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Hello all, This video by Dr. Phil Dustan was posted on the Bird's Head Seascape network, and I thought some might be interested. Continuing coverage of the Raja Ampat Coral Bleaching Event: "Caught in the Confluence of Global Warming and Ecotourism". In October 2024, a marine heatwave struck the iconic coral reefs of Raja Ampat. Corals in the Dampier Straits experienced severe bleaching and mortality, fueled by increasing levels of sewage from rapidly expanding ecotourism. Unless the sewage threat is eliminated, the World’s richest reefs and the economy they support will collapse. ***** It's good to see sewage/waste water finally mentioned so clearly. Development-related run-off, silting and pollution have been an issue on house-reefs for a while in certain areas. On a personal note, I remember seeing the change betwen 2014 and 2017 (which was my last visit to Central RajaAmpat / Dampier Strait), with house-reefs being seriously affected in the Mansuar (Besar and Kecil/Kri) area. 2016-2015 was a massive turning point, with lots of homestays built in the area which once only hosted Max Ammer's Kri-Eco and Sorido resorts, and very fast. Trees near the shoreline were cut, structrues were built (there was even a plan to build a pool at some point...) and in only a few months you could see silting and algae growth in the shallow "house-reefs" around the island, linked to run-off from from rainwater no longer held by the treeline and also waste water from the new infrastructures (notably showers and toilets)... Coral colonies in the area are/were believed to have evolved to better withstand heat-stress (not sure where the research on the subject is at now), but combined with stress from infrastructure and activity development, it's quite a lot. Add to that snorkeler/diver damage (seeing an overweighted "discover-scuba diver" smash a table coral in front of my eyes at Yenbuba, or the growing effect of fin-kicks-and-chill on the often current-swept top of a site like Blue Magic come to mind...) to the now unavoidable global emission-related emergency (difficult to reach Raja Ampat without flying to Sorong from somewhere, unfortunately...), trash, plastic, oil and the rest (no, let's not talk about that cruise-ship smashing into the reef at Crossover...) and there are a lot of reasons to be worried for what is still often marketed as "The Last Paradise©" It's something that also struck me in less remote areas like Bali's booming Amed for instance, where over-construction and associated waste-water is rapidly killing of what is left of the reef in the area. What was that saying about being in traffic or being traffic again? 😐 cheers ben

On a strongly related note, here is a review of Tom Hanks-narrated nature series The Americas, with similar issues brought up (anthropomorphism, climate denial, etc.) https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/mar/02/the-americas-review-tom-hanks-beautiful-new-nature-series-pretends-the-climate-crisis-doesnt-exist

Hi Val, I hope you'll get answers from Inon tripod users, but to the risk of derailing this thread, if you're also considering alternatives, there are plenty of DIY solutions for adapting a tripod or - even better if you ask me since the extra leg means less negative buoyancy required for stability -a quadripod system to a Nauticam Flexitray. This is the system I use for macro video, and I find it very flexible angle wise and haven't felt the need for a ball-head type solution for angles (slider is another story though...) - you can also check out footage I shot with the quadripod here When it comes to DIY options (which is as simple as finding a solution to attach to 5" flat ball arms perpendicular to the legs of your tray), you can check out this rich thread here: And since you mentioned shooting macro in current I'll add that based on experience, current and macro, especially supermacro video don't really go well together. Your footage will be stable, sure - especially with a quadripod solution - but the critters will not, and for supermacro they will be swinging out of focus. This is also true for surge - for macro video, more than camera stability critter stability is more the issue IMO. And when they are staying in focus long enough to get a sequence (a critter on the bottom for instance), current generally doesn't make them look the best... Current influences behaviour since they're usually resisting, or, more frequently than not, hiding to resist the current - it can be interesting at times, but more often than not for macro video it's quite meh... Best of luck with the Inon cheers ben

I've had, like probably almost all passengers, issues with Lions/Wings - also had an Air Asia flight cancelled when I was in Raja Ampat in 2015, when internet reception meant hoping your Telkomsel card worked at the end of the jetty, that took quite a bit of work... Back to your issue, it might not make sense anymore, but maybe it might be possible to look into Manado-Sorong Garuda options instead, eventually cancelling the Lion air leg? More expensive and might not have the ideal timetable, but usually less cancelations/changes than Lion, especially for slightly more remote areas with less traffic. I don't know if it's still up and running, but a few years back there was also a Garuda Makassar-Sorong night flight that would land in Sorong at 6am, usually enough to catch the ferry to Waisai for instance - took that quite a few times best of luck

Lovely - Really beautiful footage of the sea kraits and the sponges, and really great atmospheric music combination in the first half of the clip 👍

As a follow-up on the subject, here's a little snippet from an interview of underwater cinematographer Roger Horrocks conducted by Peter Rowlands, published in issue 142 Jan/Feb 2025 of the UWP mag (pages 31-32) Q) The advent of subscription TV has broken the traditional mode of natural history documentary productions. Has it brought better funding and opportunities or diluted the genre? So Peter, that’s a great question, and it touches on where natural history programming has been and where it’s heading. If you look at the “Bristol model”—the style of natural history filmmaking pioneered by the BBC’s Natural History Unit in Bristol and personified by Sir David Attenborough—it was created under a public service mandate. It wasn’t designed to make a profit but to serve the interests of the British public,who largely funded it. This approach fostered a particular culture and style of storytelling, which has become a national treasure in Britain and countries with close ties to Britain, like South Africa, Australia, and parts of Europe. However, in the U.S., it’s a different story. Natural history programming doesn’t hold the same cultural significance. If you mention Sir David Attenborough to most Americans, many won’t know who he is. With the rise of streaming platforms, particularly Netflix, we’ve seen a digital disruption of the traditional broadcast model. As the editorial power shifted to the U.S., I always suspected there would be an evolution—or even a departure— from the classic “blue-chip” style of natural history filmmaking that we all love: respectful, reverent, and almost spiritual in its awe of nature. We’re seeing that shift now. Take Our Oceans, for example. Instead of being narrated by Sir David Attenborough, it’s by Barack Obama. This reflects a move towards more global storytelling tailored for a broader audience. The influence of American editorial mandates is evident in how these programs are evolving. Streaming platforms like Disney+, Nat Geo, and more recently Apple TV, have all begun exploring natural history content. Amazon hasn’t made as much of a push in this area, but it’s clear that the genre is diversifying. One thing that stands out is the oversupply of natural history content during the peak of the “streaming wars.” With so much money being pumped into the industry as platforms competed, we saw a production glut. In many ways, I think this oversaturation diluted the quality of the work. Now, as the industry starts to contract, I see this as a healthy correction. Natural history programming will always have a place. People find these shows incredibly comforting. However, with fewer commissions going forward, I believe the value and appreciation for these programs will only increase. Less can be more, and the contraction will lead to higher- quality work that audiences cherish even more when it’s released.

No real reason it shouldn't work with the GoPro, since you can shoot in at a set white balance (native) and set white balance in post-production. However, do keep in mind that that this is very tricky even with manual white balance and will probably give good results in a narrowish-set depth range. The standard still being to use filters for ambient light dominant shots and no filter for artificial light dominant shots - also, ambient filters on the lights will halve the light output (though recent keldan models have pre-filtered LED modules to counteract this issue) I would also advise against using Backscatter filters for this, and go with a more "tried-and-true" filters like the UR-Pro cyan (or equivalents) or the Keldan Spectrum (-2, or the -1.5 in gel sheets). Here are some threads to expand on the subject: cheers ben

Capital, old fruit – now do be a good chap and give us the lowdown on what Inon’s up to, eh? We need to make sure the Cousins don’t get wind of it, if you catch my drift. Just sidle over to the Japanese strobemaster – do keep out of sight, mind – and while he’s off on one of his little distractions, grab a few snaps for us eh? Then, once you’ve got the goods, scurry back sharpish and let us know what’s what. Keep it neat, keep it clean, and for heaven’s sake, don’t get caught – You know the drill, my dear fellow. Good man.

wow - the 90mm shots are really impressive, given how skittish these guys are! Behavioural sequences are great - I'd never actually spent much time with garden eels (despite passing by them daily...), and this is pretty fascinating. I guess with the burrows being so close they must have some kind of competing / symbiotic relation. Slipping down the slippery off-topic slope, there - to regain footing, a 3 minute-ish cut would highlight the material better I think, looking forward to it! cheers

yeah, I usually do what I'm told so I click like and subscribe 🤣 (I do have a few actual faves in that list, but I think it's good practice to keep an eye on stuff you don't really like as well...) - oh and I did exclude out most primarily talking heads + tutorial / gear channels, focusing on those that host actual UW video content rather than tests, hence no Lebo, Durand et al. 😁

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I like it a lot - really nice angles and intriguing effect with the 360° shot in the begining, lovely closeups (are these cropped in?) and but also really great to watch the eels interacting which each other like they do 3 minutes in, which is something I've never paid attention to - but I agree it's too long, with repetitive shots - I would restructure and trim it down to tight 3:30 and avoid the music change altogether. Kudos on the patience to shoot these guys - now that I've seen them interacting like this makes me want to get some footage as well! cheers

Thanks Maria - makes me wonder how the TG5 would cope with the old Inon UWL-H100 I use for wide angle on the compact - i do have a 67mm to 52mm adapter lying around somewhere... 😄