NEWSLETTER OF THE SOUTH FLORIDA UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY SOCIETY www.sfups.org NEXT MEETING: May 2011 Tues. May 10, 2011 Meeting Schedule May 10 June 14 July 12 Aug 9 Sept 13 Oct 11 Nov 8 Dec TBA Holiday Party 7:30 PM at El Palacio © Rob Myers Sports Hotel 21485 N.W. 27th Ave, Miami, 33056 305-621-5801 Cover Shot Rob Myers Submit ”Cover Photo” lecia Adamson material to the Newsletter Editor What to do about the ionfish Suzan Meldonian, 561-394-6391 April Intra Club Contest Winners or e-mail: Tips N Tricks with Suzan Meldonian ,New Members [email protected] Info about the image Links to Photo Contests, Classifieds, is appreciated. DEADLINE IS THE 2011 Intra Club Contest Subjects 25th! All images in this newsletter are copyright protected and may not be used without written consent of the photographer. For information on how to contact the photographer contact the Newsletter Editor. May 2011 SFUPS BOARD President Alicia Adamson from Steve Jarocki REEF (954) 829-3955 presents: [email protected] Sharon Baron 305-775-7092 Vice President Phil Rudin (561) 315-4345 [email protected] Treasurer 954-829-3955 Patrice Marker (954) 577-7919 [email protected] Secretary Carol Schurtz (954) 746-5578 [email protected] Newsletter Editor Suzan Meldonian (561) 859-1797 [email protected] Membership Sharon Baron (305) 775-7092 [email protected] Internet/Web Site Susan Mears (954) 746-7453 [email protected] Directors at Large Rob Myers (954) 577-7919 [email protected] Kirk Kilfoyle (954) 495-6072 [email protected] Jim Mears (954) 746-7453 [email protected] 2 2 May 2011 About our Speaker About Alecia Adamson Originally from Southern Georgia, Alecia was awarded a state scholar- ship and chose to attend the University of Georgia earning a Bachelors of Science Biology in 2005. After graduation she joined REEF to partici- pate in the fall marine conservation internship and was soon converted to a fish geek for life. Upon completing the internship she joined the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute’s (FWRI) Marathon lab as a biologist and fisheries dependant monitoring (FDM) program coor- dinator. She continued working for FWRI on FDM projects up until she accepted a graduate research assistantship in fall of 2008 to work towards a Masters of Science degree in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences at the University of Florida (UF). While at UF, Alecia gained a broad range of experience through her involvement in lionfish, spiny lobster, and gag grouper ecological research, as well as coral reef and coastal water quality monitoring projects. She is currently finishing up her thesis research on hogfish in the Florida Keys and has been working full time as Field Operations and Outreach Coordinator for the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) since May 2010. At REEF Alecia focuses on lionfish outreach, control, and research projects which include planning and organizing lionfish derbies in Florida and the Bahamas. Additionally she is now the director of the marine conservation internship program at REEF and works with other staff members on the fish survey project; REEF’s cornerstone program which, through citizen science, enlists recreational divers to collect important fish species and abundance data. Alecia Adamson Field Operations and Outreach Coordinator Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) 98300 Overseas Hwy Key Largo, FL 33037 (305) 852-0030 (office) (305) 509- 1630 (cell) The Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF), a marine conservation non-for-profit organization, has been leading numerous lionfish outreach and control efforts and involved in a number of important lionfish research projects. Red Lionfish Pterois( volitans/miles) is an Indo-Pacific fish that has become established through coastal areas of the SE United States, as well as throughout the majority of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. Alecia Adamson will be giving a talk on the history of the lionfish invasion, lionfish biology and ecology, and the threats lionfish are posing to Atlantic fish and marine habitats. Addi- tionally she will discuss some of the results of research proj- ects REEF has been involved with that address lionfish life history and impacts on reef systems. Additionally Alecia will touch upon some of REEF’s suc- cessful lionfish education, outreach and control programs that REEF has implemented in the Bahamas, Florida, and in various areas of the Caribbean. 3 2011 FL Keys Lionfish Derby Prizes- PRIZES GIVEN TO TOP 3 TEAMS IN EACH CATEGORY: •MOST LIONFISH: $1,000 cash, $500 cash, $250 Divers Direct Gift Certificate •BIGGEST LIONFISH: $500 cash, $200 cash, $100 Divers Direct Gift Certificate •SMALLEST LIONFISH: $500 cash, $200 cash, $100 Divers Direct Gift Certificate Click here to Register 2011 INTRA-CLUB PHOTO CONTEST SUBJECTS M A S T E R S 2 0 1 1 C H A L L E N G E R S 2 0 1 1 MAY Upside Down - shot of an animal in an upside down Wide Angle Wrecks - Wide angle view of any position. Example: upside down jellyfish, filefish hov- wreck . ering with head pointed down, shrimp or crab hanging from the underside of a cave or ledge, etc. Please don’t just turn you photos over. JUNE Atlantic Lionfish - Any lionfish shot in Atlantic Your Best Tail Shot - Everyone has a butt shot, the waters. one that got away. JULY Creative Lighting - Think of using your strobes in Transparent - A subject you can see through. For a different way. Might try backlighting or side lighting example, a Tunicate, Juvenile fish, a clear Shrimp or jel- to create interesting shadow effect, snoots, etc. lyfish. AUGUST Shallow Depth of Field - Most interesting use Schools of limited depth of field to emphasize part of a subject. Only part of the subject (eyes, mouth, face, etc) in focus. This does not mean a sharp subject against a blurry background. Effect should be produced in camera, not in the computer. SEPTEMBER Shooting Down - Best composition using a high Frames - Best composition with a natural element or viewpoint. We normally shoot at eye level or looking manmade structure framing your subject at least three up. Try something different - for example, a wide sides. image looking down on a reef top, curves and patterns of the top of an eel. OCTOBER Little Devil - Evil looking critters, think Halloween. Shoot your Buddy - Wide Angle shot of another photographer doing his/her thing. Camera must be vis- ible. NOVEMBER BIG Fish Wide Angle - A wide angle shot includ- Sharks - Any kind, from wide angle to macro. ing a large fish as the primary subject. Large fish might include goliath groupers, stingrays, barracuda, etc. SFUPS May 2011 WELCOME NEW & RENEWED Members Robert Darmanin rejoined Samuel Hodge new member Michael Kaufman new member with Diveheart disabled divers Scott McDuff rejoined Tips ‘N Tricks Clean up your Images Ok the game plan here is to introduce you to some of the tools in Photoshop - when to use them- and how to use them Healing Brush tool: Best way to reduce particulate matter Clone Tool- How this tool works hand in hand with the Healing Brush Filter : Unsharp Mask- what’s the magic recipe?? Image Adjustments: Auto: Levels, Contrast, Color Curves, Color, Brightness/Contrast Hue/Saturation Selective Color 6 SFUPS May 2011 WINNERS of the INTRA CLUB CONTEST April Masters Out of the Darkness 1st Place: Susan Mears 2nd Place: Sharon Baron 3rd Place: Wayne MacWilliams 4th Place: Mike Schmale 5th Place: Suzan Meldonian 7 May 2011 SFUPS WINNERS of the INTRA CLUB CONTEST April CHALLENGERS: Green Flash 1st Place: Shen Collazo 2nd Place: Deb Devers 3rd Place: Bob Kaye 4th Place: Judy Townsend 5th Place: Wilfredo Hernandez 8 SFUPS May 2011 South Florida Underwater Photography Society Information courtesy of Club Member Michele Westmoreland. This trip and dive does not have any relation to South Florida Underwater Photography Society, email for member information only 9 FUTURE INTRA-CLUB CONTESTS 2011 PHOTO CONTEST RULES JANUARY M - Camouflage C - Live Shells Digital Files: FEBRUARY Realizing that some computer adjustments are necessary for digital files, we ask M - Wide Angle Open that only minor adjustments be made in the computer. Only minor cropping, color C - Triggernomics adjustments, backscatter removal and sharpening are allowed. No extreme computer manipulation, removing items or adding items to the image. MARCH • Images will be submitted prior to the meeting so that they can be compiled for easy M - Eggs viewing and judging. C - Spring Flowers • Image size should be no greater than 1024 pixels on the long side and the file size APRIL should be less than M - Out of Darkness 1.4 megabytes. Images should be submitted in JPEG format. C - Green Flash • Each image file name must include your name, month, category, and number. Use MAY “mastr” for Masters Category and “chall” for Challengers category. For example an image submitted by John Doe for the January Challengers contest would be named: M -Upside Down JDoe-JanChall-1.jpeg C -Wide Angle Wrecks • Entries must sent via email to Jim Mears at [email protected] by 12 noon on JUNE the Sunday before the meeting. M - Atlantic Lionfish C -Best Tail Shot Once an image has won in any category, it must be retired from further competitions. JULY M - Creative Lighting C -Transparent Jim will send you a confirming email to let you know he has received the file. Send to [email protected] AUGUST M -Shallow Depth/field If you can’t find your newsletter- you can always check on our website. www.sfups.org C -Schools For our new members, winning shots accumulate points throughout the year. Challeng- ers may compete in both Challengers and Masters categories. Only 2 entries per month -per person (except on the day contests).