News
NUPG March 2019 Monthly Meeting Report
A wet windy night did not deter people arriving to be entertained by Jason Gregory this month and his very informative presentation on the planning behind his shot of a Phosphorescent sea pen (Pennatula phosphorea) for the BSoUP Splash-In 2017 competition. He succeeded in getting a well-deserved runner-up spot out of 40 images in the “close-up” and also received the BSoUP trophy for Restricted Category with this super shot.
For those that do not know, this type of “Splash-In” competition differs from many other photography competitions in that the picture has to be taken on the day and often there is only minimal cropping and overall adjustments able to be made on the image (if any at all). This adds extra dimensions and complexity. Everyone is in the same “boat” having to take a photo in British Isles waters on the same day, fingers crossed the weather is kind, or again that can be partly mitigated for, can it not? as Jason informed us?
Like many of us in the past Jason has just gone for a “bimble” type dive on the day with the only planning being where he was going diving but Paul Colley had inspired him with his attention to detail and planning with his images so he decided this time to “Plan the Shot”.
He told us how he decided on his subject, it had to be available on the day, sessile, partly translucent, the right colours and form for what he wanted to achieve with back lighting. He was not the first to try this type of lighting for underwater imaging but he wanted something a bit different and the phosphorescent makeup and translucence of the Phosphorescent Sea-Pen fitted his purpose.
He discussed the reasoning behind the lens he decided to use and then it was time to try it out. He made a model of a sea-pen which was quite ingenious, tent pegs and plastic being re-used in a very clever way! Then it was off to Capernwray for some trials to get his distance and focus points sorted and how and if the lighting arrangement would work. People must have thought him mad as he wandered off to the silty depths of the quarry with his “Sea-pen”.
The talk discussed and showed his camera set-ups and how his initial thoughts of remote strobe positioning and using portrait mode will not work in the soft silky, silty muddy environment where the phosphorescent sea-pen lives. He could not afford to have any silt stirred up or else there would be too much back scatter. He normally dives alone and the talk discussed the pros and cons of this.
A couple of months before the competition he was off for a couple of recces of dive sites, he dives a lot in the Scottish Lochs loving the many unusual and wonderful underwater creatures that can be found there. He needed the sea-pen to be at the correct depth so he could re-dive and spend time there and also the pen had to be the right colour and size. He tweaked his final set-up and discussed his very cheap “snooting” technique which was ideal for the type of shot he wanted.
The result was that on the day of the competition he was able to get the shot he wanted on his second dive of the day. Then it was just down to the judges, something that he had no control of other than knowing what type of shots they may like. He discussed the final output strobe power, positioning and camera settings he finally used.
A great friendly presentation with loads of advice thrown in and questions and answers throughout. I for one now know that insulating tape is not only for tool kits!
Our monthly competition theme was “Monochrome”. There were not so many entries as last month but still a good number. Remember if you are a member of the NUPG you can still put in an entry even if you cannot make the meeting. Also please, please can we have more compact entries? Following the results every image was discussed and why or why not some images were chosen by those present. We had a tie for 3rd place and a vote-off for the winner – John Spencer scored a double with his image of a 2nd place image of a jellyfish being narrowly beaten to 1st place by his image of an octopus! Well done John. Paul Ansell and Maggie Russell were joint third with their images of a raggy toothed shark from Australian waters and a sea fan with diver taken off of Kri Island, Raja Ampat, Indonesia respectively. Alex Tasker got an honorable mention with the only compact shot of the night with a delightful shot of seals.
Congratulations to all our winners and thank you to everyone who entered, once again there were some great images.
Our next NUPG meeting which is being held on the 2nd Monday of the month as usual, will be on the 8th April when Dr. Gavan Cooke a multi-discipline biologist with specialisations in cephalopod biology will be talking to us about Cephalopods (we suspect!). Further details of this talk and next month’s competition theme “Cephalopods” as well as details of our splash-in and print competition in July 2019 will be found on our website http://www.nupg.org.uk shortly. Please come along and join us. Everyone welcome.
For more information about the NUPG please click here.
The Ocean Cleanup, the global non-profit project, has removed a verified all-time total of ten million kilograms (22 million lbs.) of trash from oceans and rivers around the world – approximately the same weight as the Eiffel Tower.
To complete its mission of ridding the oceans of plastic, The Ocean Cleanup uses a dual strategy: cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) to remove the plastic already afloat in the oceans, while stopping the flow of plastic from the world’s most polluting rivers.
Through cleaning operations in the GPGP and in rivers in eight countries, the cumulative total of trash removed has now surpassed ten million kilograms. This milestone demonstrates the acceleration of The Ocean Cleanup’s impact, while underlining the astonishing scale of the plastic pollution problem and the need for continued support and action.
While encouraging for the mission, this milestone is only a staging point: millions more tons of plastic still pollute our oceans and The Ocean Cleanup intends to continue learning, improving and innovating to solve this global catastrophe.
This announcement comes as governments from around the world meet to continue negotiations to develop a new legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution at INC4 in Ottawa, Canada. Representatives of The Ocean Cleanup will be in attendance and the organization will be urging decision-makers to collaborate towards a comprehensive and ambitious global treaty which addresses plastic at all stages of its life cycle and in all marine environments worldwide, including in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
It is encouraging to see that the need for remediation is reflected in the various options for potential treaty provisions. It is essential that the final treaty contains clear targets for the remediation of legacy plastic pollution, and reduction of riverine plastic emissions.
Tackling plastic pollution requires innovative and impactful solutions. The treaty should therefore incentivize the innovation ecosystem by fostering innovations that make maximal use of data, technology and scientific knowledge – such as those designed and deployed by The Ocean Cleanup.
‘After many tough years of trial and error, it’s amazing to see our work is starting to pay off – and I am proud of the team who has brought us to this point.’ said Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup. ‘While we still have a long way to go, our recent successes fill us with renewed confidence that the oceans can be cleaned.’
The Ocean Cleanup was founded in 2013 and captured its first plastic in 2019, with the first confirmed catch in the GPGP coming soon after the deployment of Interceptor 001 in Jakarta, Indonesia. After surpassing one million kilograms of trash removed in early 2022, the non-profit project has since progressed to the third iteration of its GPGP cleaning solution, known as System 03, and a network of Interceptors currently covering rivers in eight countries, with more deployments set for 2024.
About The Ocean Cleanup
The Ocean Cleanup is an international non-profit organization that develops and scales technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. They aim to achieve this goal through a dual strategy: stemming the inflow via rivers and cleaning up the legacy plastic that has already accumulated in the ocean. For the latter, The Ocean Cleanup develops large-scale systems to efficiently concentrate the plastic for periodic removal. This plastic is tracked and traced through DNV’s chain of custody model to certify claims of origin when recycling it into new products. To curb the tide via rivers, The Ocean Cleanup has developed Interceptor™ solutions to halt and extract riverine plastic before it reaches the ocean. Founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup now employs a broadly multi-disciplined team of approximately 140. The foundation is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
For more information, visit: theoceancleanup.com and follow @theoceancleanup on social media.
Marine Life & Conservation
Steve Backshall to headline Shark Trust’s flagship event: For the Love of Sharks
Join a host of amazing, shark loving, speakers including Steve Backshall and the Shark Trust team for an evening celebrating shark conservation at the Royal Geographical Society in London this November.
Date: 29th November 2024
Time: 6-10pm
Location: Royal Geographical Society, London
Tickets: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
The event will be a celebration of all things shark. Those lucky enough to get hold of tickets will hear from engaging guest speakers with a passion for sharks.
The line-up includes (*subject to change if unforeseen circumstances arise)
Steve Backshall: One of television’s busiest presenters, BAFTA award-winning wildlife expert Steve has been passionate about the wild world ever since he was young.
Steve’s impressive TV career has taken him all around the world, investigating a wide array of species and environments. Steve has filmed over 100 hours of children’s wildlife programmes with the BAFTA award winning Deadly 60 franchise and recently, with Sky Nature, for his new series ‘Whale with Steve Backshall’. He has been a patron for the Shark Trust for 10 years.
Simon Rogerson: is a photojournalist specialising in natural history, diving and the sea.
He is editor of SCUBA magazine, the official journal of the British Sub-Aqua Club. Simon started his career as a crime reporter but gravitated towards his ‘less depressing’ interest in underwater exploration, joining the staff of DIVE magazine in 1999. In 2005 he was named ‘Editor of the Year’ in the PPA’s Independent Publishing Awards. Simon also works as a freelance writer, contributing frequently to the Sunday Times and Telegraph, in addition to BBC Wildlife, Esquire, and a host of international diving magazines. He is the author of a book, Dive Red Sea, published by Ultimate Sports. Now based in Berkshire, Simon has been a Patron of the Shark Trust for 20 years.
More speakers to be announced soon. Head to the Shark Trust website to learn more.
The evening will also allow guests the final chance to see the Oceanic 31, shark art exhibition. Some of the artwork will be auctioned/raffled at the event, while the rest will be auctioned online to raise money for the Shark Trust Oceanic Programme.
For the Love of Sharks is an evening with something for everyone who is interested and fascinated by sharks. Join the Shark Trust, their Patrons, Trustees and Staff, along with a host of supporters for this celebration of shark conservation.
For more information or to buy a ticket: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
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