Graffiti found by our friend, Mandi, while walking the Via dell’ Amore (Path of Love) between Riomaggiore and Manarola in Italy (Cinque Terre):
It makes me wonder if there is also a padlock on the guard rail with our names on it, and a key in the sea.
Better late than never. Adam, Mani, and had a lovely Sunday morning dive on the 6th. Visibility in La Jolla Canyon was 20 feet or more, making it very bright compared to usual. The visibility was probably the result of deep upwellings, given the 48F (9C) water temperature. Brrrr. In fact, coming up to 55 degree water in the shallows actually felt warm. My dry suit buddies didn’t hold back on explaining just how warm they were. >:(
When I first heard about it, the Sigma DP1 sounded like the perfect package. A full size sensor, 28mm fixed lens and SLR controls. It was exactly what I wanted. A year passed from the initial announcements, I was tired of waiting and eventually bought a Ricoh GX100. I’m happy with it, but I never lost interest in the Sigma DP1. The first reviews are finally out for the DP1:
PopPhoto’s DP1 Review
The Online Photographer’s DP1 Review
It seems the DP1 is a mixed bag. Great images, but you have to deal with shutter lag, slow focusing, LCD screen lock, and slow write speeds. It is sounds awkward to work with unless you have a still shot. It is hard to believe they put all the work into making a full size sensor in a compact, but then kept all the flaws compacts had years ago.
The slow focus is probably a technical issue that can be ironed out in the next version. But the slow shot to shot time is inexcusable – this is an expensive camera, why couldn’t they have added more memory to the camera to buffer photos?
Last Friday I headed out to Avalon for the day with Anna, Mani, Adam and Randi. Anna played aunt and watched Carson while we did a few dives. Visibility wasn’t as fantastic, but kelp forests are always great to explore. It is a pretty easy trip for some great diving, so I’m sure I’ll be back.
This Friday we will be in Two Harbors, Catalina’s isthmus.
Voice of San Diego has a good article on the increasingly skinny grey whales that migrate down the Pacific coast to Baja. It is thought that warmer waters have allowed for more fish migration and greater competition for plankton in Arctic seas. The whales end up with a longer migration in their search for food. The dropping numbers in Baja lagoons has put some hurt on the “eco-tourism” down there. The greys aren’t in danger as a species, but this could be a a warning of the changes that are taking place in our oceans.
