Aerial footage of the whale shark aggregation that takes place each summer off of Isla Mujeres, Mexico. echeng100804_026166

Inspired by Rob Stewart’s self-cam footage in Sharkwater, I turned my camera around and took some footage of me swimming with whale sharks off of Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Shot with Canon 5D Mark II, Tokina 17mm/3.5 lens. 0260619

Rob was in Isla Mujeres the week before I was, and shot similar footage (although he dove down, whereas I stayed on the surface).

Whale shark poop

A couple weeks ago, I posted images from my first attempt to capture a whale shark silhouette with a sunball behind it. The attempt produced a decent photo.

The following few days presented many more opportunities to go after such a shot. (read more »)

This is an attempt to show the number of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) in the water during the aggregation in Isla Mujeres. I only wish it were possible to show the hundreds more around me!

I’ve finally succeeded in uploading a follow up to my 3D video of a cenotes diver going through a halocline. The new video contains the original clip plus a few more:

3D video is a huge pain to produce.

We had in excess of 500 whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) at Isla Mujeres today in perfectly clear skies and mirror-flat water. I am speechless… but not speechless enough to try to upload some video (the internet is fast enough tonight for me to get a few videos online).

Click through for 3D version of the video, plus a bonus video of Heidi Connal swimming with a “botella” (bottle) — a whale shark that is vertical in the water gulping water without moving (well, it rotates, but it stays in the same place). (read more »)

For my first underwater 3D shoot, I dove cenote Chac-Mool, which is about 20 KM from Playa Del Carmen (just outside of Cancun). I had never taken my modified BS Kinetics 3D housing underwater, so I had to first mount lights on it and do a pool test for buoyancy. Adding 4 lbs made the housing almost exactly neutral, although it is just a little bit back heavy.

I was quite worried because a dark cave is not exactly the best place to use a camera system that relies on auto-exposure for its picture. I set the camera to underexpose 3 units (whatever that means in Sony land) and hoped for the best. The results were actually quite good!

Here is the first clip I processed, which shows Mario, our dive guide, swimming through a halocline (the layer between fresh water and salt water, which is more dense). Don’t worry — the fuzzy halocline water clears up after a few seconds.

I’ll do a more formal write-up about my 3D workflow when it is fully tested, but at the moment, it includes ClipWrap¹, MPEG Streamclip, PluralEyes, Final Cut Pro, Dashwood Stereo3D Toolbox, and Compressor. I shot 107 clips (214 total, since each camera shoots separately), taking up a total of 16.6 GB of space (8.3 GB x 2).

3D workflow is extremely time-consuming. (read more »)

3D test (anaglyph — requires red/cyan glasses) of Quartetto Sugoi in low light using dual Sony CX550V camcorders zoomed in a bit, perhaps, to 40mm (35mm equivalent) or so. Camera sync is approx 16ms apart, which is why there is ghosting when objects move. Video targets large displays (30″+ ideal).

Due to tolerances in manufacturing, it is nearly impossible to get two of these cameras to align perfectly, resulting in the need for rotational geometry correction in post, which may also account for further image degradation (in addition to the low light noise, that is).

Music: Mendelssohn String Quartet No. 6, excerpt from first movement (thanks, Quartetto Sugoi!)

Custom BS Kinetics carbon fiber underwater 3D housing with Sony camcorders

A few days ago, I took delivery of a BS Kinetics DuoDive housing, which is designed to house 2 consumer camcorders for use in capturing underwater 3D video. The housing is a carbon fiber + epoxy oval (as opposed to being a rigid cylinder or machined aluminum housing, which is more typical), and features a flat port, red/orange filter, hinged port cap, and rear LCD that toggles between left and right camera display.

The housing is designed to be generic, which means that a variety of cameras can be mounted inside. I’ve decided to use two Sony CX550V AVCHD camcorders with Sony 0.75X wide-angle adapters (removable). Although the CX550V shoots AVCHD (bleh) at 1080i (double bleh), it has a wide lens (~29mm equivalent) and is easily controlled through LANC. (read more »)

There is no good way to hold two cameras attached to each other, so I had to come up with another way. Here are some photos of two Sony CX550V camcorders set up for 3D stereoscopic imaging, mounted on Really Right Stuff hardware and an Opteka X-Grip. (read more »)

Two Sony CX550V camcorders with wide-angle lenses attached

I was on my way to bed tonight when I decided to do some 3D experiments using my dual Sony CX550V camcorder setup (which I am putting into an underwater housing soon). The two camcorders are mounted on plates and rails from Really Right Stuff, and both also have Sony 0.75x wide-angle adapters attached to them. The stereo base (inter-ocular distance) is 67mm. (read more »)

Beng and Aey demonstrate their lightning-quick reflexes while eating shabu shabu in Bangkok, Thailand. July 12, 2010.

Here’s a short video from my visit to Bangkok, Thailand for the Thailand Travel & Dive Expo during July 8-11, 2010. Special thanks to Aey and Mean of Dive Supply and Digitalay, and to Khun Fah (TDEX organizer) for inviting me to speak! Also, thanks to Tony Wu for keeping me from getting lost in Thailand. :)

I’ve been cursing AVCHD ever since it started showing up in camcorders and still cameras that shoot video. I don’t really understand why it exists. Although its file and folder specification claims to be compatible with Blu-ray, it doesn’t seem likely that the majority of casual video shooters will choose to archive video content from cameras directly onto Blu-ray discs, and AVCHD’s awkward multiple-folder storage structure makes it extremely difficult to work with in video editing workflows.

Some cameras save video directly to MP4 files or have the option to do so (everyone video person I know loves this). But on many cameras (e.g. Sony Cybershot TX7) the highest-quality video format is AVCHD-only. Frustrating! (read more »)

A short from the St. Lawrence String Quartet’s 2010 Summer Chamber Music Seminar at Stanford University. I only shot a little video during the 10-day seminar because I was focused on shooting stills, but I had enough to mash it together into this little piece.

The Sony HVR-Z1U is a professional Sony camcorder that records in 1080i HDV in both NTSC and PAL (50i/60i/30F/25F). It uses three 1/3″ 16:9 Super HAD CCD imagers for great performance in low light, and features a 12X optical zoom Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens.

Great condition, and working perfectly. Glass is perfect. Also includes extra batteries, extra battery chargers, a high-quality Kata multi case, and 5 Sony HDV tapes.

$2,350 + $60 insured shipping anywhere in the continental USA. Contact me if you’re interested. (read more »)

Dual GoPro Hero HD cameras for 3D shooting, mounted on an RC10

My buddy Don was up here to help with my Maker Faire underwater photography show last month, and we ended up taking a day to hack two GoPro Hero HD cameras onto my remote controlled car for 3D video. (read more »)

Tony Wu is completely covered in anthias at Carl’s Ultimate

Photographer Tony Wu and I have just announced a January 2012 scuba diving / underwater photography expedition to the Eastern Fields of Papua New Guinea.

Instead of boring you with too many details here, I’ll point you to my trip report from last year’s trip and the official trip announcement over at Wetpixel.com.

Hope you can join us!

Here’s a short video shot in Lembeh Strait, Indonesia, with a Canon 7D in a Nauticam underwater housing with 60mm macro lens and INON Underwater Micro Semi-Fisheye Relay Lens UFL-MR130 EFS60 (AKA “bug eye” or “insect eye”) — effectively, and underwater endoscope.

The INON bug eye lens produces images with a perspective otherwise impossible to achieve — like seeing the macro world from a small critter’s perspective!

Here’s a shot of the rig I used:

It looks like an insecticon, no?

Special thanks to Tony Wu, David Cheung / Scubacam, and Kasawari resort, who hosted me during a special Lembeh night safari.

Adam Lau and I will be speaking at the San Diego Sierra Club’s Photo Section this coming June 17th at 7pm. The talk will last between 60-90 minutes, with 30 minutes allocated for Q&A. Adam will be talking about our time on campaign with Sea Shepherd in Antarctica, and I will be showing pretty underwater pictures. I’ll probably do the same talk I gave at TEDx (on sperm whales and flashlight fish), plus about 20 minutes on sharks.

The San Diego Sierra Club’s Photo Section website is here:
http://sandiego.sierraclub.org/photoclub/

Meeting Location:
Wesley Palms
2404 Loring Street
Pacific Beach 92109
(858) 581-8423