Mafia Island is located in the Indian Ocean, off the East African coast of Tanzania. I learned about Mafia Island from reports of several scubadivers in internet platforms, who consider it an “insider tip”. In November/December 2024 three divers (Lisi, Franz and me) set out towards Mafia in order to experience firsthand the diving and possibilities for UW-photographers. Mafia Island is not difficult to reach via international flights from Vienna/Austria to Dar es Salaam/Tanzania. From there, t

A few months ago in November, Scubalamp showed a new "small strobe". I like small strobes and wanted one, but they have never appeared on the Scubalamp website. However there is a Fotocore GTM (the same ones in the Scubalamp posts that are available. I bought two of them, and last Saturday, I got to try them out here in Los Angeles. The strobe is a bit larger than the AOI RC strobes, and a bit smaller than the YS D3 Duo. The strobe is machined aluminum and appears to be very solidly built

Waterpixels is always happy to help promote the activities of our own members. Husband and wife team, John Warmington (johnvila) and Sandra Kaye, have set up Critter Spotters in Vanuatu which they describe as a "Photographer-Friendly Retreat". Here's what they have to say: "We’re John Warmington and Sandra Kaye, a husband-and-wife team with over 40 years of dive experience between us, and a combined 26 years of living here in Vanuatu. Together, we’ve built Critter Spotter, a dive offering cre

I have long fascinated with shooting ring lights underwater starting with the Inon Quadflash, through the various Athena modifications to Sea and Sea strobe heads, continuing to the Saga fiber optic rings and now to the Weefine 3000. The Weefine 3000 is the latest version of the LED lights made by Kraken and Weefine. The Weefine 3000 CCW Weefine 3000 CCW Ring Light It's similar to the earlier 3000 lumen LED modules but has adjustable color temperature and a 3000-lumen burst (strobe) mode. It

As a DIY Fiber Cable article was just posted, this seems like a good time to share this article on 3-D printing connectors for your DIY cables. The Connectors are really the heart of the cable, as the fiber is simply a manufactured item bought from a supplier.    One of weak points of most of these DIY's is getting the right connectors. The solutions range from buying connectors (at about $10 a pop or $20 per cable), re-using connectors from old cables (which may require drilling them

Managing underwater photography collections can be overwhelming, but with Adobe Lightroom's robust metadata features, organization becomes seamless. On his blog, Mike Jones outlines a systematic approach to metadata management, emphasizing the importance of consistent practices to enhance searchability and gain deeper insights into marine environments.   Key steps include:   Rating: Assigning ratings to evaluate image quality. Keywords: Applying terms to describe th

Canon has released new major firmware for the EOS R5 Mark II for the second time in a week. This update fixes an issue where video could not be recorded correctly when using a memory card larger than 2TB with the [Pre-recording] setting enabled. This firmware (Version 1.1.1) includes fixes for the following issues identified in Version 1.1.0: 1. Fixes an issue where video could not be recorded correctly when using a memory card larger than 2TB with the [Pre-recording] setting enabled. This fir

Since 1994 the Monterey Shootout has been the annual gathering of underwater photographers in the stunning kelp beds of Monterey Bay.  This three day weekend features seminars, a fabulous social mixer, and a friendly photo and video contest that makes us dive a little harder and push our creativity alongside new and old friends just a bit longer.  Join us for the greatest dive weekend of the year. The Monterey Shootout - a 36 hou... Monterey Shootout - An Underwater Photography Competition... T

https://xray-mag.com/magazines/134 https://xray-mag.com/magazines/134

Maria , our very own Compact Camera Specialist, will be hosting an online “Getting Started in Underwater Photography” event with the Royal Photographic Society on Wednesday 16 July from 1800 hrs to 2000 hrs. Maria will be sharing her experience over the past three years of shooting exclusively with smartphones, compact cameras, Insta 360s and Go Pros and promises to help inspire beginners capture their own vision to create award-winning content.  Her presentation will delve into the many differ

The latest edition of the excellent Underwater Photography Magazine (UWP) is now available - edition 145. A link to it is here: https://www.uwpmag.com/

A member who is a physician (thanks @DocTock ) has passed on a warning from the Federal Drug Administration about the effect of Scopolamine motion sickness patches used under certain conditions. If you’re a user, you might like to read this link https://waterpixels.net/index.php?app=core&module=system&controller=redirect&url=https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-adds-warning-about-serious-risk-heat-related-complications-antinausea-patch-transderm-scop&key=a