POSTED 2 JUNE 09
WOW!!! After lots and lots of planning since late 2008, the inaugural Digital Dancer workshop aboard the Sun Dancer of the Peter Hughes Fleet, was a HUGE SUCCESS!!! Honestly, I couldn’t be happier, and I truly hope all attendees got what they were hoping for and more. A special thanks to all who attended - what a great group!! There were people ranging from first-timers with point & shoots, to seasoned veterans with big DSLRs, to video, to . . . . even four Nikonos V’s on board -gasp-. Truly a virtual cornucopia of equipment spanning 20 years, and differences of 30 lbs! If this was the first of the series, then great things are on the horizon - the Digital Dancers will only get better from here, with improved presentations, streamlined educational techniques, and a better selection of vessels as we expand Digital Dancer workshop schedule to include more boats in the fleet.
Hats off to the top-notch crew on the beautiful Sun Dancer. I’ve been on liveaboards all over the world, and this one is without a doubt, among the finest out there. First off, at 138’, its wildly spacious. Most of the crew had been working there for many, many years, and no one would deny that a happy liveaboard crew makes for a happy vacation for us! The weather was good, the food was great, and the diving . . . - well just look at the pics and decide for yourself!
I wish I could show all the pics of all the workshop attendees! I was almost in tears during the end-of-week slideshow, seeing what everyone produced! It was almost scary thinking that I really need to kick my own photography up a few notches after seeing the quality of my students! The annual Peter Hughes photo competition winners are going to made up entirely of Digital Dancer attendees! So far, comments have been overwhelmingly positive, but we really hope everyone flew home feeling like they got everything they wanted. out of it, and we look forward to having you back on board again for another Digital Dancer.
I also used this trip to test out the new Aquatica D90 housing. Hubba hubba. I’m in love. Until something more gooder comes out, I’m now shooting the D90 exclusively. The housing is so tiny, so travelable, yet so rugged. I now own two personally, and its my current top recommendation. Yes, there are a few better cameras out there (D3x, 1DS MK III, etc), but when you weigh in weight, cost, transportability, and all the other factors that make up the ultimate package, the D90 Aquatica package is THE camera. Almost all the shots in this gallery were shot with the D90 (I did a few dives with the D2x) and I’ll have some video clips from the D90 up soon. The last 8 pics were shot at Shark-Ray Alley off Ambergis Key after the Digital Dancer - a great vacation extension after any Sun Dancer trip.