Hi All,

Fed up being the only one posting so I've set my own site up which please have a look at :-
http://www.images-underwater.net/index.html

There are some photos from the "Big 100" as celbration of DSDC 25th aniversary.
http://www.images-underwater.net/Mussandam_17-10-2008.html

Hope you like them.

Cheers,
Richard B.

www.images-underwater.net

Neptune 23rd August 2008

Thanks to Steve Lockie for organising and running the trip.
Vis was fantastic for once, shame there wasn't the fish life to match.

However as is my style now I'll let a some photos do the talking.

Small Appature for dark background.

Hermit Crab (approx 2cm)

Mouth of a Brittle Star

Hope you like them.

Cheers, Richard B.

Dammiyats - Oman, Muscat 1 Aug 2008

Hi All,


Only one posting still so while not an Offical DSDC club trip a group from the club went down to visit an old member Steve G.


We did two dives on the Dammiyat Islands off shore from Muscat in Oman. These sites are famous for marine life and we were all hopefull of some big life, sadly no whale sharks but Mark addmitted he scares all fish away :-)


I'm not a long winded on so I'll shut up and let the photos do the talking from now.

Thanks to Steve and Lou for organising the diving and hospitality.

Cheers,

Richard B.

p.s. Grupmy Goat please forgive the spelling :-)

Zhainab 2nd May - Nudibranch

Hi,



Seeing as nobody else seems to post EVER here's an update on last weekends diving.

It was supposed to be the swift but despite a valiant effort and 3 hours the swift wasn't going to happen so it was back to the Zhainab.Viz was "Good" by recent standards but sadly still not the wreck of old.

Took my new toy, Macro lens out to play with the Nudibranch's.


This is what they normally look like with a normal camera (17-70mm), even zoomed (70mm) in :



This is through the Macro, approx 2:1 (so double life size on the camera sensor) :



The front :



The back :



None of the above are cropped they are as I took the shot, just to prove it here is one I have cropped :



(C) R Bailey.Cannon 350DSigma 105 macro with +4 DiopterIkelite eTTL housing2 x DS125 strobesand a yellow box to breath from.





Cheers,Richard B.
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Check out more pictures from my latest underwater exploits :-http://www.flickr.com/photos/25985065@N06/(Sorry if your Etisicrap, get a free web proxy.)

Musandam - 7th March - Kachalo, Ras Musandam & Marsden's Arse

Hi,

First and foremost thanks to "Scooter" Bob for organising another fantastic fast boat trip.
I don't have the eloquence (or spelling) of the Grumpy Goat so I'll let my pictures do the talking.

Cheers,
Richard B.

Scooter Bob Himself

Bandits at 12 O'clock, climb up and dive from the sun !

Could almost be the Red Sea

A few "Rays" of Sun shine.

My "lucky" buddy Rebreather Bob.

Is he stoned ?

Look a shark ! Closer..Closer Still...

Is that close enough, look bottom right ! wonder what caused the bubbles :-)

(C) R Bailey 2008

Canon 350D, Ikelite eTTL housing, Sigma 17-70 Macro, 8" dome, twin DS125 Strobes.

(C) R Bailey 2008
Canon 350D, Ikelite eTTL housing, Sigma 17-70 macro, 8" dome and twin DS125 Strobes.

Mussandam Dhow trip Fri Feb 29th

Divers,

Are you frustrated at the lack of diving on the west coast due to poor weather? The weather is usually better on the east coast. Why not join us for some great diving in the Mussandam?

Please drop in at the club on Monday evening to sign up for the Mussandam dhow trip scheduled for Friday Feb 29th.

For those of you who are new to the club, this is a two cylinder dive in Mussandam, Oman (possible dive sites: Octopus Rock and Lima Rock, weather permitting). The weather was good on last month's dhow trip, so this should be a good social outing.

You may wish to bring your family and friends.

Here are the cost details:

CLUB MEMBER DIVER 200/- (ALL CLUBS)
GUEST DIVER (ALL AGES) 300/-
NON-DIVER ADULT 100/-
NON DIVER CHILD(>12) 50/-
(<12) FOC
CLUB MEMBER STUDENT DIVER 100/- (ALL CLUBS)

If you have any questions, please see me at the club on Monday evening.

Regards,
Azzam

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DSDC - 25th Anniversary Ball - 15 May 2008

Hi all,

Pls put this date in your diaries.

Looks like Nancy has finalised a deal with the Movenpick.
The tickets will be Dhs 275 per head which will include welcome drink, buffet dinner, 4 bottles of wine per table (tables of 10), disco etc. For further "refreshments" the bar will be open at normal prices - around Dhs25 per drink.
Nancy is on leave, but on her return she'll be looking for help to organise the final details, particularly 1. Ticket sales 2. Raffle Prizes 3. Party games

We'd like to see all DSDC members there plus, of course, the Hash as well - let's go for 300 bodies and have a damned good party. We have an "extrovert" DJ, Mike Greaves, lined up and he'll certainly liven things up so long as you're willing to enter into the spirit of things!!!!!!

Basically we won't be looking too make much money on tickets, but have the opportunity to make a decent amount on a good raffle, so if you can help procure some top prizes, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Jim

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Bad Viz Doesn't mean bad dive

As well as Jims comment abouyt lack of blogging ;-) another complaint for this time of year can be poor visability either from plankton on the east coast or the silt on the west coast. However either by sneaking inside the wreck or using natural light with a wide lens you can still get some good shots.



If you can sneak inside you can also get some atmospheric shots. (Safety First, make sure your properly trained and equipped, see the line rigged.)

The fish life is still thier but again you need a wide lens to get them in.

Inchape II, 17-11/2007 (c) Richard Bailey

Cannon 350D, Ikelite eTTL housing, 2xDS125 strobes, Sigma 10-20mm lens.

Cheers,

Richard B.

Whale of a time

Whale Shark

When Sharjah Wanderers BSAC 406 went diving in the Mussandam on 13th July, this is what cruised past. Thanks to King, Brian for the photograph.

Raffle Prizes

The Alvin Appeal raffle was drawn on July 5th at Al Boom. The list of prize winners is here. If you won a prize, please claim it ( and if you don't want it, you can always donate it to the Club!) =)

I don't yet know how much was raised for Alvin; I'll update this when I find out.