No Flash
Images
Taking photos underwater without a flash is not common, but it actually is easier than using a flash. I have a few tips and advice for getting good results.
Latest
Black & White
Images
Even in the digital age, black and white photographs are still viewed as art. In this edition of my underwater photography series, I’ll give you an introduction to contrast imaging.
Invasion of the King crab
Images
Stein Johnsen
King crabs invade Norwegian waters.
The Cold War has been over for more than two decades, but a relentless red army of monster crabs are still pouring over the border of Russia into Norway. The crabs are feared by environmentalists, but not by scuba divers.
Photo & Ice Diving
Images
Ice diving is always something out of the ordinary. The atmosphere, colors, flora and fauna—it definitely pays off to endure the icy temperatures for a while. However, there are a few things you need to be aware of. If you are not afraid of the cold water and you can overcome the anxiety of diving under ice, you will enjoy photographing the sometimes bizarre formations under the ice.
Jim Bram - A talk with NAUIs president
Images
Peter Symes
Jim Bram (right) with astronaut Michael Gernhardt
NAUI turns 50. Are the founding principles still valid half a century later, have they changed, and how does the organization plan to evolve in the next 50?
Maldives Sea Safari
Images
One thousand and 192 islands, islets and sand cays string the 26 atolls of the Maldives; from the air they float like emerald necklaces flung upon a cobalt blue sea.
Sharks are probably colourblind
Researchers in Australia have discovered a secret weakness of one of the ocean's most impressive predators.
The scientists, who examined the retinas of 17 different species of shark, discovered that the creatures had only one type of colour-sensitive cell, known as a cone cell, in their eyes.
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Sharks fancy a good grooming too
A study by Simon Oliver at the School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University describes the first observations of thresher sharks venturing into shallow coastal waters to interact with cleaner wrasse, a type of small fish that groom other fish species.
Thresher sharks live in the open oceans and much of the knowledge of them to date is based on fisheries bycatch. This study just published in published in PLoS ONE, (14 March 2011) examined the behaviour of these elusive sharks as they invite cleaners to remove parasites and dead tissue.
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Historic Oregon legislation passed to protect sharks
House Bill (HB) 2838 was introduced to the Oregon State Legislature on 11 January 2011 by Representative Brad Witt (D-Clatskanie) to prohibit the possession, sale, trade, and distribution of shark fins in Oregon. Western ports such as those in Oregon and California are major entry points for shark fin distribution in the United States.
Deepfreezing corals to save the reefs
A recent meeting of minds in Denmark saw scientists and politicians alike acknowledge that global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are rising so fast that we are losing the fight to save the coral reef and most reefs will not survive even if tough greenhouse gas regulations are implemented.
Preserving samples of coral species in liquid nitrogen would enable scientists to reintroduce them to the seas in the future – if global temperatures can be stabilised by then.
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Ochre starfish have a cooling system
The Ochre starfish Pisaster ochraceous is most commonly found in the Northeastern Pacific, where, at low tide, it can often be seen in tidal pools and sitting tucked away in rock crevices.
During low tide, it is exposed to the air and cannot move until it is submerged again at high tide. If it is also exposed to the sun, it can suffer heat stress.
Pisaster ochraceous can be found on wave-washed rocky shores, from above the low-tide zone to 90 m in depth. Because they can live in shallow water they need to survive in these living conditions, including strong surges, big temperature changes, dilution by rainfall, and dessication. Pisaster ochraceous is very resistant to dessication and it can tolerate a loss of thirty-percent of its body weight in body fluids.
Aquatic snail clean eyes in China
Professor Ke Caihuan of College of Oceanography and Environmental Science at Xiamen University said it is the first time that he heard that a snail can clean people’s eyes and he never saw such a snail before.
Mr. Lin, the snail owner, had kept the snail for 44 years. He said someone who had dust in their eyes can put the snail under the eyelids. It would move on the eyeball and ‘eat’ the dirt. After 10 minutes, you move it from the eyes and put it into clean water, and then it would spit out the dirt.
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