before…

after…

The question is…where is Emerald now? – well here is the latest update…she is off the coast of Abu Dhabi and she seems to like it there.  If you want to keep track of Emerald, all you simply have to do is save this link http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?tag_id=112054 in your favourites and click on it from time to time to get the latest satellite feedback.

stunning colourful soft corals are a common sight at wakatobi…

“As an underwater photographer, Wakatobi exceeded my expectations on so many fronts.  From the trouble free check in of my heavy camera gear on Wakatobi’s transfer from Bali through to the provision of a highly knowledgable personal dive site guide, my two week stay was hugely productive and extremely enjoyable.”

gentle slopes covered with hard and soft corals that are buzzing with marine life…

“The daily dive routine was faultless with quite frankly the best organized dive operation I have ever experienced.  With nothing being too much trouble for the extremely friendly and sociable boat crew, gearing up for every dive was pleasurable and easy.  All you had to do was just be on the boat…Wakatobi’s dive operation took care of everything else.”

from gentle slopes to dramatic drop off.’s…wakatobi has it all…

“from gentle slopes to dramatic drop off.’s…wakatobi has it all…“With hard and soft corals competing for space on the reefs surrounding Wakatobi, you can understand why the team work so hard with the local fishing community to preserve it’s condition.  Dropping down on to any of Wakatobi’s dive sites and you are treated to an array of beautiful marine life on a coral backdrop that is simply stunning.”

with critters of all shapes and sizes…wakatobi has an unforgettable surprise on every dive…
“With many different critters on every dive site, Wakatobi lives up to its claims to being an underwater photographers paradise.  Shooting mostly wide angle I was blown away by large colorful fan corals, towering sponges and incredibly densely covered coral slopes.  When I did shoot macro, pygmy seahorses were plentiful and literally every site offered at least one of the five pygmy’s found in the region.”

with coral so healthy and in such an abundance, competing for space, is a common sight…
“With 5 star food consistent in quality every day and the perfect comfort found in Wakatobi’s new luxurious select villa, I found myself wanting very little other than more hours in the day for diving.”

you can’t help but be taken back by the incredible density of marine life…
“Wakatobi is quite simply a 5 star, luxurious eco dive resort, with some world class diving thown in for good measure.”

the jetty and longhouse…

“Would i return to Wakatobi….i certainly will and am already looking forward to experiencing Wakatobi all over again.”

DUBAI // In 2008, a 40-kilogram green sea turtle was found floating with near-fatal injuries off the coast of Jebel Ali.  But through the efforts of the Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project (DTRP), she was yesterday released into the sea from the beach at the Mina A’Salam hotel as hundreds of onlookers cheered.  The turtle, named Emerald, was taken to within 15 metres of the water in a crate and pointed towards the sea, but just lay there, seemingly in a state of disbelief.  Dr Mariam Hampel, who nursed her back to health, looked on in tears.  ”When she was found, she was floating on the surface of the water, she was weak, dehydrated, thin and close to death,” said Dr Hampel, a German who works at Al Wasl Veterinary Clinic.  ”The injury was filthy and infected with algae growing in the massive crack in her belly. She was barely hanging on to life in the water, positively buoyant, unable to dive.”  Kevin Hyland, a DTRP member from the UK, worked with Dr Hampel to nurse Emerald back to health, along with staff from the Burj Al Arab Aquarium, the Jumeirah Group, the Dubai Falcon Clinic and the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory.  ”We did blood-work analysis on her when she came in, then I was off to a chandlery to buy screws, epoxy and wires so Mariam could close the gash in Emerald’s shell,” Mr Hyland said.  ”We thought she was well enough to be released a year ago but then the positive buoyancy returned and we thought we were going to lose her.”

Among the hundreds watching yesterday were a group of 40 orphans from the Zayed Foundation for Humanitarian Care, and Faye Gordge, 32, from the UK, who named Emerald in a competition on DTRP’s Facebook page.  Emerald began to slowly make her way to the water after hesitating for a few minutes.  As observers cheered and clapped she slipped below the surface and was gone. Where she is off to is anyone’s guess, but if she is anything like Dibba, a turtle previously released by DTRP, she may swim thousands of kilometres to Thailand.  From tomorrow, her movements can be tracked by the public at the website seaturtle.org, thanks to a GPS transmitter strapped to her back and sponsored by the Burj Al Arab hotel.  Five younger turtles were also returned to the sea yesterday from the beach. DTRP has released about 400 turtles so far this year. Warren Baverstock, the Burj Al Arab Aquarium’s British manager, asked that anyone who sees a turtle washed up on shore looking sick or covered in barnacles should call the aquarium at 04 3017198 to report it.   ”We have a large turtle-rehabilitation facility at the aquarium where the turtles receive treatment when they first come in,” said Mr Baverstock.  ”Then once they are better they are taken to the holding tanks at the Mina A’Salam hotel, where visitors can come view them on Wednesdays at 11am and Fridays at 1pm.”

THE NATIONAL: http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/environment/hundreds-cheer-as-emerald-heads-home

OTHER RELATED PRESS RELEASES:

http://www.ahlanlive.com/-emerald-returns-the-ocean-153221.html

http://www.7days.ae/article/news/national/turtles-released-back-wild-31144

 http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/jumeirah-releases-rehabilitated-sea-turtles-back-into-the-arabian-gulf/

http://www.outdooruae.com/index.php/news/354

 http://raffatourism.blogspot.com/2011/11/tourism-news-jumeirah-releases.html 

http://www.businesstravellerme.com/middle-east/news/sea-turtles-to-check-out-from-burj-al-arab

 http://www.emirates247.com/lifestyle/living/dmi-jumeirah-group-release-turtles-2011-11-28-1.430453

The whale shark is the largest shark in the world, growing up to 40ft long with a mouth that’s 4ft 9ins wide. But despite their enormous size, they have no teeth and live almost entirely on microscopic plankton.

Fearless Devon photographer Warren Baverstock captured these amazing images while working with a scientific survey team in the Indian Ocean, just north of Somalia……….click to see mail on line

Keeping it simple – to achieve CFWA you need to find a nice fisheye lens that allows you to focus very close to your subject. Unlike larger dome port, the distance from the front of the lens to your subject is a lot shorter when using the Zen 4″ mini dome port, therefore allowing you to focus closer in on those small subjects which can allow you to achieve a pleasing photograph. Up until now, the most common lens that works perfectly with the Zen 4″, is either the Tokina 10-17mm or the Nikkor 10.5mm. With both of these lens not being suitable for a full frame camera, the Sigma 15mm fisheye with its very close focusing abilities, seemed the obvious choice. Sadly out of the box, the metal shade to this lens hits the inside of the port preventing you from fixing it to the camera housing. With this in mind, there are not many people out there willing to risk buying and chopping up a new lens to just see if it works behind the Zen mini dome and so I have found information about this set up very limiting.

Having a full frame Nikon D3s, I really wanted to give it a try as I believe the results will be great from this camera and so I took the risk of cutting down a brand new Sigma lens and buying the Zen 4″/100mm Fisheye Mini Dome. The following is the first of three tests to see if Sigma full frame 15mm Fisheye lens works behind the Zen 4″ dome port on the Subal ND3 with the Nikon D3s. The goal of this first pool test was just to see if the lens focused properly and just how sharp my initial test shots could be. I am quite pleased with these initial results although the next test will more focus on corner and subject sharpness from f2.5 through to f22.

The following photographs have not been sharpened – click to enlarge.

Tools for the job:

• Not one site suggested using a Dremel Multi-tool and so I used one – why? because i’m not patient enough to use a handsaw, the handsaw blade had to be a special type (straight teeth or something), it would take up to 30 minutes to cut off just one shade and the finish can be a bit untidy. Instead I opted for a steel cutting disc attachment and a steel sanding attachment for the final finish.
• Of course a dremel can be a little untidy if you go mad or it gets out of control so the next thing I needed to have was a perfect guide – a large Jubilee Clip
• A Pencil to mark where I needed to cut.
• An Air Blower – I used a hand blower so I could remove the fine metal shavings that got everywhere while I was cutting.
• Something to Protect the Lens while cutting. This had to be something rigid/sturdy and that fitted perfectly inside the shade. I chose a Sea & Sea YS250 PRO strobe cap – I had one damaged that was hanging around. What better use for something that was responsible for the flooding of one of my strobes.
• Black paint.

My secret to success during this whole procedure was taking my time. The Dremel is a great tool for the job but its easy to put it on full power and go crazy!
Because the shade to the Sigma is made of metal I needed the right cutter – I found this to be perfect.
Preparing the lens was very easy. First I established just how much I had to shave off and once calculated, marked with a pencil. The next stage was to carefully fix the jubilee clip which was to act as a perfect guide for the Dremel cutter. I made sure that the screwing section was away from the area that I would be cutting. The next thing I had to find was something that would protect the lens from the tiny fragments during the cutting process and just in case I slipped with the Dremel. Amazingly an old strobe cap fitted perfectly behind the shade. The next stage was to go to a well lit area away from camera housings etc. and start cutting.
The whole cutting process was so easy. I put the Dremel on a nice speed and let the tool do the work, keeping it flush up against the jubilee clip. I was very much aware that at certain points while cutting through the shade I was also cutting through the plastic cap. However, with the cap having a thickness of about 3mm, this did not matter. Once both shades were cut off I then used the blower to remove as much of the metal shavings as possible. Eventually once satisfied that it was pretty much clear of filings I removed the old strobe cap/lens protector from the lens and again blew the remaining filings away (at no point did i use a cloth to polish the lens). I had perfectly shaved off an amount of the shade without trashing my brand new lens. The final stage was to very carefully sand down the cut surface which was quite sharp in places. I did this using the Dremel on a very slow setting.
Placing the lens onto the camera and into the housing I put a small amount of toothpaste on all four corners of the shade and slowly placed the Zen port into place making sure that I had cut off enough of the shade. The trick with the tooth paste was that I found it tricky judge whether I had shaved enough of the shade off. With fear of scratching the inside of the port, the tooth paste would act as an early warning just in case I had not. With the port securely fitted the next thing was to check if the shade touched the inside of the port during focusing. Again, its tricky to see so the tooth paste is a perfect guide.
The end result – with a nice perfect finish and a lick of paint, I have managed to get a full frame fisheye lens behind the Zen 4″/100mm Fisheye Mini Dome Port……..sorted!

It was around this time I was looking for the next special dive destination. Fed up with the Maldives and the real lack of love for solo underwater photographers, I had recently discovered Indonesia and with two seasons of critter photography under my belt at the very special Kungkungan Bay Resort in Manado, I was finding myself wanting more of the critters but with a bit of reef and nice visibility thrown in for good measure. The other thing that I was increasingly aware of was being an annual vacation; it was paramount that I kept my wife happy (unhappy wife means no camera upgrades so its all about give and take). With this in mind I had already been advised during our second trip to KBR that next time, it would be advisable if I searched for something a little bit more 5 star for the non-diving partner. Of course there is nothing wrong with KBR, but my wife deserves the best and so I recognized that I really had to come up with something special if I was going to get to this neck of the woods again. That’s when I came up with Raja Amput and the Misool Eco Resort. It looked idyllic and I had heard so many good things about the diving.

Well, that was until I bumped into this unknown paradise. Hanging up the phone I was able to divert the rest of my attention to what was unfolding/uploading in front of my eyes, the resorts name – Wakatobi. I had previously heard about this place before but had put it out of my mind as being a slightly expensive place to get to from Dubai (but hey, when you see a set of photographs like I was seeing, well it really put things into perspective). Navigating around the resorts website and I really got the feeling that this place was the real thing, with endorsements from the likes of Berkley White of Backscatter, a great feedback section finished off with a great slideshow of the resorts best photographs, I was convinced…this is where I wanted to go and see in 2011…Wakatobi Dive Resort..
Funnily, when mentioning Wakatobi to my wife, she seemed quite interested. With the temptation of a stop in Bali before hand she had pretty much given me the green light although there were conditions. Agreeing to no corners being cut with the accommodation at Wakatobi, I found myself paying the deposit on one of the resorts new Select Villa’s (Villa no.1). Of course you can get cheaper rooms at Wakatobi, but with my wife islandlocked while I was doing three to four dives a day, it made perfect sense that she was catered for in every way. The resorts web description is as follows: The closest villa to the heart of the resort (restaurant and longhouse). With it’s own corner of the Northern Beach complete with its own Bale or “love shack”. This villa offers secluded privacy in an intimate setting. Enjoy a relaxing massage in your beachfront Bale. I mean who wouldn’t be sold by that….with the deposit paid, it was time to start saving.

I wont go into how special the island is now as I have not actually been there yet but you can find out more on www.wakatobi.com. Of course later on I will be blogging and writing an article about my 13-day adventure at the Wakatobi Dive Resort and just what it is about Wakatobi that makes them an award winning luxury eco resort that boasts a world-class reef on its doorstep. For the time being though, you can check out other people’s feedback from Trip Advisor.

At last…the new Subal ND3s housing has arrived from Backscatter and it looks and feels great. Obviously with any new camera housing, it always pay to double check for leaks and so this morning I jumped into one of my tanks and took it down to 5 metres. Once down at 5 metres I did a thorough check on all of the controls and once satisfied ended the dive. One of my main concerns was a button repair I had to do on the housing. Sadly when the parcel arrived it looked like a custom official either in the US or in the UAE had everything out of the box for inspection and low and behold, look what they managed to do:

God knows how and what they did but there is no impact damage and the simple button repair has been done – it all seems fine. The only comment that I would say is, any company sending out very expensive camera housings and ports etc. etc. should consider investing in some instructional warning stickers just to help the custom officials when they are un-wrapping and inspecting the items. I can’t complain about Backscatter, they were very supportive and shipped me the replacement button plus a few extras bits within 5 days.

So, whats next?…well primarily i’m going to use this camera for wide angle photography (the incentive to buy was filming whale sharks in Djibouti where the low light makes getting good results tricky – but more about that next year), while still using the Subal ND2/Nikon D2Xs for macro. I’m especially excited about experimenting CFWA on this full frame high performer with the Zen 100mm dome port using the Sigma 15mm and there will be a separate blog about my experiences of trimming down the 15mm Sigma shade to get it to fit behind the 100mm Zen. Sadly there is little information available about the 4″ Zen on a full frame camera other than reports of soft corners, but positive feedback from Backscatter’s Berkley White has given me hope.

Alex Mustard has done some great articles about CFWA, Close Focus Wide Angle photography – click Alex Mustard CFWA Report. Sadly it does not go into too much detail about what I want to do, but its a very handy report for anyone looking into investing in new kit for CFWA photography.

]]> http://warrenbaverstock.wordpress.com/2011/08/28/subal-nd3s-underwater-housing-for-the-nikon-d3s-has-finally-arrived-2/feed/ 0 warrenbeaver Subal ND3s - Tried Tested & Ready Button Damage http://warrenbaverstock.wordpress.com/2011/07/01/conservation-and-development-have-to-work-together-by-nikki-schreiber-vision-magazine-uae/ http://warrenbaverstock.wordpress.com/2011/07/01/conservation-and-development-have-to-work-together-by-nikki-schreiber-vision-magazine-uae/#comments Fri, 01 Jul 2011 16:22:25 +0000 Warren Baverstock http://warrenbaverstock.wordpress.com/?p=846 Continue reading →]]> available: http://vision.ae/life/articles/conservation_and_development_have_to_work_together

The Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project is the only project of its kind in the Middle East. But it’s not just about allowing sick turtles to be nursed back to health – vital scientific work increases the international knowledge base used to further protect these creatures.

In the bowels of one of the world’s most luxurious hotels sits a small team of marine biologists who live and breathe turtles; and just as the human guests arrive at the Burj Al Arab by helicopter or Rolls Royce, so distressed turtles arrive in buggies to check in at the Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project (DTRP).

The DTRP was set up in 2004 by Dubai’s Wildlife Protection Office in collaboration with the Jumeirah Hotel Group, which provides the husbandry and finance for the project. It is the only one of its kind in the Middle East with its function being to nurse sick and injured turtles back to health so that they can be released into the ocean, and, to contribute to international marine knowledge through its study of turtles and their migration patterns.

The DTRP accepts any distressed turtle, but by far the most common turtles found in the Arabian Gulf are the critically endangered Hawksbill and the endangered Green Sea Turtle. The majority of rescued turtles are juvenile Hawksbills, which are found washed up on the Gulf coastline during the winter months of December, January and February suffering from the adverse effects of cold sea temperatures. In addition, it is suspected that the cold causes the young turtles to slow down, allowing an abnormally heavy coverage of barnacles to grow on the carapace of some of the turtles – which eventually results in them being unable to swim. Injuries from boats are also a hazard, as is becoming entangled with floating rubbish or becoming sick from ingested plastic.

The turtles that end up at the DTRP are the lucky ones. They are checked over by the marine biologists, the few that need a vet are referred, and then a course of treatment begins that can include fresh water baths which helps to rid the turtle of barnacles, and vitamin supplements and antibiotics as required. Once they have recovered, they are moved to a special turtle enclosure outside one of the Jumeirah group’s other hotels, the Mina A’Salam, for the final stages of rehabilitation. This enclosure works two ways: it allows for the marine biologists to monitor feeding behaviour before the turtles are released, and it raises the public’s awareness of these endangered species. A look at the project’s popular Facebook page (www.facebook.com/turtle.rehabilitation) verifies this: people all over the world follow the progress of turtles they have fallen for while watching them swim and bask in the enclosure.

The Hawksbill and the Green Sea Turtle are in danger of extinction. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature there has been an 87 per cent drop in the global number of nesting Hawksbill females in the last three generations. Modern fishing practices, oil pollution, construction, the Asian appetite for turtle meat and the desire for tortoiseshell are threatening to wipe them out, so the work of the project is paramount in conserving and improving their prognosis.

This winter the DTRP took in 360 turtles, many of them found by the Emirates Marine Environmental Group who comb the beaches looking for distressed turtles. To celebrate Earth Day in April, a group of lucky children were able to release 100 of these rehabilitated turtles from the beach, watched by the public and the world’s press.

Turtles do not usually nest and feed in the same places and can travel large distances between the beaches where they lay their eggs and their feeding grounds, so the study of turtles and their migration patterns is particularly important. Tracking is done by attaching a satellite tag to a turtle; Warren Baverstock and David Robinson, who run the DTRP, explained that the ultimate goal of satellite tagging is to collect information on a part of a turtle’s life history so that this can be used to help conserve and protect the animals and to observe post-rehabilitation behaviour.

The results of their work are shared through the global rehabilitation database that was initiated by the DTRP and is managed from Dubai. This database is used as a tool to connect rehabilitation projects around the world and to facilitate discussion. The team has also been asked to help and advise on projects in Qatar, Sumatra, Kenya and the Maldives.

The true value of the knowledge built up by the marine biologists at DTRP is multifaceted.

The drop in water temperature in winter in the Arabian Gulf is particularly difficult for the tropical Hawksbill turtle, which prefers the much warmer conditions of the Arabian Gulf in the summer. Hawksbill turtles in other parts of the world are not having to endure these drops in temperature and so it is the study of the Gulf Hawksbill turtles which will contribute to international scientific knowledge on their resilience to climate change and what needs to be done to ensure that there isn’t a future imbalance of males-to-females [the sex of the hatchling is determined by the incubation temperature].

In addition, the DTRP is in a great position to advise on turtle rehabilitation. As they continue to provide best practice, they are constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible and reducing the number of turtles that die. The satellite tagging project contributes to the increasing database of knowledge surrounding turtle migration which helps turtle conservationists all over the world to understand what needs to be done to protect turtles in their natural habitats.

Lastly, the project is showing how conservation can work alongside development influencing and educating the choices made in industry. As Warren Baverstock says, “Conservation and development have to work together.”

a big thank you to Nikki Schreiber and Vision Magazine UAE for a well written piece about the DTRP.

Baverstock, 42, from Plymouth,  England, said, ”I slowly approached a three metre wide manta. I floated mesmerized by its graceful swimming pattern. Snapping out of my daze, I began to photograph the manta as it circled just under the surface whilst deeper down more mantas fed.” Baverstock, who works in the public aquarium industry and is based in the Middle East, added: ”Another manta ray glided alongside the small reef to be cleaned. Moments later two more arrived and as the density of plankton increased, so did the manta activity. Waiting patiently I peered down at the cleaning station, wondering what would happen next. I did not have to wait long and before I knew it, several mantas suddenly started to circle towards the surface, feeding on the soup of plankton all around me. The experience was incredible and as the the group synchronized so that they could all feed together, I watched with amazement as 25 large manta rays circled and barrel-rolled with mouths wide open less than a metre away from my camera. I had never felt so overwhelmed about such an amazing animal encounter.”

Manta rays are the world’s largest ray and have the biggest brain to body weight ratio of their cousins the skates and sharks. They feed on plankton and fish larvae either on the ocean floor or in open water. They filter their food from the water passing through their gills as they swim. Mantas frequently visit cleaning stations where small fish such as wrasse, remora, and angelfish swim in their gills.

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