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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 different options of accessory lenses and lights from various manufacturers with the aim of helping people choose the best system for their needs. Tickets are £35 for Non-Members or £26 for RPS Members which includes a free copy of Maria’s eBook “Getting Started in Underwater Photography” and free online ongoing support via Zoom or at her studio in Swanage. Details are on the Royal Photographic Society’s website at https://events.rps.org/en/4LrdQ66/rps-getting-started-in-underwater-photography-with-maria-munn-jul-2025-5a2NN29HgnF/overview

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 created for underwater photographers and thoughtful divers — and Karma Waters, a private villa just steps from the reef we call home. This isn’t a large scale commercial operation or a packaged tour. It’s a personal invitation to dive the way we dive — slowly, with care, with curiosity, and with space to stay as long as the subject needs. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐮 ---- 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐖𝐞? Vanuatu is an island nation in the South Pacific, east of Australia and north of New Zealand — a chain of volcanic islands with rich marine life, warm waters, and minimal dive traffic. If you can get to Australia, New Zealand, or Fiji, you’re just one short flight away. Direct connections from Brisbane, Sydney, Auckland, and Nadi make it surprisingly easy — especially compared to many Indo-Pacific destinations. We’re based on Efate, just 45 minutes from the international airport, in the calm, sheltered waters of Havannah Harbour — a site known for its gentle conditions and exceptional macro biodiversity. 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐚 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚 – 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞 Karma Waters is a newly constructed private, one-bedroom, self-contained villa set among tropical gardens with ocean views and direct access to the reef. It’s ideal for dive couples or photography buddies who want flexibility and privacy without compromise. The king bed can be split to two singles for travelling buddies and in addition to your own comfy timber deck with water views you will have access to a large covered deck right on the waters edge, a luxurious day bed and lounges overlook the water. Grab a kayak and go exploring for yourself. We also offer on-site massage, yoga, or pilates sessions and can host your own private lifestyle workshop. You’re welcome to self-cater at your own pace, or just relax and let the water set the rhythm. There are dining spots close or private catering ca be arranged. ➡️ If your group is more than two, we can comfortably cater for up to four divers. While the villa remains best suited for couples or pairs, we’re happy to help arrange nearby accommodation for extra guests without compromising the experience. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 – 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨-𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐡, 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐝-𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞 Our reef is one of those places that rewards repeat dives and patient eyes. Whether you're looking for frogfish, mantis shrimp, nudibranchs, moray eels — or simply just love long cruisy dives you'll have the space and time you need to make it memorable. We offer dives right from the villa, just go down the steps! It’s your choice --- we will introduce you to the area on arrival with a few guided dives and then it’s up to you – guided or unguided. Lets us know how many tanks you need! Our 5 metre diver friendly boat is surveyed and ready for adventure on request. We limit our numbers for a reason — so that you never feel rushed or overlooked. We don’t do schedules - dive when you're ready, linger as long as you want, your experience is the priority. We don’t teach – we dive and cater to certified divers only. Maximum of 4 divers. We all know the worry about weight limits and travel – we can ease that burden – all dive gear is available for hire plus we can cater to photographers with: GoPro, TG7 or Nikon D500 / Nauticam set ups on site, ready to hire. 𝐑𝐮𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 John has spent the last decade developing his underwater photography through patience, passion, and deep familiarity with local marine life. He’s happy to share insights, offer camera advice, or help you troubleshoot a setup — casually, in-water, or over a post-dive photo chat. If you want more --- Workshops are available on request, whether you're just starting out or want a focused photo session. Sandy, a qualified divemaster and accomplished videographer, is especially intuitive with guests newer to diving, and is always ready to help spot subjects, keep an eye on conditions, or simply ensure your dive feels safe and supported. 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 We’ve called Vanuatu home for years — and it shows in how we host. From cultural tips to hidden snorkelling spots, we make it our mission to ensure every guest walks away with more than just good photos — but a truly memorable experience. We share what we love in a way that’s real, relaxed, , no crowds, no rush and tailored to you! Ready to Learn More? 📍 www.critterspotter.com 📩 Email: [email protected] 📷 Follow us: @critterspotter If you're looking for a quieter, slower kind of dive trip — with time to shoot, space to think, genuine rest and relaxation, and a reef that still surprises us after hundreds of dives — we’d love to welcome you to Havannah Harbour. See you underwater, John & Sandy Critter Spotter | Karma Waters | Vanuatu"

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=a8758139d8c7b733e9cdd78fc4f7f8b7f2f61bcebf7f6faac9903308d718186b&email=1&type=notification_new_private_message

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 also has a super closeup mode that can shoot subjects as close as 25 mm (1 inch) from the strobe. It is powered by a protected, 26650, 5000 mAh Li battery. The battery can be charged via a built-in USB-C port. One very neat thing about the light is that it allows for a very small, compact system underwater. No arms necessary, just the camera/housing/port and a single fiber optic cable. The light is shown below on an AOI housing for the OM-1 camera. AOI housing for the OM-1 camera with the Weefine 3000 CCW Ring Light The ring light can attach to any port with a 67 mm thread and can be rotated for any angle once attached. One nice feature (or bug) is that when you are using the light in the strobe mode, it remains on at low power to act as a focus light. During the day it was not terribly necessary but worked fine at night, although you will also need some kind of dive light to find your way. My wife said it was very easy to find me in or small group, just look for the circular dive light. How well did it work? Better than I had anticipated. Years ago, I had the Kraken version of this light, and it was fine; this version with improved ergonomics (no multiple button pushes) worked great. Here is a nice little clown (Triopha catalinae) from a dive in local Southern California waters before the Raja/Triton Bay trip on the Wellenreng. This was shot at 1/160 sec, f/7.1, ISO 200 using the Olympus 30 macro lens on an OM-1 in an AOI housing. Certainly, enough light to illuminate the subject, I slightly reduced the shot exposure by 0.1 to increase the contrast a bit. For other local subjects, such as this anemone it also worked well. This one was shot at f/5.6, 1/160 sec and ISO 200. I shot with the light quite a bit on our trip to Raja/Triton Bay. Here is a nice little Goniobranchus coi, shot with the Panasonic 45 lens, f/6.3, 1/160 sec, ISO 400. I was very close; you can see the out of focus gills. I love Christmas tree worms, here is one from Triton Bay. Same lens, 1/250, f/7.1. Here is a crinoid shrimp, same settings. I shot a lot of tiny things, but also a bunch of anemone fish. Here is a Clarke in an orange anemone. f/14, 1/250, ISO 400. Overall, the light worked well for the things I was shooting, it of course is completely useless for anything more than 250 mm (10 inches) away. The color temperature is fine but shooting in raw lets me adjust as needed. A friend used the light as a video light for a TG7 with a 52 mm to 67 mm adapter and said that for most nudibranchs the light was much easier to use than independent lights on arms. I wish it had more power, a 6000-lumen burst mode for this type of light would be awesome, but the current version is adequate for micro 4/3 shooters and awesome for the smaller sensor cameras like the TG series.

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

A firmware update is available from the Nikon Download Center/Centre for the Nikon Z6III. This is an update to v1.11 from v 1.10. As far as I can see, the update, in keeping with a dot.xx version, is minor and no super-dooper new features are involved. The link is here: https://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/download/fw/564.html

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 the environment and subjects. Title: Using a consistent format for easy grouping. Species: Recording both common and scientific names. Category: Grouping similar species under broader classifications. GPS: Adding precise coordinates to document the exact location of each shot. Implementing these practices transforms your photo library into a valuable dataset, capturing snapshots of time, place, biodiversity, and behavior. For a comprehensive guide, visit Mike Jones's blog: https://mikejonesdive.com/lightroom-metadata