Chuuk Lagoon Slide Show

I think it was Mark Twain that said "I didn't have time to right you a short letter so I wrote you a long one instead". So here you go, 20mins of Chuuk underwater, mainly. Big file, it took about 5mins to load up. Will have a short photos only version next week. Almost hurts to see the video clips in MPEG1 after seeing them in HD.

http://www.photodex.com/sharing/viewshow.h...51282&alb=0

What a terrific show. I am going in June. Any suggestions??

Who are you diving with? Blue Lagoon and the Odyssey have different dive styles.

In General

1. I shoot manual and blew a lot of shots by forgetting to change settings when moving from outside the wreck to inside.

2. Really talk to your fellow divers. Nothing worse than you all rushing to one enclosed space. You may need to let eager beavers go first, keep your dive shallow and then drop down to shoot interiors after things have settled. On the Odyssey you might want to sit out the 1st dive and get on a schedule where you are going in when they are all coming out.

3. Practice your frog kick and spin kicks, it can be fairly tight in some spots.

4. I don’t do a lot of deco diving. But on this trip I became fairly comfortable with it. So know your computer.

5. I wish I had taken more natural light shots of the wrecks. I tried using the Magic Filters one dive but couldn’t get the camera to white balance, operator error.

6. Always have a focus light with you.

7. I shot the Tokina 10-17mm on 90% of the dives. Sometimes because I didn’t get a shot I wanted and went back to try again. Take your time the first round, get your shot, that will free you up to shoot some of the fantastic exteriors. There really are some great macro opportunities.

8. Try to work with the guides to find out the site schedule, if possible. That way you can come up with a plan of what your goals are to shoot.

8. So overall work with the dive guides on what the major attractions are of each site, use them to get you to the harder to find spots quickly and take your time.

Very nice show, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The mixed media was a nice touch.

I couldn't get it to open on my iMac. Do I need to a special plug-in?

I'm dying to see the show as I'm going in May. It'll be the maiden excursion for my new rig, so I'm particularly excited. Any other tips for a new DSLR shooter other than the ones above? Any recommended settings for inside the wrecks?

Thanks!

Thanks for the great advise. I am going on the Odyssey. Did you shoot video and stills on the same dive?

Sadly Photodex does not run on Macs (I think?).

My wife has taken up video and this was her first time out with the new set-up, HC7, Gates, Greenforce Squids. After seeing the video in "HD" the MPEG1s in the slideshow look lame. I shot some of the video, R2D2, Zeros and some other stuff. I don't know why but I find it hard to set the still camera aside and take the video camera down.

You will have a great time on the Odyssey, it is a class operation. Again I would suggest not rushing in on the first dive, it's tough, but wait till everyone else is coming out. Just let JJ or the other guides know and they will make one available to show you the harder to find stuff.

Bummer I can't play your show.

Thanks for all the tips. I'll be on the Odyssey as well. Like you said - take it slow, tell 'em what I hope to get, go with the flow and have fun. Can't wait!