Wetpixel Papua New Guinea Eastern Fields 2012 Trip Report

Hello, everyone! This is a placeholder for the Wetpixel PNG Eastern Fields trip, which we have all just returned from (January 2012). I'll send folks here to post stories and pictures. The slideshow from trip 2 should be ready sometime today (I was unfortunately unable to go on trip 1).

OK, Here's the slideshow video. I built it in Final Cut Pro X, with which I still have a love/hate relationship. It's the only app that I could have used to build this so fast (took about 6 hours, plus a few hours of transcode time), but per the problem described in the linked post, the project is now stranded on my notebook computer. 6 hours is a new record for me. Normally, it takes like 20-30 hours, but I think I was forced to do it quickly this time because I started so late. Procrastination works!

Enough about tech. Enjoy!

[vimeohd]36156484[/vimeohd]

It's 720p and is embedded in HD, so you should be able to full-screen it and have it look decent.

Hi there!

I was on the first trip and I think we used up all the good diving conditions -- we had mirror flat seas for about half the time and just a bit of chop the other half, mostly clear and sunny skies, and amazing visibility (~100 ft/30m some places)! We didn't encounter any sites that we were unable to dive. If there were any complaints about the conditions it was that there wasn't *enough* current at Carl's Ultimate to bring out all the critters, but we just blamed that on Tony Wu. (In fact, we blamed as much as possible on Tony )

Eastern Fields is remote; it's about 100 miles southwest of Port Moresby so once we left port we didn't see land -- or other boats, planes, or people -- until we returned. The undersea environment is a wide-angle paradise, pretty much a pristine, coral-filled environment with few signs of human activity. But sadly, one of the visible signs was the lack of sharks in the ocean. Apparently a couple of years ago the fishing boats came in and decimated the shark populations. That said, the numbers are just beginning to rebound and we saw lots of whitetips and grey reefs during our dives, plus a few silvertips, hammerheads, and a whale shark.

There was some interesting macro stuff although not as much as you'd see at certain Indonesian locales. I enjoyed shooting macro for a few days even if it meant passing up some fun w/a stuff.

M/V Golden Dawn is a moderately sized boat, and we had enough room for all of our gear and for everyone to hang out and relax, although it helped that everyone got along well. Captain Craig is a nice guy who knows the Eastern Fields sites like the backs of his hands, and he is very lucky to be able to dive out there so often. His crew took good care of us and our gear, helping us into the skiffs and toting around camera gear with smiles on their faces.

Blah blah blah, what we're really here for are photos, right? Here are mine:

Flickr gallery: http://www.flickr.com/photos/g-na/sets/72157629018087675/

Or if you'd prefer, in slideshow form: http://www.flickr.com/photos/g-na/sets/721...018087675/show/

-Gina

P.S. Great job with the video, Eric!

Hello,

Great video Eric and welcome back everyone!

I was on the first trip with Gina, Jim and Greg ! Eastern Fields is one of the best w/a dive sites i have ever been....

This is my slideshow link : http://www.flickr.com/photos/diverslog/set...957565825/show/

Cheers,

Jenny

At Loloata Island Resort:

really enjoyed the video slideshow.

The fighting ap game was a great way to end!

Looked like some very good reef action. Definitely have to get out there one day.

Nice video - thanks for sharing.

Hi everyone, just posted a write-up and some photos:

http://www.tonywublog.com/20120205/diving-...new-guinea.html

What a lovely film. Lovely editing and humour..

How about some photo embeds??

Hi all

It was my 1st time diving in the Eastern Fields and infamous sites such as "Carl's Ultimate". I've been hearing amazing things about that site for so long, it was great to finally be able to dive it...and yes, it is an AMAZING site!!! Being surrounded by fish and watching them run along the channels between coral patches in virtually single file was mesmerizing

My underwater pics are here - http://bit.ly/xtRM0D

Below are a few favourites...

Redfin anthias (Pseudanthias dispar) and thousands other reef fish swarm over the healthy corals | Carl's Ultimate

Healthy soft corals with a school of fusilier damsel (Lepidozygus tapeinosoma) above | Carl's Ultimate

A very inquisitive red snapper (Lutjanus bohar) | Carl's Ultimate

A lone golden damsel (Amblyglyphidodon aureu) swims over a field of Christmas tree worms (Spirobranchus giganteus) | Tokyo Express

Colourful crinoids | Jellybean Corners

P-47 Thunderbolt wreck | P-47 | Port Moresby

And as you can see from the slideshow, we had a great group! It's always good to see old friends and to make new friends

How about some photo embeds??

Ask and you shall receive:

sunlight and sea fan by g-na, on Flickr

gorgeous soft coral by g-na, on Flickr

school of jacks and diver by g-na, on Flickr

orange-finned anemonefish close-up by g-na, on Flickr

dive briefing by g-na, on Flickr

-Gina