Bunaken Island - North Sulawesi, Indonesia

[Coffee93]

Very nice photos! I wanna more pics

 

[M_55G]

Very nice pics. i also want more lol. thanks for sharing

 

[scotter]

Mike,

Great pictures! I've been eyeing Cha Cha on Bunaken for some time, so seeing your pictures is a real treat! Was the food any good? How was the reef right in front of the resort - where they have the floating snorkeling platform?

Regarding your color hues: they're easy to fix (even in jpeg). If you have a Mac, you can edit the pictures in iPhoto (comes with a Mac) or Adobe Photoshop. If you have a PC, Adobe Photoshop is the classic tool - although there are many programs that allow you to take and add colors. Ideally, you want a program with a color wheel and one that gives you the option to reset your white balance. I know, this probably sounds like a foreign language, but it is actually easy. Just email me your questions when you (or if) you get the program.

Another thing you can do is get a red filter to put on the outside lens of your camera. It will make your pictures (as viewed through the camera's screen) appear red, BUT, when you actually see the pictures on the computer, they'll be great and color balanced (without having to use software post-picture to auto correct).

Can you elaborate a bit on the coral spawning conference? It sounds interesting. Was this a business trip (government or non-profit) or just a hobby trip?

Cheers,
Scott

 

[AndoCleophus]

Mike,

great photos, I browsed through and didn't notice the camera you were using. Can you provide some details to your camera setup. Would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[ousnakebyte]

Mike,

Great pictures! I've been eyeing Cha Cha on Bunaken for some time, so seeing your pictures is a real treat! Was the food any good? How was the reef right in front of the resort - where they have the floating snorkeling platform?

Regarding your color hues: they're easy to fix (even in jpeg). If you have a Mac, you can edit the pictures in iPhoto (comes with a Mac) or Adobe Photoshop. If you have a PC, Adobe Photoshop is the classic tool - although there are many programs that allow you to take and add colors. Ideally, you want a program with a color wheel and one that gives you the option to reset your white balance. I know, this probably sounds like a foreign language, but it is actually easy. Just email me your questions when you (or if) you get the program.

Another thing you can do is get a red filter to put on the outside lens of your camera. It will make your pictures (as viewed through the camera's screen) appear red, BUT, when you actually see the pictures on the computer, they'll be great and color balanced (without having to use software post-picture to auto correct).

Can you elaborate a bit on the coral spawning conference? It sounds interesting. Was this a business trip (government or non-profit) or just a hobby trip?

Cheers,
Scott

Scott - I absolutely loved Cha Cha. The food was excellent (fresh fish if they could catch it that day), the staff was VERY kind and accommodating - I will recommend them to anyone, anytime. Snorkeling from the "House Reef" was absolutely fabulous (some of my photos are from there), and you could just walk out there (I don't recall a platform). I was snorkeling when I wasn't diving or eating... :spin2:

I have a Mac with photoshop, but I'm very new to it. I have a friend who is supposed to show me a few pointers.

Re the coral spawning workshop. It was a business/work trip for me; it took place in Singapore with NUS students. I was one of the workshop organizers, and we were basically sharing techniques we use to capture coral egg/sperm bundles and rear the larvae to settlement phase. We were targeting acroporids and a few favids, but on the "big spawn night" we managed to capture a whole potpourri of fertilized eggs...

I have photos of that portion of the trip too, but I have not yet uploaded them.

Mike,

great photos, I browsed through and didn't notice the camera you were using. Can you provide some details to your camera setup. Would be appreciated.

Thanks

Sure - I was using a Fujifilm F200 with a Fantasea external strobe. But, this was my maiden voyage with this setup, so it was very new to me.

I want that whole Nikon D300s (or greater) with housing, strobes, etc., but I just don't have the cool 3-4 grand to shovel out right now...

I have more photos to post and will soon.

Cheers
Mike

 

[scotter]

Very cool.

Very cool.

Mike,

Thanks for the info; I appreciate it. Bunaken and/or Misool are on the definite to-do list. FYI: Michele and Howard Hall are doing a dive trip (they filmed Coral Reef Adventure and Under the Sea 3D) to Raja Ampat this coming January. If I had 3 weeks off I'd jump at the chance to dive with them.

As you have a Mac, your downloaded photos will (unless you designate otherwise) download into iPhoto. It's much easier to learn than Photoshop (the program being intuitive). You'll be able to change the white balance as well as the purple/yellow/green/red spectrum hues on 2 sliding scales. I hope someday that iPhoto catches up to iMovie's color wheel, but we shall see . . .

I'm pasting a short clip I made that will show you the difference a red filter makes on your camera lens. It makes a huge difference if you're doing panoramic shots. Up close, macro shots, just need lights and a steady hand.

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/knkXJ5cjTxs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Your job Mike is a dream job. Are you able to create some unique hybrids?

Regards,
Scott

 

[Crustman]

Great invert photos; I'm fond of the crustacea also.

 

[ousnakebyte]

Mike,

Thanks for the info; I appreciate it. Bunaken and/or Misool are on the definite to-do list. FYI: Michele and Howard Hall are doing a dive trip (they filmed Coral Reef Adventure and Under the Sea 3D) to Raja Ampat this coming January. If I had 3 weeks off I'd jump at the chance to dive with them.

As you have a Mac, your downloaded photos will (unless you designate otherwise) download into iPhoto. It's much easier to learn than Photoshop (the program being intuitive). You'll be able to change the white balance as well as the purple/yellow/green/red spectrum hues on 2 sliding scales. I hope someday that iPhoto catches up to iMovie's color wheel, but we shall see . . .

I'm pasting a short clip I made that will show you the difference a red filter makes on your camera lens. It makes a huge difference if you're doing panoramic shots. Up close, macro shots, just need lights and a steady hand.

Your job Mike is a dream job. Are you able to create some unique hybrids?

Regards,
Scott

Thanks for the tips. I watched the video twice and would like to try out a red filter now. I just need to see how it would fit with my current setup - I would like to use a fish-eye lens for wider angle shots (this is new, never used it yet).

Raja Ampat is currently my number one diving destination right now - apex of marine diversity after all. It would be more than a little awesome to dive with the Howards - I own Coral Reef Adventure!


Re the creating hybrids - it's funny you mention that. As we all know, in the Caribbean A. palmata and A. cervicornis will fuse to create A. prolifera. Last year, we were working with A. millepora and A. hyacinthus, and looking very similar, I wanted to see if they would hybridize. Sadly, fertilization was unsuccessful. But, it was just a small amount of egg and sperm, so it would be fun to try it again.

I have more photos from Sulawesi to upload, and I have not even started the coral spawning workshop. But, for a teaser, here is a shot under the microscope from the big spawn night last year. This was just surface slick collected, so it's a potpourri of various larvae in different states of cell division.



Cheers
Mike

 

[ousnakebyte]

Okay, I have a few more uploaded...

I guess BTAs don't always have bulb tips in the wild either...

Cheers
Mike

 

[ousnakebyte]

Can someone tell me the name of this fish...?? Acanthurus plasticus? - yes, it went back to the boat with me...

Another Nudi!

Cheers
Mike

 

[ousnakebyte]

With flash:

Without flash:

I thought this was so cool. This table had fallen over, and look how the coral is now growing and plating out, in an almost 'L' formation.

A look at our place where we were staying:

Cheers
Mike

 

[Patwa]

gorgeous shot.....love silhouette shots, 'specially dive ones

 

[hul kogan]

Eyegasm!

Looks like an amazing trip! Just wow. Nice choice on the Atomic frameless, I love mine. Did you all take your gear with you? What was the water temp?

I know you're not a fish guy, but I'd love to get over to the Lembeh Strait to see some Banggai in their natural habitat.