100 FT. Viz in Key West

Hello from Key West, went out fri. to shoot some u/w footage for Florida Keys CC w/the Panasonic HVX 200. We did some test shots for color balance. It was a 100 ft viz day!

GO DIVE!

Not much wild life but we saw a nurse shark, beautiful scorpion fish, spotted eel, bunch of divers stirring it up…
It was fun and felt good to get wet. I got the shots

Hello from the S. Most cameraflyer. this news story going around of the eagle ray is misleading. They are showing STING RAYS over and over. What, they don’t have any eagle ray footage? Want some?

SMC

Philosophy of “Do No Harm” Sets Tone for Underwater Protocol

Read the interview with Paul Dymon, of Paul Dymon films, inc reveals his company’s capability and technical advantage producing underwater imagery in the era of higher resolutions.

Las Vegas, Nevada – March 19, 2008

Paul Dymon films, inc. is a high definition production company with underwater camera specialty. The entity established in 1999 was recently retooled

Hello to all,

It has finally cleared up way down here in Key West. The cold winds stopped blowing and the sun is shinning! I know you desert types are feeling sorry for me, LOL.

Another day in Paradise! Go Dive!

Upcoming projects are on hold ’til the wind’s affect on ocean visibility clears. Visibility is about 45 feet but worst in areas of high current. It’s fine for scuba diving, you won’t have any regrets going down with Captian’s Corner Dive Shop. Their awesome dive boat The Eagle was featured in a James Bond film, License to Kill but the camera, especially HD, sees all the impurities born of the rough surface conditions and tends to exaggerate.

In the next few weeks (weather determined) I’ll be traveling to Key Largo to dive with Captain Jeff and the H.M.S. Minnow. Can’t wait to report on that.  Here’s a frame of Paul I shot last year on the Minnow.  Why is he so happy?  Can you say, “SCUBA”?  And we were heading out of the harbor.

Joe

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Do you Flog?? You’re here so either you Flog or you are being Flogged. Whatever, you can use this code for $6.00 credit in our store. Download some HD clips for iTunes, grab the oceanic screen saver series, get the featured DVD at a great price. You can even combine other promotions. Because I’m too lazy there shall be No Restrictions.

FL399.792WW

Here’s the catch… (did you really think it was that easy?) You should feel compelled by our mindless generosity to tell a few friends about us and our non-profit causes. Why? Would you hand them six bucks for the heck of it? No? Tell ‘um about the discount… it’s the next best thing. If you comment on an article - bonus!

Jump to hd2o.tv

Support us so we can afford a better studio.

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In the last part (also the first part) In the first and last part I mentioned stopping junk mail. Not only does it save paper, think about the energy savings of the US Postal Service. Processing junk mail takes man hours and fuel, and we all know how fast they move because we named it “snail mail”.

41pounds.org charges $40 to stop junk mail for five years.

greendimes.com sharges $20 and claims to stop about 90%.

Non-profit groups can reuse many items you would be temped to just toss out. SafeNest and Catholic Charities will take furniture and appliances for needy families. Other groups can swap the stuff for cash or more appropriate items they need. And you take the tax credit. Just get a receipt cause I don’t want to hear you crying when the tax man comes for giving up some $200.00 jeans. That’s what you paid new? Too bad, sorry to hear it.

Appliances are a drag when they break down. If you drag it to the street chances are your community will pick it up and it’s out of your hair. Unfortunately for Mother Earth that steal heap is headed for a landfill. Older refrigerators contain freon that will eventually leak. Why not look for company that extracts and resells the steal. You know they will be regulated to handle the freon removal as part of their business.

So that it! That’s my take on recycling. Do what you can feel good about, a lot or a little, everything helps. I don’t know the reality on Global Warming. I do know the cleaner the planet the healthier we are. Clean is good. Right? Like the beautiful waters of the Florida Keys. Want a closer look? Click the image for the full res view. Wanna get even closer? We’ll take you inside! Literally. Buy our DVD today.

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One amazing day at Island Dolphin Care…

A decommissioned Air Force ship, that once tracked Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space launches off Florida, is being prepared in a Virginia shipyard to become a new habitat for marine life and an attraction for recreational divers in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Information on diving the Vandenberg.

This link yoursafetymatters.org/ covers related issued sinking a ship.

This link www.thespacereview.com/ covers the ship’s role with NASA.

Retired in 1983, the 524-foot-long General Hoyt S. Vandenberg floated for 24 years among ships in the U.S. Maritime Administration’s James River Naval Reserve Fleet at Fort Eustis, Va. It saw cinema duty as a Russian science ship in “Virus,” a 1999 release starring Jamie Lee Curtis, William Baldwin and Donald Sutherland.

The almost $6 million ship-to-reef project is scheduled to culminate in the late spring of 2008, with the vessel’s intentional sinking in 140 feet of water, about six miles south of Key West.

Prior to sinking, workers must rid of the vessel of all environmental hazards. That means removing paint, stripping out almost 800,000 feet wiring loaded with toxic PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls) used in insulation before being banned and off-loading any remaining waste petroleum products.

More than 50,000 man-hours of work will be necessary, but the end result, project officials say, will be a diversified shipwreck that should appeal to divers of all skill levels.

“We came up with the Vandenberg from a list of about 400 ships, because the Vandenberg seems to offer a little bit to everybody,” said Joe Weatherby of Reefmakers, the company coordinating the project. “There’s going to be 10 or 11 places along the entire length of the ship that will come up to within about 40 feet of the surface. That’s a lot more area for a rookie (diver) to explore.”

Most of the funding for the project is coming from Florida Keys government sources, including the region’s tourism council. MARAD is contributing $1.25 million to the effort.

“We have a huge set of ships from World War II and beyond that are now destined for scrap,” said James Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, who examined the project in early October. “By taking ships like the Vandenberg and instead (turn) them into an artificial reef, we create a new conservation opportunity for marine wildlife and also generate economic activity.”

Project officials say the Vandenberg reef should generate $8 million annually in tourism-related sales after it is sunk and point out environmental benefits, especially alleviating recreational diving pressure on natural coral reefs.

The addition of the Vandenberg is to anchor the lower end of a dive experience that area dive shop owners are calling the Florida Keys Wreck Trek. At the top, off Key Largo, is the former U.S. Navy Landing Ship Dock Spiegel Grove, another ship that was “mothballed” at James River.

“It’s the final piece in the wreck trek puzzle,” said Bob Holston, president of the Keys Association of Dive Operators. “We’ll have wrecks of every size and age from … ancient galleons to freighters and military ships.

The Vandenberg began its nautical life in 1943 under a different name, the Gen. Harry S. Taylor, as a troop transport ship.

After participating in World War II, the Hungarian Revolution and the Cold War, it was overhauled to become a sophisticated missile-tracking vessel in the Atlantic. When christened for that assignment in 1963, it became the Vandenberg, named after the former Air Force general and director of the Central Intelligence Group, predecessor to today’s Central Intelligence Agency.

For “Virus,” the ship was repainted and stenciled with Russian lettering. Much of the lettering remains, but the ship is now being primped for a different purpose.

“You ask yourself, is she rusty?” Weatherby said. “Yeah, she’s rusty, but where’s she going, she’s fixing to get rustier and the fish are going to love it.”

Should be a boon for HD2O services!

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It’s not that hard. There is no excuse.

With the exception of a few, we all want to do our part to help the environmental movement. Not everyone has the same level of commitment or concern, and that’s okay. Participation in any worthy cause will lead to greater involvement. It just takes time to form the good habit. Let’s face facts: It’s no day at the park to cull out salvageable materials, but recycling shouldn’t be a big deal considering the result - it will leave a better place for future generations. No where is the impact of recycling (good and bad) felt MORE directly than our Oceans and coral reefs.

1. To emulate Shakespeare’s words about the rose; Junk is junk, is junk. But it doesn’t start as junk. Your JUNK MAIL begins its long, nasty, dirty journey to the landfill along with 100-Million trees, sacrificed for promotional materials. STOP JUNK MAIL altogether! Several web sites act as “anti-clearinghouses”. They contact solicitors on your behalf and ask to cease and desist. Put the post office out of business. I will post a few web links in part 2 for one click service to stop your junk mail.

2. What is/ isn’t recyclable? This is the big question for most of us. Styrofoam coffee cups: some styrofoam types are while the twizzler sticks are not. Plastic milk containers are while the plastic cap is not. Wax-paper juice containers are not recyclable, but so many people put them in that the cost of reprocessing goes up. HELP! This is getting silly and confusing so let’s recycle the basics first. If you want to do more contact your local community’s program.

Start with the big three. PLASTICS are petrolium based products and with crude oil reaching $90. per barrel… do the math. PAPER is energy-intensive to produce from trees. Basically reducing the tree to sawdust to begin. How sad a fate when each ton of recycled paper saves enough energy to power a three bedroom home for three months. ALUMINUM from recycled material takes 95% less energy. Again, 95% less. If that isn’t reason enough to recycle your can off, the mining of new bauxite is expensive, dangerous to rivers, and degrades the land. The very manly exercise of crushing soda and beer cans with a slight twist uses 1/3 the space at home and inside the collection truck resulting in less fuel overall.

3. USE LESS STUFF (in the first place). This is the real secret to a self-sustainable society. Start with the easiest; grocery bags. Bring your own cloth bags to the store. Plastic store bags should be banned from seacoast communities. Do you really NEED a bag for that pack of gum? Carelessly handled bags fill with water and set adrift could be mistaken for food causing a horrible death to an unsuspecting animal. That cannot be fair.

The ‘very classy‘ human being in all of us wants to be ‘exceptionally hip’. Start your personal hippness by bringing your own grocery bags to the store. Believe me, you will stand out and you will be respected for doing it. My wife gets a nickel for each bag. People grasp the concept. How many times have I heard myself say, “I could do more, and perhaps one day I shall.” Today I did do more.  I wrote this article!

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Just checking in to say hello from Key West. Just got back in from the water and everything is beautiful. Calm, 76 water temp, 70 ft viz, 79 air temp. Saw a nice moray and turtle. Have a Great Day!Joe

Welcome Joe Berg to the Flog.  Time to bring him in to track this year’s HD schedule for us.  We dove together in 2007 and shot Key Largo, this year is Key West.  Not only is Joe an experienced diver and underwater cameraflyer, he’s a real nice guy too.  We are a good team because he brings so much for both skills. He has been shooting underwater for years and we have his best of shark moments posted.  Highly recommended viewing…  SHARK! and hours of sea creatures.
Joe is genuinely excited to help RE-shoot the Keys; this time in HD. He can apply scuba and camera skills as he executes the dive plan and all movement in the water behind the camera.  We’ll have our first shot at the season soon, weather permitting.

Joe is married and although I have not meet her in person we have the internet, for now, as she was traveling internationally last summer.

Welcome aboard!

Anchovies, or Sardines, or Minnows Oh My! Our trusted friend Captain Jeff Jarvis told of a magical place where the bate fish were so thick he could not see through them. We had to see that for ourselves in HD. If you look close you will see a Barracuda (their worst nightmare) hanging in the current; upper right corner. Take a wild guess at how many fish are in this one minute clip, go ahead - guess; who could prove you wrong??? Enjoy