No sharks here. No schooling barracudas. No walls of soft coral. No mantas, either. Just the most exciting diving an underwater photographer will ever have! After 55 years of diving ‘round the world, I’m finally going to see a Blue-ringed Octopus, a Hairy Frogfish, a Stargazer, a Cockatoo Waspish, and a whole lot of other critters I never knew I’d missed till I started seeing other photographers’ pictures. If you’re into photography, this is an opportunity of a lifetime. We’ll be staying at the Kasawari Lembeh Resort, the newest, most luxurious dive resort in the Lembeh Strait, the world-renowned capital of exotic underwater critters. Just opened last August, Kasawari has been designed to please and pamper the most discerning diver.

A few years ago when we were shooting with film cameras, it was fairly easy to choose a strobe. Strobes were manufactured in various sizes, with different degrees of coverage and power ratings (GN). Strobes had TTL and manual power settings ranging from full to 1/2, 1/4 and possibly 1/8. A nice add-on feature was a slave sensor to provide the means of dual strobe photography without a hard wire. Well, my friend, those days are gone forever. We are now confronted (or should I say, confounded) with the age of digital chips and digital photography.

Choosing a strobe now means getting the right one for the camera system that may be a simple point-and-shoot digital or an SLR digital. Okay, then, before we dig into what type of strobe is best suited for you, I would like to review some important terms.

Light intensity. The closer the strobe is placed to a subject, the more light will be available. The further the strobe is positioned, the less light will be available. Rule of thumb: For each foot of distance from the subject, the light will increase or diminish by one f-stop.

Strobe Guide Number (GN). This is the rated power determined by the manufacturer. A word of caution: Manufacturers have a habit of inflating the GN. Perform your own test with my “Rule of Thumb Method” below.

iTTL. A new technology by Nikon and Canon allowing their accessory flash units to work in sync with their new generation of digital cameras for topside photography.

In underwater photography, we have third party strobes. The only digital camera with true TTL compatibility was the Fuji Fine Pix S2Pro. Newer Fine Pix model do not.

Ikelite and Sea & Sea have solved this problem. Ikelite has engineered a TTL conversion circuitry into some of the housings for some of the more popular digital cameras by Nikon and Canon; these housed SLR systems function in TTL with Ikelite strobes, such as the DS-200, DS-125 and DS-51. Go to www.ikelite.com for the latest information.

While the circuitry is not built into Sea & Sea housings, an accessory TTL conversion adapter is available for mating their housings and TTL strobes. It’s a unit that attaches to the SLR housing and is hard-wired into the housing’s bulkhead connector. Go to www.seaandsea.com for the latest data.

Strobes for use on pre-flash digital systems, such as Sea & Sea’s DX-8000 and other point-and-shoot camera systems, are a horse of a different color. We are now concerned with trying to make the internal flash of the camera sync function with a strobe that is attached as a slave. Ikelite has solved the problem by making available a Manual/TTL slave sensor that is attached as an extra unit to the mounting arm of the strobe. Sea & Sea employs a fiber optic cable connecting strobe to housing; the strobe is essentially a slave, triggered by the camera’s onboard flash.

It’s a new and confusing world for us underwater photographers with all the new tools available. If you’re not sure what to buy, and what system is best for you, please consult me at 949-448-0499 for some free advice. I will try to the best of my ability to help you make the right choice thus saving you money, time and frustration.

How to shoot strobe in manual mode: Here is some advice on shooting with the new housed SLR digital systems and an older strobe, such as the Sea & Sea YS-90Duo, you used with your film system. It will not work in TTL with your new digital camera. You will have to shoot in manual mode. Use my following rule-of-thumb method below. View your images on the camera’s LCD to make on-the-spot exposure corrections.

1. Set camera at Manual Mode
2. Set camera to AF
3. Set camera to ISO100
4. Set shutter speed at 1/100 sec.
5. We will use a strobe GN22 in manual mode for this test
6. Set strobe power mode to Full /Manual
7. Estimate strobe-to-subject distance and set your aperture as follows:
   • less than 1 foot, set aperture to f/32
   • 1 foot, set aperture to f/22
   • 2 feet, set aperture to f/16
   • 3 feet, set aperture to f/11
   • 4 feet, set aperture to f/8
   • 5 feet, set aperture to f/5.6
   • 6 feet, set aperture to f/4.5
8. Bracket to fine-tune your exposures. At any distance shoot one exposure at the recommended f/stop above, one exposure one stop over, and another exposure one stop under.

Before digital cameras, the big issue for underwater photographers was how to protect film going through X-ray machines. Now we must address how to protect those precious images you got on digital media cards. You have several options. You can take your laptop along and download your files to the hard drive. But if something were to happen to your laptop, you’d be out of luck (assuming you cleared the card to make room for more images). You can and should back up the files by burning a CD or DVD. A bit time-consuming but worth it. You can also replicate your files on a portable hard drive. There is a wide array of sizes and storage capacity units available. For most, a portable drive (some as small as a box of playing cards) will hold 40 to 80GB and costs between $200 and $300 and are USB and/or Firewire enabled. Pack it in your carry-on, never in your check-through luggage. I never let my cards or storage device out of sight!

Nothing can take the fun out of your dive trip more than seasickness and traveler’s diarrhea. It has been said that when seasick, you fear you’re going to die—and wish you would. Been there, felt that. And while I didn’t actually want to die, I did beg for a helicopter. Conventional wisdom suggests preventing it by watching what you eat. No fried foods. No bacon, sausage or burgers. No mayo! Nibble on crackers and plain cookies to keep your blood sugar level from dropping. Plan ahead, if you know you’re prone, and get a prescription for the Transderm Patch, scopolamine. Its side effects include blurred vision and dry mouth. They are temporary. Over-the-counter meds like Dramamine work for some people, as do the acupressure wristband and ginseng. If you feel it coming on (abdominal cramping is often the first clue) get lots of fresh air. Cola and ginger ale can help settle the stomach. Believe it or not, getting into the water really helps.

It used to be called Montezuma’s Revenge. Now we call it a dive trip wrecker: traveler’s diarrhea. It’s caused by e.coli bacteria, a bug your digestive system isn’t used to. That’s why you get it and the locals don’t. Prevention is simple. Eat only boiled, cooked and peeled products. Drink only canned and bottled liquids. Forget the ice cubes. Avoid salad; think logically. What has the lettuce been washed in? Tap water? Ugh! Anything that hasn’t been cooked can contain the bacteria. From experience, the best remedies are over-the-counter Imodium and Cipro, a prescription antibiotic that quickly stops the trots.

A new page to our website has been added. www.JoeLiburdi.com/links.htm is a listing of websites you can access for important information on dive gear, photo equipment, instruction, and travel. Here’s a sample:

• Airline luggage restrictions: www.tsa.gov
• Emergency travel assistance: Divers Alert Network (DAN) www.diversalertnetwork.org
• Health info and vaccination recommendations: Centers for Disease Control: www.cdc.gov
• Passport and travel warnings: U.S. Department of State: www.travel.state.gov
• Currency converter for 164 countries: www.oanda.com/convert/classic

One-on-one, in person or on the phone. The weather is warming up and you’re getting ready to go diving again. Let me help you get your system ready and your skills honed. Call me at 949-448-0499 or write: orca2@cox.net.

Nikon DX AF10.5mm Fisheye lens. Joe’s own. Not even one year old. Used on two trips and like brand new. Just $550. Call 949-448-0499.