Ike catalogue 2010

....ehhh well, let's say that the model on the front page is posing in an interesting way.

http://www.ikelite.com/new_index/catalog.jpg

Yeah, that's a bit of a 'what were they thinking?' moment, isn't it? <sigh>

I like Ike products, btw. But I definitely see your point...

Whoops. In their defense if you down load the catalog and look at the image at full size it's pretty clear that the bottom he's standing on at least looks like rock as opposed to coral. But there is really no comprehending why they would put that on the cover. It sends a terrible message. It's not the best image any way. The sunball looks awful as it's printed and the diver has bubbles in front of his face. Ikelite could do better I would think. I bet they will have some interesting Dive show conversations.

Steve

And don't mention the picture inside the catalogue where strobe reflection is visible in the scratches on the dome...

This is probably the most idiotic post I've ever read. Implying all Ikelite shooters kill the environment.

I can likely find users of any brand gear standing, laying, holding on to LIVE marine life or worse with one or two Google searches.

It's an advertisement of a diver holding their product. Nothing more, nothing less.

Gear used or shown has nothing to do with environmental awareness.

Please go back to measurbating specifications versus showing everyone something NEW in the UW imaging world.

Rant over..........

dhaas

This is probably the most idiotic post I've ever read. Implying all Ikelite shooters kill the environment.

 

...

 

It's an advertisement of a diver holding their product. Nothing more, nothing less.

I do not think it was saying or implying that all Ikellite shooters kill the environment, it was just a question regarding the choice of image for a catalog. Would it have been better if the diver was holding their product over a bowl of shark fin soup? Of course the vast majority of people (hopefully) realize that it is just an image but the message is not a good one, more so for those with less experience and/or alot of "don't care" attitude.

I think we all have been on enough dives with those types, regardless of the camera or housing or strobe brands they carry

When I saw the catalog at DEMA I too was a bit put off. I think what is taking us back is that we try so hard to educate new photographers on reef awareness and the importance of neutral buoyancy. The idea that if you need to put a couple of fingers down to hold yourself off, you'd better think about it.

Then here's a shot of a guy kneeling on the sea bottom. So what are potential new photographers to make of this situation? That it's ok - the pros do it?

Exactly the wrong message. Yes, I looked and he was on a rocky bottom, but as a company I think they should of been a lot more sensitive. Sure it shows their gear, but it shows it in a bad context, IMHO.

DHass you must have millions of better shots!

Jack

(new Ikelite Dealer)

Ikelite is a great company with a long history of service, a picture does not spoil their image, but, with a billion images at their disposal, what were they thinking? But, we all have those blond moments, like flying Air Force 1 around and around New York at low altitude and buzzing the Statue of liberty, if Uncle Sam can be stupid, poor Ikelite does not stand a chance. It was just a dumb goof up I am sure, they are not telling divers to stomp the reef.

Here is one, I remember when this add came out, I saw it and I ran and got me one dem thar undie whater camies but not once did I think that kneeling on the bottom was the best approach even if the great Nikon had a lady with the Nikonos doing exactly that in the background:

Dave,

Please don't take the comments personally - I don't think that's what this thread is supposed to be about. It's not a criticism of your photo - or I don't see it that way.

Cheers

James

This is probably the most idiotic post I've ever read. Implying all Ikelite shooters kill the environment.

 

I can likely find users of any brand gear standing, laying, holding on to LIVE marine life or worse with one or two Google searches.

 

It's an advertisement of a diver holding their product. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

Gear used or shown has nothing to do with environmental awareness.

 

Please go back to measurbating specifications versus showing everyone something NEW in the UW imaging world.

 

Rant over..........

 

dhaas

I don't read anything by anyone that appears to imply "all Ikelite shooters kill the environment." I don't see how you can infer that anyone was implying any such idea.

"It's an advertisement of a diver holding their product. Nothing more, nothing less."

It is something more. It's an advertisement of a diver holding a product while kneeling on the bottom.

This is about a bad photo choice for a brochure. It's not about Ikelite shooters (or dealers cough cough).

Extreme over reaction.

Luckily nobody mentioned that the light from the top strobe is going straight over the subject!

David,

I’m guessing you have a business relationship with Ikelite and if I had looked a little harder I would have seen that Marty Snyderman did the cover art for the catalog. I have the utmost respect for both you and Marty and very few people have done more in his 25 years of photography to raise ocean awareness than Mr. Snyderman. Here is my problem. The image will be seen by all the new folks buying photography equipment and they will copy that pose. “Oh that’s how you do it”, there will be fins and knees going down on coral because of that image, guarantee it. Nothing is being damaged in the shot on the cover but the neophytes won’t know the difference.

I’m just a guy out here in the hinterlands trying to do my small part to teach people to protect the reef. That image doesn’t help. If it’s idiotic to expect major dive equipment manufactures’ to do their part to support the protection of the reef then I stand before you guilty as charged.

Steve

A curmudgeon weighs in:

Only here would someone draw a million conclusions from a photo as what started this thread. Am I overly sensitive about it, you betcha'......

If people think all manufacturers have time to do is guess (yes, that's the right word, GUESS) who and how some group will see things in our teensy little UW equipment world then I think they don't see the forest for the trees.

Ikelite has been in business LONGER than many if not MOST other companies and likely contributed to the creation of hundreds of thousands (or more) images that showcase the environment we all love and how it should be protected.

This versus an advertisement...........

Give me a break.....

Am I biased because I'm a dealer and shooter of Ikelite equipment? Absolutely and also because I know the people and their interest in helping people capture the UW world.

That includes my lifetime of helping folks in UW photography learning how to capture moments while not hurting the environment.

No one here is perfect. Dive long enough and you will accidentally touch a sponge, perch gently on rubble (as complained about in this photos) and more. Anyone who says they haven't either hasn't been diving long enough, oblivious or outright lying.

If you really want to talk about divers killing the reefs write a friggin' letter to all the certification agencies and tell them to start teaching diving again. I see people who can barely swim, grossly over-weighted with ZERO buoyancy control, enough doo-dads dangling off them and more.......I could write a book about it after diving for 40 years.

My opinion on the industry is we've lost showing people the simple joy of being UW gently and of course taking photos to show people.

Nick Hannah's book, "The Joy of Diving" (sitting right next to my desk with Alex's great photos) has a whole chapter devoted to it.

It just amazes me what people think should be criticized and what isn't.

Back to my cave.....

dhaas

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Steve, I appreciate your posts and involvement here. I could argue the impact of one photo, too. Newbies don't draw tips from a photo on a catalog, they watch "PROS" many who I've seen are just as damaging if not more so. Hell, as I said above I'm amazed most make it back to the boat alive.......

The photo wasn't shot by Marty I believe but it doesn't matter. He, and you, and I plus many others DO try and show by example and images how to go gently into the UW world.

My intent in responding was to express an opinion versus the lynch mob" mentality so often expressed here......

A curmudgeon weighs in:

But we like you anyway

Only here would someone draw a million conclusions from a photo as what started this thread. Am I overly sensitive about it, you betcha'......

Images provoke reactions anywhere and everywhere. And when an image such as this is used, of course it is going to provoke a reaction, more so when many of us around this board try to educate people with our images and video and when we see things go wrong.

If people think all manufacturers have time to do is guess (yes, that's the right word, GUESS) who and how some group will see things in our teensy little UW equipment world then I think they don't see the forest for the trees.

Companies of course know how images are going to be received, or should have a good idea. This is not an image that may or may not be lit properly, it is an image that portays standing on the reef (albeit it looks like a proper place) and if Ikelite did not realize they could get some people reacting to it, then they probably have missed the forest themselves.

Ikelite has been in business LONGER than many if not MOST other companies and likely contributed to the creation of hundreds of thousands (or more) images that showcase the environment we all love and how it should be protected.

True, but it does not mean that they cannot make a mistake and a bad avertisement is a mistake. Want to sell a Nova in South America?

No one here is perfect. DIve long enough and you will accidentally touch a sponge, perch gently on rubble (as complained about in this photos) and more. Anyone who says they haven't either hasn't been diving long enough, oblivious or outright lying.

Don't think anyone tried to claim they are perfectr. And those things happen. But when a company is putting out sales material they have time to think and assess.

If you really want to talk about divers killing the reefs write a friggin' letter to all the certification agencies and tell them to start teaching diving again. I see people who can barely swim, grossly over-weighted with ZERO buoyancy control, enough doo-dads dangling off them and more.......I could write a book about it after diving for 40 years.

We have all seen it and alot of us do try to stop that also when diving. Just because one problem exists does not mean other issues cannot be discussed when they are something that calls attention.

My opinion on the industry is we've lost showing people the simple joy of being UW gently and of course taking photos to show people.

Looks that way alot to me when I see how many divers behave, no doubt....

Back to my cave.....

Nah, stay out here where there is light, better for ambient light photos

Sorry Dave. Reading the posts above your rant (including mine), followed by yours, its pretty evident who's got the bee in his bonnet.

No one said anything NEAR "Implying all Ikelite shooters kill the environment." The comments just indicated that was a bit of a poor image to represent Ike and underwater photographers.

At least you admit you're a curmudgeon. And yes, I still like Ike products, one picture won't change that. But I can certainly wish they'd shown a little more thought in the choice of cover image, advertisement or not. <repeat sigh>

I tend to agree with Dhaas on this one, if not the tone.

If the person was actually 'breaking the rules' it would be one thing, but its a bit rough to expect Ike to not do something because someone might misinterpret it to mean you are allowed to do something that will cause damage.

In my view that charge could be laid at the foot of any photo taken close to a coral reef, so its just too big a reach for me.

Otara

It's a stupid image to use. The fact that they designed the cover so that the fin (something they don't even sell) is coming out of the frame in such a prominent way makes it all the more stupid.

That Ikelite has a longstanding reputation for quality and service is precisely why their use of this image on the cover of a catalog seems so ridiculous. That's the point. They are held to a high standard because of who they are. I don't think anyone is saying "I'm boycotting Ikelite!" or "Ikelite has gone to hell." It's just a basic observation that the image on this catalog does not jibe with their overall commercial message or, presumably, with their intentions. Ergo, it deserves criticism and "what were they thinking?" comments of bewilderment and disappointment.

An analogy: When Al Gore does anything that puts carbon in the air, the right-wing climate change deniers pounce on him for "hypcocrisy." In their eyes, he should be living in a teepee and making sure that all the carbon dioxide he emits as a respiring organism is going directly into the stomata of plants. That is unfair and unreasonable, just as it would be unfair for people to start an anti-Ikelite campaign stating "Ikelite hates coral reefs" based on this silly catalog cover. But if Al Gore were spotted driving a Hummer—or he posed for a photo op while sitting in a Hummer atop a pile of freshly mined coal—than that would be a boneheaded move on his part, because he'd be undermining his own campaign.

Likewise, when LeBron James, who is the superstar of the NBA, recently announced he was interested in campaigning against childhood obesity, and then he followed that up by announcing an endorsement deal with MacDonald's, it seemed rather incongruous and, well, stupid.