By John Rising (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #10) on Saturday, February 26, 2005 - 12:53 am: |
After several days to unwind from an eventful return flight from Bonaire I think I am ready to write my trip report. Snapshots from my trip can be found at my web site www.risingphotography.com in the Gallery section. My dive buddy and I flew America Airlines from Colorado Springs through Dallas and Puerto Rico then on to Bonaire. We stayed at the Eden Beach Resort in a studio with a kitchenette and got the dive package that included breakfast, unlimited shore dives, and a rental truck. The staff of Eden Beach was professional and the maid kept the room quite clean. She even did our dishes! The place was certainly adequate for our needs and was quite pretty and relaxing. We usually had a drink at Bongo’s after dinner. The beach in front of Eden Beach has quite a diverse amount of fish, but the reef itself is dead. Our dive package was with Wanna Dive Bonaire and we found the staff to be great. They were knowledgeable and friendly.
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By Jerry Besco (BonaireTalker - Post #73) on Saturday, February 26, 2005 - 6:42 am: |
Great pictures what kind of camera and housing is it. I'm interested in underwater photography and those pictures are very sharp and colorful.
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By Carole Baker (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #4695) on Saturday, February 26, 2005 - 7:40 am: |
John, enjoyed your report and photos immensely.
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By Carole Baker (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #4696) on Saturday, February 26, 2005 - 7:47 am: |
John, I'm trying to figure out where you were on the ground when the glass shot was taken? It appears as tho there is some cockpit equipment in the photo but if you were not inside the plane that can't be correct. I'm just trying to put the pic into perspective and figure out what the other items in the photo are.
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By Susan Feldman (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1206) on Saturday, February 26, 2005 - 9:47 am: |
John, nice report! And the photos here and on your website are nice!! It sounds like you had a great vacation, just not a good return from it! That's pretty nasty what happened on AA, but at least it was coming home!
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By John Rising (BonaireTalker - Post #11) on Saturday, February 26, 2005 - 11:03 am: |
Jerry -- The camera setup I used underwater was a Canon A95, the Canon WP-DC50 housing, an ultralight arm, and an Inon D-2000 strobe. I'll write a review of that setup this weekend and post it in the photography and videography section of the forum. Overall I am quite happy with the setup. Now I just need to improve my picture taking!
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By Linda Stoltzfus (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #520) on Saturday, February 26, 2005 - 1:38 pm: |
Greetings from a fellow Colorado - Bonaire traveler.
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By Carole Baker (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #4699) on Saturday, February 26, 2005 - 3:00 pm: |
Thanks, John. I would guess you shot this one as you were exiting the plane? I can't believe you actually were not advised you could not take the picture and also amazed they left the cockpit door open where anyone could see the windshield! Just amazing.
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By John Rising (BonaireTalker - Post #12) on Saturday, February 26, 2005 - 4:00 pm: |
Linda, I hope you have a great time on your 4th Bonaire trip! Now I know why people keep going back. This was not only my first Bonaire trip it was also my first time diving without a divemaster or guide and with a camera. It was great fun.
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By DARLENE ELLIS (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1352) on Saturday, February 26, 2005 - 4:52 pm: |
Great report and pictures! Thanks for sharing!!
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By Babs (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #7882) on Saturday, February 26, 2005 - 11:49 pm: |
Great report and pics John, looks like your new camera is the tops!
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By Eric Justice (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #1) on Friday, March 18, 2005 - 3:42 pm: |
John, thanks for sharing these excellent images. My wife and I went to Bonaire in early 2002 and the snorkeling was the best I've experienced (including right off the back of our hotel, the Plaza Resort, where they had a manmade reef very close to shore); the abundance and variety of fish was incredible. Our air travel experience was not as dramatic! We're hoping to get back there soon. Since that trip, I have started to get interested in snorkeling/photography and, after viewing your pictures and your description of the equipment used, was wondering if you thought a strobe set-up is necessary during the daytime if there is decent ambient light. The strobe/arm assembly you mentioned looks rather cumbersome to swim with, not to mention pricey (~$820 as far as I can tell). If you feel a strobe IS essential for high-quality pics, even in daylight, do you (or does anyone on the board) know of a more portable/economical alternative? (pls. bear in mind we're talking about snorkeling, as opposed to diving photos). Also: How close, on average, would you say you were to your subjects? (I notice the Canon A-95 has 3x digital zoom). Did you have the shutter speed at the maximum setting for rapidly-moving stuff?
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By Wally and Eva (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #737) on Saturday, March 19, 2005 - 8:42 am: |
On one of our trips AA had some plane problems in MIA and we missed our connection to BON and ended up overnighting in SJU. They couldn't get us to BON the next day so we grabbed an AA flight to Aruba and Exel on to BON.
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By John Rising (BonaireTalker - Post #16) on Sunday, March 20, 2005 - 10:55 am: |
Eric,
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By Susan Feldman (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1256) on Sunday, March 20, 2005 - 11:52 am: |
John,
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By John Rising (BonaireTalker - Post #17) on Sunday, March 20, 2005 - 3:52 pm: |
Susan,
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By Susan Feldman (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1257) on Sunday, March 20, 2005 - 5:56 pm: |
Thanks for clearing that up.
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By Eric Justice (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #2) on Monday, March 21, 2005 - 1:51 pm: |
John -- thx very much for your answers/advice! I will check out the link on strobes--
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