X-Ray Mag #90
Features in this issue
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Aspect Ratios
ImagesRico Besserdich
The original image (top left) comes in a 3:2 aspect ratio. There is perhaps a bit too much negative space, one might say. A change of the aspect ratio to 4:3 (in postproduction, by cropping) decreases that negative space. Cropped to the lovely “old school” ratio, the 5:4 aspect ratio makes the image look a bit more classy, whilst the aspect ratios of 7:6, and lastly, 1:1, might be a bit too “tight.” Photos by Rico Besserdich.The aspect ratio of an image often has a noticeable effect on the visual impact and thus can be considered a powerful tool of image composition. Some aspect ratios might nowadays be considered common, some might be considered “old school,” and what may be common today could be old school tomorrow.
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Canary Island’s Tenerife: Where the Highest Mountain Meets the Deepest Sea
ImagesSergio HanquetSpain’s highest mountain lies off the continent of Africa and is surrounded by the deepest chasms of the Atlantic Ocean—what a unique place! And the islands where the mountain is located are just as special. We are talking about the Canary Islands, which lie in the Atlantic off the coast of Morocco.
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Diver Error Highlights the Lethality within the System
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Debriefing allows lessons to be learned—successes and failures. Photo by Gareth Lock.Diving is not without risk—there is always a chance of death. There is always a latent or potential lethality within the “system”—where system is defined as the equipment, people and the physical, social or cultural environment. We cannot make diving 100 percent safe despite what anyone tells you. We can make things safer, but we cannot make diving safe.
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Emergency Transmitters for Divers: What You Know Could Save Your Life
As a diver, how does one rescue oneself when in distress? Call rescue services? How do the different emergency frequencies work? Which one is the most efficient for divers?
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Japan's Kinki: Macro Mecca of Honshu
Magnificent Miamira (Miamira magnifica), Kinki, Japan. Photo by Andy Murch.Kinki is a ruggedly beautiful peninsula in the southwest of Honshu, Japan. The area is best known for the Shinto shrines of Kumano, which sit atop forested mountains in the center of the region. Each year, thousands of tourists and devotees undertake a pilgrimage through the mountains to reach the tranquil sanctuary, which is said to be a place of physical healing.
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Mira Nedyalkova Portfolio
ImagesMira Nedyalkova
Digital collage from the Element Like Deity series by Mira NedyalkovaMira Nedyalkova is a Bulgarian artist and photographer based in Sofia who creates stunning, sensual, surreal and evocative imagery by approaching photography and the element of water with the touch of a painter.
X-Ray Mag interviewed the artist to gain insight into her thought-provoking art and her creative process.
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Personal Safety at Sea: Communicating with the Dive Boat
The Iridium Extreme lets one send an SMS text message, at set time intervals, with exact location coordinates to anyone, from anywhere on the planet. Photo courtesy of the manufacturer.One of the things close to everyone’s thoughts is diver safety. We spend good money on quality dive gear and prudently have it frequently serviced and maintained, as this equipment will be sustaining our lives while underwater. But what about when we are on the surface? Just how many of us really do think about getting lost at sea?
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Revisiting Deep Air Diving
ImagesaquaCORPS
The “Flag Room” (360ft/110m) at Diepolder II (Sand Hill Ranch Scout Reservation, Hernando County, Florida, USA) discovered by Dale Sweet in 1979 on one of the first successful mix dives using trimix. Believing it was the end of the cave, Sweet placed a flag there (not shown), hence the name. Sheck Exley dived to the room on air in 1981 in his famous “Salute The Flag” dive. Dustin Clesi placed that guideline shown nearly three decades ago.Today, the practice of “deep air” diving, and to a large extent, air diving itself has been related to the annals of sport diving history. Nitrox has become near ubiquitous as the diving gas of choice for shallow-water diving, and the trend, as pioneered by Global Underwater Explorers (GUE) is for divers to switch to helium mixes for dives beyond about 100ft/30m.
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Selling Yourself Short: Your Skills Are Worth Nothing and You Work for Free
ImagesSimon Pridmore
Salaries and benefits for new scuba instructors vary widely but, generally speaking, diving jobs are not well paid, and this is another reason why you really need to have a vocation for teaching in order to survive in this line of work.At some point, many keen divers entertain the notion of giving up their 9-to-5 job and following the dream of becoming a professional scuba diver, making a living from their hobby and combining work with passion. After all, the advertisements for instructor courses in the dive magazines make it sound easy. All you have to do is sign up, fork out the dough and take the plunge. What could possibly go wrong?
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SMS Friedrich Carl
The armored cruiser Carl Friedrich was constructed in the year 1902 at the well-known shipyard of Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, Germany. The armored cruiser had a length of 126m and was equipped with an impressive array of guns and torpedo launchers. She was the second ship of the Prinz Adalbert class when she was commissioned by the Imperial German Navy on the 12 December 1903.
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The Ogasawara Islands: Japan's Galapagos
ImagesDon SilcockOften referred to as the Oriental Galapagos, the Ogasawara Archipelago is located in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, about 1,000km south of Tokyo and is one of the most isolated and remote parts of Japan. The isolation of the archipelago, combined with the fact that the islands have never been connected to a continent, is said to have produced a “Galapagos effect” with flora and fauna that is unique to the islands.
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Wreck Diving in Lithuania
ImagesSabine Kerkau
The BSHRP team recovered a bell marked with the name SS Marsdiep 1920 from a wreck later identified as the SS Edith Bosselman, Klaipėda, Lithuania. Photo by Sabine Kerkau.It was pure coincidence that led my expedition team and me to Lithuania for the first time in September 2016. Our goal was to dive the battleship SMS Friedrich Carl. What we did not know before this first visit was that we would discover the “El Dorado” of pristine wrecks in Lithuania, which could keep us busy for many years.
