Blue Hole March 14th~15

[boulderjohn]

I ran into George and Rob at the Adobe Inn before we went to dinner Saturday night. Sounded like he was having a good weekend. I think we missed each other at the Blue Hole on Sunday. I saw him in the water and then again as he was pulling out as I was breaking down my gear. If my work schedule works out. I think I may catch a dive or two with him next month.

I don't know Rob's plans, but George and I are planning to be there April 18-20. At this point I am pretty sure I will be there. He probably told you that.

 

[robint]

We will be heading back over to BH on April 25-26th but Ron is teaching. :depressed: I am sure some of the ABQ gang will be joining us.

a few of Ron's photos from this weekend - wide angle:

more photos here:
http://www.rnrscuba.net/Blue_Hole_Photos.html



robin

 

[amascuba]

I finally finished up my video.


This is my third attempt at shooting underwater video. My second attempt doesn't count since there really wasn't any usable video. My editing is getting a little better, although, I was too lazy to try to correct the color since I wasn't using a filter.

Here are some of the things that I learned from shooting this weekend:

1. If the water has a lot of particulate, then it's probably better to use manual focus. I noticed that my video would go out of focus for short periods of time when there was a sudden wash of particulate in front of the camera.

2. Don't assume that those water spots on the housing lens will go away once you're in the water. I didn't notice it all weekend, but my video shows a water spot on the lens from previous use. Note to self: take some Windex to the lens before the next dive.

3. When shooting with a wide angle, it's best to get closer to the smaller subjects, such as fish and crawdads.

4. I really should try to shoot some video with the red filter to see how much light it cuts out. It may turn out decent.

Any other tips?

Enjoy!

 

[amascuba]

We will be heading back over to BH on April 25-26th but Ron is teaching. :depressed: I am sure some of the ABQ gang will be joining us.

a few of Ron's photos from this weekend - wide angle:

more photos here:
<FONT FACE="kRISTeN ITC">Photos



robin

Awesome picture!

 

[robint]

Great video James! For a newbie to video you do a great job holding things steady and doing decent clips. Editing takes time but is worth the effort! You did good.
What video rig? I saw you carry it in the water one dive but didn't get a chance to check it out.

As far as the red filter - it may have given you more contrast but it does cut down on the light. I always use mine, just habit I guess. Check out my BH videos and see what they look like. I also do always tweak the color in editing too though. I usually bump up the red about 25%. It doesn't make things look colorful but it does help with contrast.

robin

 

[amascuba]

Great video James! For a newbie to video you do a great job holding things steady and doing decent clips. Editing takes time but is worth the effort! You did good.
What video rig? I saw you carry it in the water one dive but didn't get a chance to check it out.

As far as the red filter - it may have given you more contrast but it does cut down on the light. I always use mine, just habit I guess. Check out my BH videos and see what they look like. I also do always tweak the color in editing too though. I usually bump up the red about 25%. It doesn't make things look colorful but it does help with contrast.

robin

Thanks Robin! It's a Sony DCR-TRV9 with a Quest Tiburon housing. It's an older rig that I bought used and cheap from a buddy just to see if this was something that I wanted to invest in. The company that made the housing, actually doesn't exist any more. I'm using o-rings that I bought from McMaster-Carr. So unless something major happens to the housing (LAN-C controls stop working or I crack the housing/lens) then I should be set for a little while.

Right now I'm using an open source editing package called Kino. I'm purposely keeping my editing very basic right now and Kino works excellent for that. As I upgrade the rig, I'll probably invest in Final Cut or Pinnacle Studio. I'm learning a little bit every time I take the camera out. One video at a time.

 

[robint]

Thanks Robin! It's a Sony DCR-TRV9 with a Quest Tiburon housing. It's an older rig that I bought used and cheap from a buddy just to see if this was something that I wanted to invest in. The company that made the housing, actually doesn't exist any more. I'm using o-rings that I bought from McMaster-Carr. So unless something major happens to the housing (LAN-C controls stop working or I crack the housing/lens) then I should be set for a little while.

Right now I'm using an open source editing package called Kino. I'm purposely keeping my editing very basic right now and Kino works excellent for that. As I upgrade the rig, I'll probably invest in Final Cut or Pinnacle Studio. I'm learning a little bit every time I take the camera out. One video at a time.

I think you will be happy with an upgrade when you get there. I am really anxious to get an HD myself.

robin

 

[ABQdiver]

Great stuff Robin!! Thanks for sharing, you always do such a bang up job with the editing!!

 

[Divedoggie]

It was great seeing everyone! Great food, fun diving, good weather, good conversation...good times!
Nice pix and vids! Since my wife couldn't be there for the weekend's festivities, she instead was able to look over all the pix and vids and live vicariously! It may have been the documentation and evidence necessary to pique her interest....I think that she will be there next time!

Thanx y'all. Seeya next time!

Kent

 

[RonFrank]

Nice job on the video's both to James, and Robin! I wish we could have dove together Robin, but it was nice diving with your other half.

Keep in mind we were driving down Friday when you sent out the *schedule*. We don't do schedules very well in any event, but we might had made more of an effort on Saturday had we known there was one!