NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2006

 

FORTHCOMING PROGRAMME

NOV 14th:     Red Sea Magic by Ralph Mortimore

                        Portfolio Tutorial by Arthur Kingdon

                        BUPG Diving 2007 - Discussion

COMPETITION PROGRAMME

NOV 14th:  Manipulation (click here for full year's programme)

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

NOV 14th Meeting

The Meeting (start time 2000hrs) will be at our normal venue (click here for how to find us).

Please try and be on time as we have to keep the main doors locked while we are using the building. However, there is an intercom entry system so you should be able to get in if you are running late.

The main event of the evening will be a presentation by Ralph Mortimore who will talk about the two Red Sea Workshops that he has done this year and the use of Magic Filters. An intriguing subject that should be enjoyable and informative.

There will be a discussion on our plans for diving in 2007, in order that boat bookings can be made before it is too late. We need to know who will be interested in taking part in the BSoUP Plymouth Splash In (July) and the St Abbs Splash In (August). Other dive trips can also be discussed.

It is now portfolio season - BSoUP have their Beginner's Portfolio in November and their Open Portfolio in December. We also have our own Open Portfolio competition in December. With that in mind, Arthur Kingdon will give a tutorial on how to select images and how to put them together in a portfolio. This will be the last item of the evening, so those who are already familiar with what is involved can choose to leave a little early.

The monthly competition theme is 'Manipulation'. Send your digital files to Bob Anthony (anthonyrez30@tiscali.co.uk ) or bring your slides on the night (let Bob know if you will require a slide projector and screen).

RECENT EVENTS

September Meeting

BSoUP Best of British Portfolio

As I have been encouraging you to enter the BSoUP competitions for a while now, I thought it was about time I put my money where my mouth is and enter something myself. So, I cobbled together six rough, old images and sent off this portfolio:

If you want to know how I, and another BUPG member, fared, you can read all about it on the BSoUP site.

Diving Nassau By Pam Murphy

Pam gave a very interesting presentation on her recent, family trip to the Bahamas. Based on Paradise Island, Pam and family dived and snorkeled all the main sites including the Tears Of Allah wreck (AKA the James Bond wreck). Pam's excellent interior shot of this wreck was the winner of our monthly competition in September.

The area provides a good range of subjects for the underwater photographer including wrecks, reefs, drop offs, caves, and even a blue hole. There is a good variety of fish life, much of it quite familiar with divers - perhaps due to the regular fish feeding that takes place. 

Glass fish abound as can be seen here.

There are a good number of wrecks in the area, many of which have been purposely sunk.

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These provide artificial reefs and attractions for divers. The small scale of some of the wrecks, and the shallow depth, makes them ideal for the photographer. Amongst the wrecks is the 'Vulcan' bomber used in a James Bond movie. Really just a scaffold grid, it is not very picturesque for wide angle shots but it has become well covered in corals and sponges and provides good opportunities for macro work.

In addition to the normal reef shots, Pam showed several images of caves, including this atmospheric, natural light shot of a shoal of glassfish - much better than trying to illuminate silver fish with flash. The blue hole was dived but it proved less than photogenic unless you were the first in. Sand spilling over the edges soon ruined what visibility you had.

The visibility was not that good during Pam's visit - a bit close to the hurricane season perhaps. Also, the whole area is very sandy and the fish feeding does not help at times!

Sting rays have long been a feature of this part of the world but lionfish are quite a recent phenomena. They have caused a good deal of excitement amongst regular visitors to the area. How they arrived here is something of a mystery

They are similar to but more colourful than the ones we are used to seeing in the Red Sea. This image is beautifully lit and the result is a great shot.

Nassau offers quite a lot to the visiting photographer but you may wish to check on dive duration with any chosen dive centre - Pam found a limit of 30 minutes was usual and this may not be enough for those photographers who prefer a shallower depth and more dive time.

This was an interesting and informative presentation and the images here are a small selection from Pam's presentation - get in touch with Pam if you need more information.

Norway - Above the Arctic Circle by Trevor Rees

Have you ever looked at a map of Norway and worked out how far it is from top to bottom? Well, it's around 1100 miles but the coastline is in excess of 13,000 miles. This was clearly demonstrated by Trevor when giving this presentation. A cheap flight got Trevor and his pals to Trondheim, then it was a long train ride, followed by two hours on a bus before reaching what was to be their home for the next two weeks - the sail boat Voltair.

A 38 foot ketch, the Voltair has six berths but not a lot of room when four of those on board are divers. The main destination was Narvik and that was a further eight hours sailing away.

Narvik harbour has a large number of wrecks, mainly from WWII. This is the German destroyer Whilhelm Heidkamph, which, like many of the Narvik wrecks, sits upright and is mainly intact. Unlike Scapa Flow, many of the wrecks are quite shallow. The water temperature was quite warm at 8-10° C but it was very green and very dark.

This made photography quite challenging and Trevor found himself shooting wide open, with slow shutter speeds on many occasions - even when using ISO800. The exposure value range, between light and dark, was considerably more than Trevor had found in the UK and controlling the highlights became very difficult. Despite the difficulties, Trevor showed some excellent images.

This is the wreck of another German destroyer, the Anton Smidt. There is little by way of growth on the Narvik wrecks and, with only a bit of weed and a few dead mans fingers here and there, the wrecks appear quite barren.

 

 

Anglerfish were seen on every dive although they were usually of a fairly small size. This excellent image shows one in great detail. It's not often you get a chance to observe their pectoral fins and it is easy to see from this how similar they are to frogfish.

There were few fish on the wrecks themselves but shoals of cod were regularly seen in open water.

There were always lots of jellyfish around, including these cross jellyfish which are not dissimilar to the moon jellyfish that we see in UK waters. However, despite lots of searching, Trevor saw only one nudibranch.

One unusual fish, photographed by Trevor, which the audience failed to identify, was a Norway haddock. Others, more readily identifiable, included pipefish, which were quite numerous, and the occasional lumpsucker.

As you might expect, there were also lots of flatfish - Trevor has captured this plaice rather nicely.

This was a fascinating presentation with some good technical content. If you like a challenge and enjoy diving in the UK, you may want to give Norway a try. With more intact wrecks than the UK it offers a wide range of possibilities. I'm sure Trevor would be pleased to provide further information.

Monthly Competition

The theme of 'Abstract' did not attract a huge number of entries (14 in total) and, as usual, there was a fairly liberal interpretation of the theme - but we don't mind that, do we? There was a tie for first place and, following a second vote, Jim Drake took the top spot. His image of a pectoral fin of a lunar tail grouper (aka moon grouper), was given a 'spotlight' effect in PS (filter>render>lighting effects>spotlight). The result was very attractive and fitted the theme well.

Arthur Kingdon took second place with an image of the reflection of a lionfish. Although this may look like some weird PS manipulation, it is a straight shot of the reflection distorted by the surface ripples.

In third place was this attractive image of a shoal of fish, by Rob Barker. Not sure what Rob has done here - a bit if zoom blur perhaps? I'm sure Rob will let us know.

Rob Kemp, with this urchin image and Arthur Kingdon with a sponge image,were equal fourth.

Trevor Rees had two images which found favour with the audience, including this juvenile angel fish image:

   

MISCELLANEOUS

Maldives Trip

Anyone interested in a Maldives trip next March (3 -17) may wish to get in touch with Bath33 DO Peter Plume (peter.plume@btinternet.com). It's aboard the well respected MV Sea Queen and should be a great trip. There are currently two places available following a cancellation.

Fake Memory Cards

Two friends of mine have been caught out in an eBay scam where memory cards have turned out to be fakes. It is a big enough problem for eBay to have put out a warning. Click here for link.

Ocean Optics Visions in the Sea

Ocean Optics are organising an underwater photography treat over the weekend of 4/5 November. Check out their website http://www.oceanoptics.co.uk/menu.htm

Note: There seems to a glitch with the 'full details' link but select 'download full programme' to see what is on offer. There are some great speakers. Having been to these events before, I can highly recommend them.

Bovisand Diving

Sally Sharrock (who insists she is not on commission!) tells me that Bovisand is now open for diving seven days a week with air, shop, cafe etc and the rib shuttle is running. Shore diving is no problem and parking is £5 per day but that includes a free air fill (sounds a bargain to me). There is also B&B available in the accommodation block. See www.discoverydivers.co.uk

New Website for Underwater Photographers

A new website, full of good stuff for underwater photographers, can be found at http://www.divephotoguide.com Check it out - it requires registration but is very useful.

BSoUP Competitions

There is no excuse now for not entering the BSoUP competitions as they are now accepting entries via email. Also, our monthly competition programme mirrors and precedes that of BSoUP, so you can try out your images the month before. We have a great deal of talent within the group so why not give it a go? Let's show the London lot what we can do in the provinces! Check out www.bsoup.org for further details.

 

Arthur