X-Ray Mag #99

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X-Ray Mag #99

July 01, 2020 - 18:07
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Pages: 
81 spreads (double pages)

File size: 
30 Mb

Main features in this issue include:

Fixing Color Casts

May 23, 2020 - 18:19
The story is found: 
on page 70

A color cast is a tint of a particular color, usually unwanted, which affects the whole photographic image evenly.

Even though white balance settings or adjustments are still “golden key no. 1” in fighting color casts, in some cases, a finer adjustment is necessary in postproduction.

Getting Lined Up: Troubleshooting Sidemount Tank Configuration

June 01, 2020 - 11:59
The story is found: 
on page 0

I like sidemount. I will frequent­ly, jokingly, disparage the configuration, but I do like it. It can be comfortable and streamlined. It can be very flexible. There is an argument to be made for completely isolated redundancy. Mostly, it is good for moving through places no bigger than the space below your coffee table.

What it is not—as has been lamentably sold with such popularity—is it being just as easy as buying a new harness and putting two tanks on your sides.

Going Pro, Part II: The Road from Instructor to Dive Professional

May 23, 2020 - 18:27
The story is found: 
on page 54

“Wait, wait,” you may say when you read the title of this column, “What are you talking about? Aren’t those two things the same? Isn’t a dive instructor by definition a scuba professional? And what do you mean by ‘Road’?”

A professional is someone who gets paid for plying a trade. At the point when you become a dive instructor, you may have done a lot of paying, that’s for sure, but it is unlikely that you will have seen any cash coming your way yet.

La Jolla: Classic Southern California Diving

May 23, 2020 - 18:16
The story is found: 
on page 41

Cool sunlight slowly crept down from the horizon to the kelp beds off La Jolla in southern California. I took another sip of coffee. Sea lions barked on occasion as small groups of pelicans flew up the coast to start their day.

The two-hour drive south had ended with a spectacular sunrise, saturating the coast in a deep pink that one could feel and breathe. I arrived early to ensure I could find a much-coveted parking space. It was clear and calm—the reason I picked today for a dive trip down the coast.

My Favorite Wide-Angle Dive: Contributors' Picks

May 23, 2020 - 18:22
The story is found: 
on page 24

We asked our contributors what their favorite wide-angle dive was and they came back with stories and photos from some of the most unique and exhilarating dive sites on earth, many of them relaying interactions with large marine life from Steller sea lions in Kamchatka and giant manta rays in Komodo to tiger sharks in the Bahamas and humpback whales in the Dominican Republic.

X-Ray Mag contributors reveal the beauty of the underwater world—from the topical paradise of Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the Philippines to the subtropical seas at Mexico's Socorro Islands and the temperate waters off California and South Africa—where they captured their favorite shot

Photographing American Crocodiles in Cuba

June 01, 2020 - 11:55
The story is found: 
on page 45

The Gardens of the Queen is a popular and iconic dive location in Cuba for those underwater photographers who have creative ideas for documenting or capturing artistic images of sharks, groupers, crocodiles and other fauna of the Caribbean Sea. Here, it is possible to film life in the mangroves, and if one is lucky, meet a crocodile. Vladimir Gudzev reports.

Dear lovers of underwater photography, I’d like to tell you a story about a unique expedition and photo safari in which fellow participants and I were lucky enough to develop a successful method of taking underwater photographs of marine crocodiles at Cuba's Gardens of the Queen.

Photographing Giant Manta Rays at Night in Kona Hawaii

April 19, 2020 - 15:02
The story is found: 
on page 36

Diving with giant manta rays is always an exhilarating experience. Being in the water with these large intelligent animals is always humbling. They are also spectacular subjects for photography and video. Kona Hawaii in the United States is famous for night diving and snorkeling with the local mantas. This can produce stunning images, but it does take some special techniques.

The manta rays in Kona waters belong to the Mobula alfredi species. These are reef mantas and, unlike other species, these mantas do not migrate. They spend their lives in the coastal waters of Hawaii.

Rudolf Farkas Portfolio

May 23, 2020 - 18:24
The story is found: 
on page 76

Hungarian artist Rudolf Farkas, who lives in Buda­pest, creates dynamic and intricately composed illustrations of a wide variety of marine life as well as the unique marine ecosystems in which they live. X-Ray Mag interviewed the artist to learn more about his artwork and his creative process.

"To live and prosper, we need healthy oceans."
—Rudolf Farkas

X-RAY MAG: Tell us about yourself, your background and how you became an artist.

Seeking Eye Contact: Fish Gaze Reveals Self-Awareness

June 01, 2020 - 11:41
The story is found: 
on page 59

For many years, I held a weekly feeding session for the resident reef sharks and their visitors in the study area where I observed their behaviour. If I had enough shark food, I would scatter crumbs into the water for the fish after the sharks had left. The fish knew this, so they had to wait, and while they were waiting, they were excited.

As the session wore on and darkness fell, they gathered. They would creep ever closer as the moment I would feed them approached. The surface glimmered with the continually circling needlefish, who looked at me gravely with their big eyes.

Southern New Britain: The Secret Place in Papua New Guinea

June 01, 2020 - 11:47
The story is found: 
on page 15

The southern coast of the large island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea is a truly remote location isolated from the northern coast by high, rugged mountain ranges with no real roads through them. There are no commercial airports here—only landing strips and old WWII airfields used for small-scale charter flights. Practically, the only way to get to the southern coast is by boat from Rabaul, on the eastern tip of New Britain.

It involves a long and usually overnight journey, which will take you down through the St George’s Channel, in-between New Britain and nearby New Ireland. The channel needs to be navigated with respect, as there are some fierce and complex currents flowing through it.

Surviving Lockdown

June 01, 2020 - 11:45
The story is found: 
on page 51

For most of us in lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic, being away from diving in itself is enough to cause withdrawal symptoms. Sometimes, factors such as work, weather and lifestyle can mean that we take longish breaks, although I do not think anyone has taken such a long break before—certainly not one that left no choice and one that required significant lifestyle changes and restrictions.

The first thing to remember and accept is that the sense of frustration and even anger you might be feeling is normal. The situation is unprecedented, and it would not be reasonable to expect calm acceptance.

The Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail

April 19, 2020 - 15:08
The story is found: 
on page 6

Divers understand there is something eerily attractive about a ship laying upright on the seafloor. Wreck divers often chase that feeling of curiosity and wonder when exploring undersea environments. While Florida’s eastern coast certainly offers countless popular wreck dives, the Panhandle is an often-overlooked gem.

The Trail was launched in 2012 by the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research (BAR) in response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which caused a dramatic drop in tourism to the Panhandle.

Events: 
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