March 2021

My Favorite Underwater Photo Technique: Contributors' Picks

Photo by Kate Jonker
Photo by Kate Jonker: Blue and yellow gasflame nudibranch, South Africa. Exposure: ISO 160, f/18, 1/250s. Gear: Canon EOS 7D Mark II camera, Canon 60mm macro lens, Sea&Sea MDX housing, Inon Z240 strobe with Iardino’s Snooty, OrcaTorch D900V for spotting light

We asked our contributors what their favorite underwater photography technique was and they sent us images and insights into a range of intriguing techniques from close-up wide-angle to use of reflective cylinders and Snell's window to circular fisheye and snoots to using sunballs and sunrays for backlighting as well as how to create black backgrounds.

Ten Commandments of Tech Diving Ops, Part II

Cave diver. Photo by Andrey Bizyukin.
Cave diver. Photo by Andrey Bizyukin.

In part one of this series, which appeared in issue #103, I suggested a few commandments to consider in order to ensure, as far as possible, that your technical dives are safe and successful. These were: First commandment: Prepare paperwork; Second commandment: Nominate a supervisor; Third commandment: Deploy safety divers. In this sequel, I deliver a few more tablets of stone.

Photo courtesy of Diveheart Malaysia
Diveheart Malaysia Ambassador Syed Abdul Rahman (third from the right) flashes the “OK” signal with participants in a Diveheart and adaptive diving program he conducted on Mabul Island, Malaysia. Photo courtesy of Diveheart Malaysia.

Diveheart partners with Tourism Malaysia for Moscow Dive Show 2021

The exhibition is an excellent opportunity to connect with divers in Russia and Eastern Europe and widen the adaptive diving community, according to Jim Elliott, founder of Diveheart.

“We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to experience the life-changing power of scuba diving. There really are no boundaries to what we can achieve, and we have seen time and time again how educational scuba therapy has built confidence and transformed the lives of people with disabilities all over the world,” said Elliott.

Exploring UJ-2208: The WWII Battleship in Genoa

Diver explores the port side of UJ-2208, located off the coast of Genoa in Italy. Photo by Marco Mori.
Diver explores the port side of UJ-2208, located off the coast of Genoa in Italy. Photo by Marco Mori.

This is the incredible story of the French trawler that was turned into the German submarine fighter UJ-2208 during WWII and sunk by a British submarine off the coast of Genoa in 1944. Nowadays, the UJ-2208 lies on the seabed at a depth of 108m, covered in Mediterranean mud, fishing nets, shrimp and oysters.

Emperor Divers’ Awards 3rd Covid Diver Hero

In February Emperor Divers launched the Covid Diver Heroes initiative, where we aim to recognise 8 people who have stepped up in the pandemic with free liveaboard trips in the Maldives and the Red Sea.

We are delighted to share with you the story of our third hero Megumi Gotada, who wins a free Red Sea liveaboard trip. Megumi was nominated by two different people showing the effect she has had in her community, and so here we have the nomination from her friend and colleague Katharina Berger:

Our water did not come from space

Where did the oceans really come from?

Most scientists think they came from water-rich asteroids and comets raining down on the planet in its youth. Just after the Earth formed, it was very hot and dry. Prevailing theory suggests that millions of water-rich comets and asteroids bombarded our planet around 3.8 billion years ago, neatly explaining why oceans later appeared.

Also, the ratio of deuterium—or “heavy hydrogen” because it contains a neutron in addition to a proton—to hydrogen in our sea water matches the value found in water-rich asteroids, suggesting a common origin.

Scuba Diver License Plates Are Coming to Texas!

Texas vehicles can soon sport this recently approved SCUBA diver license plate.

The plate design will be offered for sale by My Plates, the official TxDMV-approved private vendor for specialty license plates in Texas.

Development of the plate was sponsored by CHUM – Houston’s SCUBA club, but there was broad grassroots support for the concept from SCUBA divers, dive clubs, and dive shops from every corner of the state.

Kyarra 100, British wreck diving, two female scuba divers, Rosemary E Lunn, Roz Lunn, XRay Mag, X-Ray Magazine, scuba diving news, dive safety information
Two British scuba divers prepare to dive the wreck of the Kyarra off Dorset, England on the centenary of her sinking: Saturday 26 May 2018

DAN advocates a safe return to diving

For the past 12 months most divers have not been able to dive as much as they would like, and many haven’t dived at all. Now that the rollout of the Coronavirus vaccine program has commenced, and the weather improving, it seems that various COVID-19 regional lockdowns are beginning to ease, and scuba diving activities should begin to resume in several Northern Hemisphere countries.

If you’ve been out of the water for a while, it’s essential to take time planning your safe return to diving. DAN

Last Chance - $20,000 of Prizes!

YES! That's right!  In fact, the Grand Guru Award winner will take home a prize bundle worth $10,000 - made up of $5,000 of gleaming SEACAM Silver and thanks to CameraPro, Canon's latest mirrorless EOS R6! 
 
The Five Photo Category winners all receive $500 cash and fabulous product prizes thanks to ScubaPro, Momento Pro and Living Image.
 
There's A People’s Choice category too!