  
Welcome to my newsletter. I thank all of you who read it (rather than delete it!) and thank you for your encouraging responses. I love when you tell me you enjoy it and that something I've written has been of value to you. That's my intent: to provide practical information relevant to divers and underwater photographers. I welcome your questions and suggestions.
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Annual Fall Whale Shark Expedition Pro Photographer David Haas on Rinse Tanks and Anti-Flooding Tips Photo Lessons: Your House and Mine at the Same Time Announcing JC's Tropical Treasures |
Only 2 Spots Left! For itinerary and cost of this |
Whale sharks in your face. Mantas circling above your head close enough to touch. Sea lions dive bombing and nipping at your fins. Morays, morays, morays. Jacks and barracudas schooling. Dolphins. Giant jawfish found nowhere else. 100+ vis. Bathtub warm water. Bright blue skies and calm blue seas. Exotic. Exciting. Jacques Cousteau called it "The World's Greatest Aquarium." And a two-hour flight from Los Angeles! It's La Paz!
Tour Includes
5 nights, 6 days accommodations at the La Concha Resort Per person, double occupancy. Price: $1059 |
Photos by Joe Liburdi and Cara Sherman |
Click here to make your reservation . See why we go back year after year.
Last issue, I asked the question: What is the most important thing you need for underwater photography?
The answer was: a diligent pre-dive and post-dive system care procedure.
Bottom line, if you want to be an underwater photographer, you must know how to prevent flooding your system. No matter how great a photographer you are, if water gets into your system, you're done for the trip. Conventional wisdom has it that you should always place your system in a rinse tank after a dive. But there is a a warning to be added. Here is what I wrote:
"After a dive, divemasters and photographers routinely place the cameras in a fresh water rinse bucket. That’s good. But often the system is left there. That’s bad. Systems get stacked on top of one another, and it’s easy for arms, brackets, cords, etc. from another system to entangle with yours and something on yours, such as a port or housing clasp or sync connector, to disengage or break. Don’t leave it there!!! I’ve seen three floodings in the rinse bucket this past year. Stay with yours. Give it a brief soaking and place it in a safe area."
If you missed last month/s newsletter, you can read it in our newsletter archives. Go to www.JoeLiburdi.com/Newsletters.htm and scroll down to March/April 2008.
My good friend and colleague, David Haas, sales representative for Ikelite, wrote in response to my rinse tank warning and added some of his wisdom about preventing flooding. I want to share it with you
Photographers,
Knock on wood, no floods in mucho anos of diving and UW photography.
Straight from the horse's mouth, here's what I tell my customers. If any of these ideas apply to your system, maybe they'll help you out.
Don't use any lube other than the one recommended by the manufacturer. You will mainly have to lube the small O-ring on the cord end that attaches to the strobe bulkhead and housing bulkhead. I put a bit of O-ring grease on the metal threads, too, of the connector bulkhead on the strobe and housing back. Once this is assembled and on a first dive of a trip it works, leave it assembled for the week of diving!
The spring loaded buttons, as long as you rinse and "pump out" any salt water trapped in your post dive rinse (SEE BELOW) can go for like 1- 3 years depending on diving frequency before sending the housing back to the manufacturer for a complete O-ring change out.;
I am not a big fan of rinse tanks on boats (or back on shore.) I NEVER HAVE IT IN THE TANK UNLESS I'M STANDING THERE HOLDING IT! I put my rig in where I "shake and bake" with gentle agitation for 2 minutes, working controls and pumping the buttons in clean fresh water. Pat dry the port where the lens looks through, and don't grind in salt water by wiping this surface if out on a boat! Then I occasionally pump the buttons to finish getting any salt water out while drying.;
When I get home I disassemble the tray from the bottom and allow all to dry on a towel covered work bench. In 1-2 weeks you will still see some salt reside no matter how thoroughly you think you rinsed your housing. I loosen the nuts on the tray bottom, then grease the screw threads and store it all open, with no compression on the back o-ring.
You can store the back and / or port O-ring in a ziploc bag and put them INSIDE THE HOUSING where you'll remember to re-install on your next dive trip. O-rings can be washed in mild soapy water and patted dry (not stretched.) Then a light coating of O-ring grease to keep them supple.
The very last thing I personally do when entering the water with my system is fold the arm(s) in and tighten so the system can be handled by the dive guide with one hand. I SHOW THEM WHERE TO HOLD IT AND ASK THEM NOT TO PUSH THE SILVER QUICK RELEASE BUTTON(S) WHICH WOULD RELEASE THE STROBES!;
Then right before I enter the water I double check the housing by looking at what I call my "5 point check". Meaning all 3 latches are securely snapped and the port locks are totally slid in and clicked closed. A total of the 5 things sealing my housing.....
IMMEDIATELY UPON ENTERING THE WATER, I hold the housing back tipped and angled to the right and double check no water is inside. In this position it could pool against the inside AWAY FROM MY CAMERA if an assembly mistake was made and I could hand it right back up and save the camera;
Not saying my ways are perfect, but they work for me and many fellow shooters.
David is a highly accomplished photographer. You can see his work on his website: www.haasimages.com
Photo instruction is now so super high tech that we don’t even have to be in the same room. Or even the same city, state or country! If you have Skype, we can communicate face-to-face via our computer.
All you need is a computer with a web cam. Most new computers have them built in, but if yours doesn't, you can purchase one. They are quite inexpensive for PCs, many costing less then $50. You can get one at Circuit City, Best Buy, even Target. The Logitech model I purchased for my MAC was $129. Before making the purchase be sure it is compatible with your computer.
Then go to www.skype.com and sign up for the FREE service. When you’re on line with Skype, call from your computer to mine. My Skype number is joeliburdi30.
We can then talk "face to face" and discuss what type of instruction you are interested in. The beauty is that we can see one another. It's almost as personal as being together. But the real benefit is that I can see your system and we can review points step by step. For instance, I can show you the correct way to unseat and grease an O-ring. You can show me how you position your strobe. I can show you how to reposition it. Get the idea?
Once we make contact and you wish to take my photo class, I will send an application. Upon receipt of the application and payment for the class, we will set an appointment. The fee for instruction via computer is $50.00 per hour. Each session will be customized according to your needs and interests and specific equipment. PayPal and personal checks are accepted as payment.
So are you ready to learn underwater photography via Skype? E-mail me at orca2@cox.net.
It is highly recommended to know your camera's operating features and functions before signing up for the class. There are many manufacturers, camera models, and features that are changing constantly. Knowing your camera and its vital operating information will speed up the instructional process.
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We are proud to announce a new website just launched by our friend Jim Campbell. Jim has been a part of our family for years and we’ve shared many great dive adventures. Jim was an instructor at Liburdi's Scuba Center and loved diving so much that he worked in the shop after he retired from his real job. Over the years he became a darn good photographer.
Now Jim has taken his love of diving and dive travel and underwater photography to a new level: he has launched a site called JC’s Tropical Treasures on which you can find gorgeous images, underwater and topside, to adorn your home and office and give as gifts. The images can be purchased as prints or ordered on mugs, mouse pads, and so on. Jim also offers artifacts gathered from his globetrotting, native one of a kind art and handicrafts. Please take a look and tell your friends: www.jcscuba.com. If you want to chat with him you can SKYPE him @jcscuba.
Marty Snyderman knows. Marty, Marine Life Editor of Dive Training Magazine, in the October 2007 issue, wrote:
"Get Close, Get Low, Shoot up. Generally speaking this credo helps underwater photographers produce crisp, colorful images with subjects that often appear to “jump out of” the surrounding background. Getting low and shooting up is helpful for several reasons. The first is that no matter how colorful our subjects seem to be, many marine creatures are designed to blend into their surroundings. However, if you get low and shoot at an upward angle, you can often compose your shot with your subject framed against a blue or green water background. Doing so often makes your subject stand out against the background."
And this relates to politics how?
"No doubt people who seek power, our admiration and, perhaps, our votes often try to place themselves above their audiences. Audience members are forced to look up at the speaker, and this positioning psychologically adds to the speaker’s credibility or stature without the auience ever being aware of it. Similarly, as a photographer it often serves us well to shoot up at our subjects, as composing in this manner has a way of making our subjects look more dramatic in addition to helping our subjects stand out against the background water.”I'm often asked, what went wrong with my image? Why does it have these speckles? If my camera broken? No, I reply, it's noise.
(notice the noise in this jellyfish image)
What is noise?
The complete explanation would take far more space than we have here and is more technical than most casual underwater photographers need or want to know. Simply put, noise is digital grain. It can take different forms. It can be random white specs in shadow areas to vast color blotches. It is usually seen as color speckles where there should be none. Visually, it mars your images like grainyness did when you were shooting film.
What causes it?
One of the major difference between a consumer digital camera and a digital Single Lens Reflex (dSLR) is that the former produces images with a lot of noise when using high ISOs and long exposure times, while the dSLR is practically noise-free. The difference is the size and quality of the image sensor. The larger the image sensor, the less noise. DSLR cameras do not produce noise because they have a larger image sensor. An image sensor is typically comprised of a matrix of light sensors. A light sensor is a device that converts light into an electric charge. When light (photons) strike the image sensor, electrons are produced. These "photoelectrons" give rise to analog signals which are then converted into digital pixels. In low light, there is not enough light for a proper exposure and the longer we allow the image sensor to collect the weak signal, the more background noise it also collects.
How do you minimize noise?
When shooting with a compact digital camera, shoot manual. If you set your camera to program mode, the sensor will detect low light in most underwater situations and select a slow shutter speed for a longer exposure time. Avoid that. Set your shutter speed for 1/100 sec. or 1/125 sec. Do not set the ISO higher than 200. Use a flash. Use the camera's highest-quality JPEG setting. Low-quality JPEGs take up less space on your memory card but increase compression and accentuate noise. And keep your camera cool. Heat increases noise, so never leave your camera out in direct sunlight or in a a heated environment like a car dashboard or trunk. ;
I'm planning our Spring 2009 trip and can't make up my mind which fantastic destination to schedule in addition to my big 80th Birthday Bash in La Paz in October. We've been so fortunate to have dived the world's greatest sites. I'm thinking of Raja Ampat, Indonesia. But then again, I'd like to do another African safari. Our trip was to Tanzania was the best I've ever had without getting wet. I'm thinking Kenya.
What's on your wish list? Please e-mail me and tell me where you'd like to go. I really want to know.
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$2995
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[Main features of the MDX-D300 housing]
Call Joe at 949-448-0499 or email: orca2@cox.net.
