November 3rd Presentation
Dancing from Bali to Komodo

By Dennis Deavenport

Make no bones about it, November’s program should be one that you can’t afford to miss.  The story starts in Houston with 13 HUPS members heading off to Bali to board the two-masted Komodo Dancer, also known as the Ombak Biru.  Upon arriving in Bali, David and Sue Lenderman, Jackie and Mary Lou Reid, Dennis and Mary Vernon, Anne Milhoud & Chuck Roberts, and Dennis Deavenport checked into the totally fantastic Villa Puri Nirwana, joining Lynn and Joe Nicklo who had arrived earlier.  The next morning, we met up with Dan and Anita Brady who had arrived on a different flight from Denver.  For the next 2 days the group toured Bali, shopped, got massages, met our dive guide (Graham Abbott), and visited with one of our expatriate HUPS members, Dave Van Rooy at his beautiful home near Ubud.  A high point of the Bali stay was an evening of entertainment at the villa by a troupe of young Balinese dancers accompanied by the magical melodious percussion music of a local gamelan orchestra followed by a feast fit for royalty hosted by the villa’s owner.

With anticipation and some regret, we left the villa and boarded the boat to start a 10-day dive trip that took us north of Lombok and Sumbawa and finally into the other-worldly waters surrounding the dragon-infested islands of Komodo and Rinca.  Along the way we dove under twin smoking volcanos where we plunged our hands into thermally hot, bubbling sands at a dive site called Bubble Reef.

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Komodo from previous column

Soon thereafter, we arrived at the cool waters around Komodo and began the main part of our dive program.  Led by our amazing spotters, Graham, Yan, and Chuck, the group located and photographed some world-class weird critters.  The visibility wasn’t the greatest but nobody really cared.  We strapped on the macro lenses and blasted away.  What a giddy experience.

On day 4, the group headed out for Komodo and the dragons.  We got more than our money’s worth here when we learned that the park rangers would be feeding the dragons a deer that had died the night before.  Now that was an amazing experience... what a bunch of animals!  You need to see the show to believe this grisly feast.

Ten days of some of the most amazing dives in the world.  You really have to experience Cannibal Rock and Yeller Wall at least once in your diving career.  Day and night, the critters just kept coming.  The presentation will be in three (well, maybe four) short parts.  Lynn Nicklo will debut her digital talents to HUPS in a continuation of the fun and funny show that she put together for the crew and guests while on board the Komodo Dancer.  The lady has talent!  Then David Lenderman will present a special short program consisting of images of the ugly critters encountered during our trip.  The main program will be an 8-minute show to music featuring the best slides selected from all of our photographers.  If you can’t get into this program, you might as well climb into a grave.  Expect to see some really great images and some really strange and wonderful subjects.

As usual the meeting will be at the Bayland Community Center starting at 7:00 PM.  A map and directions are at the end of this newsletter.

2004 Elections

Elections for 2004 HUPS officers and board will take place at the November 3rd meeting.  If you want to get involved contact David Lenderman.

President's Message

The November meeting is upon us.  Looks like a full agenda.  We will have several shows on Bali/Komodo and more importantly we will have the 2004 elections.  Our elections are usually more like confirmations.  We normally don’t have multiple people running for the same position.  This club operates on the power of volunteers.  The more volunteers the stronger the club.  I truly believe that the more you put into HUPS the more you get out.

I would really like to see at least one newer member seek a position on the HUPS board of directors.  It is important for the club to have input from a cross section of its membership.  You don’t have to be an old salt or an expert photographer to be involved.  If you have questions about getting involved feel free to contact me anytime or just raise your hand when we ask for volunteers.

Since it the month of Thanksgiving I would like to thank some of the HUPS members that have helped keep the club going over the last year.  I want to thank Paul Levy for taking care of the monthly photo contest for several years.  Thanks to Donn Rosen for taking over that job when Paul decided it was time to retire.  Thanks to Drew Trent for scanning the month slide contest winners.  Thanks to Jean Himes for being the Membership Chairperson and having a big smile to greet new members.  Thanks to Henry Ragland for being the HUPS Treasurer forever.  Thanks to James Wiseman for continuing to bring HUPS into the Digital Age.  Thanks to Pat Miller for keeping HUPS.org looking good.  Thanks to our own Energizer Bunny, Joe Nicklo, for all he has done in the last year.  This includes heading up the SEASPACE booth, creating and filling the position of Director of Educational Activities, starting up the HUPS library and other things I am sure I have missed.  Thanks to HUPS VP, Dennis Deavenport, for all the late night hours he has put in over the last couple years.  Lastly, thanks to all the HUPS monthly presenters and board members.  Without these people HUPS simply wouldn’t exist.

See Ya November 3rd,
David

October 6th Presentation
Ned Shimizu – Diving the Waters of Okinawa

It wasn’t until about 5 minutes into Ned’s presentation that it dawned on me that the show wasn’t really about diving in Okinawa.  Instead, his show was really about his photography in the waters surrounding the small island of Kumi-Jima which is about 35-40 miles east of Okinawa.  It was soon very apparent that Ned is not only very serious about his photography but he is also very good at it.  The show itself was all digital, taken from slides that Ned scanned using his Nikon Super Cool Scan 4000 scanner and edited in Photoshop 6.  He also used his own portable computer and his well-calibrated digital projection system.  Because of his attention to color detail, the images were rendered very realistically and true to the original subjects.

Although this was Ned’s first presentation for HUPS, the quality was superb.  The first part of his show was a mixture of shots taken above and below water accompanied by a narrative description of what it was like to dive in this part of the world.  It was interesting to hear him describe the differences in how they dive in Japan compared with the less formal approach that we normally experience.  Equally interesting was his story about leading the effort to form a dive club at his university and the long journey they took traveling to Kumi-Jima on a freight ship.

The main program was nicely accompanied by music from his native country, Japan.  His show was filled with a wide variety of skillfully and artistically captured images.  After the meeting, I talked with several people about the show who all gave Ned’s presentation very high marks.  I certainly hope that this will be just the first on many contributions that Ned makes to HUPS.  Very nice work, Ned.

New Stuff for 2004

At the October board meeting a couple improvements for 2004 monthly meetings were approved.  The digital contest will occur a total of 7 times next year.  There will be 6 monthly competitions that will count toward Digital Photographer of the Year.  In addition there will be a December digital contest that will be wide open.  Any digital image is eligible.  In the months we don’t have a digital contest we will take 15 minutes or so to critique images supplied by HUPS members.  So if you want some advice from our most talented photographers plan to bring a couple shots for a critique session.

ASMP Working With TSA to Change Airline Baggage Regulations
Submitted by Jesse Cancelmo

Professional photographers and all airline passengers with a love of and investment in photography may soon find it easier to protect their most sensitive equipment in-flight, as a result of current discussions between the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).  Working with ASMP, the TSA is revising regulations to permit air travelers one additional, size-appropriate carry-on bag above the current two-bag limit to accommodate and protect expensive photographic equipment.

"While the specific concern of ASMP is working to help professional photographers to fulfill their job responsibilities, many other air travelers will also benefit from this rule change," said Eugene Mopsik, ASMP's executive director.

Noting that musicians have received permission to take expensive or fragile instruments on board with them as an added piece of carry-on luggage, ASMP urged the TSA to extend the same rights to photographers.  The TSA was responsive to this request, and is currently creating policy to present to the airline industry and airport security screeners.

"The Transportation Security Administration understands that working photographers travel with a lot of equipment," Mopsik said.  "Photographers can easily pay hundreds of dollars in excess baggage fees -- often totaling more than the plane ticket itself -- just to go on a simple assignment.  And, additionally, today's photography involves very sensitive electronic devices, including laptop computers and input and storage devices, which need a more protected environment."

"ASMP is grateful that the TSA has put a solution to this problem on their fast track," Mopsik added.  "ASMP members and the general public should keep checking our Web site, http://www.asmp.org, for details on the forthcoming regulation change."

Quick-Tip

Want to capture great images?  A simple way is to spend more time night diving.  If you are not night diving you are missing out on the best photo opportunities.  Many shy critters come out only at night.  Shells, cephalopods, crustaceans are far more common after the sun sets.  Become nocturnal and go night diving.

UpComing Meetings and Events

November 3, 2003 – HUPS Meeting
Komodo - The Lucky 13

November 22, 2003 – Lighting Workshop
Ken Knezick

December 1, 2003 – HUPS Meeting
HUPS Annual Christmas Party meeting

FOR SALE

Ikelite 4200 Digital underwater light meter. $300

Sekonic MMII with bracket and UltraLight mount.  Extra batteries. $175

Ikelite flat port for 50 Micro Nikkor (#5502 for lenses < 3.5" max extension). $25

AquaLens dome port in very good condition.  This allows you to use any NIkon-mount compatible lens as an underwater wide angle lens on your Nikonos camera.  Note that a 20mm lens inside this dome port is equivalent in field of view to the Nikonos 15mm.  Included is a Vivitar 19 mm lens (good condition also) along with focusing and aperture rings.  Original cost of the AquaLens alone was $800.  All yours for $150 OBO.

Nikon 15mm viewfinder for use with Nikonos IVa (I don't think it fits the Nik V).  Almost unused. $50

All viewable at http://www.seabelow.com/uwphoto4sale.  All prices OR BEST OFFER.  Contact Dave Van Rooy at dvanrooy@seabelow.com.  Dave has been a member of HUPS for over 15 years and currently resides in Bali.  All equipment is in good working order, and he will guarantee money back if not satisfied.  Equipment is located in and will be shipped from Austin.

October 2nd Place Advanced - Dennis Deavenport ©2003

HUPS Shootout 2004

At press time we have deposits from 15 members planning to attend the HUPS Bonaire Shootout.  The shootout will be in Bonaire July 10-17, 2004.  There is still time to join in the fun.

Cost of this trip will be approximately $877 for land, which includes: seven nights, six days of two two-tank boat dives/day, unlimited shore dives and daily breakfast.  Each 2-room villa will have access to a four-door pickup, for "tooling" around or diving the beautiful dive sites from the beach.  Airfare is anticipated to come in somewhere around $550.  Total cost for the basic package will be approximately $1427.  All villas come complete with a kitchenette.  For more information on lodging check out http://www.plazaresortbonaire.com.

Island Dreams Travel will sponsor a one-day photo contest.  Prizes will be a $300, $200, $100 certificate for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place respectively, to be used towards a travel package with Island Dreams.  If you have any question or want to make a $200 deposit to hold your spot contact Leonard Cichowski.

Sandy or Mucky

The topic for the November photo contest is “things that live in muck or sand”. Remember, you can’t win if you don’t enter. Each member is allowed to enter three slides. Complete rules can be found here.

Monthly Contest Winners
October 2003 – Wide-Angle

Lighting Workshop, Library and Photo Critique
By Joe Nicklo, Director of Educational Activities (DEA)

This month I have several things to bring to your attention, the first being the "lighting" workshop scheduled for November 22, 2003.  If you are serious about improving your underwater photos, don't miss this one.  Ken Knezick will conduct the workshop from 2 to 4 PM at his place of business, Island Dreams Dive Travel, located at 1309 Antoine Drive, north of I-10.  I will have a sign-up sheet at the November meeting or you may contact me via e-mail.

I believe I can say we had unanimous approval for my suggestion to begin a monthly photo critique session.  I strongly believe we can all learn something from this exercise.  We plan to have the first of these sessions at the January 2004 meeting.

At the October meeting I discussed the merits of using the HUPS library to further your knowledge of underwater photography.  I also mentioned titles of the books and tapes available for checkout.  I was pleased with the response and we now seem to have an interest in many of the available books and tapes.  I am hoping to increase the size of the library with donations from HUPS members.  Please bring your donations to the next meeting.

Digital Equipment Buyer Beware!
By Jean Himes

Editor’s note: Frequently products destined for foreign markets are sold in the U.S. as "grey market" items.  These items are often the same item as that sold in America and are less expensive, but warranty and repairs may not be available in the United States.  This can create problems similar to those experienced by Jean Himes.  If you are concerned with having a valid warranty make sure you avoid grey market products.

Olympus Japan housings will only be serviced and repaired when you TAKE them to Japan.  OJ will not accept items sent through the mail.  Olympus America will NOT repair/service Olympus Japan products!  I purchased my PT 010 from Ocean Brite Systems in California.  After having problems with my housing they did not answer my emails.  My receipt stated that Olympus Japan must be contacted regarding warranty.  Backscatter came to my rescue: I emailed dozens of places and received authorization from Backscatter to send it for service and repair.  BUYER, BEWARE before purchasing your new digital camera and housing!

Seafood Watch
By Pat Miller

Do you like seafood?  I do.  But I'm worried about the state of ecology in the oceans due to overfishing and other exploitation.  According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, 70% of global fish stocks are "fully exploited, overfished, depleted, or rebuilding from previous over-fishing."

The fishing industry has damaged the ocean environment not only by overfishing, but also by utilizing destructive fishing methods.  In trawling or dragging, nets are pulled along the bottom of the ocean floor.  Coral reefs are hit especially hard.

Your seafood choices can make a difference.  Check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch (http://www.montereybayaquarium.org), where they feature Seafood Watch cards that you can download and print, or view online.  There are also other resources such as an All-Fish List where you can look up your favorite fish.

The Aquarium plans to have regional cards available.  Right now, the West Coast Regional Card shows:

Best Choice:
Abalone (farmed)
Catfish farmed (U.S.)
Caviar (farmed)
Clams (farmed)
Crab, Dungeness
Crab, Snow (Canada)
Halibut (Pacific)
Hoki
Lobster, Rock (CA, Australia)
Mussels (farmed)
Oysters (farmed)
Sablefish/Black Cod (BC, AK)
Salmon, canned
Salmon, wild-caught (CA, AK)
Sardines
Seabass, White
Shrimp/Prawns (trap-caught)
Striped Bass (farmed)
Sturgeon (farmed)
Tilapia (farmed)
Trout, Rainbow (farmed)
Tuna, Albacore/Yellowfin/Bigeye (troll/pole-caught)

Caution:
Clams (wild)
Cod, Pacific
Crab, Imitation/Surimi
Crab, King (AK)

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Seafood from previous column

Crab, Snow (U.S.)
Lobster, American
Mahi-Mahi
Mussels, wild-caught
Oysters, wild-caught
Pollock
Rockfish/Rock Cod/Pacific Snapper (BC, AK, hook & line)
Sablefish/Black Cod (CA, OR, WA)
Salmon, wild-caught (OR, WA)
Sanddabs
Scallops, Bay (farmed)
Scallops, Sea
Shark, Thresher (U.S., West, Coast)
Shrimp/Prawns (U.S., trawl-caught)
Sole, English/Petrale/Dover/Rex
Squid, CA market squid
Swordfish (U.S., West, Coast)
Tuna, canned
Tuna, Albacore/Yellowfin/Bigeye (longline or purse-seine caught)

Avoid:
Caviar, Beluga/Osetra/Sevruga
Chilean Seabass
Cod, Atlantic/Icelandic
Crab, King (imported)
Lingcod
Monkfish
Orange Roughy
Rockfish/Rock Cod/Pacific Snapper (Pacific, trawl-caught)
Salmon (farmed/Atlantic)
Sharks, except U.S. West Coast Thresher
Shrimp, imported
Sturgeon, wild-caught
Swordfish, Atlantic
Tuna, Bluefin

Nominations for Member of the Year

Is there a club member that you feel should be recognized as the HUPS Member of the Year?  This should be someone who has made significant contributions to HUPS over the last year.  Winners over the last few years include: Pat Miller, Dennis Deavenport and Sue Watson.  Please send nominations in writing to David Lenderman or turn them in at an upcoming meeting.  They will be accepted up until the start of the December meeting.  HUPS VP and President are not eligible.

Cool New Digital Camera Gear from DEMA 2003
By Eric Cheng and James Wiseman

(This is an excerpt of the feature originally published on http://www.wetpixel.com.  For further reading and photos, see http://www.wetpixel.com/features/dema2003.)

Aquatica featured a new Canon EOS Digital Rebel housing prototype (using the old Nikon F90 housing chassis), a Nikon D100 housing, a Fuji S2 Pro housing, and a Nikon Coolpix 5000 housing that accomodates the removable 19mm wide-angle lens.  They also have an extension ring for use with the Nikon 105mm macro lens with the 2X teleconverter.  Blake, Jean Bruneau, and Norma were behind the counter to greet us, and it was fun to meet them for the first time, in person.  Mauricio Handler was there as well, showing photos he had taken with Nikon's 12-24mm digital lens using Aquatica's 8" dome port and a 15mm extension (with no diopter).

Fantasea housings are inexpensive and are very well suited for dive shop rentals because they have "sport" versions available that limit the feature set you can access on the enclosed digicams (renters won't be able to change camera settings).  They offer Nikon Coolpix 2100 and 3100 housings (in sport version only), and Coolpix 885 and 4300 housings (in both sport and "pro" versions, which provide access to most buttons).  A Coolpix 5400 housing is coming soon -- perhaps in 2 months.

Ikelite had a large booth featuring their complete line-up of consumer and professional underwater housings.  New products included a Canon EOS Digital Rebel housing prototype (which should be shipping very soon, but is still undergoing testing and modification), a JVC HD camcorder housing, a Sony V1 housing, and new line of dive lights.  Also displayed were Olympus Stylus 300, 400, D230, C50, and C5050 housings, Nikon 2100, 3100, and 5000 housings, Canon G3 and G5 housings, Sony DSC-F717 housing, and assorted accessories.  Ike Brigham (who still refuses to let us publish his photo) and Larry Ostendorf (strobe guru) chatted with us for a long, long time.  We know all their secrets now, but we'd have to kill you if we told you.

Inon showed off their popular D-180 and Z-220 strobes and their array of lens adapters and lens converters (wide angle and macro).  Mark Rupert talked about the features that set their strobes apart from the rest.  Here are a couple: 1) when a button on the back of the D-180 is depressed, a modeling light turns on for 8 seconds.  When the camera's shutter is tripped, the modeling light turns off for half a second.  2) The Inon strobes fire a preflash with the camera in order to lower the power of the camera's internal flash (because the camera looks for the preflash to reflect back in order to set its internal flash power).

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DEMA from previous column

Light & Motion had a huge, well-designed booth (as usual) featuring many video housings, the Tetra Olympus C-5050 housing, and the Nikon D100 housing that they debuted last year.

MCD had many items to show this year.  Featured prominently were the Inon Z-220 and D-180 (digital) strobes, which have received a lot of attention this year (as "grassroots" as underwater gear can get) for their quality of light, beam coverage, and feature set.  Rumored to exist is a D-180s strobe, which only functions as an optical slave.  An Epoque Nikon 5400 housing graced their table, sitting next to a large, box-shaped Canon EOS 1Ds housing, designed by MCD but manufactured by Gates.  The 1Ds housing is not quite ready, but hopefully they will be able to price it attractively.  A Inon "Optical Converter" was also on display on Wednesday and Thursday, which converts a TTL signal from a Nikonos-style bulkhead to an optical signal, which can run along a fiber cable to a slaved strobe.  The fiber connector can be removed underwater, and the cord itself is extremely low profile.  On Friday, the converter had mysteriously disappeared off of the housing.  More news about this will become public soon, I'm sure.

Oympus' booth was staffed by a single diver surrounded by an army of non-divers.  We did talk to our lone diving buddy, however, and he showed us the ins and outs of the new Olympus C-5060.  Instead of using AA batteries like the C-5050 does, it uses a proprietary BLM-1 battery, which the upcoming Olympus E-1 digital SLR also uses.  They will also release a vertical battery grip that can hold two batteries at once.  Announced in Japan only (the Olympus USA reps knew nothing about this until they arrived at DEMA) were a wide angle converter, a PT-020 housing for the C-5060, a PPO-02 wide angle port adapter, and a PFL-01 strobe housing, which holds the FL-20 strobe.  No one would let us touch an E-1, but one of the reps told James that he would probably sell his Fuji S2 Pro after he used one.  James was not convinced.  The C-5060 will be available in limited supply at the end of October, and supply will ramp up after the new year.  Olympus reps told us that the best way to get one would be to place a pre-order with your local retailer, or to go to a national retailer.

At the Sea & Sea display our good friend Andy Sallmon, a Sea & Sea rep and professional marine photographer, held our hands as we toured the Sea & Sea booth.  New products included the DX-D10 Canon EOS 10D housing, which is a dramatic departure from their normal "box" housings.  It's a bit more streamlined than other Sea & Sea digital SLR housings traditionally have been, and features a new 6-pin bulkhead connection for their new SLH-C220 speedlight housing, which holds a Canon 220EX speedlight for E-TTL-compatible underwater shooting!

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DEMA from previous page

Sea & Sea's new connector is backward-compatible with the older 5-pin cables (but E-TTL will not work if you use a 5-pin cable), and the SLH-C220 housing has a removable diffuser.  Also on display was a prototype Canon EOS 1Ds housing, which is machined out of a solid block of aluminum.  It will be built-to-order, with extremely limited availability (and demand, probably).  It also will feature a 6-pin strobe connector.  It is bright red, and if you decide to put down the money for one, it will have your name engraved on a little plaque on the back.  Its projected price point is around the same ballpark as existing housings like the current Seacam housing, but this could change -- and will have to change in order to make this an attractive housing.  A new Nikon Coolpix 5400 housing was on display with a fisheye port made to accomodate the Nikon Fisheye Lens FC-E9.  The fisheye port is a modified Sea & Sea compact dome port.  Also displayed (announced last year): the Fuji S2 Pro housing and the Nikon D100 housing.  For some reason, the Fuji housing is priced (MSRP) $500 USD higher than the D100, D60, and 10D housings.  We're not sure that this makes the price point competitive with other available housings.

At Seacam Stephen Frink and manager Liz showed us Seacam housings for the Canon EOS 1D/1Ds, the Nikon D1/D1x, the Nikon D100, and the Fuji S2 Pro.  As expected, they were of excellent quality, and the S-180 viewfinder was to die for (as is reflected in the price!).

Subal had an impressive display on their counter, with all of their housings lined up for easy perusal.  Displayed were: Canon EOS 1Ds housing, Canon 10D housing, Nikon D100 housing, Fuji S2 Pro housing, Nikon Coolpix 5000 and 5400 housings, Canon Powershot G5 housing, Nikon SB80 flash housing, and Canon 550 EX strobe housing (in production, which will require a S6 plug).  All of the housings were impressive and featured natural-feeling ergonomics.  Each lever depressed with a very short throw, producing a satisfying, dull click when pressed.

Jonah/Underwater Photo-Tech Fred Dion of Underwater Photo-Tech was showing a Jonah Canon EOS 10D housing.  Fred will be the East Coast dealer for Jonah, while Wetpixel sponsor's Ocean Brite covers the West.

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DEMA from previous column

I hope you all enjoyed this quick overview.  If you have any specific questions about the products, track me down at the next HUPS meeting, or alternatively, you can post your questions on the bulletin board at Wetpixel.  I found it particularly telling that this year, just about every new underwater photography product was aimed at digital shooters –- just a hint of where things are going I’m sure.

Christmas Sweets and Digital Treats

The HUPS Christmas Party will be here faster than you can say, "Ho, Ho, Ho."  John and Kathy Ringrose will again be the party planners.  At the November meeting be sure to sign up to bring a food dish.  As usual HUPS will provide ham and turkey.

This year we will have all the usual stuff.  You know, lots of food and the Best of HUPS photo contest.  In addition we will have a special contest.  We will have the first ever HUPS Open Digital Contest.  This contest will include digitally captured images, scanned images and creative images.  The main rule is that all components in the image must be yours.  Basically this means you can’t take photos of other photos or take images off the web, etc.  Just make sure all parts of image are your creations.

October 1st Place Novice - John Van Atta ©2003

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!