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   Houston Underwater Photographic Society   
UNDERWATER IMAGES
Volume 20, Issue 4 April 2002

Underwater Life in the Transition Zone

Join us April 1st for a presentation by Ron and Sylvia Crossland that will highlight the incredible biodiversity on the Indo-Pacific region.  The Crosslands have made eleven trips to the Indo-Pacific and will present selected images from New Guinea, Malaysia, Palau, Yap and Indonesia.  Many of the images depict typical reef scenes and marine life, but most will be from the Lembeh Straits in Kunkungan Bay (KBR), Sulawesi, Indonesia.  KBR is known as the "muck diving" center of the world and is heaven for macro photographers who don't mind 10 - 15 foot visibility!

Marine life in the Lembeh Straits is truly unique.  The critters have several things in common:

  • Many don't exist in many other places in the world so you may have never seen them
  • Many would not win a beauty contest
  • Nearly all of the more exotic critters are extremely venomous

The marine life is so unique because the Lembeh Straits is located very near the Wallace Line.  The Wallace Line is the observed transition zone between Asian mammalian and Australian marsupial reproduction and is an important demarcation line in Southeast Asia.

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 INSIDE THIS ISSUE
 1  Life in the Transition Zone, 2002 Shootout
 2  President's Message, Congrats, Insurance for Cameras
 3  March Meeting Recap, SEASPACE 2002
 4  Burt and Maurine, Marking Contest Slides
 5  Monthly Contest Winners, Quick Tip, Photo Contest Rules, Upcoming Photo Contests & Meetings

Transition Zone continued from previous column

Not only does the Wallace Line define the distribution of terrestrial species, it also marks one of the most biodiverse undersea areas of the world.  It is named after its discoverer, Alfred Russel Wallace, a contemporary of Darwin and co-discoverer of the theory of evolution.

In addition, just north of the Wallace Line is the path the Allies took during World War II as they moved northeast from the Solomons to the Philippines - a great place to dive for those who enjoy wreck diving.

As usual our meeting starts at 7:00 PM.  A map and directions are at the end of this newsletter.
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HUPS Cozumel Shootout
July 24-28, 2002 !!!

The dates are July 24-28.  We will be at Scuba Club Cozumel where meals, three boat dives a day and unlimited shore diving will be included.  If you want to learn more about the hotel then checkout http://www.scubaclubcozumel.com.  The price is $1005 per person including air on Continental, lodging, meals, diving and taxes.  If you think you would like to join in the fun please contact David Lenderman.
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Wanted - TR81 or TR101

Wanted: Sony TR81 or TR101 camcorder in good working condition.  Contact your webmaster to reach Dick Zingula.
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President's Message

The other day I was reading a couple of past issues of National Geographic.  In the September 2001 issue there was an article that I feel applies to underwater photographers.  It discussed the huge quantity of film used by National Geographic photographers while on assignment.

The article stated that the seemingly excessive use of film was not a waste.  It explained that professional and amateur photographers have different goals.  The amateurs are looking for a snapshot to show friends.  Professionals are exploring their subjects visually.  Kent Kobersteen, NG Director of Photography, said "They're on a mission of discovery."  He equated film with sketches made by an artist.  An artist may go through numerous paper sketches before the final masterpiece is created.

I want to challenge all of you (myself included) to photographically explore your underwater subjects in new ways.  Discover something new about your subjects.  Try a new angle, different lighting technique, different environments or even different subjects all together.  Only by exploring can we tap our creativity.  Remember that you have to throw away a lot of sketches before you can expect to get your masterpiece.  Stock up on film and start sketching.

See you April 1st
David
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Help with the HUPS SEASPACE Booth!

SEASPACE 2002 is coming, it's Saturday and Sunday June 8 & 9, 2002, at the Reliant Arena.  Pat Miller, HUPS Booth Coordinator, is still in need of large prints to display in the booth.  He also still has time slots available to work the booth.  Additionally, we will need help setting up on Friday, June 7, at 4:00 pm, and tearing down on Sunday at 4:00 pm.  This is a great way to get to know your fellow divers.  There will be a sign-up sheet at the next HUPS meeting, or you can contact Pat directly.  Come out and help support your club.
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Turtle Silhouette

Congrats to Gary Merritt and Jackie Reid

Both Jackie and Gary placed in the Underwater Images 2002 Photo/Video Competition.  Gary was awarded 2nd place in the Novice Macro category.  Jackie earned 3rd in Freshwater category and Honorable Mention in the Wide-Angle Open category.  Good work guys.  Their images along with other winners can be viewed at http://www.uwimages.org.
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Insurance for Photographic Equipment

By Jack Allyn

If you do not already specifically insure your photographic equipment, you should consider doing it immediately.  Your homeowners policy will offer only specified coverage and only very limited coverage away from your premises.

You can get "all risk" coverage through a personal articles policy or a personal articles endorsement to your homeowners' policy.  Ideally, I recommend a separate personal articles policy written with an insurance company other than your homeowners carrier.  Why?  Because if you have a loss, it will not affect your homeowners coverage on renewal from a rating standpoint.  The benefits of a personal articles policy (floater) are many, some of which are listed below:

  1. No deductible
  2. All risk coverage including but not limited to dropping, flooding, theft and mysterious disappearance (Miami Airport included)
  3. The exclusions are few, i.e., wear and tear, gradual deterioration, war, nuclear hazard
  4. Worldwide coverage
  5. Low rates - for example: $10,000 worth of coverage costs roughly $123.00 annually
  6. Most companies will pay the actual cash value at the time of loss up to the limit you state in the schedule.
The Travelers Insurance Company writes this type of insurance, as do other insurance companies.  Contact your insurance agent or broker for this coverage.

It is further suggested that you schedule and insure only major items you own: cameras, lenses, strobes, arms and expensive view finders, etc.  Do not schedule $5.00 and $10.00 items.  You should buy this coverage to cover the "big" loss that can hurt you financially, not nickel and dime stuff.

If you need any questions answered on this subject, feel free to contact me at uwphoto@seine.com.
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G'Show Mate

A big thanks to Lee and Patrice Mixon for their program at the March meeting.  We all expected to see lots of beautiful images but got a little extra in Lee's Aussie accent.  And people think Texans have odd accents.

It appeared that everyone on the HUC sponsored trip had a good time in both Australia and PNG.  In addition to the Mixons, Susan Saibara and Jean Truax both contributed images for the program.

The topside photos were as beautiful as the underwater work.  Some of the Australian bird photos really jumped out at you.  The underwater images included interesting little critters and awesome reef scenes.  I especially liked the shark photos.  These images were created during two baited dives.  Great work on those challenging subjects.

You would have never known that the Mixons have only been involved with underwater photography since 1999.  They got a good start by taking a macro class from Cathy Church in Grand Cayman.  The Mixons have now gone digital.  We will expect to see some of their digital work in the future.
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Check it out on the WEB!

This month's website is http://www.wetpixel.com.  This has to be the most up to date, most informative and coolest digital underwater photography site on the WWW.  If you are interested in digital underwater photography equipment you need to check this site often.

If you have a favorite Website that you would like to share with the group e-mail it to suewatson@mail.ev1.net.
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Juvenile trunkfish

2nd Place Advanced - Mary Lou Reid ©2002

Latest on SEASPACE 2002

By Sharon Kerr- TGCC Newsletter Editor

SEASPACE June 8 & 9 at the Reliant Arena near the Astrodome in Houston --- bigger than ever, and the booths are going fast.  Check out the recently updated exhibitor list at http://www.seaspace.org.  Chances are your favorite destinations and gear manufacturers are already signed up, and the best part is you can click over to their websites from this page.  Even Rum Reggae has a website now: check out Hot Pursuit in Ladies Shirts (trust me, it'll make sense when you get there.)

SEASPACE isn't just DIVING anymore --- adventure sports are joining in.  Have you heard of KITEYAKING?  That's Kayak Kite Sailing.  Add it to the list of kayak paddling, kayak diving, kayak surfing, kayak fishing ... what can't you do in a kayak now?  (On second thought, let's don't go there.)  Bring your swimsuit to SEASPACE and ride the wave of the future in the demo pool.  Or just watch & laugh.  You can't get this on HBO.

SEASPACE isn't all wet anymore --- huh? --- what we mean is you can find ecotourist explorations like jungle tours of Costa Rica or cultural tours of Thailand.  Is shopping your thang?  The folks who live there will be here in June to answer questions and let you sample some famous Cayman Island rum cake.  See, you have to show up, you just can't click on that taste!

Best news is this year the FILM FESTIVAL is nowhere else but right next to SEASPACE: one show only, Saturday night, June 8 at 7:30 PM at the Reliant Arena Pavilion.  Headliners Bob Talbot, Burt Jones & Maurine Shimlock, Ed Jamison, boy genius Paul Deaton, Franklin Viola and DUPS.

KIDS --- yep, all the same great stuff for junior divers.  Demos in the pool, special exhibits, seminars, and story times in the Environmental Hall, and maybe something new and surprising in the Virtual Dive Bubble?  By the way, ScubaPhyl is collecting donations for prizes for the Kids Dive Shop, and we still need some money sponsors for the Ocean in Motion exhibit: slap your banner on that puppy --- it's one of the most highly visible & visited spots in the show.  Contact scubaphyl@yahoo.com.

Advance ticket order form and a complete weekend schedule may be downloaded from http://www.seaspace.org.  You may also phone 713-467-6675 for additional information.
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You Still Have Time to Ask Burt Jones and Maurine Shimlock for Help!

Our post-SEASPACE presenters on Monday evening, June 10, 2002, Burt and Maurine of Secret Sea Visions -- see the flyer -- want to help improve your photos.  They have offered to custom tailor their presentation to the needs of HUPS members.  They are asking interested members to submit in writing a list of up to five (5) topics that you would like to be addressed in the presentation.  Examples of topics/questions include, "How I can improve strobe lighting in my wide angle work?" or "How can I minimize backscatter" or "What can I do to make my macro shots more artful?"  No topic is off limits -- but Maurine did mention that she and Burt are not into digital photography.  The actual program will be put together around the topics/questions presented by HUPS members.  This is your chance to have two incredibly talented professional underwater photographers answer your specific questions.  Write up your questions and bring them to the April meeting.  If you prefer email you can e-mail your questions to underh2o@mail.ev1.net.

[Webmaster's note: Time has run out, no more submissions please.  What has been collected has been mailed to Burt and Maurine for their review.]
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Calling all Dive Buddies

The April photo competition subject will be "divers/snorkelers."  So if you have a few favorite underwater shots of your dive buddy or any other diver/snorkeler bring them to the meeting.  Remember that you can't win if you don't enter.
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Ruby brittle stars

1st Place Novice - Gary Merritt ©2002

Correctly Marking HUPS Contest Slides

By Paul Levy - HUPS Contest Chairperson

Just a quick reminder about the proper placement of Thumbspots on Slides.  As you view your work, hopefully on a lightbox, the orientation of the slide should be apparent, but since fish and underwater views don't always have up and down, left and right or other clues such as equipment logos on SCUBA equipment, I'd like to offer a fast idea on how to properly place the thumbspot on the slide mount so we can then put it into the tray with the correct orientation.

The slides should be marked on the LOWER LEFT of the slide mount, as the slide is viewed through the base of the film.  This is the same for either horizontal or vertical slides.  You might notice a small note on some plastic mounts that say in very small letters, "This Side Toward Screen," that side is the emulsion side of the film, the inside of the curl of the film.  It is very evident which side to put properly into the camera before processing, on color reversal (transparency film) it usually has a dull gray-greenish color while the base has a shinier greenish color to it.

When you put the film into the camera for exposures the curvature of the film is evident and when loaded into the camera properly the curve of the film goes toward the lens.  After processing it is somewhat more difficult to tell but there is still a slight curve to each slide, and with a 8x loupe you can still see the layers of the different emulsions.  The Base Side of the film to be viewed should have a slight convex curve to it, unless it's mounted in glass mount.  The emulsion side is slightly concave.  Our slide projector has a CF lens on it for Curved Field, as opposed to FF lens for Flat Field, which is used for the glass mount slides.  It takes the curvature of the slide in consideration to properly project the image, without need to refocus each slide, unless it "pops" in the mount, but that's another matter that we have probably all seen as the slides have heated up in the projector.  Thumbspots got their name because when you load the slides into the slide trays for viewing, they appear in the upper right of the slide tray as it rotates toward the projection spot.

The best medium for marking either plastic or cardboard slides mounts is a "Sharpy" pen or other permanent marker, with either a black or red dot.  These same pens can be used to reference dates and other information on the mount, for later reference.

I hope I'm not restating the obvious here now, but thought I this little bit of fore knowledge will prevent any problems or delays in showing the slides for the Photo Contest each month.
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Photo Contest Winners
March 2002 - Night Time

Novice:

1stGary Merritt
2ndGary Merritt
3rdTammy Allyn
 

Advanced:

1stJackie Reid
2ndMary Lou Reid
3rdMary Lou Reid
 

February Advanced:

1stJackie Reid
2ndMary Lou Reid
3rdJoyce Burek
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HUPS Monthly Photo Contest Rules

  1. Photographs must have been taken underwater, with the exception of the "Marine Surface Slides," a category which will be announced periodically.
  2. The photographs must be the work of the photographer named on the slide.  The photographer does not have to be present at the monthly meeting to enter their slide.
  3. No aquarium, pool, or over/under shots.
  4. Photographs with divers touching or stressing marine life will not be judged.
  5. Entries that have won 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, in previous HUPS contests, or any major competition are ineligible.  The only exception being the Best of HUPS night at the December meeting.
  6. Slides will be disqualified if in the opinion of the Photo Contest Chairman and monthly judge, the slides do not meet the monthly subject matter, or do not meet one of the aforementioned rules.
  7. All contest judging will be performed by a judge selected by the HUPS Photo Judge Coordinator, except nights when it is announced that the general membership will judge.  In these instances the Photo Contest Chairman will tabulate all ballots.
  8. If a member wishes to question the results of a contest, they must submit their complaint in contest to the Photo Contest Chairman or any club officer.  The complaint must include: complainant's name, questionable slide, nature of complaint (indicating rule broken), proof behind complaint.
  9. The Board of Directors will review the complaint, and if they find merit, they may disqualify the slide.

The Novice category is for those that meet the following criteria:

  • Photography is a hobby.
  • Have never taken best of show or 1st - 3rd in national or international photographic competitions.
  • Have not been a HUPS Photographer of the Year.
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MONTHLY PHOTO CONTEST SUBJECTS FOR 2002
 
April Divers & Snorkelers
May Mollusks
June SEASPACE presenters (no contest)
July Stars
August Itty Bitty
September Above Water - Dive Related
October Ugly
November Wide Angle
December Best of HUPS Photo Contest
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UP COMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS

April 1, 2002 - HUPS meeting
Ron & Sylvia Crossland - The Transition Zone

April 13, 2002 - All Club Picnic, Lake Fairfield State Park

May 6, 2002 - HUPS meeting
Joyce & Frank Burek - Two Different Worlds

June 8 & 9, 2002 - SEASPACE 2002

June 10, 2002 - HUPS Post-SEASPACE meeting
Burt Jones & Maurine Shimlock
See the flyer.
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Quick Tip

After a big dive trip most underwater photographers end up with lots of slides that go right in the trash.  These slides are often considered worthless.  In reality these throw away slides may be the most valuable slides of all.  There is a lesson to be learned from every throw away slide.  Before a single slide is thrown away they should all be analyzed.

Keep your slides in order and put the whole roll on a light table for analysis.  Look at the bad shots and determine why it's a bad shot.  Don't just say bad exposure.  Really look at it the image.  Was the problem a result of wrong f-stop?  Poor strobe positioning?  Blind reliance on TTL?  Thoroughly critique all the bad slides.  Write down the reasons for the bad shots.  Take your top problems and work to correct them.  It's a good idea to save examples of your bad shots to review prior and during your next dive trip.  I think it was a famous underwater photographer who once said, "Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it."
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2002 HUPS Officers and Committee Directors
President  David Lenderman  e-mail
Vice President  Dennis Deavenport  e-mail
Secretary/Treasurer  Henry Ragland  e-mail
Board of Directors  Tammy Allyn  e-mail
   Frank Burek  e-mail
   Leonard Cichowski  e-mail
   Ken Knezick  e-mail
   Jackie Reid  e-mail
   John Ringrose  e-mail
   Robert Shaklovitz  e-mail
Membership/Promotions  Jean Himes  e-mail
Photo Contest  Paul Levy  e-mail
Newsletter  Sue Watson  e-mail
TGCC Representative  Frank Burek  e-mail
Safety Officer  Jesse Cancelmo  e-mail
Webmaster  Pat Miller  e-mail

Map

The Houston Underwater Photographic Society (HUPS) meets the first Monday of every month at 7:00PM at the Bayland Community Center, 6400 Bissonet, near Hillcroft.

Social time begins at 7:00PM for members and visitors to get acquainted. Visitors are always welcome to join us. So, stop by and see what we are all about!

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