The first trip is a dedicated photography/ video trip to the Lembeh Strait from 14 to 21 March, arranged by Scubacam in Singapore, in association with FiNS Magazine. We’ll be discussing all sorts of photo topics, and you can feel free to ask all the questions you want. I promise to try to be (more) coherent (than usual).

Also, we’ll be selecting the best photos taken during the trip, and there will be a whole bunch of prizes available…things like a Z240 strobe, a high-powered rechargeable LED light from Scubacam, a wet macro lens, and more. We’ll be staying at the very comfortable Kasawari Lembeh Resort. Read a write-up from my last trip to Lembeh here, and contact Sanah or David at Scubacam for more details.

The second trip is a liveaboard excursion from 8 to 19 December to the Eastern Fields (and related remote reefs) in Papua New Guinea aboard MV Golden Dawn, in association with Wetpixel.

Here is a write-up from my last trip to the Eastern Fields. It’s one of the most, if not the most, amazing places I’ve ever seen. If you’re a keen photographer and are looking to visit someplace extraordinary, where only a few hundred other people have ever been to, this is it.

A full write-up of trip details is available here.

I created what’s known as a Collage in Vuvox, with a series of photographs and a bit of text, supplemented by a few video snippets and hyperlinks. The photos and text carry the story line, and the video segments help give you a feel for the particular animals and locations. The hyperlinks take you to additional information.

Vuvox is still in beta, so there are a few quirks here and there. I had a minor problem while putting this together and emailed Vuvox for help. A representative responded within minutes, which tells me they’re on the ball.

After playing around with the service, I can say that I really like Vuvox. It’s a slightly different way to tell a story, and the final product you come up with can take many forms, depending on the content, the intent and your storytelling skills (as well as how much work you want…or don’t want…to put into it).

The primary drawback I see is that whatever you create lives “in the cloud”, to use the parlance of the times, which means you can’t download it and keep it on your computer, iPod or other media player. That’s kind of a bummer, but it’s a relatively minor point, and perhaps they’ll figure a way around this at some point in the future.

To all divers and fish buffs: take particular note of the segment on the newly identified Maluku frogfish. The embedded video may be the first evidence of a frogfish using toxins or some other noxious substance to ward off a would-be predator. As far as I know, there is no other documented instance of a frogfish being toxic. (If someone out there knows of such a case, please send me a message.)

The video of the Maluku frogfish fish was taken by Chutinun Mora, who is the graphic designer of FiNS Magazine.

One cautionary note: You may need relatively high bandwidth to watch the video clips. If you experience stuttering, let the clip load, then hit play again.

If you want to see a wider view of this, go directly to the Vuvox page here. The collage effect is arguably nicer with a wide screen.