Online Photo Course from Marty
Snyderman
A
completely new way to learn underwater photography from a seasoned
photo pro is now available. Noted underwater photographer Marty
Snyderman has placed online a complete photo course to be known as
Depth Perception.
Taught via the internet, you can take the classes at your own pace and at your convenience. This innovative, state-of-the-art course is designed so that you follow a logical learning sequence, beginning with photographic fundamentals and the secrets to compelling composition and progressing through advanced wide-angle techniques. The course contains nine interactive classes complete with class and course reviews. Each class is available 24 hours a day for 6 months, and you can review any and all of the material as often as you like.
Depth Perception will be helpful for anyone interested in learning about underwater photography, regardless of experience and skill levels.
For full details on the Depth Perception online course, visit www.martysnyderman.com on the web.
The
Loreto Center on the Sea of Cortez will be offering unique diving
excursions this summer and fall that encompass two of Baja's most
popular diving areas: Loreto and Cabo Pulmo.
After flying to Baja, the nine-day excursion will begin in Loreto and explore the offshore islands in the Sea of Cortez directly out from this sleepy Mexican town. Day five is in transit down the scenic Baja coastline to Cabo Pulmo Beach Resort. At Cabo Pulmo is the only living coral reef on the west coast of North America. Participants will be given three full days of diving to explore this unique reef that included 650 species of tropical fish and invertebrates.
Included in the excursion are unique mini-seminars specially designed to enhance your underwater experiences dramatically. They include: Marine Life of the Sea of Cortez, Overcoming Fears of the Water, Communicating with Critters, and Appreciating the Sea.
Only two nine-day excursions of this type will be conducted for 2000 so space is limited. Dates of the trips are July 21-29 and September 30 through October 8.
For more information, call 800-848-4333 or visit www.loretocenter.com on the web.
The 13th Annual SCUBA Show took place June 3 and 4 at the Long Beach Convention Center. It was the largest expo ever in the history of this, the largest dive expo in the western United States. Attendance records were broken for both Saturday and Sunday. Attendance Saturday, June 3 was 5,502 and Sunday, June 4 was 4,537 bringing the total weekend attendance to 10,039. Seminars and the continuous underwater film festival also saw record attendance.
SCUBA Show 2000 expanded this year by 20 percent, moving from the Queen Mary to the Long Beach Convention Center. Even with the addition of over 40 exhibit spaces, the show sold out over a month prior to the event with a long waiting list.
"We are very pleased with the growth jump that this year's show has taken," stated show producer Dale Sheckler. "I have never seen more enthusiasm in the attendees."
Plans are already underway for SCUBA Show 2001. For the most up to date information, click here.
Divers Alert Network (DAN) is seeking active people with diabetes to participate in its ongoing research project in scuba diving with diabetes. If you are a diver with insulin-requiring diabetes, DAN wants your help.
DAN's Diabetes and Diving project dives into 2000 with a trip to Cozumel, Mexico. Lodging will be provided by Casa Del Mar and diving will take place with DAN Sponsor dive shops on the island.
"We're anticipating a great trip," says Donna Uguccioni, DAN Research physiologist, "with DAN collecting valuable data and the participants having an incredible vacation."
DAN launched this study in 1997 to analyze current blood glucose monitoring guidelines for insulin-dependent scuba divers with diabetes. DAN has conducted eight trips thus far, and has gathered a substantial amount of data. DAN has already presented this information at an Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) Meeting and the American College of Sports Medicine last year. Later this year, DAN will present data at UHMS and submit a paper for publication on the subject.
Interested volunteers must be at least 18 years old and have insulin-requiring diabetes. Volunteers are responsible for their expenses, including travel and diving costs. For more information about this project, contact Donna Uguccioni at DAN Research; email to DUguccioni@dan.duke.edu or call 919-684-2948 ext. 627, Monday through Friday 9 a.m.-5p.m. Eastern Time.
Divers Alert Network (DAN), the largest association of recreational divers in the world, is continuing its studies into diving with diabetes. Affiliated with Duke University Medical Center (DUMC), this 501 (c) (3) non-profit medical and research organization is dedicated to the safety and health of recreational scuba divers.
Inherent problems with underwater images meant traditional optical processing often produced prints with exaggerated green or blue tints. In addition, the images frequently appeared blurry and underexposed. A new processing service from Eastman Kodak Company is about to change all that.
Appropriately called Kodak Sea Processing, the patented photofinishing process uses a blend of digital and traditional silver halide technology to optimize underwater prints, putting the same life and color in the print that the photographer saw on the dive. Kodak Sea Processing will be available through select North American dive specialty shops this summer.
"We believe it's time for divers to have photos that really capture what they see underwater. Kodak Sea Processing produces photos that 'pop,' changing underwater images from boring to brilliant," said Rick Voight, Manager, Business Development, Consumer Imaging, US, Eastman Kodak Company.
Underwater photography presents a number of challenges. The water tends to filter out reddish tones, an effect that worsens at greater depths and distances. In addition, underwater light is often less than ideal for picture taking.
Traditional photo processing has sought to remedy these problems with filters and other light corrections with mixed results. The traditional approach is often expensive, time consuming, and varies greatly with different labs. The correction process of traditional photo processing also can produce false colors and prints may appear fuzzy.
In contrast, Kodak Sea Processing digitally enhances images and a Kodak-trained technician makes three separate sets of corrections to ensure that the color matches that of the underwater world. Then the images are printed on Kodak Ektacolor Royal VIII paper, and negatives are placed in individual sleeves. Additionally, Kodak Sea Processing includes a convenient index print to help divers store and identify their pictures, making it easier to order reprints, enlargements and other photo gifts.
For additional information about Kodak Sea Processing, www.kodak.com on the internet or ask about Kodak Sea Processing at your local dive store.
Jim
Hall, a long-time fixture in the California diving community and
voice for divers, was presented the California Scuba Service Award at
the recent SCUBA Show 2000 in Long Beach, California.
The California Scuba Service Award was commissioned by Saint Brendan Corporation, parent company of the SCUBA Show and California Diving News, to recognize those who have made significant, long-term positive contributions to the California diving community.
Jim Hall's positive influence on the diving community extends decades and deep within the dive business itself. Jim has been diving since the 1950s and is a long time instructor. His accomplishments include work with PADI developing standards for the 5-Star Training Facility, including strict air fill standards; writing for Skin Diver magazine with an instrumental article bringing forth the concept of "octopus" regulators; and the organizing and running of the first DEMA trade shows. Working with the Philippine government, he developed an economic rationale for preserving reefs, a model for preservationists throughout the world to help governments see the value in tourism by preserving pristine reefs.
Jim's local conservation battles include getting Catalina Island closed to the take of marine life by the aquarium collecting trade, the declaring of garibaldi as the California State Marine Fish, affording it special protection, and helping to get threatened abalone closed in Southern and Central California. He is described by his associates as "the stealth marine activist" and to "cause up trouble and never have his name be known." Jim is currently president of the Catalina Conservancy Divers and is "working to establish a protective bubble over Catalina that will push away all commercial fishing and make the waters a safe haven for sport diving and sport fishing."
The award was presented by Dale Sheckler, President of Saint Brendan Corporation at the Saturday evening Casino Party benefiting the Catalina Conservancy Divers.
As part of the Scuba 2000 Show held at the Long Beach Convention Center June 3-4, 2000, DiversDiscount.com sponsored two competitions for attendees of the show.
The first featured a "Mission Impossible" quest, which empowered visitors of the DiversDiscount.com booth as "Secret Agents." Their mission, if they chose to accept it, was to visit 10 vendor booths in search of answers to various questions given to them. For example, when visiting the Sea & Sea booth they asked, "Agents need documentation for their various missions. With Sea & Sea deluxe packages, you get "_______." This fun and exciting game provided valuable information to scuba divers while giving vendors the opportunity to educate and promote their products. Upon the completion of their mission, the agents returned their questionnaire to DiversDiscount.com to qualify for a drawing of gear prizes which included: Apollo Bio Fins; Aeris A300G computer; Sharkskin Polypropylene skins, socks, and gloves; Princeton TEC Gadget Clips and lights; Sherwood Magnum 4 masks and knives; Submersible Systems 3.0 Spare Air; Sea & Sea camera, Genesis SL masks and Mojave Snorkel; TUSA Titanium Gloves; and Ocean Master Proflow snorkels.
The second competition took place the SCUBA Show 2000 demo pool, sponsored by DiversDiscount.com. Nine contestants suited up in the Ocean Master Z2 Purge Mask which had been blackened to serve as a blindfold. With 1 minute and 30 seconds on the clock, they dove to the bottom to collect as many gold coins as possible. The grand prize winner received the TUSA's brand-new women's Platina BC. The second place winner was awarded a pair of Apollo Bio Fins.
DiversDiscount.com would like to thank all of the SCUBA gear manufacturers and vendors for making these events fun and successful for the attendees of this year's SCUBA Show 2000.
DiversDiscount.com based in Rancho Santa Margarita, California and operates showrooms throughout Southern California and Las Vegas and features no hassle exchange and return policies, 150% price protection, and full manufacturers' warranties. All gear is assembled and all service and sales are administered by certified SCUBA Instructors.
Alison Louise LaBonte, 22, of Alamo, California, has been selected as the 2000 recipient for the Our World-Underwater Scholarship. Alison will graduate in June from the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) with a major in mathematics-applied science and specialization in computer programming. A 12-time recipient of University Honors with a current GPA of 3.919, Alison is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the 1999 winner of the Charles E. and Sue K. Young Undergraduate Student Award.
Alison's interest in marine life began at an early age tidepooling along the coast of Northern California while also exploring the mountains surrounding her hometown and cross country skiing in the Sierras. Her early curiosities about insects, rocks, flowers, and especially, intertidal invertebrates developed her interest in nature and the sciences.
Alison has accumulated significant research experience during her university years working on larval recruitment and density dependence experiments on Lee Stocking Island in the Bahamas; similar work on fish species in patch reef habitats in UCLA's biology department; and theoretical and numerical analysis of population models at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. She also worked on nutrient and chlorophyll content sampling and salinity and temperature measurements around Kaneohe Bay with the Hawaii Institute of Biology, as well as simulated particle transportation and settlement in a fluid medium in the UCLA mathematics department.
Life has not been all research for Alison at UCLA. In addition to being an assistant instructor just finishing her instructor certification in the UCLA diving program, Alison has been a volunteer docent for UCLA's oceanographic cruises, as well as a member of UCLA's women's water polo team, ski team, and sailing team.
In Alison's own words: "The underwater world, like the terrestrial world, provides enough mystery to intrigue individuals of all disciplines and backgrounds. However, not being our native environment, the underwater world conceals its potential to interest and inspire everyone. Through an interdisciplinary viewpoint and scuba diving instruction, I hope to promote appreciation and preservation by facilitating people's discovery and understanding of the marine environment."
The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium hosted its annual Grand Grunion Gala fund raiser on May 20. The Gala, which benefits the educational exhibits and displays, and the many outstanding marine educations programs at the Aquarium, featured the presentation of the John M. Olguin Marine Environment Award.
This year's honorees were the legendary twin brothers, Bob and Bill Meistrell, owners of Body Glove International, and Dive N' Surf retail stores. Their significant contributions to diving and surfing are known internationally and resulted in their 1990 induction into both the Diving Hall of Fame and the Pioneers of Surfing. In 1994, Bob Meistrell was presented with the California Scuba Service Award, Saint Brendan Corp. commissioned the award in 1989 to recognize those who have made significant long-term positive contributions to the California sport diving community.
The Meistrells are highly regarded for their many philanthropic, educational, and environmental concerns. As active environmentalists, the Meistrells organized one of the first harbor clean-ups at King Harbor in early 1970. Bob was co-founder of the Catalina Conservancy Divers and actively participates with the Conservancy's Board of Directors to protect the undersea life of Catalina Island.
As inventors, entrepreneurs, environmentalists, and philanthropist, Bob and Bill Meistrell continue to lead lives of immense ingenuity, productivity, and integrity. The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is proud to honor them with the John M. Olguin Marine Environment Award.
The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is located at 3720 Stephen White
Drive in San Pedro. Free aquarium and tidepool tours are offered to
over 180,000 school children and nearly half a million visitors
annually. The aquarium is recognized as one of the best teaching
aquariums in the world, and with a 65-year record of innovation and
excellence, is an important educational resource for the people and
visitors of Los Angeles. Call (310) 548-7562 for more
information.
