Troporobo

Hi neighbor! I’m on Camano Island and learned to dive at Edmonds many years ago, but I’m pretty much exclusively a warm water diver now. Though I do find myself looking at the Sound and browsing drysuits a lot lately. . .

I’ve been using a Pelican case for years as I was fortunate enough to be able to drive to dive. Now that I’m making a major move and anticipating more frequent flying to dive in less developed locations, I wanted something lighter and more agile. Ashley’s mention of the Lowepro RLX450 AW II was the winner. I just configured and packed it and am very happy with the package! I am a m4/3 user so of course the gear is smaller and lighter. In here I’ve got the camera body in the housing, strobes, a lot of batteries and tools and cleaning supplies and o-rings, fisheye and macro ports and lenses, a 12-40 zoom for topside, one diopter and flip adapter, flash trigger, dive computer and transmitter, and miscellaneous hardware. I’ve got some spare room at the top that could be better configured and have not used the side pocket or outside attachment options. Arms, clamps, floats go in the scuba duffel. The front compartments are well designed and easily hold a laptop, tablet, phone, and all the travel necessities like chargers, glasses, tickets, etc. Things I love about this case are the “tool tray” which replaces the function of the Think Tank lid organizer in the Pelican, its depth which allows many compartments to be dual layered, and the choice of rolling or carrying as a backpack. Total weight is about 12 kg so very manageable. Thanks all for the tips!

Thanks David for sharing this great article and deep insights from your long experience.

I have used SubSee diopters, both +5 and +10, on an m4/3 system. The image quality is excellent, but the use case varies. The higher the power, the shorter the working distance and the greater the lighting challenge. In my case, with a 60mm macro lens, the +5 was the sweet spot and the +10 didn’t improve my options and made lighting very difficult. The key thing to understand is that diopters are not magnifying glasses, they allow you to get closer and focus at shorter working distances. Everything depends on your lens and sensor.

Great article, thanks for sharing!

Hello neighbor! I’m on Camano Island. How about you?

Wow, that is very cool. I’ve never seen one. Thanks for the pics.

You’ve made some nice images there. I like the almost minimalist look of the slouching pipefish and the blue-grey shrimp. Thanks for sharing.

Very cool - thanks for sharing!

I’d suggest learning how to edit using free software like GIMP. It’s got a learning curve and isn’t very intuitive but the only cost is time. With this shot some contrast and a radial gradient with a bump of exposure and vibrance would spotlight the subject and vignette the background.

In Sydney the images are backlit transparencies, definitely not digital, in a darkened space. I would have much preferred high quality prints but I suppose to non-photographers the glowing images are more eye catching.

Great shot - nice composition and lovely lighting

I will add two more tips that I have found useful: - Do a reverse image search. If the same photo(s) turn up elsewhere that can be a red flag, unless recently listed by the same person (with verification) on eBay for example. Multiple listings in multiple geographic locations is a clear red flag. - Search for their username or ask for verification of another username on other related internet fora. Someone may be new here but have a history on ScubaBoard or PetaPixel for example. On a positive note, I've done a few transactions here and at the old site that were smooth and mutually beneficial. This is a great community!

I had the great good fortune to wander into the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney last weekend and discover it has a wonderful exhibit ongoing with 100 large format images from the competition. Among the many stunning images is one by Alex Mustard (gobies on coral) and an amazing portfolio of horseshoe crabs by Laurent Ballesta. As an added bonus, there's also an exhibit on Valerie Taylor that features among other things a good selection of vintage UW photo and video gear, including some very early DIY housings made by Ron Taylor. It will be there until 10 November. If you're in Australia or passing through it's well worth visiting. Wildlife Photographer of the Year at the Australian National Maritime Museum

I’ve learned a lot from the threads on packing camera gear, and now have several solutions that I’m happy with. Thanks to those who have contributed. Now, how about your SCUBA gear? I’m specifically looking for recommendations on the best checked-in container (duffel, hard shell, burlap sack, etc) for a short trip to tropical waters. Just a light wetsuit, fins, boots, back-inflate BCD, regulator, mask, and the usual miscellaneous bits and pieces. Bonus points for solutions that incorporate strobe arms and floats and other durable photo gear. Extra bonus points for rugged durability, portability, and security from the plane to the boat. No need for it to incorporate camera gear or anything for topside as I will always have a separate small carryon trolley and photo backpack. Full disclosure: I haven’t needed to fly to dive for 20 years but am about to start up again. I’m sure this has been covered on ScubaBoard but I like this crowd and feel that traveling photographers are better at optimizing space and weight. TIA

And I am sure that I’ll be there again!

Here are two examples of totally blowing the shot by NOT thinking about negative space. Both are ruined by cutting off parts of the animal or coral due to being obsessed with being as close as possible and getting the eyes in focus. The second shot could have been spectacular with three way symmetry if I’d just backed off a cm. I am still kicking myself for not seeing it at the time.

Great article Tim. I need to constantly remind myself to look for those opportunities.

Ashley, I think you win the abundance of caution sweepstakes. I’ve seen many people with a backup camera body. But three complete bodies and housings may be a record for multiple redundancy. Good on you!

Very nice! I was obsessed with pygmies for years in Anilao, finally got a couple of images I’m happy with. They are challenging to capture and rewarding when you do!

Very well said. For most of our dives I wish for even 5 minutes to work a subject! Unfortunately my dive buddy is not so patient. But then she gets cold and heads up to the boat, so the final 15 minutes or so I’m on my own in shallow water, which often leads to images I like.

Never too late Tim! I’m finding the Intuos far from intuitive after playing around for a couple of evenings. I don’t have a huge sunk cost so will also look into the Loupedeck which I know nothing about. Thanks for the tips, everyone

I’m in the same camp. I shoot mostly macro and so regretted selling my S-2000 almost immediately, although I do like the Z-240 that replaced them. I’m thinking seriously about going back to the smaller form factor. They’d be excellent for CFWA which is my near term project. My only hesitation is about shooting true wide angle reef scenics. I could keep both sets but don’t think I’d want to travel with four strobes. Thoughts?

Now this is interesting. It would be fantastic to see the first dent in the ever expanding subscription economy! However I doubt it will lead to much more than a fine. Feds Sue Adobe for 'Trapping' Customers in Long, Expensive Subscriptions The U.S. government sued Adobe on Monday for allegedly “trapping” customers in its default, most lucrative subscription plan. In a complaint, the Department of Justice (DOJ) writes that Adobe locks customers into a year-long agreement that’s not effectively disclosed as such, and “ambushing” users with hefty hidden fees when they try to cancel. Adobe lawsuit article

Thanks much for the feedback. The Intuos is affordable enough for a what-the-heck trial so I’ve ordered one. I have a big (non UW) project to work for the next couple of weekends so that will let me know if it works for me.