Just got back from Coz and Bonnie Pelnar's Photo Workshop

Hi, we just got home last night from a wonderful week at Scuba Club Cozumel and participated in Bonnie Pelnar's photograpy workshop. What fun! Great week of diving, weather, and so much laughter. Anyway, here's the list of winners from her class.

1st Place: winner of an Inon Strobe with an image of a Jawfish, Scott Nielsen

2nd Place: winner of a Sea & Sea YS 110 Strobe with an image of a Nudi , Deborah Lyle

3rd Place: winner of a $100 gift certificate from H2O Photo Pros, with an image of a puffer, Jennifer Pobiak

4th Place: winner of a Atomic Aquatics snorkel and shirt with an image of a Queen Angel, Scott Nielsen

Best Topside Image: winner of an Atomic Aquatics T shirt with an over/under image, Ellen Quale

I used an Olympus SP350 with dual Inon 2000 strobes

Bonnie will update the web page at Scuba Club soon with all the winning shots. Here are Ellen's and mine:

Ellen's Over/Under Shot

4th Place , Queen Angel

1st Place, Jawfish

BTW: what's the best rechargeable battery, I bought R-CR-V3 and couldn't even get a full dive with them. Went back to the

Energizer Lithium double A's and would easily do a 2 tank dive and a shore dive... Appreciate any info. Scott

Scott,

congrats on your win!! Those are nice shots...I love the composition of the Angel. On your SP350 here's a couple of things I did when I owned the camera. First, make sure you have the latest software. They updated the original software because of issues with the battery meter in the camera. I didn't have my Inons when using the SP350 but if you want to extend battery life you might have to shoot in manual mode on the strobes. This will allow you to set a low output of the camera flash and conserve batteries. This will also improve your recycle time on the camera. I would also test out the advanced circuitry feature on your Inon's to see if it will effectively squelch the output of your internal strobe (works with some cameras but not all).

what's the best rechargeable battery, I bought R-CR-V3 and couldn't even get a full dive with them. Went back to the

Energizer Lithium double A's and would easily do a 2 tank dive and a shore dive

Scott,

The batteries I used on our Cozumel trip are the Sanyo Eneloop rechargeable batteries. They easily lasted for two long dives (some over 60 minutes long) in my Inon strobes. They recharge easily using a very small charger that doesn't take up much room in your luggage. I bought them at Costco for just over $25 for a whole set, making them a very cost effective option. They are the latest and greatest in low discharge technology, too. I'd be happy to get them for you and bring them with me to Indonesia if you'd like.

That sure was a great trip. Congrats to you and all the winners!

Ellen

Way to go Scott! Nicely done. How did you feel about the level of instruction you all recieved from Bonnie?

Steve

Here's Deborah's second place image. P.S. I taught her everything she knows about u/w photography!

Wow. Congratulations Scott, Ellen and Jim's wife, Deborah. I am so proud of "yous guys".

I'm gonna try and go with you next time. I've never done a photo class at a resort.

Thanks Guys!!!!

Gary, how do I update the camera.? I have no clue. Thanks

Ellen, it was not the strobe batteries but the camera.

Jim, Deborah's pics is fantastic, love the colors and the angle, wow.

Steve, you got mail.

Ellen B, hope to see you there next time. Scott

Congrats everyone

Looks like it was alot of fun...

Bonnie added all the winners and Honorable Mentions tonight, here: http://www.scubaclubcozumel.com/contest_winners_8_08.html

Gary, how do I update the camera.? I have no clue. Thanks

You have to do it from the Olympus Master software. You connect the usb cable, start the software program and I believe there's an update camera selection that comes up.

You have to do it from the Olympus Master software. You connect the usb cable, start the software program and I believe there's an update camera selection that comes up.

wow, you taught me something new... I loaded it up and updated my cameras, thanks so much. Any other tips I should know...

Congrats to all the winners. Lovely photos all of them.

I can't help thinking that Jim Lyle's swimming jawfish with eggs, should have got more than an HM.

That is a nice shot by Jim. But he wins all the time. (JK Jim. You are awesome and I've always admired your photos.)

Congrats to all the winners. Lovely photos all of them.

 

I can't help thinking that Jim Lyle's swimming jawfish with eggs, should have got more than an HM.

no one was as shocked as myself, I thought for sure he would win, I've admired Jim's work for several years now and always wanted to get a queen angel with blue in it, not my usual lavedars. Did what he said and got closer!! Thanks Jim! Scott

wow, you taught me something new... I loaded it up and updated my cameras, thanks so much. Any other tips I should know...

I'm not sure how old your firmware was but one of the fixes was a false reading from the battery meter. It would falsely tell you a CVR3 battery was out of juice then shut the camera off. However, you could then take the battery out and reinsert it and get a lot of shots on the same battery. I'd give it a good topside test with your flash on and see how many shots you get now. I was averaging over 100 RAW shots on two rechargeable AA's and a little more on the CVR3.

I don't know if you have purchased any addon lenses but I really loved my old Sea&Sea 16mm WA conversion lens for Nikonos. I used an over the counter step up ring and turned my little SP350 into a super WA camera...it was great. The only problem I ever had was trying to put it on underwater. I was stirring up silt and got sand in the threads. The lens was only $140 on Ebay brand new. You can also add macro to the PT-030 threaded port the same way.

I'm not sure how old your firmware was but one of the fixes was a false reading from the battery meter. It would falsely tell you a CVR3 battery was out of juice then shut the camera off. However, you could then take the battery out and reinsert it and get a lot of shots on the same battery. I'd give it a good topside test with your flash on and see how many shots you get now. I was averaging over 100 RAW shots on two rechargeable AA's and a little more on the CVR3.

I don't know if you have purchased any addon lenses but I really loved my old Sea&Sea 16mm WA conversion lens for Nikonos. I used an over the counter step up ring and turned my little SP350 into a super WA camera...it was great. The only problem I ever had was trying to put it on underwater. I was stirring up silt and got sand in the threads. The lens was only $140 on Ebay brand new. You can also add macro to the PT-030 threaded port the same way.

thanks for the info, I can change lenses underwater. I have a macro lens, wa lens, and a fisheye lens that I love... Now I just have to learn how to use all this stuff. Just bought my second strobe while I was in coz, demo from Inon at a great price. Go figure that I would win one at the end of the week. Oh well, now I'm going to set my partner troy up with a sweet little rig. That way, I'll always have a back up... Again, thanks Scott

Cool shot of the Splendid Toad, they're hard to find in the open. Nicely done Scott, and don't worry about the extra stobe, you can't have too many.

Steve

you are so nice to me, I promise to continue to try to get better.... hoping my bali and wakatobi shots turn out!!!!!! scott