Monday, October 28, 2013

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

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

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.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

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
Seminar

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

Monday, October 14, 2013

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
GreyNurse


There were at least a half dozen sharks at one of their favorite caves.
3GreyNurse2

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

A female Weedy Sea Dragon
WeedyFemale

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

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

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.

Bull1

TwoBulls

BunchaBulls