Posted Jan 31st 2007 11:48PM by Willy Volk Filed under: Blogs
Well, it's time to doff our dive gear, wash it off, and pack it away. Before we go, though, we wanted to say thanks to all the people who visited Divester and supported it over the last two-and-a-half years. It's been so much fun for us, and we hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have. In conclusion:
Bill Reals says, "What a long strange trip it's been. I've enjoyed my time here at Divester, it was a great way for me to share some of my technical leanings for things like cave diving, wreck diving and my obsession with DPVs. I'm sorry to see it retire but the old posts will still be around and you may see some of us on other blogs in the Weblogs family. To all the readers out there, thanks for the suggestions, comments and praise." You can check out Bill's blog at www.reals.net.
You can check out Eric Brodeur at his cleverly-named blog, ericbrodeur.com.
As for me, I'll be moving to Divester's sister blog, Gadling, where I'll be diving into the world of travel.
Jack Connick has started writing a monthly column for Northwest Dive News. Discusiing underwater photography, Jack plans to concentrate on cold-water dive photography, but I'm sure tropical divers will learn lots, too. Fortunately, he plans to re-print the articles on his blog, so check in often if you don't subscribe.
In his first article, Jack discusses the importance of experience and not engaging in unnecessary task-loading. He also goes over important questions to ask yourself before making the often-expensive leap into underwater shooting. What do you want to do with your photos? Where are you going to be shooting? How much can you really afford to spend? These are some of the questions Jack walks you through.
Sadly, this is not an April Fool's post. It's only January.
AOL, Divester's parent company, has decided to retire several of its smaller, less profitable long-running blogs at the end of the month. Unfortunately, Divester is one of those blogs.
I want to say thanks to everyone who reads Divester regularly and who has helped make it the best recreational dive blog on the Web, as well as the preeminent centralized, generalized news source for the dive community. In addition to the readers, I also want to thank my buddies here on Divester for working so hard with me.
So where are Divester's writers heading next? We'll let you know on January 31. In the meantime, please keep reading. There's still more good stuff coming!
Established in 1997, the Shark Trust promotes the study, management, and conservation of sharks, skates, and rays. Working through scientifically-supported campaigns, research, and education programs, the Trust strives to provide guidance, facilitate decisions, influence legislation, and raise public awareness of the plight of these animals on both national and international scales. Among its laudable goals are:
The reduction of shark finning;
Successful shark management in Europe;
Developing effective skate and ray fisheries; and,
Monitoring of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Considering that shark finning is a major global problem, we decided to help the Shark Trust do something about it. To that end, Divester and Wetpixel readers -- through their t-shirt purchases -- recently adopted Cut-Tail, a 16-foot-long male Great White. Returning every autumn to the Farallon Islands, the tip of Cut-Tail's caudal fin has been cut off, which gives him his name and makes him easy to identify. He is a curious and feisty shark and is often seen sticking his head out of the water. We'll let you know when it's your turn to feed him. Adopting Cut-Tail allows the Shark Trust to continue with its research and awareness campaigns.
If you want to get involved further in shark conservation, you can:
Happily, Wetpixel moderator shawnh recently noted that all shark fin products have been pulled from Amazon's grocery catalog. High five! If you took the time to send an email to Amazon or leave negative feedback on the page for any fin products, congratulations! You did something good this week.
If you didn't take the time to leave feedback, but you still want to take credit for something, you can send an email to Amazon imploring they take a public stand against he trade of endangered species. If you don't know exactly how to phrase it, shawnh has provided a passionate script for you to copy and paste into your email client. All you have to do is enter the addresses, and hit Send.
Who says blogs are useless? I didn't see any mainstream media outlets reporting on Amazon's environmentally un-friendly practices.
Over in Wetpixel's forums, a photo assistant for Scuba Diving Magazine posted an open call for entries for the magazine's upcoming "Wrecktacular" issue. Spotlighting wrecks from all over the world, the forum-post claims that, "If you have compelling wreck photos and are interested in submitting them for possible publication, please contact us." The editors will accept submissions via disc or e-mailed hyperlinks -- just be certain the images are clearly identified by destination and wreck name. Unfortunately, all submissions need to be recieved by Tuesday, January 16th. But don't worry: you've still got the weekend!
For contact information -- or to see the tentative list of wrecks the magazine will cover -- head over to Wetpixel. This could be your big break!
We mentioned Jim Spears yesterday. In addition to being one helluva an awesome underwater shooter, Spears is also an accomplished kayak diver. Having picked up the sport on Maui in 1994, Spears claims kayak diving is an excellent and inexpensive way to reach dive sites that are too distant to safely qualify as shore dives.
On his website, Spears explains about the kayak he uses for dive kayaking (a Scrambler XL); recommends equipment useful for dive kayaking; discusses how to rig your kayak for launching; expounds on how dive kayakers get geared up, and -- most importantly -- details how they get back in the boat after a dive. If you're interested in learning about the not-as-popular-as-it-should-be sport of dive kayaking, check out Jim's meticulous website.
I don't know about you, but my memory could use some help when it comes to fish identification. Black tip reef sharks and the bright orange Garibaldi are easy to remember but the variations of damselfish and triggerfish can be overwhelming.
Fish ID guides, like those by Paul Humann, are a critical part of any divers bookshelf but they're not always the easiest to use if all you can remember is the general size or markings on a fish. What I've always wanted to see is a fish guide which cross-references their characteristics in greater detail and It looks like the folks at WikiDivers are doing just that.
Their fish identification guide begins with describing the characteristics of fish: body shape, fins, markings, gills, size, and body/fin configurations. Each of these includes a link to fish which have those characteristics. If your unknown fish had vertical bands, click the Bands link and a list shows you those with vertical bands.
There is a growing number of fish species already in the guide but it's a work in progress. While the main page is a great starting point with photos and links, the search results don't generate thumbnails. Bummer, because clicking through links for individual photos is no better than paging through Humann's book. The founders of WikiDivers have voiced their commitment to the site so hopefully their hard work will continue and produce an intuitive and thorough resource.
ScubaGuru is an online resource for divers developed by Tec Clark, an instructional expert and dive industry veteran. The site is pretty new, so there isn't a lot of textual information in its pages yet. However, Clark does have one particularly interesting feature on his site that I hope he develops further.
Within ScubaGuru's Video Series, divers can learn about basic dive skills and concepts, like how to help prevent seasickness and what, exactly, is Archimedes' principle. The clips are short, to-the-point, and entertaining. Clark manages to present important information clearly, yet he doesn't take himself too seriously. Slightly goofy but clearly knowledgeable, he's struck a nice balance, and I'm hoping he continues making videos for the series. We'll check back soon to see what kinds of clips he's added. Personally, I'm waiting for him to provide some tips on how to get other divers to stop using the dedicated dry storage area to store their (waterproof) dive bags.
From January 5-20, the guys from Dive Zero Video Magazine will be filming Issue #2 in Roatan Island, Honduras. I can't wait to see what they come up with, as I was a big fan of Issue #1.
During their Honduran excursion, the team will be posting video snippets to their blog every two days, for a total of 6 posts. In addition to their daily adventures, the clips will feature behind-the-scene video -- and clues to a contest that sounds pretty simple. The first 20 people to solve the contest will receive a free copy of Issue #2 and a chance for the grand prize: a trip for 2 to Roatan.
If what you're doing is better than a trip for two to Roatan, then keep surfing the Web. If it's not, then check out the video in which they explain the rules to the contest.
If you haven't finished sorting, cropping, and finalizing your submissions for the Wetpixel- and DivePhotoGuide-sponsored Underwater Competition, don't freak out. There's still time. However, there isn't MUCH time. The deadline is this Sunday, at 11:59pm.
In case you don't know, the Underwater Competition is a two-pronged affair organized in conjunction with Our World Underwater and DEEP Indonesia. With more than $55,000 in prizes, the two contests promise to be one of the biggest, most spectacular photography events the underwater world has ever seen. Heck, even the topside world will be envious.
Check out the rules, get your images ready, and submit them. All the best! Can't wait to see the winners!
A long time ago, we pointed you to the incredible panorama shot inside Bali's Tulamben wreck. Created by stitching together more than a dozen images shot underwater -- and inside the wreck -- zooming around the pano is almost as cool as swimming around inside the wreck. Almost.
If you're looking for some more virtual dives, check out these cool panoramas:
Mal Yeo -- the same photographer who shot the Tulamben pano -- has created an amazing image from 75 feet below the surface at Halifax Park, Australia. Prepare to see LOTS of fish.
Andreas Kampf has a series of 9 underwater panos that rival Yeo's in their beauty and artistic-ness. In my opinion, the Fesdu Wreck is especially gorgeous, but they're all worth investigating.
Undersea features half a dozen effective underwater panos, including a nice one starring a cuttlefish.
Scott Highton managed to capture a gorgeous over-under pano in a Florida spring.
Of course, as photographic equipment -- and photographers -- become more sophisticated, we'll probably see more underwater panos in the future. Dip your hand in a bucket of water, and it'll be just as relaxing as a dive trip. Almost.
Beginning New Year's Day, the Outdoor Channel will be broadcasting a new series called Speargun Hunter. Created by ex-Navy diver and award-winning HDTV/ Digital Film Producer Robin Berg, Speargun Hunter documents the expeditions of world-record-setting, freediving spearfishermen Sherri Daye and Chad Palan. Throughout the 13 episodes, Berg -- along with Dr. Terry Maas (who serves as principal videographer) -- travel throughout Florida, North Carolina, California, and Mexico in search of their quarry: both the fish AND the freediving spearfishermen.
If you want to learn a little more about Speargun Hunter, check out UWDV. Clff Etzel recently interviewed Berg and Maas about the equipment they used and the challenges they faced bringing their vision to the small screen.
Yeah! And it's actually a lot of fun. Digideep moderator René Kortschack developed this fun game for underwater photographers. The premise is simple: look through the viewfinder of a camera and take pictures as fast as you can, while having the fish in focus. The smallest fish has the highest score.
I don't understand what happens when you shoot that pig, but you get a special surprise when you shoot the female swimmer who keeps passing by. It's a great way to spend some time while the relatives are droning on...
Wikis are a great way to consolidate and document information. Wikis dedicated to niche topics are an important resource if they're current, thorough, and have a good following. WikiScuba is the scuba diving wiki that was almost the greatest idea ever. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be current, thorough, or have much of a following.
Let's read about the divers' best friend: the buoyancy compensator (BC). WikiScuba describes the BC in two paragraphs and not a single photo. The ever-complete Wikipedia describes the BC in many, many paragraphs including photos.
I wish supporters of the dive industry would consolidate web resources and stop launching redundant or orphaned resources. WikiScuba is just one example of a great idea that isn't new or necessary. Should the dive community support WikiScuba considering the existence of similar (and larger) resources?
Well, it's time to doff our dive gear, wash it off, and pack it away. Before we go, though, we wanted to say thanks to all the people who visited Divester and supported it over the last two-and-a-half years. It's been so much fun for us, and we hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have. In conclusion:
Jack Connick
Established in 1997, the 
Recently, 
We mentioned 
I don't know about you, but my memory could use some help when it comes to fish identification. Black tip reef sharks and the bright orange Garibaldi are easy to remember but the variations of damselfish and triggerfish can be overwhelming.
ScubaGuru
From January 5-20, the guys from 
If you haven't finished sorting, cropping, and finalizing your submissions for the 
A long time ago, we pointed you to the 
Beginning New Year's Day, the Outdoor Channel will be broadcasting a new series called 
Yeah! And it's actually a lot of fun. 
