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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

The Gentleman's Underwater Bubble Blower Thread

Jon Shaw said:
Thanks Johnny, 10-17 at 17mm, I used a Magic Filter from Alex Mustard taped to the back of the lens. It was shot at 4k down scaled to 1080p. I was using a pair of Sola 4000's with the cyan filer to try and not blow the red channel too high. I have another lighter red gel which I will also try.
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i dont remember, but does the tokina have a slot to drop filters at the back end?
 
I conducted some tests recently between the Magic Filter and the old workhorse, the URPro. Since most of the lenses don't have a slot for a filter, I mounted the Magic Filter directly in front of the sensor, a square of it around the OLPF. I found that the Magic Filter produced good results in shallow water but its reds became sort of murky and brown from about 30 ft down. That is, compared to the URPro which kept yielding a much more accurate warm palette. I expected the opposite results given the more modern formulation of the Magic Filter, but the URPro kept its place in my bag. If you've watched the first short video I posted a while ago about my wife diving on the Spiegel Grove wreck here in the Florida Keys (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OucKV_oNig), you can see, even through the web compression, subtle shades of red, orange and yellow even all the way at 140 ft, and that is without lights. And that was thanks to the filter. I conducted a similar test with the Magic Filter on another wreck at "only" 100 ft, and there were basically no reds, as would be expected. The URPro formulation is spot on, and provided you have plenty of ambient light and are shooting no further than 15-20 ft from your subject, it will help reveal warm tones far deeper than the theory behind color filters would have you believe. Unfortunately, URPro's gel versions are nowhere near as good as Magic Filter's, so the only way to get those results is by using the glass version of the filter, which must be mounted to the front of the lens, not two ways about it.

Great little video Johnny, dynamic edit, rich images with deep colors, just the way I like them. Like you, there is almost no such thing as "too saturated" for me. So, you sent the poor Cuban to prod the great white while you filmed? :-)
 
Jon, Johnny, great stuff, congrats.

Great Hammerhead season in the Gulfstream is on us, tentatively planning a stock trip out to Bimini in the next few weeks or so to have a look-see.

Question for you guys, thinking of Bull shark sequences in the marina, they are always there, have seen them in packs tearing up fish bits tossed overboard by the yachties, they seem to have more, err, testosterone than most other shark species.

Any advice on how to capture Bull sequences reasonably safely? Cage recommended?
 
Tom, I have spent a lot of time shooting Bulls for a couple of different shows and they are tricky. I found using bait and a cage, even on a rebreather you struggle to get good footage. Cageless is the way but be careful, I have shot sequences in the Clarence river in Australia and it was murky with current and my heart was pumping. Night time is a great time too, but be very careful, they feed most actively at night, well here in oz they do anyway.Have a minder with a big stick and make sure you trust him. Fiji is a great place to get the stock stuff you may need pm me and I can send you some info if you need it. With no scientific base, but I also found the medium sized Bulls to be the most inquisitive and the ones to be most careful of. Btw make sure you are wearing all black, no pale shiny skin flashing around ;)
 
Hey Tom, pm me about your thoughts on the GH trip. I was looking at one mid Feb as well but have some other time commitments later in the month. Joe Romeiro has a nice vid currently linked on wetpixel (see below) would be great to get this on Epic(s) - especially monochrome...
Ron

http://wetpixel.com/i.php/full/the-great-hammerhead-by-joe-romeiro1/
 
Ron,
A curious question about monochrome...and not sure if you own one, but heard you mention it twice...and how it would be good to capture some images on it...but my question is for what market? Not meant to be an offensive question, but what market would purchase B&W footage? I can only think of artistic events & large screen, but at that, you loose so much quality with most large screen outdoor presentations since there are few that project at 4k....but maybe you are thinking of another market. I am trying imagine where a B&W market for stock video would be....
 
Anybody planning a trip to Bimini, let me know, I may be able to join. I've been waiting for good weather so I can cross the gulf on my boat so I can bring all the gear I need, don't really wanna flight.
 
Anytime before June. Gotta get this doc series with my wife finished. I'm tentatively going to northern Florida to film in the caves there sometime before the 15th of February, but I guess Bimini is game any time after that.
 
Johnny, After shooting stills for so many years and converting so many shots - mainly big animals - to B&W, I just think it makes the underwater world look so dramatic. I haven't found the same tools to convert RED footage to monochrome as what we can do with stills. The native ISO of 2000 and the lack of the need to de-bayer I think would make stunning images if not necessarily what someone looking for stock would be after. It's something I've thought about since the release of the monochrome sensor and I would consider renting before buying to confirm my thinking on this. It would certainly be a commitment on a shoot day without an easy way to swap cameras out on a boat for instance, but it could also be another way to cover the action with two - or more - Epic systems in the water. Just thinking about it more makes me want to give it a shot.
 
Bimini harbor bull sharks

Bimini harbor bull sharks

Tom Hamilton said:
Jon, Johnny, great stuff, congrats.

Great Hammerhead season in the Gulfstream is on us, tentatively planning a stock trip out to Bimini in the next few weeks or so to have a look-see.

Question for you guys, thinking of Bull shark sequences in the marina, they are always there, have seen them in packs tearing up fish bits tossed overboard by the yachties, they seem to have more, err, testosterone than most other shark species.

Any advice on how to capture Bull sequences reasonably safely? Cage recommended?
Click to expand...

Do it at night Tom, get the guys on the fishing boat to rain fish bits down on top of you, have some nice lights and try cage only with those animals. They are used to biting first and figuring things out later.

Greetings from Mouchoir Banks. Shooting the Humpback whale movie, back on 18th. Have the Nauticam Epic housing here, interesting design, no larger than a Z1 housing, takes v mounts or Redvolts, uses the side handle for control. My Aquavideo housing is working beautifully. I do love the manual controls. They work just fine.
 
Johnny and Rudi, Im up for a trip to Bimini! Please allow me to join you.
 
Ron Lagerlof said:
Hey Tom, pm me about your thoughts on the GH trip. I was looking at one mid Feb as well but have some other time commitments later in the month. Joe Romeiro has a nice vid currently linked on wetpixel (see below) would be great to get this on Epic(s) - especially monochrome...
Ron

http://wetpixel.com/i.php/full/the-great-hammerhead-by-joe-romeiro1/
Click to expand...

Hey Ron,

I may have a project requiring a couple of Monochrome Epics coming about August. Happy to on-sale or hire out the cameras or make any other arrangements if suitable. Let me know off-line.
 
Jon, Frazier, thanks for the comments, the Bulls are tricky, will definitely proceed with caution.

Ok, looks like we have a lot of interest in Bimini. I can get us a good discount at the Bimini Big Game club, and work with the local dive operator to get good rates for his boat. He also knows where to find the Hammerheads.

Got your PM Ron, reply sent. Anyone else who wants in, please PM me, let's try to co-ordinate a few days where all of us are available. Hammers, Tigers and Bulls, should be a kick :-)
 
Ron Lagerlof said:
Johnny, After shooting stills for so many years and converting so many shots - mainly big animals - to B&W, I just think it makes the underwater world look so dramatic. I haven't found the same tools to convert RED footage to monochrome as what we can do with stills. The native ISO of 2000 and the lack of the need to de-bayer I think would make stunning images if not necessarily what someone looking for stock would be after. It's something I've thought about since the release of the monochrome sensor and I would consider renting before buying to confirm my thinking on this. It would certainly be a commitment on a shoot day without an easy way to swap cameras out on a boat for instance, but it could also be another way to cover the action with two - or more - Epic systems in the water. Just thinking about it more makes me want to give it a shot.
Click to expand...

Ron, i think the monochrome makes beuatiful images....and yes in B&W they look stunning. I thinking how i could put such a camera to use, but in terms of making it a camera to work on docs or commercials when i got done asking a few producers and thinking how and where a camera would find commercial work, it just did not add up. I could not put to paper where a market would exist beyond the creative and artistic arena. But sure does not mean it's not possible. I like turning many color images to B&W taking out all of the saturation....not nearly a monochrome image, but sure looks nice.
Anyway, i'm sure there is a market there, but i just don't see it in docs and commercials at the moment. But history does always seem to repeat itself....4k B&W TV....now that could be interesting.
 
Johnny, Jim, Tom,

My plan is to bring my boat over to Bimini. As I need to bring my daughter with us, most likely the idea would be to send the baby girl with the grandma on the plane while my wife and I drive the boat over. Any of you are welcome to make the crossing with us, provided your gear fits and you can accommodate yourselves to our schedule, meaning, even if we agree on a date and time, and though I am religious about following schedules, if it so happens the seas get rough at the very last minute, which happens a LOT in the Atlantic, then I'm postponing my crossing until conditions improve, which can be in one hour or one day. I'm too old to be riding 7 footers on the gulfstream, f..k that really...

Other than that, once in Bimini, you're all welcome to dive off our boat, AGAIN, provided we can fit all the gear and people. The back of our 29 footer gets plenty crowded with two sets of gear and housings, so if you guys pack as "lightly" as we do, then chances are we won't all fit there. I'm also limited with time in terms of having to get back to shore no later than 4 hours after departure since our daughter has special needs we need to attend to, so again, diving with us may be too restrictive for you guys. I am open to trying to help you all any way we can, and I know that just being able to have a boat carry all your gear is indeed a BIG help, so at the very least, I can do for you guys. Other than that, I would love to spend some time together, dive together maybe, compare footage and the size of our dome ports, and worry not Johnny, have a few beers. Let's try and plan it!

On a different note, I just heard Aquarius found new funding on the eleventh hour and they have managed to stay in business under new management, so the dream is still alive!!! That is plain awesome!
 
Hey Rudi,

Me and Ron have made a tentative plan for Feb 14 to 18 in Bimini, if we wait much later than that, chances are the Hammerheads won't be there. Does that work for you? Johnny?
 
Rudi Herbert said:
Johnny, Jim, Tom,

My plan is to bring my boat over to Bimini. As I need to bring my daughter with us, most likely the idea would be to send the baby girl with the grandma on the plane while my wife and I drive the boat over. Any of you are welcome to make the crossing with us, provided your gear fits and you can accommodate yourselves to our schedule, meaning, even if we agree on a date and time, and though I am religious about following schedules, if it so happens the seas get rough at the very last minute, which happens a LOT in the Atlantic, then I'm postponing my crossing until conditions improve, which can be in one hour or one day. I'm too old to be riding 7 footers on the gulfstream, f..k that really...

Other than that, once in Bimini, you're all welcome to dive off our boat, AGAIN, provided we can fit all the gear and people. The back of our 29 footer gets plenty crowded with two sets of gear and housings, so if you guys pack as "lightly" as we do, then chances are we won't all fit there. I'm also limited with time in terms of having to get back to shore no later than 4 hours after departure since our daughter has special needs we need to attend to, so again, diving with us may be too restrictive for you guys. I am open to trying to help you all any way we can, and I know that just being able to have a boat carry all your gear is indeed a BIG help, so at the very least, I can do for you guys. Other than that, I would love to spend some time together, dive together maybe, compare footage and the size of our dome ports, and worry not Johnny, have a few beers. Let's try and plan it!

On a different note, I just heard Aquarius found new funding on the eleventh hour and they have managed to stay in business under new management, so the dream is still alive!!! That is plain awesome!
Click to expand...

....all goes w/out saying...in fact two sets of gear and people usually explodes a 30 foot boat....I get it. I'm TERRIBLE at packing for a dive/film event....no two ways about it....just about two of everything....That said, I've seen Bimini blow up and i have no intentions of defying mother nature....I've watched those breakers boom over the Jetty on West End Bahama. And nutters actually crossing and just barely making it into the harbor. Yep, those days are done since my late 20's..... :"smarter not harder"

I'm still in for May or later....
 
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