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1972
Feb 3, 2013 16:42:03 GMT -8
Post by treculi on Feb 3, 2013 16:42:03 GMT -8
I dug up some old prints from 1972 of my first attempts at underwater photography with a Nikonos II camera. I really liked the simplicity of the camera it was rugged and there were no electronics to worry about. If it flooded 95% of the time you could clean it, dry it out and go again. Attachments:
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sidm
Pro Diver
Posts: 219
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1972
Feb 3, 2013 17:20:45 GMT -8
Post by sidm on Feb 3, 2013 17:20:45 GMT -8
Looks like you were diving freshwater. Maybe a reservoir? Good, clear photos. To me, the Nikonos I-III were the best uw cameras made. I used them almost exclusively before I switched to film and later video. See my post (New use for Nikonos Lenses) in this forum. Glad to have you aboard. I would enjoy talking photography with you.
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1972
Feb 3, 2013 20:37:06 GMT -8
Post by treculi on Feb 3, 2013 20:37:06 GMT -8
Oronogo is an abandon open pit lead mine north of Joplin Missouri. At the time the photos were taken it was a popular local hangout and dive spot. It is over 200’ deep in places. People would throw stolen goods off the cliffs. Word of the latest addition would always go around to the local divers. Items included cars, motorcycles and at one time a dump truck. I might have a slide of the dump truck somewhere. A dive shop has been built there since. www.oronogo.com/Your article on New use for Nikonos Lenses did catch my eye. I have done some video back in the VHS days. I loved shooting the video but did not care for the editing part. The best video I got was of sea lions in kelp off Santa Barbra Island. I had my original Nikonos II converted to use strobes and continued to upgrade the lenses. I kept using it until it was beyond repair. I found another one and used the old one for parts. Unfortunately the second one is now pretty well worn out and film is fast disappearing. Most of my diving and photography has been in freshwater. Attachments:
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1972
Feb 4, 2013 18:29:21 GMT -8
Post by treculi on Feb 4, 2013 18:29:21 GMT -8
Sid, I have been trying the link to your videos using Nikonos lenses but keep getting an error message. I was wondering what you were using for your 5” LCD screen?
I am still finding old equipment in boxes I have forgotten about. Did you use flashbulbs with your Nikonos II? I always found the concept of using flashbulbs underwater odd and cumbersome but it worked
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1972
Feb 4, 2013 20:53:41 GMT -8
Post by SeaRat on Feb 4, 2013 20:53:41 GMT -8
treculi, good to see you here. I started out with the Nikonos I, then progressed to the Nikonos II and finally got to a housed Canon F-1N. I really like the Nikonos II, but had problems with it recently. I took some photos of Sid with his video outfit using the Nikonos II with a 28mm lens. I'll have to get to my other computer to get them posted here, but here is a digital photo of Sid at Big Cliff Reservoir. The interesting thing about using underwater flash with the Nikonos flash unit is that it synchs throughout the entire range of shutter speeds. You can shoot 125th second if desired (and the exposure allows) with the flash bulbs. Yes, they were very clumbersom in the water, and I tried always to replace the spent ones in the inner tube strip I carried them on. I still have my flash unit for my Nikonos, but haven't used them in years. I may be able to scan a few slides from way back that were taken with the flash unit, but I'll have to remember which ones they were (which will be a feat of memory now ). John
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1972
Feb 4, 2013 21:07:54 GMT -8
Post by SeaRat on Feb 4, 2013 21:07:54 GMT -8
Okay, I'm back up at my Mac, which has the photos of Sid on it. I've chosen this one as it shows Sid looking at his video camera, making some adjustments to it. It was taken with a Nikonos II, 28 mm lens and natural light (1/30th second and wide open, which I believe is F2.5, ISO 100 film). Unfortunately, the Nikonos II leaked a bit, stuck the film, and I had to remove it in a dark room. I put the film in an opaque film canister, filled it with water, and took it to Blue Moon Photography in St. John's, Oregon (just north of Portland). www.bluemooncamera.com/Their lab person took the film out and hung it in a dark room to dry for three days, then processed it. Not bad, actually...considering... These were taken late last summer. I really like your black and white photos above. I'm glad I was not the only one shooting black and white underwater. John
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1972
Feb 5, 2013 4:18:01 GMT -8
Post by treculi on Feb 5, 2013 4:18:01 GMT -8
Thanks for posting the photos and the information. I do remember the flash from flashbulbs seemed to last noticeably longer than a strobe. I used a net bag to carry the bulbs and would often carry a couple dozen at a time. I always tried to save the spent bulbs by putting them back in the bag. The problem was the spent bulbs would sink while the other bulbs would float. Trying to get the last good floating bulb without releasing the spent bulbs was always a trick especially if I was wearing wetsuit gloves. I still have my flash for the Nikonos II. I have four Nikonos II bodies two were converted to accept three pin strobes. Out of the four one is still working but the focal plane shutter is getting out of sync and starting to stick. I’ve been going through a lot of stored items lately and it has really strained my memory. I have a lot of slides but I did not start cataloging images until about 1990. I started cataloging my new slides and only cataloged a few of the old slides. I only started with a few and thought it was a little silly that I could easily remember. After a few years went by and the slide numbers went out of the hundreds I realized cataloging was one of the best decisions I ever made. The attachment is one of the old slides I cataloged. I used to take a dark bag with me on extended trips in case something went wrong. On occasion I would take an E6 developing kit and process film on the road. I was mainly using Velvia 50 ASA. By the way the photo in your signature intrigues me. It looks a lot like a school of Cardinal shiners in an Ozark stream. Attachments:
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1972
Feb 5, 2013 11:54:04 GMT -8
Post by SeaRat on Feb 5, 2013 11:54:04 GMT -8
Thanks for posting the photos and the information. I do remember the flash from flashbulbs seemed to last noticeably longer than a strobe... ...By the way the photo in your signature intrigues me. It looks a lot like a school of Cardinal shiners in an Ozark stream. Treculi, Close, but not quite...the photo is of the Redside Shiner, Richardsonius balteatus[/B] (Richardson), and was taken in the 1980s in the North Umpqua River at the head of Winchester Reservoir, near Roseburg, Oregon. They are in their spawning colors, and actively spawning in the photo. That happens in late spring, when the water temperature reaches 60 degrees F or more. The males pursue a female into those large rocks, and she lays egges which adhere to the underside of the rocks. Here's the entire photo: I'm looking at my dive logs, and will have more information on these dives later. I have photo documentation of the entire process. John
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1972
Feb 5, 2013 14:31:47 GMT -8
Post by treculi on Feb 5, 2013 14:31:47 GMT -8
That’s great you had the chance to photograph and document their spawning behavior. I am not familiar with western species but it sounds like their spawning behavior is typical of shiner species I am familiar with in the Mississippi drainage. One thing that did strike me as different was the eggs adhering to the undersides of the rocks. Do the females “aim” for the undersides or does it have more to do with current flow?
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1972
Feb 5, 2013 15:14:57 GMT -8
Post by treculi on Feb 5, 2013 15:14:57 GMT -8
SeaRat I started Googleing redside shiners and ran across your Scubaboard.com post of 11/3/11 that pretty well answered my question. It sounds like they were targeting large rocks.
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1972
Feb 5, 2013 18:56:31 GMT -8
Post by SeaRat on Feb 5, 2013 18:56:31 GMT -8
Treculi, I tried to start a thread over on Scubaboard, but nobody responded. Here's the link if someone is interested: www.scubaboard.com/forums/marine-life-ecosystems/401191-redside-shiner-spawning-problem-2011-a.htmlI will elaborate a bit on this mating behavior, after having watched it for over 20 years. In the spring, as the water warms up, the redside shiner gets into its mating colors, with the red side. At other times of the year, they are silver with a yellow stripe(s) on their side. Here's another photo of them. Photo Copyright 2013, John C. Ratliff Note in the background there is another fish. That fish is known by its scientific name as Ptychocheilus oregonensis[/B] (Richardson); it's common name in the 1980s was the Northern squawfish, or Umpqua squawfish (a distinct subspecies of Ptychocheilus oregonensis[/B] (Richardson), with a distinctive set of dark lines down its side). The common name was changed to Northern Pikeminnow in the 1990s, as references to the name "squaw" was taken out of the nomenclature of fishes because of the implications to the Native American peoples. The name currently is Umpqua Northern Pikeminnow for this subspecies, and it is the main preditor of the redside shiner in the Umpqua drainage. eol.org/pages/210298/overviewfishbase.org/summary/Ptychocheilus-oregonensis.htmlThe male Redside Shiners will follow the female (usually a number will follow one female) down into the rocks. The female dives into the cracks and under the rocks, where the eggs are released. The males follow as closely as possible, and release sperm under the rocks. This I have photographed, but do not have scanned at present. The Umpqua Northern Pikeminnow will follow the Redside Shiner, and given the opportunity feed on them. At the same time, the Umpqua Northern Pikeminnow will also be spawning. I was lucky enough to dive and observe this mating behavior with my camera, and they spawn differently from the Redside Shiner--they broadcast spawn. As you can see below, the Umpqua Northern Pikeminnow males gather behind the female, and try to get as close as possible to her. When she broadcasts the eggs, they fertilize them in mid-water. I have photos of this taken just after this photo was taken, and also of the Redside Shiners eating the Umpqua Northern Pikeminnow eggs as they drift in in the water about a foot off the bottom. These eggs also adhere to the rocks, but in the cracks and more exposed than the Redside Shiner's eggs, which are under the rocks. Photo Copyright 2013, John C. Ratliff I know this as I have picked up those rocks and photographed the underside with the Redside Shiner eggs attached using my Nikonos II with a 3:1 macro ring. These photos above, however, were taken with my Canon F-1N in an Ikelite housing, a 24mm lens and a Subsea Mk 150 strobe unit. At one point I sought to capture some of these fish. Here's a dive log entry from 6-23-1985: Nathan and Brian are my two sons, who at that time were 3 and 5 years old, respectively. John PS, all photos associated with the Redside Shiner spawning are Copyright 2013, John C. Ratliff
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1972
Feb 5, 2013 21:09:10 GMT -8
Post by treculi on Feb 5, 2013 21:09:10 GMT -8
Your observations of redside shiners are very impressive. I have only looked at a couple of accounts of redside shiner spawning behavior on the net and all were pretty much saying they just spread eggs over bottom substrate. It seems like a lot of the observations of spawning behavior have been done from above water or in aquariums. I think the only way to get a true sense of what is occurring is to get up close in their natural habitat. Even then spawning activity can be fast and chaotic. I am sure some interesting details could be revealed in HD slow motion video. There are some similarities between your observations and photos of redside shiners and Umpqua Northern Pikeminnows and similar observations and images I have of southern redbelly dace (Phoxinus erythrogaster) spawning and White suckers (Catostomus commersoni) While there are obvious differences in the species and behavior at a glance they look very similar for species that exist in different habitats a 1,000 miles apart separated by mountain ranges. The stream I took the photos is located in the Kansas Flint Hills. This particular type of spring-fed stream is rare and very few are left in pristine condition. Unfortunately the last two years of drought has dried up this particular stream. I do not know if it will recover or not it will depend on what can survive downstream in the main river system. Attachments:
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1972
Feb 6, 2013 7:51:18 GMT -8
Post by treculi on Feb 6, 2013 7:51:18 GMT -8
I should probably explain what I mean by similarities. There are a number of male species in the family Cyprinidae that develop dark lateral stripes and/or red or orange coloration on their sides, fins or bellies. I just find it interesting that the color red or orange and dark lateral stripes are used by a number of males across a wide variety of habitats to attract females.
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1972
Feb 6, 2013 8:31:16 GMT -8
Post by SeaRat on Feb 6, 2013 8:31:16 GMT -8
treculi, Here is a closeup of the Redside Shiner, which I shot with the Canon F-1N and a 50 mm macro lens. I'll post one more photo too. John Attachments:
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1972
Feb 6, 2013 8:33:49 GMT -8
Post by SeaRat on Feb 6, 2013 8:33:49 GMT -8
Looking at your and my photos, it is amazing that these fish are so similar. We could probably look very closely to see whether their fins have the same patterns too. Note the beat-up heads from diving into the rocks.
John
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