Tag Archives: Underwater Photography

I’d rather be Beneath the Sea

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Sheryl Checkman and David Dunleavy at Beneath the Sea

Designer, Sheryl Checkman with artist David Dunleavy at his booth at Beneath the Sea

I would love to have been beneath the sea today but since that wasn’t possible I did the next best thing – I took a bus out to the Meadowlands Expo Center to “Beneath the Sea,” the annual Consumer Dive Show. I got to listen to some interesting seminar presentations, which succeeded in further wetting my appetite to get back into the water. I re-lived past dives during a presentation on the Turks & Caicos Islands by Michel Gilbert & Danielle Alary, discovered some new Photoshop tips from Larry & Denise Tackett and learned about photographing models underwater with photographer Jason Heller. Jason’s newsletter, Dive Photo Guide is a great resource for underwater photographers. In between seminars I got a chance to catch up with some friends from the two dive clubs that I belong to: OceanBlue Divers and NYUPS (New York Underwater Photographic Society).

And that was just the morning.

After the seminars I set off to walk the show, make some contacts and see who else I would run into. I stopped by my friend, David Dunleavy’s booth to see his latest work and catch up. David paints beautiful ocean life paintings and murals. I even bought one of his t-shirts. If you like the t-shirt that I have on in the photo above, it’s one of my “Life is Balance® Neutral Buoyancy Scuba designs.

I joined REEF to show my support for the ocean environment. The Reef Environmental Education Foundation is a grass-roots organization helps conserve marine ecosystems by educating, enlisting and enabling divers and other marine enthusiasts to become active ocean stewards and citizen scientists. I bought a beautiful DVD  called “Sensational Seas Two” which is a compilation of various top underwater photographers and videographers and is narrated by Stan Waterman and Annie Crawley. It’s a wonderful view into the undersea world and all proceeds benefit ocean charities. I can’t wait to show it to my friends who don’t dive and always ask me what it is that makes me so obsessed with the sport!

I want this camera!

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Canon G-11

Canon G-11I have been waiting to upgrade my current point and shoot camera for quite a while. I have a Canon SD700 Digital Elph camera which I have been very happy with -- up to a point. In addition to using it for snapshots I also put it into an underwater housing and take it diving with me. Here's where it falls short of my expectations. While I can get some pretty good photos and color using the custom white balance feature I find that when shooting either up from below or towards white sand or coral, I tend to get a pink fringe. I also get some pink noise. I'd love to shoot underwater and get pictures that would be photo magazine worthy! I'm not ready to spring for an SLT with alls the bells and whistles and expensive housings required to shoot like a pro but I do think there is a happy compromise. I have always loved Canon's cameras. Their optics as well as their design have always been superb.

I’ve been waiting for Canon to introduce the next version of their G Series and it seems that come September the G11 will be available. I read about this new camera on Dive Photo Guide. Here is a link to the article by Matt J. Weiss.

This camera sounds like just what I’ve been looking for, now all I need is the green stuff to buy it. I want it! I was hoping that I would have won the Mega Millions Lottery last night in which case I wouldn’t think twice about ordering it as well as the underwater housing for it as soon as it comes out. Now I guess I will start saving my dollars for a few months and hopefully can pick one up soon. Of course, if anyone wants to send me a gift (LOL) I wouldn’t turn it down!

If you’d like to see some of my underwater photography go to my Imagekind Online Gallery

A Magical Dive

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On my last dive trip to the turks and Caicos (I go there a lot) I had a very special last dive. I was swimming along thinking how nice it would be to end my 10 days of diving with one more turtle sighting. Within seconds of that thought I saw my dive buddy Alain give me the hand signal for turtle. I couldn’t believe it! This sea turtle swam with me for several minutes, eating up all the video space on my camera’s SD card. It was so beautiful to experience until he got stuck within some coral. I watched while my dive buddy gave the poor guy an assist after which he swam for the surface to catch a breath of fresh air.

There really is something to the concept that the universe will give you what you ask for if you only put it out there. Now I think I should have been wishing for mantas all week!