bghazzal

Thanks for the tip - I've never been to Anilao (or to the Philippines in general), so was wondering if it was possible to dive with most operations as a drop-in, without actually staying at their resort, or is that frowned upon? Staying at these accomodations, are Anilao resorts within walkable distance or is it spread out, and are there food options closeby? Thanks!

This type of workflow is very commonly recommended for video editing from a laptop (similarly, for desktop, dual drives setups are typically the way to go for video). As you edit, the computer is reading footage off the drive it was imported to. So importing to an SSD, and running everything from there saves a lot of internal HDD space (FCP library of imported work files and renders, FCPX's motion capture folder), and this essential on laptops with less than 5TB of disk space. And as mentioned, on slower machines like mine, this workflow (editing from external) also helps the computer with buffering issues - it's really night and day for integrated software like FCPX (as in I can't run FCPX and edit from libraries on the internal HDD without everything freezing as the project develops, but this doesn't happen when running from an external disk). There are plenty of hits on this subjects explaining how to set this up and why: https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ftsa&q=why+edit+video+from+external+hard+drive So yes, it's certainly a workaround in a way, but pretty much a necessary one for regularly editing video on a laptop (one of the reasons prompting the upgrade) so it probably would be worth looking into even on a newer machines. cheers

For me more than speed, it's actually a question of making editing possible or not on my machine and its 8GB of ram for a 1.8 GHz Intel Core i5 processor. If I am doing everything internally, it saturates all read/write buffers. Running FCP and its library externally on an SSD works fine to edit 4K video (I do need to work with proxies for HEVC codecs though), so it might be worth a shot on a more powerful machine as well (there are plenty of videos on how to set this up, this one for instance) DaVinci Resolve, however is not an option - I have never managed to get fluid playback, even after tweaking and working with proxy files.

One thing which might be interesting to take into account for video editing on a laptop: running Final Cut from an external SDD drive, instead of internally will help a lot with processing speed. This is how I manage to edit 4K video on a 2017 Macbook Air... And nothing stops you from running Lightroom and Photoshop from the SSD ( I do this as well). What I do is partition a Samsung T7 SSD, one small partition for running apps and one for storage (and FCP libraries), and just run from that. cheers

Thanks for that, always good to see some nice BW video clips! Swarming is mostly a bonfire issue - it does happen in BW but to a much lesser degree, and much more occasional, hitting a big school of copepods for instances. You can look at the light beams and how clean it is: What strikes me here is two things: first the nature of the footage critters: the video footage is mostly of salps and ctenophora, with some fish and a couple of more exotic critters. This is interesting as while David Fleetham's commentary is about the vertical migration of deep dwelling species, we are shown images of critters which are encountered also commonly encountered in the shallows. Maybe it was a bad day, nature is unforgiving... And yet even if the same species can be commonly encountered on shallow bonfire dives in certain locales, the great thing about being in open ocean like this is less swarming, and potentially better viz with less runoff and other terrestrial influences. Also, from a technical point of view, these are some of the bigger and slower critters encountered on these dives, and are slo-moed above 50%. I'm happy to see big-floats in there, which definitely help with stabilisation. Also not sure if these rigs are video focused or not - the main video light used here seems to be the wide video light, top mounted, and primarily functioning as a focus light. cheers b

Pretty cool! Given the colour and shape, the first one looks like a hairy purple reef spider crab - probable some kind Achaeus , same family as the orang-utan crab (Achaeus japonicus).

hehehe, yeah saw that - I actually know this particular map base they're using on Coralia liveaboard, actually copied it myself, before going 3D instead 😁 Here's the original, created by Mermaids liveaboard IIRC https://www.michaelmcfadyenscuba.info/viewpage.php?page_id=862 Humble study copy: 👨‍🎨🎨🤣

Yes, it's a little weird - copyrighting an actual device I can understand, but a diving technique and name? Especially on a individual level? Imagine if "sidemount", "muck" or "drift dive" were copyrighted... 😅 I wouldn't go as far - what's certain is that the predatory action build up in bonfire-style diving can also make things more difficult, for getting cleaner images for instance. And current is a bonfire killer, whereas it is not a problem for drifting black water. Also critters encountered are not necessarily met at the same period of the life cycle between the two styles, and while up to 80 to 90% are common in certain places, they might differ in terms of frequency and ratio. Ram Yoro (most of these observations come from him, based on his long experience with bonfire) said he also noticed - in his locale anyway - differences in sex ratio, with more female argonauts or blanket octopus than male argonauts in deep blackwater diving, but more male argonauts or female blanket octopus in bonfire diving for instance... These differences could be linked to a number of factors, it's all pretty fascinating! And some truly deep sea critters, like the deep sea 7-arm octopus are rarely seen on shallow bonfire dives (but some have actually been spotted in close to a bonfire site, in slightly deeper water... again, the relation to depth and light is probably more complex than we'd think...) Overall bonfire-style dives are more "regular", since you can build up at site (to the point that it's detrimental, with predatory habituation as mentioned above), whereas in drifting deep blackwater diving, the light bait is moving and critters migrating from the deep to shallows are ecountered more by chance than anything else. In a way, we could say that maybe it's not so much blackwater diving which is overrated, but more likely bonfire-type diving which is underrated, and also not alway organized in the optimal way...

Wow - impressive - 6 knots+ !!! Biggest I've seen are the tidal whirlpools in the Naruto Strait between the Shikoku (Tokushima) and Awaji island in Japan... But diving there would be a death sentence... Here are some hair raising Japanese whirlpool clips 😵 Back to BBC Earth Asia, here's a review I find a little bland but which ends on this rather pertinent observation: "It is notable that, in this first episode at least, Asia has toned down the rhetoric that permeated Planet Earth III, for example, of the Anthropocene and human-induced destruction. Here, the rampant industrialisation of the planet has tweaked delicate ecosystems, rather than ravaged them: see an Israeli power station that pumps out water that is 10C warmer than the surrounding seas. While there is little mention of what those heated waters have done on a larger scale, it does point out that it has accidentally benefited the pregnant female dusky sharks that now gather in the area. It mentions busy shipping routes and polluted seas but, largely, this is more gentle, less urgent, than some of its preceding series. I just wonder if a lack of urgency is really what the natural world needs now." Source: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/nov/03/asia-review-another-david-attenborough-masterclass-in-beautiful-tv

Well, it's out and pretty stunning as expected 🤩 Unfortunately, as far as I can see the BTS footage is focused on the whirlpools in Komodo, with no Palau sequence behind the scenes making-of... Hopefully on another BTS sequence, then 😶🤞 As I was writing above, other than the mantas footage shot at Karang/Taka Makassar (another central Komodo classic - though I do wonder why they didn't go for mantas at Mawan or even at Cauldron / Shotgun, where they're regularly spotted in nicer settings than cleaning stations in reef rubble...) - they did go shoot the whirlpool sequence at central Komodo National Park's Batu Bolong, which is also shown in the BTS sequence. It's a little confusing because the aerial shots used also jump to North Komodo (Gili Lawa Laut, Golden Passage) but the exciting whirlpool surface scene was shot at Batu Bolong, in the center of the park. Batu Bolong (which means "pierced rock", due to the hole/arch seen on the surface of the islet) is a world famous site, footage of which you've probably seen if you've ever watched a video / seen pictures shot in the park (iconic shots of anthias shooting out of a stunning hard coral garden in the shallows...). And it's actually a relatively easy dive site where simply you zigzag up a slope from 25meters-ish to the surface. The main issue with this dive site is that a powerful current directly hits the rock - and while you're always diving the lee side / protected area, this direct hit creates powerful down-currents whirlpools on the sides of the protected area, sucking down to a depth of 80m+... As a guide, your role is to make sure the site is safely diveable (which it isn't always...) and, underwater, to know when to stop your group and make the turn to head towards the other side. This is done by reading the site: watching current lines on the surface, reading fish behaviour - GTs and other large fish swimming in the current for instance - as well as fixed elements like seafans, drifting particules, and just generally feeling / conservatively estimating the pull of the current... But if the tide switches (in central Komodo NP, the main current flows north to south on a falling tide, and from south to north on a rising tide) - which it can sometimes do very quickly in the area - you can end up in pretty nighmarish situations underwater, as the protected area shrinks (the rock isn't really round, but actually oval...), which is why timing is very important. On a good day, however, when it's not too crazy, you can actually follow the tide change, making careful progress on the tip of your fins - and go all the way around the rock at slack tide... Here are some maps I drew back in the day - not really works of arts I know, but they might help will make more sense of the above: On wild and crazy days, it's like a river and the site is undiveable (strong currents bounce around on the islands in Komodo like on a pinball deck, so when it's strong, it can get a little crazy, no real protected area, back headings, bubbles pulled down etc....) And on the surface, strong currents also creates issues for entries (which need to be efficient) and especially upon surfacing, as divers can get pulled to the side current lines, where less powerful boats will struggle to manoeuvre safely. So checking the site from the surface if the current looks a little iffy is also a major responsability. This is phone clip I took of Batu Bolong a few years back (when I didn't know how to lock focus on a phone apparently...), showing the site in generally undiveable conditions, the current lines looking like white water rapids.... 😅 Now what the BBC crew did in this series - and that's pretty brave - is to film on the surface, right in the current lines and whirlpools that form on both sides on the rock... Keep in mind that while the dive site itself is not particularly difficult, there have been quite a few underwater accidents / fatalities at Batu Bolong, with divers going too far towards the sides and getting pulled down - there was also a rumour that someone had voluntarily gone in the whirlpools with a tech setup, basically to see what happens... I'm not sure if this is true or not, but it would be very dangerous as the washing machine could certainly be life threatening, redundancy and depth-compliant setup or not. These whirlpools are also infamous in Komodo National Park for the issues they create on the surface, and everyone working there has seen divers surface a little too close to the sides when the flow is picking up, and get pulled into the current, towards the whirlpools... The whirlpools can certainly suck a diver down when it's really strong, something I haven't seen luckily, but I've seen people having issues with the traction while climbing the ladder and needing an extra pair of arms to be pulled out of it, and also slow boats struggling to manoeuvre and push out of the current after a late pick up... Not great, so this is generally something we try to avoid by surfacing in the center of the protected area, especially when current is strong or picking up. And for this sequence, what the BBC crew actually go for it, with a life-jacket reinforced flotation rig, and head straight towards the whirlpool and film it, which is pretty gnarly! Capture from the BBC Earth Asia 1 behind-the-scene sequence, heading for the whirlpools of Batu Bolong with the rig... Nice one 🤙 - Next step would be actually diving the washing machine downcurrent to wherever it takes you I guess? Underwater drone or GoPros on stick perhaps? cheers ben

Yes, the copyrighting thing is a little weird. Not sure what the story/timeline is behind this - he's been experimenting with this type of diving for 20+ years, and not sure who actually first came up with the name blackwater diving. From what I gathered BW first started with the tethered dives in Hawaii (perhaps you have more local background info?), not sure if there was a connection with Japan, spreading to Florida and then Mexico (Cozumel), where it is going strong. Drifting blackwater diving mostly started with Mike Bartick's untethered tests in Anilao, first using attaching the bait light lines to the boat then finally to an indepentend floating line ("pumpkin" shown above), since the boat would drift faster than the divers. From there, more recenty it spread to Indonesia (Lembeh, Tulamben for land based resorts, and on various liveaboards for more punctual/exploratory dives, eg. in Raja Ampat or Komodo), and also to Thailand (through WaP member Alex Tyrrell, first diving in Koh Tao then on Thailand's Andaman sea and up to Myanmar on Smiling Seahorse cruises) and elsewhere (Hong Kong with Simon Lorenz for instance.) Some liveaboards (like the Siren in Palau) also offer regular BW dives on trips. Bonfire-style diving itself is strongly linked to Ram Yoro's experimentation in the Philippines, and also regularly held in Lembeh, not sure about other places at the moment, but given how flexible the setup is it could spread. There is a strong connection with Japanese planktonic diving, and maybe with Kona's bonfire-style light-baited manta dives? That said, Japan is a bit of a mystery (as always 😉). Other than Ryo Minemizu, photographers like Kazushige Hiroguchi (who recently did a talk on the subject at Japan ADEX) have been exploring planktonic diving for quite a while now, and there's a lot of "light trap" diving going on across the archipelago (Toyama Bay, Okinawa, Kume Island, Hachijo Island, Izu and Osezaki or Ainan just to name a few hotspots I've seen popup recently). Flyer for a Hori Night bonfire/BW dive organized by Kazushige Horiguchi in Ainan (Shikoku Island/Pref.) And the actual term "Black Water Dive" is under Japanese copyright... 😅 Not really sure how Japan fits in on the BW/bonfire timeline, but my strong inkling is that Japanese photographers might actually have been pioneers of planktonic diving - even though the now almost standard Mike Bartick-style drifting downline used for deep blackwater doesn't seem to be the most common form (which seem to revolve around weaker lights, often in bonfire-type configurations). *** Regarding the lights themselves, based on discussions with Ram Yoro, here Ryo Shinemizu is refering both to CRI and temp. The general idea is that the closer the light spectrum is to the sun's, the better, meaning ideally you would want a CRI above 90, and a colour temperature equal or warmer than 5,600 K. Reason for this is that such a light would attract more phytoplankton, thus recreating the food chain by attracting zooplankton feeding on the phytoplankton, and then critters feeding on the zooplankton itself. Deep drifiting blackwater focuses on the vertical migration of critters, whereas in bonfire type diving, the base of the buildup / attraction is actually phytoplankton, which actually doesn't take part in this vertical migration process, actually following the sun, which it needs for photosynthesis. And as Ryo Shinemizu mentioned, critters phototaxis, relationship to the light, is quite complex, and many of the amazing larval forms seen in blackwater are also spotted on shallower bonfire-type dives because most of these will be returning to the shallows at some point in their life cycle... Based on all this, we could add that one of the main differences between deep blackwater diving and shallow bonfire-style light-baited planktonic diving are as follows: - plankton is generally defined by its inability to resist current - in deep blackwater you actually drift with the planktonic critters, whereas static bonfire diving (unless it is itself organized as a shallow drift) implies near currentless conditions, allowing for a buildup of the foodchain (slack high tide being ideal) and predation. - deep blackwater diving focuses on attracting critters during some phase of their vertical migration of critters from the deep, whereas the basis of shallow bonfire diving is predation, building the phytoplanton/zooplankton/larval critter food chain. There is a similar idea in deep blackwater as well (the vertical migration also has a predatory aspect to it), but encounters will tend to be more random (and surprising) - shallow bonfire-style light-baited diving has a baseline of critters , which Ram Yoro calls "coastal plankton". This is a good term to describe the "regulars" which almost always show up on bonfires, marine worms, various gastropods and pteropods, different types of larvae of crustaceans like mantis shrimps, eels and flounders and various types of fish - these larval forms also overlap with some of the critters seen in deep water, spotted at a different time-period in their evolutionary process. cheers ben

The amazing footage Moorish idol spawning and grey reef shark chase was filmed in Palau (Blue Corner and Siaes' Corner) in January 2023. The spawning itself is a yearly event, but the actual chase is very difficult to catch as the Moorish idols (which congregate on the reefs for a few days in the Ngemelis area) dash from the reef into the blue when conditions are right. It's hardly a secret (nice footage on Youtube as well) but capturing the chase in this way is a really fantastic! I'm really happy to see this footage made it into the series! Other than a standard cinecam in a Gates housing, they used a floating pole with GoPros (in flat profiles, I'm sure 😁), as well a special boat mounted camera rig for the chase. I really hope there will be BTS footage, as I saw the rig being setup on one of our boats when I was working there, but not the actual finished product. Heré's some additional info from the BBC site: Filming feats The extraordinary behaviour of the Moorish Idols being chased by grey reef sharks was captured using a range of highly specialised cameras, including one developed specifically for this type of event that can be anchored to the side of a moving vessel and controlled from the deck, rather than having to be in the water, allowing an insight into the behaviour of the fish not possible any other way. The team achieved a ground-breaking feat by filming inside the intense whirlpools of Komodo National Park, capturing unprecedented footage for the sequence on the Indonesian Throughflow. What was the most difficult sequence to capture? The sharks hunting the Moorish idols. It's never been filmed before. During our research phase we discovered that Planet Earth III had tried to film the event and not managed it. So yes, the odds were stacked against us. The timing of the event is critical. It only happens once a year, and no one really knows what the exact triggers for it are. But in the run up to it you have these incredible few days where the numbers of sharks just build and build off the edge of the reef, and the numbers of the Moorish idols, which are the little reef fish that are waiting to spawn, build and build as well. And there's this kind of cat and mouse game going on as both drift up and down the reef. How did you actually film it? It was incredibly complex. As filmmakers, you need to cover it from every angle. To follow the main chase, you have to have drones in the air, so you can get that aerial view. You've also got to have multiple boats in the water because when it does kick off, a lot of the action happens at the surface. We had a specially rigged “pole-cam” camera system, which was attached to the side of the boat to actually capture the running event. Did you use divers as well? Yes. You've got to have divers in the water waiting for it to happen, spending as much time underwater as they possibly can. But as soon as the chase starts, you haul them out of the water very quickly. There is no way you could film it as a diver. One reason is that the event is running at about 4 or 5 knots, which is far too fast for even an Olympic swimmer, let alone a diver with a great big underwater camera in front of him. The other reason is obviously the sharks. There were 200 or more grey reef sharks, and they were hitting everything, even the side of the boat. If anything got in their way, they would try and take a chunk out of it. It's an impossible thing to cover from a dive perspective. So you need to put your eggs in lots of different baskets and film it in as many ways as you can. How did you marry your different filming devices? The game really is combining aerial drone shots with footage from the boat. We always had a drone in the air. We would bring one in to change the battery, and in the time we were doing that, we sent another one up, so we kept swapping them out. Not only were the drones filming, but they were giving us really accurate locations as well. If the boat drifts off, or the Moorish idols leave the side of the boat and you can't see them very well, then you just go to the drone find out where they are. The boat had a top deck, and the action at the surface to start with was so profuse – you had splashing and sharks leaping out the water – that it was quite easy to spot and follow them. It's when the numbers of the Moorish idols dwindle significantly that you really need the drones to stick on top of them so that you don't lose them. What were the biggest challenges of the shoot? The sharks kept changing direction. They often came straight at the boat. A number of times the Moorish idols used the shadow of the hull of the boat as shelter, so all the sharks would then pile into the side of the boat. We'd have to turn all the engines off and sit there until the idols went again. Finally, returning to the incredible sequence of the grey reef sharks hunting the Moorish idols, how do you reflect on that now? Going for that sequence at all was a really big punt. But on a mega-landmark series, you need to be very ambitious. It's a pretty nerve-wracking process doing that. But you have an enormous sense of relief when it turns out well. You get a huge glow of pride that you actually did it. The team pulled it off. Everybody did such a good job that it was an incredible success. It’s now the opening sequence of the whole series. In years to come, when I look back over my career, that's something that's going to go down as one of the really big moments. Beyond Palau, I'm really looking forward to the Komodo NP sequences, where they apparently filmed inside whirlpools. I wonder where - There can be massive whirlpools just off the sides of Batu Bolong in central Komodo, but otherwise north of the park can be really intense (Golden Passage, etc) Here's the technical description: To film the intense whirlpools of Komodo National Park, the team used a specially constructed floating camera rig, operated by cinematographer David Reichert, who was dressed in multiple life jackets, as well as additional safety equipment and a support team nearby with throw-ropes in case of need. The team also operated a pole-cam from the main vessel to capture additional shots. These innovative approaches provided a unique perspective and also resulted in split-shots showing these whirlpools in action, offering viewers a rare and thrilling glimpse into these dynamic underwater phenomena. But the Komodo sequence seems to also focus on reef manta rays, so for the mantas that would mostly be central, Karang Makassar and Mawan, and maybe Cauldron up north? Other goodies to look out for include firefly squid footage from Toyama bay, which has some of the best black water diving in Japan, and sea krait footage from the Banda Sea which is most likely from the Gili Manuk area... Really looking forward to this one (and BTS footage...) I must say!

This really beggars belief... Not having a paid account, I'm not an active Vimeo user, but do have a lurking account and often watch videos on the platform (through a VPN in Indonesia, as Vimeo is blocked). I created the account when I was working in Mexico, so unaffected for now, or maybe it's because I log in through a VPN, not sure. This is really up there with other odd management decisions virtually killing off a platfrom - similarly, Flickr also went through some pretty intense changes if I remember correctly. Wonder if there will be actual communication from Vimeo on the subject, or if they're just planning on letting the platform rot away. Reminds me of the evolution in video consumption habits discussed in "popularity of video vs photography" thread. In a time were online video is dominated by reels and shorts, often superslomo clips aimed to be watched (dare I say consumed?) in vertical format on phones, maybe high quality video hosting platforms such as this, now mostly a video linked in aimed at professionals and high-end users willing to pay to host their footage, are bound to drift into oblivion... 😞

For those of you with Facebook, here is a clip from an Al-Jazeera feature on... 🔥 bonfire diving in the Philippines 🔥 presented as a new dive-tourism opportunity (though I do have my doubts regarding its appeal for beginner divers, given the imaging focus and buoyancy control needed to enjoy diving with small critters, regardless of depth) This is time-related, but in certain fruitful locales, people holding regular bonfire sessions have mentioned over 80% of species observed in deep blackwater have also been spotted in bonfire-style shallow light-baited dives (which, on the other hand, have more predation focused outlook, so quite a different feel for baited open-ocean drift dives). The chances of seeing pelagic, deep water species are naturally higher on a BW dive, but the relation to depth seems quite complex, and also linked to life cycle considerations and environmental factors. On a related note, speaking of deep vs. shallow water, here are some pretty amazing planktonic photographs mostly shot while... snorkeling https://www.instagram.com/gilkoplovitz/ all this makes one wonder, when it comes to planktonic diving, are shallows the new deep? Lastly, Japanese photographer Ryo Minemizu copyrighted the term "Black Water Dive", but apparently in reference to an actual bonfire-style setup, described as follows: Black Water Dive® is a kind of night diving. We are setting up underwater lights of high-color rendering on the sea bottom of night that while considering tides, times, places. The creature which appears is mainly juveniles and larvae. All is fascinating, and it's not to be seen at daytime or regular night diving. It will be your first experience. "BWD" uses a lot of underwater lights, but its purpose is not to illuminate the underwater brightly without limit. The brightness of each light is limited to a maximum of 1500 lumen, which is about the same brightness as a commonly used underwater light. Then why use lots of underwater lights? It's for create a space of suitable light. Creature's phototaxis has nothing to do with light intensity. That is, even if it is not a strong light, Creature will gather sufficiently. Of course, if you are going to put together squid of pelagic, light needs to be strong. Creatures have finished floating stage period and are coming to the area to approaching to shore. We only need the minimum brightness to make it easy to find it. In fact, they are coming there even without that light. The important elements are thoroughly the tide, time, and place. *"BWD" stands for Black Water Dive®. *Black Water Dive® is a registered trademark of Ryo Minemizu. Source: https://www.blackwaterdive.net/ Here is a clip presenting his current setup: Here is additional information on bonfire history, light power and setup, and also environmental concerns from Ryo Minemizu's site - pretty fascinating stuff! History It was around 1990 that I was interested in these unknown creatures. Christopher Newbert's photo book "Within a Rainbowed Sea", which I purchased for the first time as an underwater photograph photo book, it was introduced a lot of beautiful coral reef landscapes and creatures, but the most interested thing among them the golden shining octopus and Blenniidae with red pectoral fin. All, most of the body is skeleton creatures. Since all were black backgrounds, I understood what was filmed in the sea at night. I was doing diving guide at the Izu peninsula in Japan at the time, so when I dive in the ocean of the night, I tried to see skeleton creatures like that in the photo book. In those days, when speaking of underwater lights it was a time when there were only Toshiba halogen lights that to put four D batterys. A lot of elongated larvae of the mantis shrimp was crowded before the lights when I was trying several times only a Toshiba-light put upward from the bottom of ocean. In those days it was still film camera era and I was not able to take larvae of the unpredictable moving the mantis shrimp as a decent photographs, but I was very excited about the creature I saw for the first time. I tried secretly on several times, and I could also find Tholichthys stage of the Butterflyfish and juveniles of the Pearlfishe (at the time, I was thinking the larva is Congridae's). Yes, even Toshiba-light, which isn't bright, there was enough fish-gathering effect. T he an era has changed, gradually a new type of underwater light come out. The groundbreaking was Apollo Sports made a lead battery type underwater light (still halogen). It was much brighter than Toshiba-light, and the battery was large capacity, so I could keep a long lighting time. And underwater lights using the HID bulb appeared, I purchased the CANNON 100 light made by Underwater Kinetics and tried it. This was a light of 12.5 watt HID bulb / 450 lumens, it was a well bright epoch-making at that time, and from now on I thought that the age of HID will come even to the world of underwater lights. With HID light, the amount of plankton gathered increased, but the ignition lighting was unstable and it was a weak point of HID. After that some new HID lights were released, but none of them was satisfactory. Soon the age of LED underwater lights came. It's much smaller than HID light, and stable lighting, but the brightness is no way inferior. Immediately I bought FIX LED 1000 DX which FISHEYE released, after that changed to FIX LED 1500 DX later, I bought the FIX AQUAVOLT 7000 too. Because I was thinking to take effect that brighter is better. The AQUAVOLT 7000 boasted the largest brightness of 7000 lumen at that time, and stable lighting for more than 2 hours was possible at 4900 lumen when reduced the brightness to 70%. Of course there were big effects. I saw the first time Abralia andamanica and school of Todarodes pacificus, various Crustacea larvae, I continued new encounters keep every dive. But after that I come across RGBlue lights I am using now. Phototaxis and favorite color One day, I got the opportunity to try RGBlue LED light. RGBlue is an underwater LED light made by specialty to high color rendering to faithfully reproduce the original color of the object. Initially I was thinking of using it as a light for video shooting. But before that, I decided to compare three lights evenly put on the sea bottom. Lit each light of FIX AQUAVOLT 7000 (6,500 - 8,000 K) and RGBlue System 02 (5000 K / Ra 80) and RGBlue System 02 Premium Color (4200 K / Ra 95) on in the sea of night. FIX AQUAVOLT 7000 lighted at 70% 4900 lumen. RGBlue System 02 lighted at 1000 lumen of the second brightest from the bottom. RGBlue System 02 Premium Color lighted at 900 lumen of the second brightest from the bottom. Two types of RGBlue are much darker than AQUAVOLT 7000. However, the difference appeared relatively quickly. What! Clearly the RGBlue light that should be darker than AQUAVOLT 7000 had more creatures gathered. And the creatures that came to AQUAVOLT 7000 was immediately to attract toward the RGBlue light. As a result, we reveal that the belief that "the brighter the light is, the more creatures gather" was wrong. It was same result any time when changed the day and try it many times. Even among RGBlue, there was a subtle difference in the tendency of creatures to gather, which obvious related to was configured color. As a result the creatures like gathering to more natural light than artificial light. Even in that sense, RGBlue is an excellent light for creatures. Environmental considerations In Black Water Dive ®, I'm trying to keep mind the brightness of the light to 1500 lumen or less at the maximum and to use the high color rendering lights. Apart from that, we have established rules in our own that not to doing in the same place in daily. Specifically, for example, when doing four days of consecutive Black Water Dive ®, it is necessary to prepare four dive points. This is essential to avoid doing it consecutive in the same place. Also, if you do it in the same place as before, you can go only after at least one week. Also, if you went to the same place for two consecutive weeks like this, you can do it in the same place in the next eight weeks later. In other words, if the last was May, the next is July after eight weeks. In addition, we are deciding that it will be a total of seven days with do in the same place all year round. This is a consideration for avoiding "fixation of predator fish" that can occur by placing the light in the same place. All of these are own rules set based on experiences and examples of the past 20 years. SOURCE: https://www.ryo-minemizu.com/Blackwaterdive

oooooh wowzers 🤩 Now who will be the first Waterpixels wizard to replicate this mind-blowing demonstration to 12m with a colour checker / Macbeth?

Whales ‘relentlessly pestered’: tourism boom sparks new rules in French Polynesia Caps on the number of boats allowed to approach whales among measures to be introduced while experts say restrictions don’t go far enough Extract: Whale-watching tourism generates over $2bn in revenue, according to the International Whaling Commission – and the Pacific industry is growing. In French Polynesia, the number of certified whale-based tourism operators rose from 60 in 2023, to 90 in 2024, according to Tahiti Tourism. But their growth has raised concerns over the potential harm to the animals. In April, a report by French Polynesia’s government said “increasing pressure on whales from human activities poses a considerable risk to these fragile animals.” It said due to the rising number of whale-based tourism operators, “cetaceans can be relentlessly pestered throughout the day.” In response, French Polynesia plans to introduce new rules to reduce risks to whales, but some in the industry say they don’t go far enough. (...) In 2025, French Polynesia will tighten some regulations for whale-based tourism. It will introduce a quota, with only three boats permitted to approach a whale at the same time. It will restrict whale-watching operators to one boat for each company, and private boats will have to stay at least 300m away. But in a move that seems at odds with improving protections, divers will be able to swim closer to whales from next year, when the current limit of 30m from the mammals will be dropped to 15m. The government says the new limit still means swimmers will be a “safe distance” away. “The reality on the ground shows that at 30m you can’t see much, and the animal often approaches out of curiosity anyway. But it’s still important to keep a safe distance, which we’ve set at 15m,” says Fanny Martre, spokesperson for the environment department. Dr Mark Orams specialises in marine tourism and studied whale-based tourism in Tonga. He says allowing swimmers to get within 15m of a humpback whale is “dangerous.” “These whales are 15 metres in length. You get within 15 metres and you are in immediate proximity of their biggest weapon which is their tail … I would be really concerned if there were approaches at that sort of length,” says Dr Orams. He adds that we probably shouldn’t be swimming with whales – especially not with mothers and their calves. In a study he co-authored, researchers found that swimming with whales had a negative effect on the behaviour of mothers and calves in Tonga. Full article here: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/29/french-polynesia-whale-tours-changes-tourism

It's the same here in Bali's Tulamben / Amed area - it's seasonal and moves around, most likely linked to reproduction booms and importantly environmental conditions, which not only allow these reproduction cycles to happen, but also affect survival rates and food sources, which need to be abundant enough to sustain populations. Same goes for quite a few seasonal critters, but for bigger, more environmentally aware ones (cephalopods, macro highlights like frogfish, rhinopias) it's also linked to reproduction / activity cycles, bringing them to shallower areas etc...

As a follow-up, I've been experimenting further with blackwater type video on bonfire dives. Lighting Light positioning is still a challenge, as it's difficult to get visual feedback on the spot - results can be better or worse than expected 😅 still figuring it out, as always... What is clear is that video-light positions shown above all work, but while having the lights facing forward as in the last two diagrams give cleaner results (less backscatter), in my short experience they also have two major downside for video - light power needs to be set higher, which excites the critters, leading them to a plaknton feeding frenzy (moving faster), and attracts the swarm - forward facing constant lights will definitely be a nuisance to other divers / image-makers who happen to be facing in the same direction Ear-muff style side-lighting is not as clean in terms of backscatter, but has the advantage of allowing us to lower light intensity, which seems to better for the critters and fellow divers. It also works better with translucent critters. Focusing The other main challenge for video is, of course focusing. I don't have access to a fast autofocus on my camera, but frankly, I have my doubts as to how efficient a fast autofocus would really work *for video* in this case (but maybe I'm wrong and tracking would be seamless, just difficult to image this speed while recording) Issue, of course, is that critters are small and are feeding, so move fast and often erratically, and while managing to lock-in and track a critter for a split-second strobe firing, for a minimum of 10 seconds of video, it's another story (which is why so much BW type video is slowed down 50% or more... which is fine and even great when it shows things impossible to make out otherwise, but also loses natural movement..). And yet it is possible - difficult, frustrating, but possible - it really depends on the critter's behaviour and size of course. One way to approach this is through manual focus, with peaking. Lock the focus within the lit area, spot the critter and move in. Peaking lets you know how the focus is going, adjust with camera movements. The problem is the critter moving along the focus plane - which they do - coming closer to the lens then moving away, in and out... This is where I'm at at the moment, trying to figure out what would work best in terms of magnification, working distance, and depth of field. Life being what it is, I can't change lenses on my small-sensor compact, so I'm stuck with the lens I have, which in 4K starts at 36mm After initial tests, what seemed the most flexible was working with the lens zoomed to a 50mm equivalent. In terms of aperture, f/8 to f/11 - which is the smallest I can go - works fine for me - based on normal supermacro shots (this for instance, all shot at f/11) diffraction and resolution loss doesn't seem to be as much of an issue as it would be on bigger rigs, and this is video, so pixel peeping is less of an issue. Zoomed out to 50mm or so, on my camera adding a +6 diopter (the Inon UCL-165) gives that extra magnification and drops working distance to the glass, which is appreciable (see below) However, yesterday I also tested the AOI UCL-09 +12.5, which is tricky of course, but very nice and detailled when finally managing to nail the @!$#%@#%@ focus. These are rough screen captures (screenshots from as my computer's preview) of clips shot with the AOI +12.5 at roughly 50mm (the lens vignettes under 46mm), f/11, giving an idea of the range I'm getting with this diopter Other than getting a new camera (with 4k 60fps, a fast tracking autofocus and the battery life to support it for video, interchangeable lenses and my name on it in big phosphorescent letters) - which isn't in the books for anytime soon - making do with what we have, means finding the focal / aperture / dof / working distance combo which is the most practical for video shooting. One interesting aspect of shooting video with a small (1") sensor camera with a set lens, is that diopters behave a little differently than with a larger sensor, especially in terms of range. This is Lumix LX10 / compact specific info, but just to give an idea, land tests give me the following working distance / focus ranges at 36mm (which is widest I can go shooting in 4K) and 52mm (which is comfortable for BW style critters) (as a reminder, the Lumix LX10 has a 1"sensor, and 24m -72mm equivalent zoom lens, f1.4 to f2.8 In 4K, it is 36mm to 72mm) These tests were done on land at f/8 NO DIOPTER 36mm min: glass / 5mm max: 220mm + / infinity 52mm min: 90mm max: 260mm + / infinity INON UCL165 +6 36mm min: glass / 5mm max: 220mm 52mm min: 30mm max: 210mm AOI UCL 09 +12.5 45mm min (vignetting) min: glass max: 110mm 52mm min: glass max: 120mm I also tested my beloved Nauticam CMC-1, but it is less flexible than the AOI UCL09 for this application, so it stays home. As you can see, the Inon UCL165 and AOI UCL09 diopters are interesting tools, allowing me to focus to the glass but also almost 10cm out. But for video, more than working distance / minimal focus distance, the crucial issue here is depth of field, and efficient ways of maintaining focus within it for 10 second shots... cheers b

The left-side clip looks more balanced - seeing this, I'm wondering what would happen if you were to reset the white balance to the sand in the foreground, see how it handles the green hue. Might be too much of a stretch though. Otherwise did you try shooting this in flat WB/colours as well? Also it's not clear to me, is there artificial light in the foreground, or is this ambient?

Welcome onboard Antoine, Great handle btw, not many Franco-Banana-benders around 😉 Ben (formerly de Melbourne)

As an update, I've been experimenting with bonfires in east Bali, and recently had very interesting exchanges with a real master of bonfire diving, currently pushing the boundaries of bonfire dives in Anilao. This has led me to change the spot I was using to a more enclosed bay, which does seem to help concentrate plankton and predators. I still use moorings, as this is just convenient and allows for a little depth under the cone of light, which is more comfy. It's easy peasy, just swim on the surface up to the mooring, descend,hang the lights between 3 and 8 meters, and the do the same thing in reverse, surfacing on the mooring itsel. On the light front, nothing new, but lure / bait light temperature (warmer) and light colour are important, and current explorations are leaning on existing coloured lights designed for anglers and cephalopod, which is really interesting. These lights are designed to be powered by a boat mounted battery, so a little DIY is in order to ad a watertight battery compartment. Also - and this is a little counter intuitive - in terms of light power, more isn't necessarily better - there's a max number of lumen after which the lure / bait lights actually repel plankton and critters, 2.5K to 5K lumen being the optimal range (which doesn't mean you can't have more lights to increase the lit up area, but more than 5K is not necessarily recommended. I'm still a long way from this, but getting acceptable results with my basic setup - tonight I'm trying a different disposition, inspired by Japanese bonfire dive setups. I'm making do with what I have, but even a ridiculously low lumen setup like this gets results in good locations. However, more powerful lights would be better (and allow me to use my Backscatter MW4300 as a focus light...), especially video lights more than simple dive lights, but hey, it's better than nothing. With this setup, more than light power, it's actually battery life which is an issue. It's better to let the site "cook" for a minimum of 30 minutes before the dive starts, yet I run out of battery power after 80 minutes, often when things are picking up! cheers ben

Fair enough - the captures were not from 4K, so I'd be reassured if these artifacts are coming from my aging display! (but be warned, if you start attacking what's left of my aging eyeballs, I will meet you at dawn to avenge my honor with matched GoPro Selfie Sticks 🧐😉) To compare, what do you get here at 1'46"?

Wow - they're really showering the internets aren't they... Apparently the presskit release included the word "king" 😅 Fun times we're living in, as always. Anyway, here are some screen captures from the M. Lebo and Aquatic Images (who is a Waterpixel member, if I remember correctly?) Matthias Lebo review, UW footage captures: "out of camera" useable greatness for people eager to share ASAP This is with the software to improve the UW image (and give it a bit of an aura as well, apparently) Andreas Fiskeseth / Aquatic images review, UW footage captures: What was the name of that Hendrix tune? You know the one that goes 🎶 tadadeeda, deedadadaaa 🎶 seriously, I wonder where that came from - it looks like lens flare, but at this angle? Glitch in the AI matrix? Should we have taken the blue pill? and round and round it goes... On UW corner distortion Lebo, compared the three actions cams here: DJI is abhorrent (compounded with an external wide lens, as previously discussed), and the Insta360 Ace Pro2 might be the Kwisatz Haderach (but then... what happens when an external lens is thrown in the mix?) *** So, all hail the king 👑 or do we bring out the guillotine? (this is the Frenchman in me speaking of course) As an aside, computational ("AI" 💻) sharpening (artifacts included free of charge, apparently) and saturation taken to 11 seems to be something of a trend these days - compare with Lebo's latest Iphone16 informercial captures here, showing how good it is, really : Well, similar plus and minuses I'd say - and well, herm, colourful, to say the least 😎

I've tried with 4 different batteries. But it's time to move on, dangerous and wasting time hoping it might be resurrected - even if it does work again it will be too unstable to take diving. I just wish there was a way to recycle the optical snoot optics at the front of the light somehow, but they're welded in. Oh well, paper weight?

Interestingly, I tested the light again today, more out of curiosity than anything (I don't have a good spotting light for bonfires, so this is frustrating and I expect a miracle to happen). This time nothing happened (no disco light as in the previous video, flatlining) - however, when I opened the light, it turned out the SUPE 18650 battery was piping hot... I ventured to touch the connecter spring inside the battery compartment and burnt my pinkie, to give you an idea (no, I am not going to sue 😉) -Never seen anything like it. I'm guessing it's a short-circuit of sorts, pretty scary to see it heat up like this... Won't be testing it anymore as I'm afraid of a fire or explosion after this experience. SUPE MS10 - what a strange trip it's been... My plan is now to try and open the light up to see if I can make use of the snoot optics somehow.