Just announced at DEMA show, the Sea and Sea DX-1200HD looks set to become the must have camera for 2009.

We are expecting our first shipment of cameras in the first week of December.

Sporting some fantastic specifications, Sea and Sea have again, pushed the boundaries of technology with this amazing little camera.

Andrew had a sneak preview of a pre production prototype in Australia earlier in the year and said it was simply awesome!!

Specifications include;

* 12.1MP

* 3″ widescreen LCD screen

* Flash Light Diffuser function – Effective diffuser that softly diffuses the light of the built-in flash

* Depth rated to 45m

* Capable of recording HD (high definition) videos at a size of 1280×780

* Features SEA&SEA mode, a still image mode for optimal underwater photography.

Global dive is New Zealand’s only “Sea and Sea Pro Photo centre”, with full range on display in stock, including the full range of strobes and arms.

Come and talk to us about your photographic needs.

Also come in and have a chat to us if you are interested in a Digital Underwater Photography Course.

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This weekend, I had the opportunity to spend the weekend at the Poor Knights Islands with a great group of people – and professional Photojournalist Richard Robinson.

I was not feeling too sure of the results of my photographic efforts after flooding my camera and housing on Wednesday, but a huge thank you goes out to Stacy from Aquanaut who actually lent me a Sea&Sea 750G camera and housing (compatible with my strobe) so that I could participate in all the workshops and thus the competition. My buddy for the weekend was my fabulous friend Marcia who has an eye for angles and dives the same as I do – not very far and not very fast.

We started the weekend on Landing Bay Pinnacle. There was not lot of lift and the visibility was reasonable. We dropped down to our maximum depth and slowly headed up and around the pinnacle. I spent a lot of time photographing the base of holdfast kelp and trying to set up some shots that would look good in black and white. Towards the end of the dive, I found some lovely and bright Solitary corals which are my favourites from this dive. Eventually, we both needed a bathroom break and it became apparent that we had not even made it halfway around the pinnacle as we needed to swim 180 degrees back to the boat.

We headed up to Cleanerfish Bay which was looking calm with some nice natural light. Marcia and I decided we would head out over the boulders just to the edge of the bay. It was here that I found my Cadlina Willani. We spent a good half an hour on the edges of the boulders before deciding to turn around – it felt like we were nearly at the corner of the bay 100m away – turns out we were only 15m or so from the boat. We headed up into the back of the bay to check out the walls of the cave. Sitting on the sea bed at the entrance to the cave were some lovely fat Gem Nudibranchs (Dendrodoris denisoni).

Back on the boat, Richie was spending time with each of the photographers onboard. We had enough laptops and memory cards for him to take a look at the photographs being taken and answer questions on composition and workflow and also make recommendations on lighting. Even five minutes with Richie made the trip worthwhile.

The sun was getting low in the sky so we cruised into Middle Arch. We were going to spend the night here and some of us wanted to go for a dusk dive and some of us wanted to go for a night dive. By the time Marcia and I descended down the wall, our dusk dive turned into a night dive. We were not planning to be down long – but this quickly changed. It is so different at night! A 10m x 10m location turns into an enthralling experience. Two firebrick starfish, a large scorpionfish, Tamja verconis, yellow anemones – and my strobe battery was flat. I experimented with torch light as a focus light and also as back lighting but in the end it didnt really matter – we could dive this site again in the morning and in the mean time, I could just enjoy my postage stamp size piece of wall!!

After Marks classic (and very VERY delicious) lamb shanks, Richie set up a presentation on his photographs and talked through lighting and composition examples. He talked through the benefits of natural lighting and how to use what is available. He also talked about strobe position so the next time you are out on a dive trip and some photographer has their strobes pointed backwards or upside down or behind the viewer, they have probably done the Richie Robinson Photographic Tour.

The kettle starting boiling … the toaster perfumed the air … I looked at my dive computer – it was twenty to seven in the morning. Time to get up!! Morning dive time!!
My favourite dive of any liveaboard is the Sunday morning dive. Marcia and I hit the water before 8am and I headed straight back to the size of the wall to see if my starfish was there. Sweet – he was still hanging out. I took Suzy and Anna up into the air bubble in Bernies Cave and then let them know that Marcia and I were headed through the arch on a deeper dive. We stopped and let the longtail stingray pass and then continued down through the boulders to play ‘touch the sand’ on the other side. Marcia was quite narc’ed – we were diving on EANx34 – and we both had silly grins on our faces.
Coming back up, we let the slight movement of water and just our breathing carry us up slowly. Two giant boarfish were playing a game of tag on our right and we stopped for a few moments to enjoy their spiritedness. We got back into the arch and it was pretty empty. I went back to my starfish and set up the shots that I wanted.

Our next dive was at another of my favourite sites – Marys Wall. Pete Snookes jumped in with Marcia and I and played Wrasse wrangler. He sat on the bottom at the start of the wall and knocked rocks together so Marcia could shoot their faces. I spent time with the fans on the wall. In a previous dive there, I had taken a shot that I was pleased with but after talking with Richie, I had a new plan for lighting.

We had a group of three longtail stingrays cruising around throughout the whole dive and although I dont have a lot to write – this was the BEST dive of the whole weekend for me and I ended my dives here.

Martin Wallis - Banded Shrimp

Related Pages

• Photography Liveaboard with Richard Robinson
• Spring time at the Poor Knights Islands
• Sea and Sea DX-1200HD Camera
• Poor Knights Liveaboard – 23/24 May 2009

Firstly well done to Antoinette, Daniel and Julie for successfully completing their PADI Digital Underwater Specialty course with Andrew at the Poor Knights.

The trip was a fantastic opportunity to put into practice some of the new techniques learned on the course.

Some of the shots taken on the trip are displayed below, with a brief slide show planned for Club night on Monday 27th.

Madomado by Antoinette le Valliant

Fire on the Reef by Daniel Dewhurst

All of the photographs from the trip are available on our Facebook page

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Underwater photography is one of the most popular diving specialties, and the rise of digital underwater photography has made it easier and more fun than ever.

The PADI Digital Underwater Photographer course gets you going quickly with today modern digital equipment, whether you use a point-and-shoot snap camera or a sophisticated D-SLR like the pros.

Underwater Photographer / Photograph by Andrew Simpson

What You Learn

• How to choose the right underwater camera system for you
• The PADI SEA method for getting great shots quickly
• The three primary principles for good underwater photos

The Learning Materials You Need

Avoid the frustration of learning underwater photography through trial and error.

The PADI Digital Underwater Photography crewpak shortens the learning curve with tips and hints from the pros.

Topics covered include :

• Basic photography tips
• Strobe diagrams for a variety of effects
• Tips for eliminating backscatter
• An explanation of the various digital file formats
• How to bring back the color in your images

The crewpak includes the PADI Digital Underwater Photographer Manual and submersible white balance slate.
The course materials preview skills you’ll practice with your instructor. Once the course is over, use your manual as a reference guide as you explore new environments and to evolve your skills.

To enroll in this course, contact us!

The Prerequisites for This Course

To enroll, you must

have a PADI Open Water Diver or Junior Open Water Diver certification (or have a qualifying certification from another organization)

Your Underwater Photography Adventure Dive in the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver / Adventure Diver course credits (at your instructor’s discretion) as the first dive in the PADI Underwater Photographer course.

The Fun Part

The fun part about this course is learning to capture images to share with your friends and family. It’s a great way to relive the adventures you’ve had.

Take a look through the gallery below at some recent photographs taken by the students during one of Andrew’s recent Digital Underwater Photography courses at the Poor Knights Marine Reserve.

[View with PicLens]

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