DSLR

Constellation Prize

I was lucky enough to be able to watch the Perseid Meteor Shower this year, which was a particularly good year for it. I tried my hand at some astrophotography for the first time. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to capture a meteor, but I did this consolation prize (or rather constellation prize, thanks Moh!), instead. It’s not perfect, but I’m proud of this first real attempt. The orange glow behind the tree is actually the Moon setting at about 1:15am.

Constellation Prize
The Moon setting behind a tree with a dramatic night sky in the background.

Squirrel on a Bench

I’ve recently traded in my old Sony a77 for an a6000 and I must say, I’m impressed. It’s tiny, inexpensive, performs very well for both photos and video, and is cheap to put underwater.

It’s also a great platform for adapting vintage glass! The photograph below was taken with the Minolta 70-210mm f/4 “beercan” lens on the first real day I took the new camera out for a shoot.

I can’t wait to get the a6000 underwater and see how it performs in that environment!

Squirrel on a Bench
A squirrel sitting on a bench in the UW Quad.

Among the Fish

For close to six months now, I’ve been doing scuba diving shows at the Seattle Aquarium. This was one of my initial far-off goals when I started diving in the first place, and I feel incredibly lucky to have achieved it. I look forward to each and every show, and the interaction I’ve had with both children and adults has been incredible. This work has inspired me to pursue other opportunities in ocean education and I’m exploring even more ways to expand my diving horizons to that end. My first attempt at this was doing two shows for the UW Friday Harbor Labs facility during their open house. Dozens of children and their parents stopped by to watch the live feed and ask questions as I explored the water below. The technology to do this is not particularly new, but it is exciting nonetheless. Combined with a broadcast over the web, this could be a powerful tool in education.

If you’re interested in how this can be utilized, the Fish Eye Project is a recent but excellent example.

Ideally, I would like to find a way to make the beginning of this imaginative Future Vision from Microsoft a reality.

I have many more projects and adventures coming this summer, both underwater and in the air. I can’t wait to share more!

StuartAquariumDivePortrait
Here’s what I look like while doing my dive show in the Seattle Aquarium Underwater Dome tank.