of the trip, the water had cleared up, so trip 2 should have fantastic conditions by the time they get here. Still, the diving has been great, as has the boat and company. Also, I've been flying the quad around, and the new perspective is fantastic. We spent a long time playing with bobbit worms at Torpedo Alley This is Cannibal Rock, from the air. Horseshoe Bay. Gorgeous! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adamhanlon 0 Posted February 15, 2014 I am hoping that other group members will start adding their images here soon too. As a prompt (!), here is a group shot: We were having a "heavy brain" day. Eric shot the images using a housing and strobes... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kevster 6 Posted February 16, 2014 (edited) Great photos. Really like the boat over the reef shot. Are the aerial shots using the DJII Phantom Quadcopter? with the FPV camera I would be really interested in finding out more, how good the camera is for stills & video & if its easy to fly. I am very tempted to get one before my next trip. Edited February 16, 2014 by Kevster Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
markgoyen 5 Posted February 18, 2014 Just got back from the Wetpixel South Komodo trip yesterday. I had a great time, terrific company excellent organisation and a whole lot of great diving. I spent a lot of the time on reefscapes and got some great images. MV Seven Seas is highly recommended as a liveaboard. Thanks to Eric and Adam and underexposures. Hope to see you guys at Dema. Best, Mark 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
markgoyen 5 Posted February 18, 2014 Some more South Komodo pics Mark Goyen 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JDelage 0 Posted February 18, 2014 Those aerial pics are really gorgeous. What kind of camery is crried by the quad? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adamhanlon 0 Posted February 19, 2014 Eric is still traveling, and I will leave questions about his quad and setup to him when he gets back. In the meantime, he put together a slideshow of the participants' images and videos from the trip: Adam Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JDelage 0 Posted February 20, 2014 Very cool, thank you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
echeng 0 Posted February 22, 2014 Hi, everyone. The quad is a DJI Phantom 2, and I've modified it to carry a Ricoh GR camera, which is a 16-megapixel APS-C camera with no anti-aliasing filter. It weighs less than 250g including its fixed 28-mm-equiv lens, which is incredibly light. You can see more pictures from the kit over at my other site, Skypixel.org. All of the posts tagged Ricoh GR, including tech posts about the modification, are here: http://skypixel.org/tagged/ricoh-gr Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jenny 5 Posted February 22, 2014 How come unpacking is so much easier than packing but so much sadder? This was a great trip. The boat, not at the luxury end of the market, was comfortable and well equipped. What makes the difference though - the crew were about the best I've encountered (and I'm such an expert), absolutely wonderful. The guides were terrific and Mark had a real knack for finding dead things. Strangely we had a series of strobe floods - I think five in total. Fortunately nothing catastrophic. For me it was particularly terrific to share the trip with my daughter, Phoebe. We spent a couple of days in Bali first playing with our Underwater Tribe friends - this time rafting and bike riding. Highly recommend it so long as you put in a bit of training ahead of the hills first. As always travelling with Eric and this time Adam as well, meant there was plenty of opportunity to watch, ask, listen and learn. I'm still cropping for gold and it's time to update my camera so travelling with these generous folk was very timely. I've been able to pick their brains and cut through a whole lot of the complexity that comes with an upgrade decision. And really, hanging out with my first best californians again was bliss. Safe back in Oz, really missing Wetpixel friends but plotting away to be ready for the next one. Here are a couple of images, G12- Inon Z240x1. See you next time lovely people ... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adamhanlon 0 Posted February 22, 2014 Lovely images Jenny! Here are a few more: Two crested nembrotha (Nembrotha cristata) making more nudibranchs!Nikon D800, Nikkor 105mm VR, 1/320 at f40. Two Inon S2000 strobes The mating parts of a crested nembrotha (Nembrotha cristata) immediately after mating. Nikon D800, Nikkor 105mm VR, Nauticam SMC, 1/320 at f36. Two Inon S2000 strobes. Wide angle scene from Cannibal Rock. Magnificent schools of fish and colorful soft corals abound.Nikon D800, Tokina 17mm f3.5 in a Zen 170mm dome port. 1/160 at f14. Inon Z240 strobes with Clark Miller custom diffusers Coleman shrimps (Periclimens colemani) on a fire urchin (Asthenosoma varium). These often live as pairs on an urchin.Nikon D800, Nikkor 105mm VR, Nauticam SMC, Two Inon s2000 strobes. 1/320 at f40 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhoebeCM 1 Posted February 27, 2014 Here are a few more photo's 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JasonBradley 4 Posted March 2, 2014 Post 1... Hey Wetpixel, We just finished the Wetpixel Komodo Expedition Part 2. We also LOVED Cannibal Rock, and spent a lot of time there. The vessel Seven Seas was great, and we ended up with good conditions for most of the trip. Here are a few photos to start... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JasonBradley 4 Posted March 5, 2014 (edited) Here are a couple more beach photos from Padar Island. This place was stunning and I truly wish I made more time for beach exploring during sunsets and sunrises. The first photo was done with about a 30 second exposure and some light painting on the rocks in the foreground with a sola light, and the Seven Seas boat is lit up in the background. Of course, the diving in Padar is also stunning. : ) Edited March 5, 2014 by JasonBradley Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canuck 3 Posted March 7, 2014 Great trip! Thanks to Wetpixel and Jason and all my fellow divers. Here are a few shots of our fearless leader hard at work. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
