A storm on the horizon...

Seems like a storm is brewing. Be aware that I am currently working on a blog post that will reflect the negative events experienced of late. As a diver, Ocean lover and photographer I have great respect for all the creatures found within this water environment. Apart from the liquidmocean venture I also own and run a pro shark diving social network and until recently had an almost 20,000 strong following of a shark conservation Page that I had created on facebook.

The mistake I made was to invite co-admins to help run the shark conservation page who were quite aware of my stepping away from the limelight to concentrate on the formation of the liquidmocean aesthetic. Very quickly this turned sour. I was accused of not having the best intentions towards shark conservation and that my real concerns were with the monetizing of the page and associated products.

In a couple of days, as that will be how long it will take me to document my account of events, I will be posting that blog up here. I won't name name's as that is not my style. The people who have attacked me know who they are. The 'Keyboard Rambo's' who hide behind aliases in order to defame me on my business facebook pages know who they are, the people who feed these lies and disinformation about me know who they are. To those who continue to tarnish my name with your unfounded assumptions, shame on you all.

It is not I who has lost sight of the end goal. Your respective visions of conservation are seriously tainted with the hues of fanaticism. 

Welcome to Sanur....

Today was a mixture of many things. A day of celebrating my relationship with the Ocean in the form of a few hours strapped to my camera's viewfinder recording instances from the Rusty sponsored 'Rumble in Da Jungle' event in Sanur, Bali, this morning. It was also a day of realization that not everyone you think you know are actually the person you believe them to be. It was a day to rejoice insofar that a non-liquidmocean undertaking is vibrant and a day for concern after my Wife was diagnosed with an Ovarian cyst! I rubbed shoulders, or the collar at least, of an extra from the movie, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, I kid not. Check the images of this mornings event, why anyone would want to parade a dog around dressed like that defeats me.

We started out at 5.50am weaving through the Balinese traffic, yep even at that hour. I've always wondered why I haven't seen more accidents, people not using lights, pulling straight out onto a busy road without looking, no helmets, complete families on a step through Yamaha! It's all seen on the roads here on a daily basis, if not hourly basis. Our team rider 'Dek' was subscribed in for the Rusty sponsored event so we headed down early to get some images at first light. Unfortunately 'Dek' never made it through to the next Heats. He bowed out of Heat 6 after being in second (yay) spot for most of the period, being ousted to third in the closing seconds of the heat, such is life. "We'll get the next one buddy"! Mind you the guy above slammed into the lead of the heat with this tube so well deserved too.

The rest of the day, well let's just say it was an adventure. I'm not gonna go into the details here as I try not to talk BS about anyone, but my eyes were certainly opened today into just how much of a delusional state some people are happy to live in. Just another bump on this roller coaster of a ride we call life. The situation is sorted now so no worries.

Anyway, that's me for the day. We, the wife and I, go back for her second consultation in two weeks so she's on the drugs until then. Fingers crossed that the results will be fine..

Cheers all, until tomorrow. Sorry for the late posting here but as you can see, heavily sidetracked today.

Mark,
liquidmocean.

Room to think....

Photography for me is a passion, I started my affair with this medium  more years ago than I care to remember. It's only now, well the past few years, that I turn my attention to the still imaging aspect of the Ocean. My 'past life' was military based. I grew up on the south coast of the United Kingdom and as a natural progression from the child services facilities in which I spent my formative years I progressed into the British Infantry as a boy soldier at just sixteen years of age. The next twelve years were spent in a mixture of situations and departments of the military. One such posting to the horn of Africa, Djibouti, allowed me to get my first real taste of the tropical seas that would figure so greatly in the years to come.

On leaving the 'green gear' behind I decided that the Ocean life was for me. I decided to get my SCUBA Instructors ticket and go traveling the World. The perfect utopian existence, as the training agency PADI, Professional Association of Diving Instructors, would have you believe. Unfortunately the diving industry is full of young people with little, if any, life experience who are willing to work for free. This action in exchange for somewhere to crash and a pittance for food, a way to fill that sabbatical with some great adventure, basically ensures that there are little wages available even to the highest qualified instructor. The sad fact of the industry is that there are all too many dive shop owners aware of this and who are more than happy exploit this almost free worker market. I didn't want to be a part of that.

I started out filming underwater back in 1995. A mate had asked if I had ever shot underwater video as he had a small business to provide tourist divers on the island of Tenerife with souvenir video's. Being slightly economical with the truth I informed him that I was the next Jacques Cousteau, such were my skills with an underwater camera....I had that night to familiarize myself with the camera, the housing and filming techniques! Well I guess I done something right, as here I am some 16 years later and still in the Ocean imaging game, and still loving each day.

Having moved somewhat towards surf sport photography the swimming aspect is also something that keeps me in shape. Depending on the seas though depends on the experience. The image above was taken at the Padma Beach location on the island of Bali. On some days the waves are mushy, they just form and fold in on themselves. On other days they form nice little barrels, or big barrels depending on the swell size. In any barrel, when you find yourself in there, there is a split second, a time where you and the wave seem to gel. The colors etch themselves firmly onto the canvas of your mind, indelible hues of a unique moment archived in your library of worldly experiences.

For the future? Who knows? I have just started the liquidmocean aesthetic, I don't think it fair to suggest it is any one specific item. There are just so many possibilities to do with the Ocean that I want to try and concentrate on a few of them with the imaging, clothing and social interaction. It would, I feel, be too inhibiting to have this amazing affinity with the Ocean and not be able to share that in more than one way with those who care to listen and follow. I hope you too will be along for the ride.

The above image was taken with a Canon 500D using a Canon 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 EF S wide angle lens at 10mm. The whole rig was housed in a Liquid Eye water housing, made here in Bali.

Cheers, until tomorrow's Ocean Photo Of the Day.
Mark
liquidmocean

Gone Fishin'......

Today's photo brings home the reality of survival from the island of Bali, Indonesia. I'd never really noted these guys before, I guess I was too preoccupied with the waves and getting ready for some serious swimming but that was always on days when there was actually a good swell. On the island of Serangen the locals do actually farm corals and seaweed so the role of Hunter/Gatherer is simply another add on to their daily chores.

It's only at times of low tide when these guys can go retrieve their small nets for fish, an iron bar to weed out any crustaceans or octopus, a keep net and some plastic bottles for anything that may also take their fancy or that could be sold to the aquarium traders in town. OK so it looks like a nice setting and yes, even with the rendering I carried out in post to make this image look cold and desolate, the sun was shining. However there are days when the rain is pelting down, when the winds are blowing, when the last thing anyone would want to do is to patrol knee to waist high in Ocean to look for food, but this is the task set before this guy, and many like him.

To survive day to day, to be able to provide for the family day to day is often a task that is very apparent in many of the tropical settings of the World but an aspect of daily life that is equally overlooked by visitors. The next time you see a similar scenario take a moment, just a few seconds, to appreciate the regimental discipline within us all for self preservation, for survival.

This image was shot using a Canon 5DMkII fitted with a Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L IS zoom lens. It was taken on the Serangen Island of Bali, Indonesia.

Cheers,
Mark.
liquidmocean.

Dawn Patrol at Serangen, Bali.

Even living in Bali can have its strains and stresses. The pollution, traffic nightmares, administrative headaches and dealing with the idiosyncrasies of doing business the Indo way can all weigh heavily on one's shoulders. What a blessing therefore it is to have this love affair with the Ocean as a means to relax, to get away from those other aspects of living on the 'Island of the Gods'. I guess I chose wisely when we decided to go with liquidmocean being an Ocean based entity, I don't think there could have been any other possibility anyway, whichever way we looked at it.

On this morning in particular I had made my way down to the Serangen Reef break as I was to meet a friend there and try to snag some images of him for our web promotions etc. I couldn't have asked for a better setting. The sunrise, as you can see, was just flawless. What tops this image off is the three surfers heading out, part of what I call the 'Dawn Patrol', that small band of people you will find on many of the Balinese breaks, and I'm sure breaks of the World, who like nothing better that catching waves as the sun peeks over the horizon.

This was a calm day, there was a swell, a small one, some waves were caught, but most of all we just enjoyed this incredible weather, a sunny pit stop in the tail ends of the recent wet season.

Cheers, catch up again tomorrow for more sharing of our Ocean imagery.
Mark
liquidmocean

Tales from the tube...

Today's image was a first for me, a first time to be inside the barrel of a wave looking out. The icing on the cake is the surfer in the distance riding away from the closing section of the wave, the bit with me in it! The shot was taken at the Serangen Reef break in Bali, Indonesia about two months ago. I had been working my confidence up to get into the waves and this day they seemed to be perfect in size and hollowness to be able to attempt this image.

It all seems tame enough. I'm not sure how many people are aware though that sea water is heavy, damned heavy. In fact 3 cubic foot of sea water weighs a tonne, literally. Now that's a lot of weight. So imagine, you see a little wave and think "hey they look fun" well if you get the timing wrong and get hit by the falling lip of the wave, it can hurt, and hurt a lot. On days where the waves appear to be small I've been massively corrected by mother nature by getting a hefty dose of whoop ass from a wave that looked no bigger than knee high. On larger waves it can feel like you are about to be snapped in two.

Then you have the hold down. The hold down is the action the water has on you as it rolls out it's final throes of 'life' in the shallows. With any wave there is an energy bar of water following it, as part of the wave. This section of the wave is constantly rolling, tumbling. When you get caught wrong in the wave, and if it is big enough, it will pull you down, the force is amazing. You basically have to accept that the wave will only let you up when it's done with you, pure and simple. Mix that with the fact that you also on a shallow reef will explain why at all times I wear protective head gear. Getting bounced around on the reefs by these waves is no laughing matter when it comes to potential injury, it's not a matter of if you get a few bruises, it's a matter of when.

At the end of the day it's all worth it though, and if it was that easy then everyone would be doing it, right?

Cheers, pop back tomorrow for more adventures...

Mark.
liquidmocean

The Headbanging Mermaid.

So it's the weekend, we're a water family so we headed out to the beach where we like to swim in a nice protected area. Balangan Beach, located on what is called the 'Bukit' in Bali, that lump at the bottom of the island, is home to one of the most photogenic spots on the island. Getting out of the car we let 'Muppet' off the leash, whereupon she set to immediate discovery of her surroundings, including one very large but placid looking dog. Imagine our surprise when the dog turned out to belong to some friends of ours that we hadn't seen for quite a number of months. The afternoon was spent nattering about all things past and present that had happened in our respective adventures since last seeing them. Had a nice afternoon, the dogs were happy and didn't stop chasing each other around the beach.

So there I am, watching the Ocean, it's a stunning afternoon so I asked Terri to pose for me, not in the traditional way but I was after her scalp. I'd seen an image before that was used for a conditioner promotion, so why not, give it a bash. OK so it requires for the model to sit in the water and duck her long hair into the water, face down. On the count of three she is then to just throw her head backwards allowing the hair to throw water out as it acts under the centrifugal force. The above was the favorite result of the twenty or so times I asked Terri to dunk her head, I never had the heart to tell her she looked like a headbanging mermaid! Now there's a picture.

On getting back to the car, I know I shouldn't say it, as I had left my iPhone in it, I found that our team rider 'Dek' had sent me an SMS. We are now entered into the Rusty sponsored 'Rumble in da Jungle' 2011 Pro Surf competition. He was asking if I could collect him in the morning, at 5am!! Sheesh. Well I hope the waves were going to favor us after getting up at that time.

I reckon they should rename the event to 'The Squeak in the Bushes' the waves today were very small on the chosen break, Sanur. So we have until May 8th to wait for a good wave day, once that happens we're set to go. The chosen spot is a crazy reef break, super shallow at the best of times and breaks onto coral reef, not plateau...ouch to any wipe outs.

With the day called off Dek and I decided to head over to his house break in Padma, close to Legian to see of we could at least get some images of him in the water there. We weren't let down. The tide was coming in and the waves getting progressively bigger. You can see a selection of shots from this session over on our facebook page.

Cheers,
Mark.

I love the Beetles, but this is ridiculous!

The last few days have been hectic. I just took a look at the blog and realized that last post was from Wednesday, and today is Saturday! Where did the time go? Seems I'm rushed off my feet at the moment with items to take care of from printing, ordering, designing, emailing and then all the photography issues too. I must though apologize to my lovely wife Terri as I know I become a grumpy old arse when the workload increases. I suppose it's just my way of dealing with it, stay completely focused and try to address each item as I see fit. Terri's decisions generally tend to be the wiser option as she has a great knack for balancing up any situation and then logically thinking that through. I tend more to go with the 'Bull in a China Shop' attitude. Cheers babe, thanks for the support.

I guess my actions would be more in tune if I only had limited time on the planet. Not that I haven't but at least the duration is greater than let's say these little beetles. Whilst working last night I couldn't quite put my finger on the unusual smell that hung in the air. I've had a couple of showers this week so it couldn't be me?? I couldn't trace it until the dog started going bonkers out in the car port. Opening the door was like stepping into a scene of some biblical plague scene. The car port was full, literally, with hundreds of beetles, these small black bugs were everywhere. I guess the stink was coming from their natural defense system which when they feel threatened they give off a really shitty smelling pong! The dog was getting a nose full of the pungent stuff hence her whimpering, I don't blame her, it stank.

Aggregations such as these in the animal world suggest a mating run was taking place in my car port! Such fun, never thought I would host an insect orgy but there ya go. Living in Indonesia is full of surprises.

Cheers,
Mark.

A great session, and a cool Tee Shirt...

Serangen seems to be my break of choice of late, and today it was one of my best sessions to date. Not because it was huge, because it wasn't, or because I got some cool shots but just for the weather, the vibe and the warmth of the Ocean. I collected 'Dek' in Padma at 7am and headed north to the Serangen turn off on the main arterial route, direction Sanur. It wasn't long before we were bouncing down the dirt track that leads to the beach. We could see on arrival that there were already a fair number of people out in the lineup but the breaks here are spread out over a relatively large area so no worries. I parked in my customary place at Dedik's Warung on the left hand side of the beach, the second small cafe as you look to the Ocean. The imagery from the session can be seen in its entirety at the Album for Today over at the liquidmocean facebook page.

Out came the raw potato, surf photographers out there, my hidden gem of info is to cut a piece of raw potato and rub the starch of the raw internal 'flesh' of the spud onto your lens ports. Everyone is always trying to avoid the water on the port. I do it the other way around, I try to get it sitting in a continuous film across the front of the port acting as another optical element in the focal chain. It seems to work. If the spud is fresh it works better, normally allows you to get a full minute of uninterrupted sheen on the port before it starts breaking down at the beginning. This wears off as the session time increases. I normally find it is still relatively effective until about two hours post application. By that time I'm knackered anyway and just about ready to call it a day in the water.

After a couple of hours in the water I called it a day. Dragging myself away from the waves I headed to Dedik's for my post swim coffee, a handful of Bananas and a quick scan of the images of the session. I also use this time to check up on SMS messages and missed calls etc, just to keep my finger on the pulse as it were. An SMS was waiting for me from the missus, Terri. She'd had word from the Tee Shirt printers that our latest design was ready for collection. Until now we had been making Tee's with our Logo as the main design, as a way to initially get the name out there.

Now I don't know about you but my memory is not the best at retaining the names and places I've met and been so thus the idea for the design we're calling "What's in a Name"? came about. I'm sure there are many of you who've surfed Bali that don't remember all the names of the main breaks here. Well now there's no excuse, the new Tee carries pretty much every break name on it, albeit in a randomly sized, oriented and aligned mass of words. The three red text aspects that stand out from the design are of course the question: What's in a Name? the location of course, Bali and finally the aesthetic that joins everything together, liquidmocean. This and other Tees are currently available via our facebook page's Shop & Win tab.

Cheers,
Mark.

Cleaning up the beaches...

It's been a period of flux for the island of Bali at the moment. Whilst it's still regarded as one of the more attractive destinations by many there also lies a problematic side to the island, and one that directly affects the daily experiences of those looking to experience the varied water sports on offer here. The problem? Trash. With the development boom that has gripped the island over the past 20 or so years the infrastructure requirements to deal with the additional Hotels, Resorts and facilities were not addressed accordingly. The recent article in Time Magazine left the tourism directors reeling, and for good reason. The state of Kuta Beach at certain times of the year leaves a lot to be desired. Reflective of a world famous paradise retreat? Nope. Reflective of a society impervious to the site and stench of piles of trash in public places? Yep.

The fingers invariably point to the neighboring island of Java, or the wind, or the Ocean currents from lands afar, but never at the local issues. Those of non existent trash collections, of piles of garbage greeting and bidding farewell to many road travelers as they enter and leave villages throughout the island. Of the very convenient ravines up in the mountains, where for the majority of the year the warm weather is generally cause for fire hazard concerns than anything else. It's not until the rains of the rainy season commence that we see the increase in beach trash. Due simply to the rainfall raging down through these ravines and rivers towards the Oceans where upon they spew their cargo of waste into the coastal waters of the island. Tidal currents only flow so far out before they swing back in and therefore bring with it the untold tonnes of trash that are then dumped fairly and squarely onto the beaches.

This mornings session was planned for the Padma Beach break where the currents can rip at low tide, and it was low tide. I was really pleasantly surprised to see literally hundreds of people, including whole classes of school kids, being herded onto the beaches for as far as the eye could see, plastic bags in hand, each chicken picking style reaching into the sands and collecting the trash.

This though was just one low tide in a succession of never ending low tides. When the tides rotate and along comes the high tide waters it will, once again, bring with it the mountains of trash. It's heartening to see that the authorities are now addressing the issue. I hope that it continues well beyond the current public attention lifespan. Many surfers and other Ocean sports enthusiasts past present and future who have tasted the delights of Bali's water borne potential will, I'm sure, also be applauding this initiative.

Cheers,
Mark.

Back in the wet, and a conflict of interests!

I couldn't be a happier man today. This morning I hit the water for the first time in almost three weeks. I'd taken a short hiatus due to a small injury I'd collected when; like a right planet, I fell off a seawall at night time on the island of Nusa Lembongan. I guarantee there was no falling down juice involved, well not enough anyway, just slipped on some seaweed and went for a burton, base over apex, putting a deep but not serious cut in my right foot and some additional grazes on my arm. No biggee but with the potential for infection from water borne gremlins the doc's told me to rest it for a while. So happy a man am I. as happy as a pig in poo with the result of a three hour swim posted to our facebook page for prosperity. So at 6.30am I hit on down to the Serangen surf break which is just a twenty minute drive from my door. I love the early morning light when conditions are right, and today they were almost perfect.

My coffee enriched drool was leaving some pretty hectic puddles in the foot well of the car as I made my approach to the spot. Head to Overhead high sets were rolling in, clean, glassy, almost no offshore wind and some real nice early morning sunlight. I took a while to shoot some of the surrounding land scenics, a temple, the washed up tug boat on the Sanur Reef, clouded in early morning mists. And the waves, the glorious waves that I would soon be tumbling around in, my physical connection with the Ocean once more rekindled and renewed, strengthened and so so so overdue. I spent the next three hours enjoying the waves, shooting the things I see, the surfers the movements of water, the liquidmocean. Three hours was enough, it's amazing how even after just three weeks one finds just how fast you can loose the edge, have to keep on top of the fitness when out of the water, note to self.

Dedik, the owner of the Warung (Cafe) I use whenever I go to Serangen was there to welcome me out of the water. As I'd not been there for about three weeks due to the cut on my foot she had thought that maybe I'd left Bali or gone on somewhere else. Not to worry, I'm part of the furniture here, no plans to go anywhere. So as customary I checked the imagery on the camera, ordered a coffee and checked my phone for missed messages and/or calls. The SMS I'd received was a corker.

OK, so you're all aware that we are sponsoring a local guy here in Bali. Kadek is a stunning little surfer and a great bloke to boot. As part of the deal we are supplying him with 2 surfboards, clobber and financial backing for the comp registration fees, this is a national comp which means trips to Sumatera and Java on the agenda. So here I am reading an SMS from an 'entity' who had supplied Kadek with a handful of pairs of sunglasses, a few pairs of board shorts and a whole handful of stickers. So the meat and veg of the deal is that this 'entity' was not happy with me for removing a sticker that Kadek had placed on the board. On calling the person that had sent the message it was suggested that they were feeling 'snaked' insofar that I had taken things on my own hands and removed the sticker and therefore eliminated any chance this entity had of promotion when Kadeks images were posted to the web etc. When asking if there was a conflict in their written contract with the rider the response was "We don't do contracts" well, urmm, are we talking sponsorship here or??

OK, so let's get this straight. I'm the bad guy for removing livery of a competitive company from a surfboard that was supplied by my company. I'm also a bad bad man for not allowing them the chance of promotions stemming from imagery taken with my cameras, bought with my resources, of photo sessions booked for the promoting of the liquidmocean brand. Hmmm, maybe I'm missing something here? Anyone with feedback? The long and the short of it is that this 'entity' have now retracted their 'sponsorship' of the rider. Quite what impact this will have on my ability to sleep remains to be seen.

What a day it's been, more in store soon.

Cheers,
Mark.
P.S We also looked at a sample of a new Tee coming soon. Looks pretty damned cool if you ask me.

Is there any swell in Cucukan?

The call, rather SMS, came at around 7pm on Friday evening. I was still, typically, staring goggle eyed at my computer getting things arranged for the myriad of chores set before me in the current gist of things. The message was from Kadek, or 'Dek' as he calls himself, the young Balinese surfer that I have chosen to sponsor for a year, he's a great kid and an excellent surfer so I'm happy with that plan at the moment. I'm sure you'll be hearing lot's about this diminutive character in the months ahead as we navigate through this our first year of business here in Bali.

'Dek' was asking what my plans were for Saturday (today) as he was wondering if we could head out to a small surf break between what I call 'the sprawling monster' of the south that is Kuta and the village of Gianyar. We made the plan to pick him up at 7am and then struck out for the village of Cucukann (Choo-Choo-Kann). Following the coastal road from Kuta one heads towards the town of Candidasa, if you ever are in Bali, drive that road and check on the number of small branching roads that head towards the coastline. You only have to drive 50 to 100m off the main road and you seem to be transported back in time, the noise diminishes and moments later you'll start to see the real elements that make Bali so attractive.

Within minutes we were driving down rice paddy lined roads, so narrow I was hoping that no one was coming the other way, as I'm pretty crap at reversing with the back windows blocked by surfboards. After about eight or so minutes we arrived at the end of the road, a couple of local Warungs, nosh shops, were there selling an assortment of goodies, Nasi Goreng (mixed fried rice) and Noodle Soups. Bali coffee (paint stripper) for the brave of heart or standard soft drinks to give that morning kick. Stepping out onto the black sand the last traces of the night were receding behind the ominously looming silhouette of Bali's tallest peak and still active volcano, Mount Agung. We'd decided to take the furball of a dog we affectionately call 'Muppet' with us to give her a good run in the morning. After getting put in place by the local beach dogs she stuck to us like glue, at just 3 months old, no surprise. We'd made good time, with the new road completed, widened, we were sat in one of the local cafe's on the beach sipping Bali Coffee, pleeuuch, and waiting for the waves to start rolling in.

Nothing seemed to happen fast around Cucukann, at least not from the shoreline perspective. We saw a few fishing boats tentatively bobbing around in the near distance, there was also a couple of old boys collecting small pebbles, and I mean small pebbles, for some form of decoration or another, but not a lot else. Three ladies came into view walking along the gray shores probably swapping local gossip with baskets of varying sizes perched precariously atop an array of differing headwear. Passing us they smiled, leaving the beaches once more abandoned.

The swell that everyone in Bali was so desperately waiting on didn't seem to arrive. 'Dek' was happy to show us the new paint job he's had done one the training surf board we had provided him with. A mixture of patterns and shapes with the liquidmocean logo spray painted to the underside of the board, it all looked very funky, except for a sticker of a major clothing brand that he'd stuck onto the board! That came off pretty sharpish. The education of sponsorship and what its responsibilities entail from the rider starts soon!

Fingers crossed that the swell hits soon. I'm offski out of the water tomorrow, Sunday, as I have a couple of meetings to make in Tulamben on Bali's northeastern coastline and then catching up with a buddy at a rather nice little resort on the return trip.

Here's me signing off again, thanks for stopping by.
Cheers,
Mark.

Rain stops play but liquid inspires art...

With all best laid plans to hit the Keramas Beach Break here in Bali this morning with our team rider 'Dek' Merta Yasa in place I woke up to find gray skies, fast flowing clouds and the ominous sounds of distant thunder. I was under the impression that the rainy season had come to an end and that we were now looking towards warm, sunny days, basking in the tropical heat that is usually associated with this island. Not so. Instead I'm left feeling like a weekend tripper in the middle of winter determined to enjoy the conditions thrown at me whilst sitting on the promenade benches of Dungeness! So what to do? Whilst sitting watching the rain it cast my thoughts to another aspect of photography that I sometimes practice.

Me being a bit of a nerd I always thought that water droplet photography is pretty cool. So I started to look into that about two years ago and decided to give it a bash. Now water, is water, is water, right? Well, not for me. You see, I notice movements, colors and reactions to forces acting on it once I slow the simplest of events such as a water drop hitting the surface of another liquid. So I started experimenting. I soon got bored with the traditional droplets and started to look at how liquids interact with each other. Liquid doesn't have to be pure water, it can be thickened with glycerin, colored with food dye or can be other forms of liquid such as detergents and liquid soaps etc.

Et Voila, this is the result of a couple of hours looking at finding options to occupy my brain on a wet and windy afternoon a couple of months ago. We seem to get a lot of these of late so I guess I'll be looking to get out the Infra Red timing devices and set the whole rig up again for some more adventures with liquids. I guess my only gripe with the image is the line of small bubbles around the base of the larger Dome, but hey, can't have it all right?

For the Photo Junkies out there the tech specs for this are as follows. I used what is called the Time Machine from Mumford Engineering. This allows me to plug an electronic water valve into my computer via an interface and then set mili-second precision over parameters such as drip size, interval between drips and time lapse of drips over a sequential time frame. Using the small diameter glass I blew a detergent bubble and dripped a single droplet on to it. The result was this engaging display of surface tension, the resistance of the water surface, to heavier bodies acting on it. This also explains why some small insects are able to skate across the surface of the water without the risk of drowning.

OK, well I said some of my posts would be laborious so I'll try not to bore you much longer. The rest of the day entails a drive to Nusa Dua to buy some ladies stuff with the wifey. Then off to a villa to measure up for some images that will be shown there and then lastly to one of the garment factories to check on a full screen cover tee we are developing.

Cheers,
Mark.

Welcome to the liquidmocean Blog...

Well I guess it was just a matter of time. Whilst I embrace the incredible phenomenon that is facebook there is just something about being able to sit down and communicate with friends, web surfers and lurkers. Who know's who's going to read these ramblings but hey that's what this is all about, sharing the whole experience of a particularly good surf photography session, the frustrations/elation when dealing with business entities within Indonesia. Some days will be great, others crappy but c'est la vie as the saying goes.

At times I may be a bit controversial, but isn't everyone? Everyone has frustrations at times and this is a place where, when stressed or happy, I will vent mine. I'm only human and as such I'm not afraid to share my thoughts and ramblings with you. My posts here will be dictated by the workload of the moment, in fact it is that which will drive the posts, the reflections. Some of them may be long winded, drawn out conveyor belts of drivel whilst others will be short and to the point.

Finally I'd like to just say that it is not my intention to get people riled up. Everyone is as entitled to their opinions as much as I am mine. If this in turn inspired dialog then that's a good thing, right? Above all I hope for engaging interaction with people, I don't have time for those who want to throw insults all over the place. Anything can be discussed as adults, respectful of others mindset's and aware that we all see things differently. So thanks for popping by, here's to the progression of this feature.

Cheers,
Mark
liquidmocean