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Selective Color in Underwater Photography

Coralscape, by John A. Ares
Photo 1 “After.” Coralscape, by John A. Ares. Selective color has been applied in postproduction. (See Photo 3 for the original image.)

Selective color is a multi-step procedure in postproduction of images, allowing certain colors to be highlighted while removing color in the rest of the image. Underwater photographer John A. Ares gives us a step-by-step look at how one can use this unique effect to transform underwater images into artistic creations.

XDeep, NX700 regulator, Rosemary E Lunn, Roz Lunn, XRay Mag, X-Ray Magazine, scuba diving news, scuba diving equipment
XDeep issued a product recall on the NX700 on 7 January 2022

XDEEP issues Recall Notice on NX700 Regulators

The manufacturer issued the following statement via social media.

"Our NX700 regulators are made for us in Italy, by a renowned manufacturer with many years of experience in this type of product. Before market launch, we have extensively tested them during many months of rigorous tests in extremely demanding conditions.

Unfortunately, during routine periodical maintenance servicing of some NX700 1st stages, in singular cases, we have detected some traces above-standard signs of the wear of the membrane.

Mayotte: Under the Baobabs

Soft corals on drop-off at Passe aux Bateau, Mayotte
Soft corals on drop-off at Passe aux Bateau, Mayotte. Photo by Pierre Constant

The oldest of the four large Comoros Islands, Mayotte is 295km west of Madagascar and 67km southeast of Anjouan. An overseas territory of France, it is surrounded by an elliptical barrier reef, 160km long, encircling a lagoon 5km to 10km wide, with a maximum depth of 80m, a dozen passes and dotted with a hundred coral islets.

Diveheart Malaysia Ambassador Syed Abd Rahman presents at World Expo Dubai
Diveheart Malaysia Ambassador Syed Abd Rahman presented adaptive diving and new ecotourism at the World Expo in Dubai.

Malaysia's adaptive diving and new ecotourism destinations presented at World Expo

In a collaboration between Malaysia Tourism and adaptive dive training organization Diveheart, Syed Abd Rahman, Diveheart Malaysia ambassador and advisor for the National Dive Council of Malaysia, presented the Diveheart adaptive diving programs in Malaysia, which features accessible tourism at Malaysia’s beautiful dive destinations.

The Diver Who Fell from the Sky

When his country needed him most, Palauan Francis Toribiong came along and helped the Pacific island nation find its place in the world and become an independent, forward-looking 20th-century state. And he achieved this, improbably, via the sport of scuba diving. This is the inspiring tale of an absolutely unique life, written by Simon Pridmore and illustrated with images of the beautiful islands of Palau, above and below the water.

Rico Besserdich Portfolio

No. 2, photo by Rico Besserdich
No. 2, photo by Rico Besserdich

Rico Besserdich is a widely published German artist, lecturer, photography instructor, writer, adjudicator and professional underwater photographer living in Turkey. His work has appeared in over 300 magazine and book publications around the world and has been translated into nine different languages.

The Barracuda Dive

Readers of my Scuba books often say how useful they find the stories I tell to illustrate key messages. The stories are all true. I wish I could say I made them up, but I am not that creative. Fortunately, life tends to be able to conjure up real situations that are far more instructive than those I could ever invent.

Maar Lakes of Germany's Volcanic Eifel Region

Maar lake in Volcanic Eifel, Germany. Photo by Claudia Weber-Gebert
Maar lake in Volcanic Eifel, Germany. Photo by Claudia Weber-Gebert

What is the origin of the unique lakes in the Volcanic Eifel region of Germany? In short, they were created from an explosion of water vapour when lava from a hot spot under the region met with groundwater thousands of years ago. The explosion created a round funnel, or crater, with earthen walls, which was later filled with rainwater. That is why the water is really clear and has rather good visibility.

Shadowfin soldierfish (Myripristis adusta)
Shadowfin soldierfish (Myripristis adusta). Growl and grunt sounds have been associated with soldierfish

The sound of coral reef recovery

Croaks, moans, purrs, growls, foghorns, whoops, grunts... these are just some of the many sounds that are heard coming from a healthy and diverse coral reef.

Researchers, who wanted to find out just how healthy restored reefs can be, focused on parts of reefs in Indonesia previously destroyed by blast fishing. The areas were restored through the Mars Coral Reef Restoration Project for years preceding the study.