The San Diego Underwater Photographic Society (SDUPS) is one of the earliest organizations ever to be dedicated to the promotion and advancement of the art and techniques of underwater photography and videography with nearly 50 years of history to its credit. SDUPS was first established on September 28, 1961 by underwater photographic pioneers Ron Church and Chuck Nicklin at San Diego’s Diving Locker dive shop formerly on Cass Street in Pacific Beach.
Underwater photography is the process of taking photographs while under water. It is usually done while scuba diving, but can be done while diving on surface supply, snorkeling, swimming, from a submersible or remotely operated underwater vehicle, or from automated cameras lowered from the surface.
Underwater videography is the branch of electronic underwater photography concerned with capturing underwater moving images as a recreational diving, scientific, commercial, documentary, or filmmaking activity.
Pacific Beach is a neighborhood in San Diego, bounded by La Jolla to the north, Mission Beach and Mission Bay to the south, Interstate 5 to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. While formerly largely populated by young people, surfers, and college students, because of rising property and rental costs the population is gradually becoming older and more affluent. "P.B.," as it is known as by local residents, is home to one of San Diego's more developed nightlife scenes, with a great variety of bars, eateries, and clothing stores located along Garnet Avenue and Mission Boulevard.
In 2005, SDUPS won first place in the Nature's Best Magazine annual competition, one of the world's most respected photo competitions. The Societies winning photos were then displayed at the Smithsonian Museum.
Nature's Best Photography is a magazine based in Reston, Virginia. Its primary focus is to inspire greater understanding and stewardship of nature through the art of photography.
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2016, with 7.1 million visitors, it was the fourth most visited museum in the world and the most visited natural-history museum in the world. Opened in 1910, the museum on the National Mall was one of the first Smithsonian buildings constructed exclusively to hold the national collections and research facilities. The main building has an overall area of 1,500,000 square feet (140,000 m2) with 325,000 square feet (30,200 m2) of exhibition and public space and houses over 1,000 employees.
SDUPS membership covers all levels of underwater photography from beginning U/W photographers to amateurs, semi-professional and full-time professional underwater photographers, using a wide range of equipment and techniques. These include such varied techniques as film photography, Digital photography, High-definition video and even the 3-D underwater Imax technology of SDUPS members Howard and Michelle Hall (Under the Sea 3D, Coral Reef Adventure)
Digital photography uses cameras containing arrays of electronic photodetectors to capture images focused by a lens, as opposed to an exposure on photographic film. The captured images are digitized and stored as a computer file ready for further digital processing, viewing, digital publishing or printing.
High-definition video is video of higher resolution and quality than standard-definition. While there is no standardized meaning for high-definition, generally any video image with considerably more than 480 vertical lines or 576 vertical lines (Europe) is considered high-definition. 480 scan lines is generally the minimum even though the majority of systems greatly exceed that. Images of standard resolution captured at rates faster than normal, by a high-speed camera may be considered high-definition in some contexts. Some television series shot on high-definition video are made to look as if they have been shot on film, a technique which is often known as filmizing.
Coral Reef Adventure is a 70mm American documentary film released in 2003 to IMAX theaters. It is narrated by actor Liam Neeson, and directed by Greg MacGillivray.
The Society is still active today with monthly meetings held every 4th Thursday of the month at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography's Sumner Auditorium at 8602 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm.
Annually in May SDUPS presents its film festival featuring underwater photographs and video from all over the world by both professional and amateur photographers.
SDUPS is a Corporation organized pursuant to the 501(c) Corporation laws of the State of California.
La Jolla is a hilly, seaside community within the city of San Diego, California, occupying 7 miles (11 km) of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean within the northern city limits. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781.
Amateur Photographer is a British photography magazine, published weekly by TI Media. The magazine provides articles on equipment reviews, photographic technique, and profiles of professional photographers.
Professional Photographers of America (PPA) is a worldwide trade association of professional photographers. As of 2018, PPA has more than 30,000 members in 60 countries.
Howard Schatz is an American photographer.
Michael Alexander Arbuthnot is an archaeologist, instructor and archaeological film-maker.
D-Photo is a bi-monthly full colour, perfect bound photography magazine that focuses on digital photography, cameras and related products in New Zealand. D-Photo is produced by Parkside Media and caters to novice, amateur, and enthusiast photographers.
Photographic Society of America (PSA) is one of the largest, worldwide, non-profit organizations of its kind. Established in 1934, it is for casual shutterbugs, serious amateurs, and professional photographers. PSA has members in over 75 countries. Membership is currently about 5,500, with 35% outside the USA. The current president of the PSA is Elena McTighe, who took the role in October 2017.
Bob Lampert is an American photographer who also works with film, digital or video cameras. Lampert first started winning awards for his photography as a young San Diego teenager when he won a prized Kodak photographic award. His passion for photography led him to a photographic career which has spanned over 50 years; winning two Emmy's (1982–1987) and four Golden Mike Awards, a Sigma Delta Chi Award in Journalism and a State Bar of California Award for Administration of Justice reporting. In addition, Lampert's still photography has been published in Time and Life Magazines, as well as California and Washington newspapers.
Quest Couch is an American writer, photographer, and inventor. He created the LumiQuest line of photo flash accessories and is the author of several books on flash photography. Couch learned to SCUBA dive at age 8, and was certified at 16. He has been involved with underwater photography, the CUDA line of SCUBA diving equipment in 1984, partnered in building a surf school hotel in Costa Rica in 2002, and co-founded the Quest Nautical, a line of offshore catamaran products. Most recently Couch designed the Eagleye golf putter.
The Boston Camera Club is the leading amateur photographic organization in Boston, Massachusetts and immediate vicinity. Founded in 1881, it offers activities of interest to amateur photographers, particularly digital photography. It meets weekly and is open to the public.
The Dansk Fotografisk Forening (DFF) or Danish Photographers Association is a non-profit organization for photographers who earn a living from photography. Since 1879, it has been supporting professional photography and assisting its members.
Pierre Dubreuil was a French photographer, born in Lille, who spent his career in France and Belgium. As a pioneer of modernist photography, Dubreuil embraced innovative techniques and ideas that were celebrated, criticized, and at times, overlooked. Over the course of his career, which was interrupted by both World Wars, Dubreuil's work was shown at the Photo-Club de Paris, the Albright Gallery exhibition in Buffalo, New York, the Little Gallery of the Amateur Photography Magazine in London, and the Royal Photographic Society. In 1988, more than forty years after Dubreuil's death, photographer and collector Tom Jacobson revived interest in his work, seeking out long-forgotten and displaced works that culminated in an exhibition at the Musée d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.
The World Photography Organisation is a global platform for photography initiatives.
Scott B. Davis is an American photographer known for his black and white images of the Southern California landscape. Davis, who writes his name foregoing capitalization, utilizes a century-old platinum printing process and self-built camera to make 16" x 20" contact prints.
Underwater photography is a scuba-based underwater sport governed by Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) where teams of competitors using digital underwater camera systems all dive at the same saltwater ocean sites at the same time over a two-day period. The submitted digital images are then assessed and ranked by a jury using a maximum of five photographic categories as well as an overall score. The sport was developed prior to 1985 as a photographic film-based event and is currently mainly practised in non-English speaking countries.
The NOGI Awards is an award presented annually by the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences to diving luminaries and is "considered the Oscar of the ocean world." Selection of recipients is based on their record of accomplishments and excellence in the diving world. NOGI awards are given out to world-class standouts of the diving community who have distinguished themselves and made a global impact on diving in one or more of four general categories: Science, Arts, Sports/Education, and Environment. A fifth NOGI is given for Distinguished Service.
The Photographic Society of Madras, also known as PSM, is a photographic society based in Chennai city of India. Founded in 1857, it is the oldest photographic society in India and one of the oldest in the world. PSM was founded in 1857, with the objective of promoting the Art and Science of Photography. The Society was renamed as Madras Amateur Photographic Society in the mid-1880s and later it reverted to its original name and continues to be known as Photographic Society of Madras. The Photographic Society of Madras is registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act 1975. PSM organizes programs including, photo-walks, photo-tours, classes, workshops, salons and exhibitions, on most weeks of the year. Membership is open to anyone with an interest in photography.
Founded in 1894 the Walthamstow & District Photographic Society (WDPS) is one of the oldest photographic societies in the UK. It is affiliated to the East Anglia Federation of Photographic Societies which in turn is affiliated to the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain.
Charles "Flip" Nicklin is a nature photographer best known for his underwater photographs of whales.
He has been called "one of the world's leading whale photographers."