It all started on Friday, as I left NYC on a beautiful, clear evening and headed towards the Long Beach Airport six hours away in Southern California. I arrived 2hrs late during a rainstorm, humming an Albert Hammond song from way back “It never rains in California, but girl, don’t they warn ya. It pours, man it pours!” Despite the late hour, Hertz had stayed open just for me. But then the clerk on duty (thank you for staying around!) broke the news that, despite my reservation, were no compact cars available. He then “forced” me to drive away in a brand-new Lincoln Town Car (with free GPS) at the same compact-car price. (Darn! What if my clients saw me in that car and thought they were paying me too much? ☺ )
Since parking near the convention center was pricey and difficult (Who’s goofy idea was it to put a convention center a block away from Disneyland?), I took the show shuttle back and forth to the convention center for the next three days and hardly used the car. By Monday evening, 16 edited-and-posted video interviews later, I finally had a chance to relax for more than the twenty minutes I spent on Saturday and Sunday nights watching the awesome Disney fireworks show from the hotel parking lot.
What’s a tired journalist with a gassed up limo to do with a free Monday evening in Anaheim? Having never been to downtown LA or Hollywood, a road trip sounded like a good plan. My first surprise came when I typed “Hollywood Blvd” into the GPS and received the following dire prediction: “36 min to destination, No Traffic. Or 1hr 50 min with traffic.” Wow! Obviously, the traffic nightmare I’d heard about in LA all my life is so common that they hard wire it into the GPS! As an optimist I’m inclined to see the road half empty and not half full, so as it was already 7pm I predicted it would take me an hour or so to get to get from Anaheim to downtown LA. I was way off, and only 35 minutes later I was there! (Traffic in LA? Not on my trip!) For the next two hours I drove around Hollywood, Melrose Place (yes, I punched 90210 into the GPS, but got an error message.), and even moved West down Ventura Blvd. Strangely, the streets and sidewalks were empty, and most shops closed up by 9pm. No where near as active as a typical Monday night on the upper West Side of Manhattan. After checking out all the sights and seeing none of the stars, I headed back to Anaheim on an empty highway.

What a difference a day makes.
Exactly 24 hours after I cruised past the Kodak Theater in LA on Monday night, I was bouncing around in a holding pattern waiting to land at JFK in what appeared to be a blizzard. It turned to rain a few hundred feet above the runway, but the dire weather caused a run on rental cars, and by the time I arrived there were no rentals left (and Hertz wasn’t giving out Town Cars). I was forced to use my multi-train backup plan: (1) JFK shuttle to Jamaica station, Queens. 2) LIRR to Penn station, Manhattan. 3) Two subways to Grand Central station. 4) Metro North RR to Beacon NY.) Normally, that combo takes about 2.5 hours, but snow buildup on the tracks slowed us down, and by the time I got to Beacon it was 1:30am. There was also 8 inches of heavy snow on the ground blizzard conditions. Kudos to my brother Kevin, who braved the 10 mile trip to the station in his truck and I got me home at 2pm. As I was too wired to sleep, I decided to clear the snow from my 200 feet long driveway for an hour before hitting the sack.
The next day (Wed. morning), despite school cancellations all over my region, the NYC-based weather “person” barely mentioned the snowstorm that I had endured the night before. Seems the city got nothing but rain, and current worries were centered on the approaching Nor’easter. I heard the weatherman confidently predict (is that an oxymoron?) that we were going to get another 4-6 inches in my area before the next storm passed. I think a crystal ball would have been more accurate, as by Friday there was more than 30 inches of snow on the ground, it was still snowing, and there were thousands of broken trees and damaged houses in the area. Meanwhile, down in NYC outside the weather man’s expensive apartment, only 21 inches of new snow was on the ground.

How did he, and nearly every other weather person on duty on Wed, miss the potential output of this storm? Was it a case of typical weatherman incompetence combined with a rare snow “tsunami”? I’ll define a snow tsunami as a huge winter Nor’ easter that mixes periods of heavy snow with periods of flooding rain. Normally, two feet of snow falling in the middle of the winter is a major hassle, causing delays and closings but not much more. However, when a foot of new snow is then mixed in with an inch or two of rain, followed by another foot of snow mixed in with more rain, followed by…well, you get the point. You wind up with is several feet of extremely heavy, sticky snow that pulls down giant trees, knocks out power, caves in weak roofs, and creates a disaster area overnight (this included most of southern New York State). The weirdest part of this back and forth, snow to rain, action was that the dividing line stayed constant for half a day between my studio and my home 10 minutes away. So when I left work at 3pm on Thursday afternoon, it was 35 degrees F and there was an inch of slush in the parking lot. But by the time I got to my house (5 miles away and at about the same altitude), it was 31 degrees F and there was 8 inches of snow on the ground!

Earlier I mentioned the fireworks I saw over the weekend in Anaheim. It was pretty, but took second place to the light show I saw while clearing my driveway in the middle of the blizzard on Thursday night. That show was the result of seven power transformers exploding in the neighborhood as tree limbs tore down power lines. As each transformer shorted, the sky lit up with an eerie red glow followed by a series of bright flashes. After the seventh transformer blew, the power in the area went out completely. I was lucky, and power returned for me the next day. But as I wrote this on Sunday there were still more than 20,000 folks without power in Dutchess county.
It’s been nearly 13 years since the Blizzard of 1997 (3-31 to 4/1), which was the last to hit this area with the surprising fury of this week’s storm. I remember the 97 Blizzard for three reasons: first, my wife was in labor for 18 hours during the storm delivering my second son, Bryan. Second, its 24 inches of snow knocked out the power all over the county for 4 days. Third: without ground lights causing sky glare it was possible to see the Hale- Bopp comet in the sky through a car windshield at night. There wasn’t a comet out there last night, but the full moon sure lit up the snow.
I admit, I probably could have used the same time that it took to tell you this story to write up a full PMA show report. But I wanted to share the life-sized contrasts I experienced this week, as well as a few of the photos and videos I took before getting back to tech coverage. Perhaps some of you East Coaster’s who were stuck in Anaheim during the storm will get better idea of what you missed. So enjoy the following photos (click them to enlarge) and stay tuned for the PMA report.

INTRODUCTION:
One of the most exciting and challenging photo projects I’ve ever tackled took place in Sept. 2009 while on assignment for UNESCO’s World Heritage Photo Project. The week I spent diving and exploring the Great Barrier Reef was an incredible experience that I’ll never forget, and one that I strived to capture with the images, stories, and HD videos I brought back with me. But as the project progressed, I began to wonder: how could I share the awe-inspiring beauty of the reef and the fascinating creatures that dwell there with an audience that wants more than a digital slide show? The answer was staring me in the face in the form of a program that I had used repeatedly to help plan my expedition–Google Earth. As I experimented with the powerful tools and interactive features I found hidden in Google Earth, I discovered a new and compelling platform that would allow me to share my experiences–including stories, photos, and HD videos–with an unlimited-size audience. And with the help of GPS data and satellite imagery, I can even take you to the exact locations on the reef where these experiences took place. Hopefully, the resulting Google Earth Multimedia (GEM) journal I’ve created with these tools will give you a better appreciation for what I discovered on the Great Barrier Reef, the most exotic, fragile and bio-diverse region on the planet.

To get started, make sure you have the most up-to-date version of Google Earth, available for free at Google Earth.com Then click on the following link to download a small (2KB), virus-free .kml journal file: Great Barrier Reef Journal. Once downloaded, drag the file into Google Earth to open it. (If you like what you see, send the GBR Journal file to friends via email or social media links.)

Below is a video introduction to the documentary, which will also appear on the opening page of the journal. Enjoy!

Great Barrier Reef Journal Intro from Michael J. McNamara on Vimeo.

The journal is interactive, and you can view it a number of ways. Within the “Itinerary” folder, there are “Day” sub-chapters containing stories, still photos, and HD videos describing the dive sights and creatures I encounterd. (Note: The videos may take a few seconds to open based on your internet connection.) Double click on any highlighted heading and Google Earth will open balloon windows and take you to the location of the event on the map. There’s also a PLACES folder containing placemarks and active links to photos, maps, supporting research, and contact info, while a PATH folder contains map-trails of where I traveled by plane and by boat.
One of the most exciting features of Google Earth is that it supports dynamic links. That means that new material can be automatically added to a journal without any further downloads (or “updates”) on your part. So while this “Introduction” contains material covering the first 5 days of the expedition, over the next few weeks I will be adding chapters covering the remaining six days on the reef. And each time you open Google Earth, new chapters I’ve added to the journal will automatically be available. (A very cool feature!) Before completion, the Great Barrier Reef journal will be joined by a second GEM journal covering my documentary of the Wet Tropics of Queensland, Australia––a World Heritage site that shares a common border with the Great Barrier Reef. While I didn’t film any shark feeding frenzies (see Day 5 of the GBR journal) in the Wet Tropics, my visits to the Flying Fox (large bat) Hospital, Bouncing Rock Beach, and waterfalls in the rain forest should keep you entertained. Stay tuned!

All photos and videos are copyright Michael J. McNamara 2009 unless noted.

For business owners, waiting around for a slow printer adds up to a waste of time and money. But how can you really determine the speed of a printer before you purchase it? And which one is not only fast but has the best balance of features and performance for the price? To find out, I ran the following six models through a gauntlet of tests to determine the best of the breed: (note: all prices are street prices as of Jan. 30, 2010.) Brother MFP-790CW ($139), Canon Pixma MX860 ($179), Epson WorkForce 610 ($129), Hewlett Packard Officejet 6500 ($159), Kodak ESP 7 ($149), and the Lexmark X7675 Professional ($189).

The summary results of the speed, image quality, font sharpness, and moisture resistance tests for all but the Kodak AIO are included in the following HD video.

FULL TEST REPORT:
For more information on the testing methods and settings I used, plus in-depth analysis of the printing, scanning, copy, card reading speed, energy consumption, and ease-of-use features for all six models, download the complete 32-page AIO Office Inkjet Printer Shootout Test Report

(To enable high res printing and other features in the full test report, request a password by clicking here.)

TEST PHOTO GALLERY

This gallery contains magnified details from high res scans of test prints referenced in the AIO report and AIO HD video. Click on the PicLens link to start a slide show, or scroll over and click on individual thumbnail images below:

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It doesn’t get much bigger, or better, than the CES show in Las Vegas. And in Las Vegas, size matters! In this photo, Panasonic shows off its 152-inch plasma TV. Price? If you have to ask, you can’t afford it!

Every time I head out to cover the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January several questions go through my mind: Is it going to be warmer in Las Vegas than it is here in NY? Are the lines going to be as long again? And what will be the hottest technology at the show? The answer to the first question is always a gamble (appropriate for the town in question, don’t you think?): I’ve actually been to the CES show three times when it was snowing before, during, or just after the show, and several times when it was actually warmer in NY than in Nevada. This time around, however, I got a break on the temperature, as daytime highs in Vegas averaged in the mid to upper 60’s, and the show floor was even hotter, literally and figuratively! (Back just one day from the show and the temp outside my studio in NY right now is 1 degree! Brrrr!)

As for question number two: In the past I’ve referred to CES as the “Hurry up and wait!” show. This year, despite my best efforts to avoid the slowdown in Vegas by getting there several days early for “Press only” events, I ran smack into the slowdowns again. First, it took nearly 13 hours to get to Las Vegas (compared to a normal 8 hours), thanks to major incompetence on the part of U.S. Air (USeless Air). Second, the onslaught of approximately 110,000 attendees flocking to the show this year taxed the taxi system as usual, with wait time stretching from 20 to 40 minutes in many cases. And thinner than usual staffs at all of the hotels led to longer lines at check in, restaurants, and other venues. As a veteran of the show, I always pick a hotel near the monorail, stock my fridge with Starbucks coffee the night before to avoid morning lines, and take the monorail whenever I can. But this year, unusually long lines were also the norm at the MGM monorail station heading towards the show, and even my secret short cuts around the show floors were little help.

However, if I had to do it all over again, I would—but perhaps I’d stay a day or two after the show to enjoy the great weather I barely had time to enjoy, or wander through the show on its closing day to enjoy more of the incredible displays and new technology that I’m sure I missed. My primary goals at the CES show have always been to find new and innovative technologies that will affect the way photographers and videographers capture, display, and share their photos and videos. At this year’s show, there were many exciting developments on the capture front, and quite a few online, picture-frame, or cell-phone based “sharing” technologies announced. But I’d have to dub CES 2010 as the year that large screen TV’s finally got to the point where they can’t go much further—especially when it comes to image quality, 3D capability, thickness, or size. (I’m sure I’ll be proven wrong on the size, but size isn’t everything when you can’t even fit the current size champ, a 152-inch Panasonic plasma screen, through the doorway of even the typical mac mansion. See photo above.)

After analyzing last year’s CES show and a number of other big shows I had attended in 2008, I predicted the rapid growth of 3D capture and display technology during my presentation at the DIMA show prior to PMA in February, 2009. (What’s Next in Consumer Digital Photography? DIMA 2009). However, even I didn’t expect to see the advancements in 3D capture and display technology showcased by Panasonic, or the 3D and LED displays that wowed the audiences and stopped floor traffic dead at Samsung, LG, and Sony booths. Panasonic introduced the first pro-level, relatively compact 3D HD camcorder with a dual optic lens that helps feed a stereo view to dual HD sensors within the camera. I believe this model is just a hint of what’s to come out this year on the camcorder front—but I’ll bet money that Panasonic is working on a similar solution for its G-Series interchangeable lens hybrid cameras. At the same press conference, Panasonic introduced several large 3D-capable plasma screens, a 3D capable Blu-Ray disc player, and a announced a partnership with Direct TV to support a full HD, 3D channel in 2010. (Note: At the Panasonic press conference it was revealed that unless a “3D-capable” TV or monitor features a new HDMI version 1.4 connector, it won’t be compatible with standardized 3D playback devices such as the Blu-Ray player mentioned. Nice surprise to anyone who bought a 3D TV over the holidays featuring the advance 1.3 HDMI connector!)

While Panasonic gets my vote for numero uno on offering the best end-to-end solution for 3D technology, it had quite a bit of competition from the other display manufactures when it came to 3D TV and LED TV. At LG, ultra thin LED monitors were the big attraction, with colors that jumped off the screens. The same can be said of the LED displays at Samsung, which also showcased several 3D-ready LED models that combine the best of both worlds. Samsung gets my vote for having the best monitor display I’ve every seen in my life—on a scale that defies description, but hopefully can be approximated by some of the photos in the following gallery:

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At home, I not only watch my HD videos on it. I’m looking to replace my ailing 2003 vintage- 57-inch Sony HD CRT rear projection model this year, and until I saw the Samsung 3D LED display, I was leaning towards an LED TV vs a 3D capable plasma or LCD model as my next purchase for the living room. For me, the color accuracy, expanded color gamut, and the glass-free viewing experience you get from an LG, Sony, or Samsung LED TV is superior to any other display technology. (Ok, I was impressed with the color and viewing angle on the 20+-inch OLED teaser Sony had hidden in a back room, but that’s still several years away from the mainstream especially when it comes to competing on size.) Also, for the moment, there really isn’t enough 3D content to make me want to purchase a TV based on its 3D capability (plus I’d have to add a 3D- Blu Ray device, and several pairs of high tech 3D glasses to the purchase.) Hopefully, with the success of 3D movies such as Avatar (which grossed over 1 Billion dollars worldwide in just a few weeks!) that will change over the next few years. But for now, I think I’ll wait till after this year’s Infocomm 2010 show to see what the other manufacturers bring out on the 3D LED front, then save up for next Christmas’s big screen for the family. Oh yeah, they want one too!

Also, check out the official CES video podcast interview done by Sarah Myers on day two of the show with yours truly:

First Underwater World Heritage Site Documented With Photos
And HD Videos Taken With The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1

NEW YORK, NY and Osaka, Japan – January 8, 2010 – Michael J. McNamara, award winning photo journalist and editor of the McNamara Report (www.mcnamarareport.com) has recently completed two photo & video documentaries for – OUR PLACE – The World Heritage Collection (http://ourplaceworldheritage.com/),a publishing house that is creating the world’s largest photographic collection of UNESCO World Heritage (WH) sites.

The award winningPanasonic LUMIX® DMC-GH1(http://panasonic.net/lumix) enabled McNamara to capture both high-res still photos and full HD AVCHD format videos of the Great Barrier Reef of Australia (www.gbrmpa.gov.au/), the worlds largest coral reef system, as well as the Wet Tropics of Queensland (www.wettropics.gov.au/). While OurPlace photographers have documented over 230 of the 890 World Heritage sites, the Great Barrier Reef is the first underwater World Heritage site; it and the Wet Tropics are the only World Heritage sites that share a common border.

Panasonic (http://panasonic.net/lumix/) has continually supported the UNESCO partnered World Heritage photographic project, OUR PLACE since its inception in 2006.  “Panasonic is keen to contribute to the photographic culture, and help promote and protect the important UNESCO World Heritage sites through the OUR PLACE Project.  This exciting project gives us the opportunity to communicate both about the value of the World Heritage sites and about Panasonic’s strong commitment to protecting the environment.  Our vision for LUMIX coincides with the UNESCO goal to photo document the World Heritage sites, and we are proud to contribute our latest innovative digital imaging technologies, such as those found in the award winning Lumix DMC-GH1, to achieve that goal,” states Ichiro Kitao, Managing director of Panasonic Digital Still Camera Business Unit.

McNamara, an advanced scuba diver and underwater photographer, took advantage of the compact Panasonic LUMIX GH1 12.1-MP photo and exceptional full HD video capabilities, as well as its interchangeable lens system and live viewfinder. Paired with a custom underwater housing and unique lighting system (http://www.mcnamarareport.com/underwater-gear-for-great-barrier-reef-documentary), the ‘hybrid’ features of the DMC-GH1 were rigorously tested during his 23 dives on the reef, some below 130 feet. With assistance from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and Mike Ball Dive Expeditions (www.MBDE.com), McNamara captured a treasure trove of still images and HD video footage that includes sharks, turtles, exotic tropical fish, colorful fan corals, barracudas, and giant clams. McNamara also visited the Osprey Reef system in the Coral Sea, a site under consideration for inclusion into the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park that boasts an impressive shark population and dramatic coral walls.

Eye to Eye With A Shark from Michael J. McNamara on Vimeo.

After completing his 8-day expedition to the Great Barrier Reef, McNamara trekked to the mountains and coastal regions of the Wet Tropics. With the assistance of park rangers from the Wet Tropics Management Authority, McNamara documented wild orchids, rare blue and red crayfish, giant ferns, and scenic vistas on mountaintops nearly 4000 feet above sea level. Excursions included spotlighting endangered ringtail possums at night, visiting a bat and flying fox hospital, searching the rain forest for tree kangaroos, and exploring Cape Tribulation’s blue holes, mangrove forests, and crocodile-filled rivers. Notably, there was little rain during his week-long stay in the Wet Tropics, and several of his landscape photos show signs of the giant dust cloud that covered much of Australia in late September, 2009, as well as damage to the rainforest from the worst drought to hit the Wet Tropics region in decades.

“It has been an honor to be part of the international team of photographers who document the World Heritage sites for their physical and geographical aspects, flora and fauna, and the human elements that make them of outstanding universal value. The partnership between UNESCO and OUR PLACE helps increase our awareness, knowledge and appreciation to better protect these remarkable places, many of which, like the Great Barrier Reef and Wet Tropics of Queensland, are fragile and threatened by extreme climate events and man-made stresses.” McNamara comments.

To minimize the environmental impact and transportation costs typically required for equipment and support crews during an overseas photo and video documentary, McNamara carefully selected his camera gear, underwater still and video lighting components, computer and storage systems, communications equipment, and clothing so that it all fit within his standard international checked and carry-on baggage allotments. His low travel “footprint” enabled him to travel incognito in the Wet Tropics, and kept his photo and video subjects at ease during filming. For more on the lightweight, state-of-the-art equipment McNamara carried, visit the McNamara Report.com: “What’s in MIKES BAG:” (http://www.mcnamarareport.com/whats-in-mikes-bag)

You can also follow McNamara’s expeditions in his GOOGLE EARTH JOURNAL: http://www.mcnamarareport.com/virtual-field-trip-to-the-great-barrier-reef/, an interactive platform that leads you on a day-by-day virtual treks through both areas. It contains commentary, plus video & still images tied in by GPS data to Google Earth’s satellite imagery. Through this tool, you can experience these World Heritage sites from McNamara’s unique perspective and get a closer look at the astounding marine and rainforest creatures he encountered along the way.

About McNamara Report

The McNamara Report is a content portal website that includes discussions and analysis on consumer electronics technologies and products, as well as trends affecting pro photographers, photo enthusiasts, and the digital imaging industry. The website encompasses articles, photo illustrations, radio and TV interviews, multi-media test reports, how to’s, and hands-on reviews of the latest cameras, imaging software, printers, computers, displays, storage systems, and consumer-electronic devices.   Portfolios of McNamara’s award winning travel, nature, sports, portrait, and fashion photography can also be viewed at the McNamara Report website – for more visit: http://www.mcnamarareport.com.

About Panasonic

Panasonic Corporation is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of electronic products for a wide range of consumer, business, and industrial needs. Based in Osaka, Japan, the company recorded consolidated net sales of 7.77 trillion yen (US$78.4 billion) for the year ended March 31, 2009. The company’s shares are listed on the Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and New York (NYSE: PC) stock exchanges. For more information on the company and the Panasonic brand, visit the company’s website at http://panasonic.net

About the World Heritage – OUR PLACE PROJECT

There are currently 890 special places around the world that have been awarded prestigious World Heritage status by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. They are some of the planet’s most unique and significant locations and are places of both Natural and Cultural importance. OUR PLACE is photographically documenting these sites for posterity.
Explore and enjoy the photo galleries which represent OUR PLACE on OUR PLANET at www.ourplaceworldheritage.com.

For more information, contact:

CJC Strategists

Charlé-John Cafiero

Tel:
(212) 777-7654

Email – PR@cjcstrategists.com

Fortunately, I did my homework and researched exactly the baggage size and weight restrictions from each airline I would use. Further research and contacts at several consumer electronics companies helped me gather camera, computer, storage, lighting, communications, and GPS equipment that was light weight and compact. In the end, I found myself either carrying or rolling everything I needed, a minor miracle of technology when you consider that I had was able to take thousands of photographs and hundreds of HD videos underwater and above during the expedition, had no assistant to carry my gear, and didn’t incur any extra baggage fees along the way! I also somehow avoided any pulled muscles or a hernia.

Even two years ago I couldn’t have pulled it off because the equipment I needed to do both still and HD recording didn’t exist. But due to the compact size and extraordinary capabilities of the Panasonic Lumix GH1, I was able to combine both media capabilities into one camera (with an underwater housing and lighting system that was about the smallest ever put together for an interchangeable lens system. Next on the list was a lightweight, super-powerful Sony V-series laptop, pocket-sized 500 GB external hard drives from Western Digital, and a variety of other products I’ll list shortly.

I wanted to keep most of my camera and electronics gear with me at all times, so I got my hands on a Tenba Universal Rolling Photo/laptop case (my review of this case appeared in the Dec. issue of Professional Photography magazine) and packed it to the hilt with the equipment shown in the following photo:

In order for my shoot on the Great Barrier Reef to take place in September, 2009, only a few months after the Panasonic Lumix GH1 was announced and just weeks after the first units reached stores in the US, I need help from the Lumix team in Japan. Fortunately, they had developed a relationship with the Proof housing company (also located in Japan) which had built an underwater housing for the Lumix G1 in 2008. So when my two GH1’s arrived from Japan in early July, 2009, a custom underwater housing and two lens ports were included in the shipment.

Unfortunately, it was up to me to provide underwater flash and video lights that would allow me to shoot underwater at depths below 10 feet, where most of the red light in the spectrum has been filtered out by the ocean water. Of course, lights were also necessary for me to shoot during during night dives or to capture creatures hiding in caves. The problem right off the bat is that Panasonic doesn’t manufacture its own waterproof flash or video lights, and I wanted to put together a system that was lightweight and extremely portable. The photo below shows you what I came up with:

The setup above includes two INON S-2000 flash units (red colored at end of arms) and two FIX LED video and focus lights. All four of these are attached to the camera housing via an assortment of Ultralight connectors, ball joints, and arms. The reason I chose the INON flash units is that they’re capable of true STTL metering with the GH1 via fiber optic cable connections (note the thin wire running from each flash unit to the housing.) The GH1’s flash unit is popped up inside the housing, and fires a preflash just prior to the full power flash. Normally, the preflash is detected through the lens by a metering sensor that instructs the camera to fire the proper amount of full flash for the scene. (all of this takes place so quickly you don’t notice two flashes firing.) However, in this case the camera’s preflash gets detected by the strobes via the fiber optic cable, and the strobes send out a preflash that’s detected and analyzed by the camera. It’s a stronger preflash that fools the camera into sending a “full flash” signal that’s much weaker than normal. (A side benefit to that weak full flash? The camera battery lasts far longer than expected–typically over 500 shots with flash!) However, the INON strobes instantly calculate the difference and send out the perfect amount of full flash between them. The result is a “synced TTL” exposure that’s extremely accurate–and in this case provided by two flash units, extending the range of the flash and the versatility.

Having dual flash units mounted on this system allows for very creative lighting, and each flash can be dialed down or up in power to provide desired lighting ratios. Plus, I could manipulate the Ultralight arms to position the flash units above, to the sides, or below a fish or target in front of me, or move them to the proper angles when shooting vertical compositions–an impossible situation with a flash mounted on the housing or camera. The results speak for themselves in the following photo gallery

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All photos taken by Michael J. McNamara for  Our Place World Heritage

Finally, the focus and video lights I chose, both FIX LED units waterproof to several hundred feet, allowed me to switch to the cameras HD movie mode and still have lighting at hand. One FIX light provided 500 lumens, and the other 1000 lumens when dialed to maximum output, lending a perfect 1:2 ratio. However, as I learned when viewing the videos vs the still images of the same subjects, LED lighting doesn’t provide the same color rendering index as the flash units, despite providing a color temperature of 6500k. They’re a bit weak in the red spectrum output, which is really needed underwater, so red objects appear less saturated when photographed or recorded on video when using the LED lights. By the way, the entire lighting system shown above cost approximately $2100, and I’m told the custom underwater housing cost approximately $4,000. Expect a number of housing manufacturers to offer production housings with fiber-optic fittings for under $2,000 in the near future.
Didn’t need the video lights much in this scene, which had enough lighting and action of its own:

Eye to Eye With A Shark from Michael J. McNamara on Vimeo.

Hey, did that White Tip Reef shark just give me the evil eye? Or was he wondering how I’d taste with a seaweed salad? This is a short preview of a 6 minute long full 1080p movie I made in the Coral Sea while doing a documentary for UNESCO World Heritage Photo Project, taken with the Panasonic GH1 in a custom housing.

Why does it seem like the new millennium started five years ago, and not 10? And what ever happened to the big Y2K scare and all the doomsayers who promoted it? I don’t know the answer to the first question–guess time compression and memory gets worse with age–but I’m pretty sure I know what happened to most of the doomsayers. They found new jobs working for Homeland Security updating the color-coded terrorist alerts.

Seriously, a lot has changed in the past decade, especially in the imaging and consumer electronics industries. From my perspective, it appears that the changes that have taken place in the last 10 years in photography, communications, and in our personal privacy and security are at least as vast as those that took place in the 100 years before the year 2000. For example, back in 2000 who would have thought that my teenage kids would now own tiny, cheap pocket computers that are far more advanced than the $10,000 work stations I used in 2000–especially when it comes to receiving or sending images, playing music, surfing the web, or even navigating around the world? I refer, of course, to their 3G cell phones. And who would have thought that it would actually be hard to find a role of film at any store to take those treasured Christmas photos? Oh, that’s right. I predicted that would happen by 2005. In any event, who cares about the film, now that everyone takes their photos with digital cameras and sends their Holiday cards via the internet, FaceBook, YouTube, etc.?

So as a tribute to all that’s changed in the past decade,  I decided to revisit a photo collage I made for the last page of Popular Photography Magazines January 2000 issue. The original concept for that collage was to show how much had changed, yet how much had stayed the same in Times Square between the years 1900 and 2000. Perhaps it’s time to redo the background (comprised of several images taken in late 1999 and stitched together in Photoshop) since now a days there’s hardly a printed billboard to be found in Times Square, most having been replaced by high tech digital LED or LCD panels. In addition, the left side of Time’s Square is now closed to traffic and has become a pedestrian mall, while the towering building in center now has a completely new look in terms of video screens and top. As for me, I’ve moved the office I once occupied a few blocks from this photo’s location about 80 miles North, while the magazine I once worked for has gone South.

How much change will occur in the next decade? I’ll be making my predictions soon. In the meantime,  it’s a good bet that staring at a computer monitor will cause my vision to deteriorate down to 20-40 by 2020. (After which, I’ll get it lasered back to 20-15). And I’m also predicting that the McNamara Report will still be around in 2020, and that I’ll be hosting (and storing) the entire web site including photos, text, and HD videos, on my iWatch. Perhaps, if I’m lucky,  one or two of those big screens in Times Square will flash the crowds a few of my ramblings, analysis, predictions, photos, and videos between now and then. Stranger things have happened! Happy New Year!