This Shark Earned Me a Prize!

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Reef shark with fish hook photo wins first place in Conservation category in Roatan Underwater Photo Fest 2019
Winner First Place: Conservation Category

I recently spent seven days honing my underwater photography skills at The 2019 Roatan Underwater Photo Fest at Turquoise Bay Resort and Subway Watersports on Roatan. The workshop, led by Brandi Mueller and Andrew Raak consisted of 3 dives per day, classroom lectures on various photography skills needed to produce great underwater images as well as some interesting talks about Coral Restoration and the variety of critters to be found beneath the sea in Roatan.

I’ve been shooting underwater for a few years, but with only one dive trip per year, it’s hard to improve when, at the beginning of each trip you need to remember all your settings and buttons on your housing and what you learned the previous year. That is why I find taking workshops like these so valuable. The more you hear something, eventually it’s going to stick! When I first started shooting underwater I was using a Canon G11 compact camera, manually setting my white balance to achieve better color. Wanting more creative control over my photos, I moved to an Olympus OMD EM5 Mark II mirrorless camera in an Olympus PT-13 housing (initially with 1 Sea & Sea YSD-1 strobe) which I have been using for the past 3-1/2 years. I added a second strobe last year and hoped that this workshop week would help me learn better lighting underwater and to focus where I wanted to. Andrew’s help with my understanding back button focus helped me enormously with this. I had heard of back button focus but really didn’t understand how to use it until this week.

Runner up – Conservation Category: Lionfish being speared

At the beginning of the week we were given the categories for the contest and told that we would have the opportunity to enter up to 3 photos in each category: Compact cameras, Wide Angle, Macro, Conservation and Night. The conditions were challenging since the weather was not cooperating. Many of the dives had a fair amount of surge, making steadying your camera on a subject difficult (at least for me).

I was really skeptical that I would have anything good to show for myself at weeks end. But when it came down to choosing images to enter in each category, I was surprised to have a hard time choosing what to enter. And, even more surprising was that I won first place in the Conservation category as well as for a shot taken at a shark feeding no less! It was my first shark feeding dive and I have to say one of the most exciting dives that I have ever been on. Kneeling on the sand, camera in hand I just shot and shot as about 8-10 large grey reef sharks swam all around me – it was an incredible experience! To have gotten a winning photo out of it was just icing on the cake. The Lionfish photo that I took (above) during the night dive won runner-up in the conservation category.

I also won runner up in the Night category for two of my photos. The three runner up photos were all taken at night, where lighting is critical for composition and focus since there is no available light. So I’m thinking that I did achieve my goals for the week.

Runner-up – Night Category: Toadfish with two cleaner shrimp
Runner-up – Night Category: Trunkfish Portrait

My takeaway from this is that practice does make perfect (or if not perfect, definitely improvement). Can’t wait to get back in the water and practice some more! Till then I’ll be practicing on land.

Change is Good…

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Photo: © Sheryl Checkman

Being a lover of warm weather the end of summer always feels a bit bittersweet. On one hand the lazy, sun-drenched days of beach visits and barbecues are past, but on the other hand, the crisp air and glorious colors of Autumn do offer a welcome consolation prize. Change is good.

I find that the change in season gives me new subject matter to photograph and new ideas for product design. The photo above was taken on a visit to Narrowsburg, NY. Walking along a country road one morning I was struck by the beauty of the surrounding woods. Using a slow shutter speed I was able to capture the colors of the the changing leaves and the striking vertical lines of the tree trunks in this impressionistic image.

Autumn Woods Scarf available on lifeisbalance.etsy.com

I designed this sheer scarf (above) from this impressionistic fine art photograph.

A chic addition to any Autumn outfit! Wear this luxuriously soft scarf around your neck, as a wrap, or tie it around your waist as a beautiful sarong. Dimensions: 50 in x 50 in. You can find this scarf on my Etsy shop here.

Autumn Woods Throw Pillow

This design is also available as a throw pillow or pillow cover in a variety of sizes.

Why Sleep Is Equally Important as Diet and Exercise

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Many of us know that a balanced diet and regular exercise maintains a healthy weight, but few of us stop to think about the role that sleep plays in keeping extra pounds off. When you consider that over one-third of American adults get less than seven hours of sleep per night and almost 40% are obese, the connection between sleeping well and managing weight seems clear.

Here are some reasons why sleep is just as important as diet and exercise when it comes to staying slim.

Sleep Deprivation Makes You Hungry

Have you ever noticed the day after a lousy night of tossing and turning that you’re hungrier than usual? It’s not your imagination. Not getting enough sleep wrecks havoc with two hormones that regulate our appetite, leptin and ghrelin, causing us to crave more calories. Leptin, which decreases appetite, tends to decline during sleep deprivation while ghrelin—a hormone that boosts appetite—spikes to give us a case of the hungry horrors.

This means we can end up raiding the office’s vending machine and reaching for high calorie and unhealthy foods to soothe our appetite. Our body is literally crying out for extra fuel to help it stay awake through the workday.

Needless to say, sleep is our friend if we want to lose weight or maintain a healthy range. Getting at least seven hours of sleep nightly can keep our appetite in check and satisfied with eating three balanced meals per day.  

Extra Weight Can Prevent Quality Sleep

Carrying a few extra pounds can create a dangerous cycle when it comes to not sleeping enough and overeating. People who are overweight or obese are at greater risk of developing sleep apnea, a sleep disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and starts. Snorers tend to have sleep apnea, but excess weight increases your chances of developing the condition as well.

Sleep apnea sufferers tend to feel tired even though they had what they believed was a full night’s sleep. As already mentioned, being sleep deprived can make you feel ravenous as you consume extra calories to keep your energy level high. Sleep apnea can be dangerous, so it’s important to seek medical treatment if you suspect it’s the reason why you never feel well-rested. 

Getting Enough Sleep Means Better Workouts

It goes without saying that without enough sleep, we don’t have the energy to exercise as often as we should. If you’ve ever had to drag yourself through a workday following a restless night, the last thing you want to do is hit the gym on the way home from the office. (A brisk 15-minute walk during your lunch break, however, can give you a second wind and help you get through the rest of your day. It’ll also burn off some calories.)

Getting enough sleep gives us stamina for regular physical activity. It also helps our body recover faster from a workout, so try to get as much quality shuteye before your scheduled exercise days.

Sleep: Just As Important As Diet and Exercise

As you can see, getting enough shuteye is just as important as diet and exercise and in fact, has a real effect on our overall health. All adults should aim to get at least seven to nine hours of sleep per night. There are many ways to do so, which is worthy of a separate blog post, but you can get started with these sleep resources.

Once you have a regular sleep routine going and you can feel the difference getting enough sleep makes in your life, check out our healthy lifestyle posts for more tips on how to feel your best. 

Guest Contributor: Julie Ferrell is a freelance writer originally hailing from Ohio (O-H!) but now calls North Carolina home.  Julie enjoys writing on a number of topics but ultimately aims to help others enrich their lives by sharing personal experiences and practical advice.

Photo: Unsplash