2009

FEATURED PRESENTER: Mike and Jody Elliott

Premeeting Seminar: How to make trip maps, by Susan Brown.

Minicomp: Small blennies and fringeheads.

FEATURED PRESENTER: Ethan Daniels

Premeeting Seminar: So you have 10 terabytes of digital images...what are you going to do with them now? By Kathy Mendes

Minicomp: Sand creatures.

OCTOBER 9, 2009

FEATURED PRESENTER: Mark Strickland

Premeeting Seminar: TBA

Minicomp: Creative.

SEA 2009 DEADLINE!

FEATURED PRESENTER: Marc Shargel

Premeeting Seminar: TBA

Minicomp: Christmas tree worms.

FEATURED PRESENTER: STEVE ROSENBERG AND ROB WALSH

Biography:
Steve and Rob will be presenting a show on Beqa Lagoon Resort in Fiji and will answer general questions on photo techniques they use. Steve and Rob are working on several projects, including a coffee table book for Wakatobi. They will also be updating us on their upcoming Wakatobi trip.

Steve has been a professional underwater photographer and photojournalist since 1980. He has produced nine travel guides for dive destinations, co-authored books on shooting underwater video and photography, and has written hundreds of articles for various U.S. and international publications. Thousands of his images have appeared in books, magazines and posters, as well as on stamps, advertising and artwork worldwide. He has also won more than 250 awards for his photography in international competitions. Steve has led dive trips throughout the world. He is a long-time member and past-president of NCUPS. More information about Steve and a sampling of his work is available on the featured photographer page of the NCUPS website.

Rob Walsh is an award winning underwater photographer. Shooting since 1995, his scuba diving experience covers 20 years and began while performing an independent study in hyperbaric physiology at CanDive in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. Most recently he has begun writing for European publications including Sport Diver UK. In 2009 Rob will be busy as a contibuting photographer for promotional projects for resorts and dive operations including Wakatobi in Indonesia.

Steve and Rob are great photographers, so you won't
want to miss their presentation.

Premeeting Seminar: No premeeting seminar.

Minicomp: Rays of light in the water (God rays, light beams, etc…).

FEATURED PRESENTER: BERKLEY WHITE

Northern California Underwater Photographic Society (NCUPS), Backscatter Underwater Video and Photo, and Wallin's Dive Center present a free two-day underwater photo and video weekend seminar with world-renowned underwater photography expert Berkley White.

Snorkelers to novice and advanced scuba divers who participate will come away with a wealth of knowledge that will have them shooting better pictures to helping them make the right equipment choice for their specific shooting needs.

Berkley White is a leading internationally published professional photographer, instructor and expert in the field of underwater photography and videography and the founder of Backscatter Underwater Video and Photo in Monterey, California. Berkley shares his in-field photographic techniques and digital methods through a series of select international travel events each year, such as the Digital Shootout.

Agenda:
Friday February 13, 2009
7:15 p.m.: Pre-presentation open discussion on the latest imaging equipment.
8:00 p.m.: NCUPS meeting featuring an underwater imaging presentation by Berkley

Saturday February 14, 2009
9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.: Hands on, in-pool seminar with product training, tips and pointers. Bring your mask and snorkel, dive gear, towels, bathing suit, and lots of questions. Bring your existing underwater camera equipment or sign up Friday night to try out Backscatter demo gear. This portion of the seminar will be held at Wallin's Dive Center.

Wallin's Dive Center
1119 Industrial Road #7
San Carlos, CA 94070
650-591-5641

Here is your opportunity to check out all the new underwater photography gear!

Premeeting Seminar: See above.

Minicomp: Your best buddy

FEATURED PRESENTERS: JACK AND SUE DRAFAHL

The Northern California Underwater Photographic Society (NCUPS) is hosting the "Digital Duo," Jack and Sue Drafahl, in an underwater digital photography workshop on Friday March 13 and Saturday March 14, 2009.

Agenda:
Friday March 13, 2009 at 8:00 p.m.
Jack and Sue will do a short lecture on backscatter as well as an entertaining presentation using some of their own images.

Date: Saturday March 14, 2009 - 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Place: New Vision United Methodist Church - Fellowship Hall, 450 Chadbourne Avenue, Millbrae.

Price: $100 for both a.m. and p.m. sessions (lunch included); or $75 for one session only (a.m. or p.m. lunch not included); NCUPS members (paid 2009) deduct $15!

TOPICS:
9:00AM - 12:00PM
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 1 and 2
If you are thinking of purchasing Adobe Lightroom, or if you already own it but are having trouble understanding how it works, then this is the seminar for you. Adobe Lightroom is one of the most popular software programs today that allows underwater photographers to input, edit, and output images in a quick and efficient manner.

This course will cover setting up Adobe Lightroom 1 and 2, using it as a catalog and editing program for both RAW and JPEG files, importing images from camera cards and portable hard drives, sorting, renaming and additional tips and tricks. A 30-day trial program will be available for you to take home.

1:00PM - 4:00PM
Adobe Photoshop for the Underwater Photographer
For almost 20 years, Adobe Photoshop has continued to evolve into the most powerful image editing program. The dilemma everyone faces today is which version is the right choice and whether they should be using Lightroom or Elements instead. We will attempt to minimize your frustration with an outline of image workflow and how it applies to the various Adobe programs.

In this workshop we will concentrate on the main Photoshop tools necessary for editing underwater images. To show the versatility of this software, a wide range of problem images will be presented as well as their solutions. Our concentration will be on the advanced selection, layers and masking tools that are only found in Photoshop. We will also cover topics like backscatter removal, blooming effects, artifact removal, selective color and exposure correction, RAW vs. JPEG files and much more.

Biography:
Jack and Sue Drafahl are a husband and wife team of professional photojournalists, lecturers and multimedia producers. For over thirty years their articles have appeared in Sport Diver, Skin Diver, Dive Training, Diver, Petersen's Photographic, Rangefinder, and National Wildlife Federation Magazines. They are the founders of the Oregon Coast Digital Center, an enhanced learning facility designed to help others learn Photoshop skills. They are software and hardware Beta testers for companies like Adobe, Applied Science Fiction, Kodak, Corel and Ulead Systems. They have created several DVD tutorials on Photoshop, Lightroom and Elements. www.jackandsue.com.

Lunch is included in the cost which we are keeping the same as in 2007. Get your RSVP in soon as this workshop sold out in 2007. Send your checks to:

NCUPS
PO Box 1168
Alameda, CA 94501

Pay with Paypal.

Or give your check or cash to Helga at the next membership meeting. For more information send an email to info@ncups.org.

Cost:
Both sessions, member: $85
Both sessions, non-member: $100
One session, member: $60
One session, non-member: $75

Premeeting Seminar: No premeeting seminar but Jack and Sue will be on hand to answer questions, and will be taking orders for their educational books and tutorial DVDs.

Minicomp: Shrimp

FEATURED PRESENTERS: ART HASELTINE & RUTH CHOFRE

Art and Ruth will give us a presentation on the Sea of Cortez and the Socorro's.

Premeeting Seminar: TBA

Minicomp: Unexpected Behaviour

FEATURED PRESENTER: JASON BRADLEY

Jason will be presenting a seminar on Winning Underwater Photo and Video Competitions in Monterey! This is a very timely seminar as the California Beach Dive Photo Competition is coming up in May.

Biography:
Jason initially wanted to be a marine scientist, so he started his quest as a student of marine science at Santa Barbara. Photography was an afterthought. While attending school in Santa Barbara, he was particularly taken with marine mammals, and to fuel his interest he worked with marine mammal biologists and at Santa Barbara's Marine Mammal Center. As an aspiring field researcher, the camera was as much of an essential tool as the notepad when observing subjects and collecting data. Over time, his interests shifted from the library and the lab to the lens and the darkroom. Although he still really likes marine science, he loves nature and marine related photography most. Jason’s home office and studio are in Monterey Bay. His work has been published and exhibited both locally and abroad, including being featured on National Geographic Television and the Fine Living Network. You also might have viewed his photos in Nature’s Best, National Wildlife, and Scuba Diving magazines just to name a few.

Visit Jason's website www.bradleyphotographic.com for samples of his work.

Premeeting Seminar: No premeeting seminar this month.

Minicomp: Kelp

Join NCUPS on June 12, 2009 for a night dedicated to members! The doors will open at 7:00 p.m. for the annual dive and photo gear swap meet. At 8:00 p.m. we will begin our meeting with a presentation on the 2009 California Beach Dive Photo Competition. Our night then continues with member presentations! We'll hold the mini-comp directly after the member presentations and after which time we will break and do more gear swapping and socializing.

The swap meet is an annual event usually held in January but changed to June last year to compliment the members night. So go through your closets and bring that dive and photo gear that you are no longer using to the meeting. Check out values of your stuff and get ready to make a deal. You'll be set up with space at a table where you can show off your gear and wheel and deal away! Remember your unused gear may be something another member or guest can use!

Our CBDPC show will feature a presentation of the "Day in the Life" show and a presentation of the competition winners. Couldn't make it to the competition? Come to the meeting to see this presentation of your friends having fun, braving the Monterey ocean waters, and winning fabulous prizes. Or, come to the meeting to bask in the glory of your winning image(s) being displayed to an awestruck audience! Bring your friends, family, coworkers to see what a beach dive photo competition really is.

The member presentations will give you the opportunity to show us what you've been up to photographically! Bring a short slide show (five minutes max.) featuring your favorite underwater images. It doesn't have to be fancy...whatever you would like to do to show off your work. Video or still images (digital only)! We'll have the club laptop and projectors set up, so please count on bringing your images or video on a flash drive or DVD/CD. There will not be time for swapping out of laptops. Please sign up by sending an email to minicomp@ncups.org, we'll try to fit in as many as possible but first come first served.

Premeeting Seminar: Swap meet.

Minicomp: Cover Shot

The mini-comp is intended to be a fun competition that encourages all NCUPS members to participate. All images entered must have been taken by an NCUPS member underwater. There are two skill levels, novice and open, but if there are not enough entries in either skill level they will be combined. Entries cannot have won anything anywhere. The audience judges the images and the winner gets a check for $30 for open and $20 for novice! The winning images are featured in the monthly NCUPS newsletter. See the NCUPS website www.ncups.org for more information on entering the mini-comp.

We really hope to see you all there showing off your underwater photography and videography, enjoying the CBDPC winning images and Day in the Life of show, and swapping gear and stories with all the other members.

FEATURED PRESENTER: MIKE BOOM

Biography:
Mike Boom is an award winning underwater videographer who's been shooting in the Monterey Bay area, the Solomon Islands, Indonesia, Belize, Hawaii and Alaska, among other locations. He's won numerous video competitions and has been featured in underwater film exhibitions in various venues around the world. He's written about underwater video for Scuba Diving magazine and helped design underwater control systems for Undersea Video Housings. He recently worked for four months as the underwater video pro for the live-aboard dive ship Nai'a in Fiji.

Mike will show recent footage from his work in Fiji and will discuss how to make trip videos: what to shoot, how to structure the video, how to edit in the field, how to cut to music, how to author a DVD and how to deal with equipment malfunctions when you're far from electronics and repair stores.

Premeeting Seminar: No premeeting seminar.

Minicomp: Fish Faces

FEATURED PRESENTER: CLINTON BAUDER

Biography:
Clinton Bauder is an avid diver and underwater photographer from Cupertino, California. Always more comfortable in waters with kelp and temperatures that require a drysuit he rarely goes more than a week without getting wet. A few years ago he made a trip to the Pacific Northwest to dive Vancouver Island and fell in love with the diving there. Since the year 2000 he's made 9 diving trips to British Columbia and Alaska. Clinton is the current Vice-President of Bay Area Underwater Explorers and his work can be viewed at www.baue.org.

Clinton's presentation will be a slideshow from his most recent trips to BC and Alaska along with a discussion of the differences between the diving there and in California.

Clinton is also an award winning photographer the most recent award being Best of Show at the California Beach Dive Photo Competition.

Pre-meeting Seminar: No premeeting seminar.

Minicomp: Creative

SEA 2008 Deadline! Bring your entries to the meeting, upload, or postmark by October 10, 2008.

FEATURED PRESENTER: HERB KO

NCUPS member Herb Ko has been active in underwater photography since 2001 and was amongst the first to use digital cameras underwater. He currently works as an electrical engineer in San Jose, and spends most of his 5+ weeks of vacation a year on tropical dive trips. Herb will present a selection of his recent photos from, Lembeh Straights, Komodo and the Philippines, and discuss some of the techniques used in taking these shots.

Get a preview of Herb's images on his underwater photo galleries.

Herb won Best of Macro at the 2006 CBDPC

Pre-meeting Seminar: No premeeting seminar.

Minicomp: Schools

FEATURED PRESENTER: ERIC CHENG

Biography:
Eric Cheng, a Stanford University graduate (BS '97, MS '98), was a computer scientist and cellist before he took his first underwater photograph in 2001 and fell in love with the beauty of the underwater realm. Since then, Eric has become known around the world for his expertise in underwater imaging. He has meticulously documented his travels around the world and has been published in numerous publications, both in print and on the web. In 2003, Eric was awarded a prestigious Antibes Festival award for his work with Wetpixel.com, the Antibes underwater imaging web site of the year, and in 2005, he won a category in the prestigious Nature's Best Magazine photo competition, which has placed his work in the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum. Eric also leads photo expeditions and has given workshops and seminars in locations around the world.

Eric owns and runs Wetpixel.com, the premiere online resource for underwater photographers. Hosting thousands registered underwater photographers internationally, Wetpixel's friendly community offers breaking news, reviews, features, community forums, image galleries, photo contests, photo expeditions, and more. In 2007, Eric launched Wetpixel Quarterly, a print magazine featuring the best in underwater photography.

Presentation
Eric will outline some of his favorite shots and what it took to get them, including camera settings, strobe power and positioning, etc. He will also show the attempted shots that led up to the final image, plus a comparison of his final processed image compared to the original raw image.

Eric's underwater images can be found on personal website: http://echeng.com/photo/

Other links:
Wetpixel: http://wetpixel.com
Wetpixel Quarterly: http://wetpixelquarterly.com

Pre-meeting Seminar:
How to copyright your images, by Mike Miller.

Minicomp: Nudibranchs

FEATURED PRESENTER: FRED HEIMAN - INDONESIA UNDERWATER

Biography:
Until his retirement in 1999, Fred Heiman pursued a 35-year high-tech career in electronics and business management. In the early 1960s at RCA Laboratories, he was instrumental in the development of the world's first MOS integrated circuit and in the 1990s, at Symbol Technologies, led the development of the first commercial spread-spectrum wireless LAN technology - pre-cursor of today's ubiquitous Wi-Fi network. He is a Fellow of the Institute Of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, a Fellow of the Franklin Institute and is the author or co-author of 26 issued U.S. Patents.

Fred has been a SCUBA diver and videographer since 1988. In 1995, he formed Globe Video Productions for the purpose of producing wildlife films for educational purposes. Since then, he has shot and produced more than 25 films, including Alaska's Inside Passage, India - Home of the Bengal Tiger, Polar Bears of the Canadian Arctic, Indonesia Underwater and Humpback Whales of Tonga. Videos and presentations are provided at no charge to schools, photographic societies, film festivals and other non-profit organizations.

He provides editing services to WildAid, a global conservation organization and, in 2001, produced The End of the Line? - a very sobering documentary on shark finning that aired on TV news stations, worldwide. In 2003, he produced Galapagos Forever, a documentary on overfishing in oceans surrounding this world heritage site. He also provided editing services to WildLife Associates, a local shelter for animals that cannot be returned to the wild.

His underwater footage of humpback whales was featured in the National Geographic Television documentary Humpback Whales Of Tonga and his footage of sharks mating appeared in Sharks of the Golden Triangle, which aired on Discovery Channel.
Focusing on large marine and terrestrial animals, Fred has won numerous awards for his films at national and international film festivals, including: Merit Awards for Amateur Wildlife Photography at the International Wildlife Film Festival, the Stan Waterman Award For Excellence In Underwater Videography (two times) and Grand Festival Awards at the Berkeley Film Festival.

Presentation:
Fred will present his latest underwater animation titled: Indonesia Underwater. The background footage was shot in high definition video format during two trips to the Banda Sea in Indonesia, including diving the reefs surrounding the islands of Komodo and Rinca. But pretty footage of interesting marine critters is not enough these days. A story needs to be told. This film, which won the Stan Waterman Award at Beneath The Sea 2008, follows the adventures of a lonely bubble trapped in a household fish tank, who is transported to these wonderful reefs. It will be presented in high definition. Fred will also discuss some technical aspects of filming underwater in high definition.

FYI...Kids love Fred's productions!

There will be no pre-meeting seminar in July

Minicomp: Stars

Join NCUPS on June 13, 2008 for a night dedicated to members! The doors will open at 7:00 p.m. for the annual dive and photo gear swap meet. At 8:00 p.m. we will begin our meeting with a presentation on the 2008 California Beach Dive Photo Competition. Our night then continues with member presentations! We'll hold the mini-comp directly after the member presentations and after which time we will break and do more gear swapping and socializing.

The swap meet is an annual event usually held in January but changed to June this year to compliment the members night. So go through your closets and bring that dive and photo gear that you are no longer using to the meeting. Check out values of your stuff and get ready to make a deal. You'll be set up with space at a table where you can show off your gear and wheel and deal away! Remember your unused gear may be something another member or guest can use!

Our CBDPC show will feature a presentation of the "Day in the Life" show and a presentation of the competition winners. Couldn't make it to the competition? Come to the meeting to see this presentation of your friends having fun, braving the Monterey ocean waters, and winning fabulous prizes. Or, come to the meeting to bask in the glory of your winning image(s) being displayed to an awestruck audience! Bring your friends, family, coworkers to see what a beach dive photo competition really is.

The member presentations will give you the opportunity to show us what you've been up to photographically! Bring a short slide show (five minutes max.) featuring your favorite underwater images. It doesn't have to be fancy...whatever you would like to do to show off your work. Video or still images (digital or 35 mm slides)! We'll have the club laptop and projectors set up, so please count on bringing your images or video on a flash drive or DVD/CD, we'll have a slide tray available for 35 mm slides. There will not be time for swapping out of laptops. Please sign up by sending an email to minicomp@ncups.org, we'll try to fit in as many as possible but first come first served.

Minicomp: Textures/Patterns

The mini-comp is intended to be a fun competition that encourages all NCUPS members to participate. All images entered must have been taken by an NCUPS member underwater. There are two skill levels, novice and open, but if there are not enough entries in either skill level they will be combined. Entries cannot have won anything anywhere. The audience judges the images and the winner gets a check for $30 for open and $20 for novice! The winning images are featured in the monthly NCUPS newsletter. See the NCUPS website www.ncups.org for more information on entering the mini-comp.

We really hope to see you all there showing off your underwater photography and videography, enjoying the CBDPC winning images and Day in the Life of show, and swapping gear and stories with all the other members.

FEATURED PRESENTER: MARK STRICKLAND

Mark's program features his award-winning photography, and highlights the fascinating behaviors and interrelationships between sea creatures and their habitat. The presentation will have special appeal to photographers, but should interest anyone who wants to learn about marine life large and small. Mark will be happy to answer any questions about marine life behavior, underwater photography and / or dive travel opportunities after the show as time permits.

Mark Strickland's life-long interest in the sea has included over 10,000 dives and careers as an ocean lifeguard, boat captain, and diving instructor. His passion for underwater photography began as a teenager in Florida, and subsequently led him to many of the world's best diving areas, including Thailand, where he spent 17 seasons as Cruise Director / Photo-Pro on the live-aboard vessels "M/V Fantasea" and "Ocean Rover". Strickland now resides in California, where he is trying to adjust to cold water diving. An avid marine naturalist, Mark has discovered several nudibranch species, including his namesake, Halgerda stricklandi.

Mark's photos and articles have appeared in magazines and books around the world, including Action Asia, Asian Diver, BBC Wildlife, Blue Planet, Calypso Log, Conde Nast Traveler, Diver, Dive, Geo, National Geographic World, Natural History, Ocean Realm, Outside, Scuba Diving, Skin Diver, Sport Diver, Sportdiving, Sub, Tauchen, Undersea Journal, Unterwasser and many others. He's also primary photographer and co-author of Lonely Planet's award-winning book, "Diving and Snorkeling Thailand". Currently, he leads several dive trips each year to his favorite destinations, while working on a career-spanning pictorial book. Mark is represented by several stock photo agencies including his own, Oceanic Impressions.

For more information visit Mark's website at www.oceanic-impressions.com.

Minicomp: Wrecks - Of anything (ship, car, barge, airplane).

FEATURED PRESENTER: CLAY WISEMAN

Clay Wiseman has been diving and filming since 1976. He has a degree in Fisheries Biology from the University of Washington. He co-authored Guide to Marine Life: Caribbean, Bahamas and Florida ISBN 1-881652-06-8, and has published in National Geographic, Time, International Wildlife, Ocean Realm, Skin Diver, Sport Diver and SCUBA Diving Magazine. He directed Medicines from the Sea for the PBS series California Connected. Recent shoots have included Jet Skiing Lifesavers as well as a pov recreation of a Tsunami survivor for Violent Earth, a National Geographic Television production.

Clay started filming underwater in 1976. With more than 3000 dives working in the cold Gulf of Main (1983-85) as well as 5000+ dives as skipper, photo pro, and ship's videographer for the Aggressor Fleet of live-aboard dive boats (1986-95), plus 10-years working diving as a professional assignment photographer and marine videographer since 1995: Water is his home.

Clay is currently working on several ocean oriented productions for television. Clay and his wife Martha operate Underwater Art Travel a company specializing in exotic underwater photography and videography expeditions. Clay, Martha and their son Will live in Santa Cruz, California.

Join us on April 11 as Clay shares some of his latest work, documenting in high-definition format; including his new film Leatherback, as well as footage from the Solomon Islands, Viet Nam and Laos, and the incredible biodiversity of marine life in Raja Ampat, Indonesia while diving from one of our great sponsors, the MV Pindito.

For more information visit Clay's website at www.underwater-art.com.

Minicomp: Healthy Reef - Cold Water

FEATURED PRESENTER: BERKLEY WHITE

Northern California Underwater Photographic Society, Backscatter Underwater Video and Photo and Wallin's Dive Center present a free two-day underwater photo and video weekend seminar with world-renowned underwater photography expert, Berkley White. Snorkelers to novice and advanced scuba divers who participate will come away with a wealth of knowledge that will have them shooting better pictures to helping them make the right equipment choice for their specific shooting needs. Berkley White is a leading internationally published professional photographer, instructor and expert in the field of underwater photography and videography and the founder of Backscatter Underwater Video and Photo in Monterey, California. Berkley shares his in-field photographic techniques and digital methods through a series of select international travel events each year, such as the Digital Shootout.

Seminar Agenda
Friday, March 14, 2008
(attend one or both sessions for free):
7:15 - 8:00 pm:
Display and discussion on the latest in imaging equipment.
8:00 - 10:00 pm:
Underwater Imaging Presentation by Berkley White

Saturday, March 15, 2008
9:30am - 12:00pm:
Hands on, in-pool seminar with product training, tips & pointers. Location:

Wallin's Dive Center
1119 Industrial Road, #7
San Carlos, CA 94070
(650) 591-5641

What to bring: fins, mask, snorkel, towels, bathing suit, lots of questions, warm-water wet suit/dive skin (optional) & your existing underwater camera equipment (optional).

For more information about Backscatter Underwater Video and Photo, please visit: www.backscatter.com; and for more info about Wallin's Dive Center, please visit: www.wallins.com

Minicomp: Healthy Reef - Warm Water

FEBRUARY

FEATURED PRESENTER: STEVE ROSENBERG

Steve will be presenting a short digital photography show on a day of diving with sharks in the Bahamas; and a presentation on the Galapagos Islands from his trip there last fall.

Steve has been a professional underwater photographer and photojournalist since 1980. He has produced nine travel guides for dive destinations, co-authored books on shooting underwater video and photography, and has written hundreds articles for various U.S. and international publications. Thousands of his images have appeared in books, magazines and posters, as well as on stamps, advertising and artwork worldwide. He has also won more than 250 awards for his photography in international competitions. Steve has led dive trips throughout the world. His diving experience in the Galapagos Islands spans the past fifteen years. He is currently working on a Bahamas Guide with fellow photographer Rob Walsh.

Steve is a long-time member and past-president of NCUPS. More information about Steve and a sampling of his work is available on the featured photographer page of the NCUPS website.

Visit our Sponsors web page for a list of sponsors who offer Bahamas and Galapagos liveaboard or land-based dive packages.

There will be no premeeting seminar in February.

Minicomp: Couples