That was quick

I guess the guys at Apple wanted to clear the decks before they shut down for Christmas because both App updates were approved in under 48 hours. So the new iOS7 compatible versions if Nudibranch Wizard (for iPhone/iPod Touch) and Nudibranch Wizard HD (iPad only) are now available on iTunes. If you already own one, you will be seeing a free update in iTunes. If you don't own it, you can get it here:

Nudibranch Wizard (iPhone/iPod Touch)
itms://itunes.apple.com/lv/app/nudibranchs/id408376444?mt=8

Nudibranch Wizard HD (iPad)
itms://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nudibranch-hd/id408555030?mt=8

Nudibranch Apps Updated

Well, I haven't posted anything for a month, but that's not because I've been just lounging around the pool. Well, OK, I have done a bit of lounging around the pool, but most of the time I've been working on long neglected projects, and the most neglected is an update of my Nudibranch ID apps. I'm happy to say that I have submitted an iOS7 update to both the iPhone/iPod Touch (Nudibranch Wizard) and the iPad (Nudibranch Wizard HD) versions to Apple for approval. The last couple updates of iOS have introduced a lot of changes that essentially "broke" older code that was working fine. Now both apps are up to snuff with the latest Apple standards and I promise, promise, promise to keep them current. The one downside to this is that I have made he tactical decision to only support that latest two versions of iOS from now on. That means that the apps are tested and operational on iOS6 and iOS7. Apple's stats indicate that 94% of all iOS devices are currently running one of those two versions, so if you are in the 6% still running iOS5 or older, update your device! After all, it's FREE.

I'm not sure when the new updates will be approved and go live because it's the Christmas rush and Apple will shut down all developer services between Dec 21 and Dec 27. So if they don't get approval by Saturday, it will be after Christmas. If you already have Nudibranch Wizard or Nudibranch Wizard HD on your device, you will get an automatic update notice in iTunes and on your device. Merry Christmas from FishTales. Enjoy!

Nudibranch Wizard iPhone screen shot showing new iOS7 style pickers.

Loy Krathong

I'm in Chiang Mai Thailand for the Loy Krathong festival. During the festival, thousands of people release paper lanterns with candles inside that float un into the night sky like little hot air balloons. The lanterns are blessed by Buddhist priests and are supposed to carry your wishes to the heavens. They are released all over the area, but the biggest event is at the Mae Jo University about 15 miles from the city. It was packed literally elbow to elbow with thousands of revelers. Lots of people were releasing the lanterns throughout the evening, but the big release was truly amazing with thousands rising together. When they get to an altitude of several hundred feet, they look like little campfires in the sky. I wasn't able to shoot it with the RED because it was just too crowded and chaotic, but I did shoot some DSLR video and stills. Here's a sample clip:

Fiji Shark Video Now Online

Last month, while on a project in Fiji, I had the pleasure of doing 10 truly amazing shark dives out of Pacific Harbour (you can see my prior blog post on my website, www.FishTalesFilms.com, for more details). I was diving with Beqa Adventure Divers. They bill themselves as a conservation organization that runs a dive operation. I can say that they live up to that credo because they are all about protecting the area's shark population. They were instrumental in setting up the Shark Reef Marine Reserve where the dive takes place and securing full protection from fishing in the area. They set up the reserve in 2004 and have been actively protecting the area since then.

This short film is made with some of the footage from those 10 dives. Shot on RED. Hope you enjoy. I will definitely go back.
In addition to being available for viewing on www.FishTalesFilms.com in the "Shot on RED" section, you can also see it on Vimeo at: https://vimeo.com/78733380

This part of the description is an optional bit of shark evangelism which you may also want to read:
I know that some divers object to shark feeding because they think that it's "not natural", but here are a few reasons why it's a good idea when done correctly:
1. It increases awareness. Some people don't know how much they love sharks until they see one up close and personal. Remember, we only protect what we love, and we only love what we understand.
2. It gives the sharks some subtle incentive to remain in a protected region. These sharks are not dependent on the feeding. It's just a tasty little snack to them and they aren't getting it every day. An 8 ft Bull Shark can (and does) go anywhere it wants to. But the feeding is an encouragement to hang around in the general vicinity, which also happens to be the safest place for them.
3. Sharks REALLY need some advocates. The shark fin fleets are pillaging the world's shark populations. It is estimated that they are slaughtering over 100 million sharks a year, just for their fins, just to add some texture to a soup that has become a status symbol in Asia. If this doesn't stop really soon, the populations will crash to the point that they cannot recover. I'd hate to see these magnificent creatures that achieved evolutionary perfection 65 million years ago disappear from the seas in my lifetime.

Kudos to Beqa Adventure Divers for putting a dent in a really big problem. You guys ROCK!

Ubud Royal Cremation Ceremony

I had the opportunity to go up to Ubud for a couple days to attend the Cremation Ceremony for a prominent member of the Ubud Royal Family. These ceremonies are very rare events and only happen when a very high ranking person passes away. There are only certain days in Bali's Hindu religious calendar that are appropriate for such important cremations. Normally, the ceremonies take weeks or months to prepare, but in this case, Tjokorda Istri Sri Tjandrawati died just a couple weeks ago in Singapore. The family decided to hold the ceremony November 1, the day before Kunigan and a most auspicious day for the ceremony. Otherwise, the ceremony would have to wait until February. It's quite amazing that they were able to complete the extensive arrangements in such a short time. An 80 foot tall Balé had to be constructed to transport the body the 1 Km from the Ubud Palace to the Puri Agung Ubud temple cremation grounds. A Lembu (bull statue) also needed to be built to hold the body during the actual cremation. Thousands of people from Ubud and the surrounding villages worked to bring this event about in such a short time. Here are some stills that I pulled from my RED footage.


This is the Badé that transports the body to the cremation grounds. It is 80 feet tall (25M) and so wide that it barely fits down the main road of Ubud. The ramp is used to take the casket up to its resting place for traveling to the temple.


This is the Lembu. It precedes the Balé and the casket is transferred into it at the temple for the actual cremation. This whole structure burns with the casket and body inside.


Moving this is all done by manpower. There are dozens of men to move the structures. They do have some rudimentary wheels in the center, but it's muscles that make it go. In the background, you can see the Badé following.


They move in short spurts. A section of street is cleared out, then a mad dash moves forward a bit and then a stop to rest.


The Badé just barely fits in some places. It took out more than a few rood tiles signs and wires on the way.


At the temple grounds, another ramp allows the casket to unloaded from the Badé and brought down to be transferred to the Lembu.


Of course there are many hours of offerings and ceremonies before the actual cremation.


This is NOT the big Lembu of the Royal Cremation. It is a smaller one for another cremation that was taking place earlier in the day. On a special holy day such as the day before Kuningan, many cremations take place at temples throughout Bali.

Fiji Video

In late September and early October of this year, I went on the maiden voyage of the Fiji Siren. This short video is a sampling of scenes from that trip. It includes footage from the Blight Waters, Namena Nature Reserve and Somo Somo Strait. All shot on RED.

You can view the video on my website: www.FishTalesFilms.com in the “Shot on RED” section or directly on Vimeo at this link: https://vimeo.com/77949782

You can see other projects on my Vimeo channel: Vimeo.com/fishtales

Rouge On RED

I've been shooting UW video with the RED in my Amphibico Rouge housing for almost 9 months now. Recently, Amphibico asked for a sample piece to show at this year's DEMA Dive Show in Orlando this coming November. So I put this piece together using RED footage that I shot in the Rouge in Indonesia (Lembeh Strait, Raja Ampat and Triton Bay), in Fiji (aboard Fiji Siren in the North and with Beqa Adventure Divers out of Pacific Harbor) and in Sydney, Australia with Dive Centre Manly. Since DEMA is an industry only show and not open to the general public, I though I should also share it on my Website and Vimeo Channel. You can view this video in the "Shot on RED" section of FishTalesFilms.com or directly on my Vimeo Channel at this link: http://vimeo.com/77507265Hope you enjoy it.

Good turnout at Dive Centre Manly

We had a nice turnout at Dive Centre Manly for the UW Video Lighting seminar. There are quite a few UW videographers in the area ranging from GoPros to DSLR's and they asked many thoughtful questions. Dive Centre Manly is an excvellent shop in a great location with lots of good local diving right in their backyard so to speak. If you're visiting Sydney, you should definitely book some dives with them to get a sample of what they have to offer.

A great turnout at Dive Center Manly


I played tourist for a day and took the Ferry across Sydney Harbor on a picture perfect spring day

G'Day Mate!

I'm in Australia for a few days on my way back home to Bali. I had a fantastic day of diving in Sydney today. The mission was to find Grey Nurse Sharks and Weedy Sea Dragons. The pros at Dive Centre Manly had no trouble at all accomplishing that mission. I saw Grey Nurse Sharks on both dives and two Weedy Sea Dragons, one female and a male with eggs, on the second dive. My guide on both dives was the world famous "Sharky" who knows the site like t he back of his hand. When we went off looking for the Weedy Sea Dragons, it only took him about 5 minutes to find the first one (the male with eggs), and then while I was occupied shooting it, he arranged for me to "discover" the female on my own:<) Sharky also entertains on the dive boat with his stand-up comedy routine of puns and groaners.

Tonight I will be presenting a seminar on UW Video Lighting at Dive Centre Manly for their loyal following of videographers.

A Grey Nurse Shark



There were at least a half dozen sharks at one of their favorite caves.


A male Weedy Sea with eggs (carried on the bottom side of it's tail)


A female Weedy Sea Dragon


Lucky shot, a Weedy Sea Dragon with a Wobegong Shark in the background.

Fiji Sharks!

I'm in Pacific Harbor, Fiji. Today is an off day for me. Yesterday and the day before were my first two dive days with Beqa Adventure Divers, operators of Fiji's famous "The Shark Dive". They, and quite a few of their prominent guests call it the world's best shark dive. I'm beginning to think they might be right. I've done four of my ten scheduled dives with them in the Shark Reef Marine Sanctuary, and I'm pretty sure they are my four best shark dives ever!  And that's considering that the weather sort of sucks and less than half the sharks are here now because it's nearing birthing season for the Bulls.  We "only" had about 30 VW bus sized Bull Sharks at the site yesterday. They tell me that after the birthing season, they can have 80 to 100 Bulls at a time. That would be mind boggling (and something I surely need to come back to experience). As it is, 30 huge Bull Sharks buzzing back and forth gives you the feeling of being in the middle of an epic dogfight. Despite the intense action, the dives have an almost serene feel. The sharks know the program, Beqa Adventure Divers know the program, I have the feeling that if you go where they tell you to go and do what they tell you to do, all is cool. I'm posting a few stills from one of my dives, but to be honest, it's difficult for a still photo to do justice to the choreography of the experience. It's like grabbing stills out of a ballet. The moments in time are cool, but they don't capture the fluid grace of these beautiful creatures. You'll just have to wait until I get back to Bali and post a video to get the feel of it.

Fiji Teaser

We're about halfway through the maiden voyage of Fiji Siren. The weather hasn't been 100% cooperative, some wind and waves to contend with, but the conditions have been better UW than above. Tomorrow we should arrive at Taveuni, one of my favorite Fiji locations, for some classic Soma Soma Strait diving.

Fiji is known for its soft corals and the sides and tops of the Bommies are very colorful.


The Coral Trout in Fiji are quite docile compared to other regions, and easier to shoot. This one was shot with a 10mm lens and is just inches from the dome.


I love Tomato Clowns (Amphiprion frenatus) and have been finding lots of them on the tops of the Bommies.

Switching Gear(s)

I'm back in Bali and today has been all about re-grouping and preparing for my next trip in a few days to Fiji. It's time to put the topside stuff away and dust off the UW stuff that has been languishing for 3 months. Away with the Telephotos, it's back to Wide Angle and Macro lenses. I stripped down the RED to prepare it for use US in the Rouge housing. No need for the side handle or Bomb Viewfinder.

New version of "Green Africa" uploaded

I did a quick re-edit of 'Green Africa" yesterday for a live presentation. I just uploaded this new version to my Vimeo channel to replace the older version. This new version includes some Lion and Rhino footage that was inaccessible to me when I did the edit in the field. I had a Drobo Mini failure in Kenya and was unable to access the footage that I shot on my first visit to Lake Nakuru NP. When I got back to the US, my replacement Drobo Mini was waiting for me so I now have access to that footage again.

South Africa Wildlife video online

I've just posted a video titled Pondoro to my Vimeo channel. It includes some sample footage from Balule Private Nature Reserve in South Africa. Balule Reserve is a large private reserve that borders Kruger National Park. It is unfenced, so that Animals are free to wander back and forth between Balule and Kruger as they wish. Pondoro is the name for Lion in a local dialect, and also the name of the game lodge that I stayed at while I was in this area (a truly fantastic lodge, see previous posts!). One of the nice things about a private reserve is that you aren't restricted to the existing roads. If your guide and tracker spot some interesting activity off in the bush, you can off-road to get a better look. This film was mastered in 4K on RED and has been scaled down to a size that is presentable on the internet. Most of the footage was shot with a Sigma 50-500 lens (Bigma) and a Sigma 17-70 lens.

You can view the video on my Vimeo channel at: https://vimeo.com/74241815 or watch it on FishTalesFilms.com in the "Shot on RED" section.

A Day In Amsterdam

I can make it from Cape Town to Portland with just one stop, Amsterdam, but it's a long layover because the Amsterdam/Portland flight leaves just before the Cape Town/Amsterdam flight arrives. So I had a "free" day in Amsterdam today. I have a hotel near Central Station, so it's convenient to get to and from the Airport. I spent the afternoon wandering the city and dodging rain showers. This evening it was raining pretty steadily, so I decided to stay at the hotel and work on the South Africa wildlife video. It's rendering as I write this, so hopefully I can upload it later tonight. Tomorrow morning, I'll be off to Portland for a few days.

Bikes and Canals, Typical Dutch!


Now this is Amsterdam! If you don't know what Patat Met is, you don't know what you're missing.


Only the dutch would give a restaurant a name like this. I'll bet these guys also have a Hot Dog stand called "Bite Me"

Jackass

I made a trip down the Cape Peninsula today to shoot the colony of Jackass Penguins that live near Simontown. Cute little guys, their call does sound remarkably like the braying of a Jackass. They don't smell nearly as bad as a seal colony either. Also saw some Ostrich with the Atlantic in the background down near Cape Horn.

A couple of Jackasses


A female sitting on a nest


Some chicks waiting on the beach for Mom and Dad to come back with dinner.


Cape Horn Ostrich

Balule Nature Reserve Day Four

Today was good for Elephants and Cape Buffalo. We had a group of four bulls drinking at one of the waterholes. Then we had a family group ripping some trees apart for a late afternoon snack. Just before sunset, we had a herd of about 300 Cape Buffalo making a watering stop at another waterhole. This is my last full day at Balule Reserve. Tomorrow I will do the early morning game drive and then fly down to Cape Town.

Drinking Elephants


Cape Buffalo at waterhole

Balule Nature Reserve Day Three

The day started out sort of slow. There was game to see, but it was mostly in brushy places difficult to shoot. I did get a distant Black Rhino and sone nice Giraffe, however. The afternoon game drive made up for it. About a half hour before Sunset, we came across a fairly large herd of Elephants. I filmed them for a few minutes, some of them made a really close pass by the 4x4, then we got a radio call about Lions 20 minutes away from our location. It seems that the mamas of the cubs I shot yesterday and the day before had collected them and were on the move. We got to them just as the sun was setting, so I only had a few minutes of useable light, then I switched to the DSLR like I did last night. There were 7 cubs and 6 adult females. There happened to also be a herd of Elephants very close to them, and one of the females was stalking a small Elephant. An adult caught wind of it, trumpeted loudly, and just about stomped the female in chasing it away. We stayed with one female (the babysitter) and the cubs until long after dark.

Easy to get just the right moment in time when you're shooting 30 fps


Watchful

Balule Nature Reserve Day Two.

More good wildlife, more good food!. Today we had two Black Rhinos, a really nice herd of Elephants, a large herd of Impala, some Wildebeest and Giraffe and three sightings of a large male Leopard who was out cruising his territory. The first sighting was just after sunset, but while there was still barely enough light to shoot with the RED, so I have a video scene. The last two sightings were after dark and I shot some DSLR stills. I only had the little built-in flash on the DSLR, but I cranked the ISO up and did a few "Hail Mary" shots and they aren't too bad. We also saw a pair of Honey Badgers after dark, but not shootable.

Black Rhino Grazing


Kind of a spooky shot of a backlight Leopard coming down the road


Not a happy kitty (scented another Leopard in his territory)

Balule Reserve Day One: Living High on the Warthog

I'm now at Pondoro Game Lodge in Balule Nature Reserve on the western edge of Kruger National Park. I could get used to this place. My suite is a stand-alone chalet with a deck overlooking the Olifants River that flows through the reserve. The deck has a Jacuzzi and the bathroom has a tub deep enough to get DCS if you stayed in it too long. The food is spectacular too. I arrived in time for lunch followed by an afternoon game drive. The Holy Grail of a game park is to be able to see "The Big Five" which consists of Elephant, Rhino, Cape Buffalo, Lion and Leopard. We were five for five on the first game drive. We started out with a very close White Rhino, then some Elephants and a Cape Buffalo (both too distant to shoot), followed by a batch of 8 Lion cubs that had been "dropped off at day care" while the mom's were on a hunt. That got us to sunset and just a bit beyond. Se then stopped for "Sundowners" and snacks (including some pan fried sausages cooked on a gas burner on the 4x4's bumper). After drinks and snacks, we continued on a night game drive on our way back to the lodge and sure enough, we found a leopard (I was going to say we spotted a leopard, but that would be a really bad pun). Not a bad start.

White Rhino


Just a-lyin in the grass

Dry Africa Video Uploaded

I managed to get my video of Chobe (Botswana) and Etosha (Namibia) edited while traveling between Swakopmund and Jo'burg. It's called "Dry Africa". At this time of year, the desert is taking over and the only available water is along river courses and at waterholes. Some of the waterholes are natural, and some are manmade. The natural waterholes also start to dry up late in the dry season, but some of the manmade waterholes have wells with solar powered pumps to keep them active during the driest months. These waterholes become the focus of all the activity. This film was mastered in 4K on RED and has been scaled down to a size that is presentable on the internet. Most of the footage was shot with a Sigma 50-500 lens (Bigma) and a Sigma 17-70 lens. This is a rough cut and will be updated at a later date. Editing 4k in the field on a MacBook Pro can be challenging and time consuming.

You can see the video either on my Vimeo channel at: https://vimeo.com/73585259 or on my website in the "Shot on RED" section.

Music for this video is Expeditionary by Kevin MacLeod

Papyrus Sea Video

I finally have enough internet bandwidth to upload the little GoPro video that I made of the trip into the Okavango Delta in Mokoro Dugouts. You can view the video on my Vimeo channel at: https://vimeo.com/73577025. I don't have it currently on my website because I don't have a structure in place right now for videos shot above water that were NOT Shot on RED. I will remedy that later when I have more than a day of good internet access.

Detour Ahead

I've decided to alter my plans a bit. I really want to shoot some more wildlife, so I'm altering my original plan. Instead of doing the next six days traveling overland through more desert and down to Cape Town, I'm going to fly to Johannesburg tomorrow, and then to Kruger National Park the following morning. I will spend 4 nights in the Balule private nature reserve at a game lodge called Pondoro. I will get to do 7 more game drives, and that's really what I came to Africa for in the first place. Then I will fly down to Cape Town and resume my regular schedule.

Desert Starscape. The desert is a great place to shoot the night sky.

Desert to Sea

We had quite a transition today. The day started with an early morning hike up a boulder strewn canyon in the Brandberg mountains. The goal was to see the famous rock painting called "The White Lady". It's not really a white lady, just a misinterpretation by an early archeologist. The painting is about 2000 years old. From the mountain, we crossed the desert and wound up on the shore of the Atlantic ocean at the lower end of the Skeleton Coast. There, we visited the Cape Cross Seal Colony. A smelly aggregation of thousands of fur seals. Late in the afternoon we arrived in Swakopmund, a seaside town, where we will spend a couple days.

In the Brandberg mountains on the way to see the rock paintings we saw a boulder that looks like a Baboon head


The White Lady (not really a lady, and not white either)


Cape Cross Seal Colony. A seal for every rock.


A nice spot for warming up in the sun.


Real Estate squabbles are frequent.

Desert Elephants

Well, yesterday didn't go exactly as planned. Our driver had a bad day. First, the truck ran out of diesel about 50 km from the nearest town. That ate up about 5 hours for our driver to go get some fuel and then get a ride back out to us. That put us pretty far off our schedule on a long drive day. Then, shortly after dark he made a wrong turn and we wound up having to camp for the night quite a bit north of the planned stop.

Today was better. We did a stop at Twyfelfontein to see the ancient rock etchings and then made it to Brandberg mountain a little before sunset and setup camp in a dry riverbed. We had all barely gotten out tents setup when a family of Desert Elephants came strolling down riverbed. It was not light enough to shoot RED footage, but I did shoot some stills. Hopefully we might see them again tomorrow morning.

Ancient rock etchings at Twyfelfontein


Desert Elephant


Desert Elephant family

Epupa Falls Day Two

I did morning and afternoon hikes along the Epupa Falls gorge and found some nice views. There are loads of ancient Baobab trees that look like something out of Lord of the Rings. Tomorrow we have a long drive to Palmweg where the Desert Elephants are sometimes seen. Hopefully we will get a glimpse of them!

Baobabs stand sentry in the center of the upper cataract


Lush near the river, but barren desert just a short distance away.


A rainbow on the upper cataract.