Welcome to the Light Stalking weekly wrap-up of our wonderful little community.
We had another great week on the site this week with some very interesting photographs being submitted for our weekly challenge – Colour in Simplicity.
Here are a few of our favourites.
Pat Garrett:
Frogdaily:
Patrick:
Tersha:
Pat Garrett
Robert Apple
Member Highlight
Over the last several months, Patrick has been producing some extraordinary black-and-white street photography that we thought was well overdue for a bit of a spotlight. Patrick has managed to develop a style all of his own, and, miraculously to us, he manages to produce it on a very regular basis with his posts and his Instagram being updated daily as far as we can see.
Anybody who has been in different photography knows how difficult this is. But here are some of the wonderful images he’s produced lately:
Join the Photography Contest to Win Some Cash!
Don’t forget to jump into our monthly contest for the chance to win some cash. This month, it is Minimalism and Simplicity, which is always a popular type of theme when it comes to photography.
AOI is now shipping an innovative new product called the Aura Light System (ALS-01), an advanced LED torch and optical snoot designed to allow underwater photographers to “paint” with light of any desired color. The second addition to AOI’s “Signature Series,” the light was developed in collaboration with award-winning underwater photographer Ace Wu. (The first product in the “Signature Series,” the UH-GPx housing for GoPro, was a collaboration with underwater videographer Kay Burn Lim.)
The tech at the center of the Aura Light System (ALS-01) is a multicolor LED capable of producing a palette of 16.7 million colors—and here’s the ingenious bit—controllable wirelessly via your smartphone running AOI’s dedicated app. The software allows you to create 10 preset colors, which can then be recalled at the push of a button on the device. The light comes with an optical snoot, flipped into position when needed, which changes the beam angle from 90° to 7°. Power is via a single 18650 Li-ion rechargeable battery, giving the light a 2.5-hour runtime at maximum brightness.
The Aura Light System is available as a single light (ALS-01) finished in black, with snoot and clamp, priced at $530; and as the “Signature Series” package (ALS-01S), which bundles four lights finished in white, with snoots, clamps, and other accessories. Pricing of the Aura Light System “Signature Series” is not yet available.
When purchasing underwater photography equipment like the products mentioned in this article, please support DPG by supporting our retail partner—Backscatter.com.
PRESS RELEASE
Signature Series 2025 Edition: The AOI Aura Light System with Ace Wu
The Collaboration Continues
The inaugural Signature Series was officially introduced at the DRT Show Hong Kong 2023 with the intention of capturing the spirit of collaboration and pushing the boundaries of underwater imaging. The first instalment of the Series featured a collaboration between award-winning videographer Kay Burn Lim and AOI. The result was an underwater housing for the GoPro that redefined the possibilities for the device.
The Signature Series 2025 Edition marks a new collaboration, this time between AOI and award-winning underwater photographer Ace Wu. “Underwater photography is a reflection of art and mirrors my inner state of thought,” says Ace Wu.
At the heart of artistic expression lies the drive to push limits and break boundaries. In underwater photography, the challenges and constraints are plentiful.
Ace Wu is among the few accomplished practitioners of ‘painting’ underwater photos. “Colors add emotions, create a feeling, and are more than just elements in my images,” explains Wu. Currently, equipment used to ‘paint’ underwater images relies on colored filters placed in front of lights. However, the range of colors is often limited by the number of filters available, typically just a few. This limitation sparked the idea behind the Signature Series 2025 Edition: How could every imaginable color be made accessible?
No strangers to daunting challenges, the AOI design team explored a host of ideas, ranging from the unconventional to the traditional. The final product exceeded all expectations, earning its place in the Signature Series lineup.
The Aura Light System: Painting with Every Possible Color
The Aura Light System is a revolutionary departure from conventional underwater lighting. At its core is a custom-designed mobile app that allows users to select from a palette of 16.7 million colors. The app communicates with an advanced LED torch capable of reproducing the selected color.
This LED torch is equipped with an optical condenser that enhances the brightness of the colored beam. It can store up to 10 preset colors, while the app supports simultaneous operation with multiple LED torches. The result is an unparalleled ability to ‘paint’ underwater images with virtually unlimited color options. The Aura Light System also includes an optical snoot that is both compact and powerful.
The Aura Light System is a clear departure from typical thinking employed by many manufacturers, bringing software engineering and user interaction to the forefront of underwater lighting and photography.
The Aura Light System – Signature Series will consists of 4 LED torch complete with color coordinated mounts and optical snoots in white. The entire collection will be housed in a protective carrying case for convenience and security when traveling.
The Aura Light System can also be purchased individually, the standard version is in black and will include the matching optical snoot and mount.
The AOI-UW app is available for download at Apple’s App Store. The Android version will be available later.
Don’t limit your artistic expression to the tools available, be free to ‘paint’ with the colours you feel.
Unveiled at DEMA Show 2024, the SUBNOX brand was founded by professional underwater cameraman Kay Burn Lim, with the aim of creating advanced underwater lighting products designed to meet the needs of working videographers. Now, the new company has put the finishing touches to its first offering—the SUB10KEF, a 10,000-lumen wide-angle video light with some innovative features.
The powerful but compact video light is equipped with a specially designed light head and COB LED that produces three different light outputs. One mode is “traditional” light with a CRI of 93 and a color temperature of 5600K, equivalent to daylight. In the other two “Ambient Blue” modes, the light output is equivalent to ambient light at 6–13 meters (20–43 feet) and ambient light at 13–20 meters (43–66 feet).
As depth increases and water absorbs colors from the light spectrum, white balance controls or red filters are used to restore natural colors, but this causes subjects illuminated by regular (daylight) video lights to appear overly red. Blue filters on video lights results in more natural-looking footage by helping to balance the foreground subject illuminated by the lights and the bluish background. However, the downside is that such filters reduce light intensity significantly.
With its built-in ambient light options, the SUB10KEF provides ambient water color illumination approximately 2.5 times brighter than using physical blue filters. By covering two depth ranges—6–13 meters (20–43 feet) and 13–20 meters (43–66 feet)—at the twist of the rear dial, the SUB10KEF can be used in a variety of daytime lighting conditions as well as at night, when the 5600K (daylight) mode can be used.
The SUB10KEF features an ergonomic 11-step (0–10) magnetic power control ring at the rear, and a rear-mounted LED display showing the brightness level as you turn the power control ring. After setting the brightness level, the display defaults, after five seconds, to the remaining burn time in minutes for the selected brightness level. The video light’s air-travel safe 72Wh battery pack can be charged from 0–80% in two hours and to 100% in three hours.
Shipping late May, the SUBNOX SUB10KEF is priced at $800.
PRODUCT INFORMATION
SUB10KEF Wide Angle Video Light – 10,000 Lumens With Daylight 5600K & Ambient (BLUE) Water Colour
$800.00 USD
The SUB10KEF is a compact 10,000 lumens (93 CRI) wide angle video light with the patented ability to switch between a daylight colour (5600K), and ambient water colours for 6–13m or 13–20m.
Patented Light Head
With the patented specially designed light head and COB, It does not require any physical blue filters to achieve this specially tuned ambient water colour illumination. This allows the torch to be used at various depths and lighting conditions night or day. (Ambient blue is not required for night dives).
Power Control Ring
The SUBNOX SUB10KEF utilizes a large 11 step (0-10) magnetic power control ring ergonomically located at the rear of the torch. This allows for smooth, effortless and intuitive control over the brightness level.
The rear mounted power control ring is designed for one handed use in a single motion over a 180 degree turn of the ring. It is designed for easy use even with thick gloves. No more reaching over your torch to press buttons, or fiddling with tiny control knobs. Just grab and twist!
Light Colour Selector & Power Switch
The rear knob below the LED display allows users to switch between the 3 light options:
5600 Kelvin (Daylight)
Ambient Blue (6–13m)
Ambient Blue (13–20m)
The button at the center of this knob functions as the master switch for powering the SUB10KEF On or Off.
LED Display
The rear mounted LED display shows the brightness level as you turn the power control ring.
Once the brightness level is set, the display will default after 5 seconds to the remaining burn time (battery level in minutes) for the brightness intensity chosen. A simple 4 bar battery icon is also displayed for all settings.
3 different LED indicators display the current colour settings. 5600K, Ambient Blue (6–13m), Ambient Blue (13–20m).
USB-C Rechargeable Battery
The Battery pack for the SUB10KEF utilizes a fast charging USB-C controller that allows the battery to be charged from 0–80% within 2 hours (full charge from empty requires 2 hours 45 minutes) and is rated at an air-travel safe 72Wh.
Each battery pack provides enough power for 35 minutes of continuous use at maximum brightness for the 5600K light setting, or 1 hour at 70% brightness settings.
The battery pack will last for 55 minutes at 100% brightness when used with the ambient water colour settings.
For maximum charging speeds. Please use a high quality 40W USB-C charger (Not included). A high speed USB-A to USB-C cable is included.
All batteries come with silicone protective cases for travel and protection of battery contact terminals when not in use.
Specifications
Lumens (5600K LED): 10,000
Beam Angle: 128 degrees underwater
CRI (5600K LED): 93Ra
Ambient Water Colours Built in: Ambient Blue 6–13m, Ambient Blue 12–20m
Lying in a mud hole, looking up at a white rhino snuffling just inches from my camera, I was having a tough time not giggling or wetting my pants. I might have been a little nervous, but mostly, it was the thrill and the absurdity of it. To be this close to a massive rhinoceros with no remote gear—just me and my camera—was a dream.
No guidance counsellor in any high school anywhere would have suggested this as a viable career choice 35 years ago, but here I was.
I had spent the previous evening photographing wildfires spreading across the savannah, the rhinos silhouetted against the flames, leaping orange and red in scenes of terrible beauty, again thinking, “How in the world is this my life?”
Not long before that, I’d been stripping my pants off in the Land Cruiser to squash the bullet ants that I’d clumsily walked through in the darkness, and which were now biting me with a ferocity I hadn’t felt since standing (again, accidentally) on a colony of fire ants in the Peruvian Amazon. At least I now only have one leg for them to bite.
Nothing ever goes as I thought it would. I end a day on safari thinking, “Well, that was unexpected!” I also feel like a day on safari is its own lifetime. At the end of each day, I look back at photographs I’m downloading and think, “That was today?” The encounters are endless and never anticipated.
Early in this journey, I got a text message from a Kenyan photographer I’ve admired for a couple of years. His name is Gurcharan Roopra (find him on Instagram @gurcharan), and he reached out to tell me he was reading one of my books and was thrilled to find I was following him on Instagram. “Following you?” I wrote back, “I’m practically stalking you!” And from this random moment of connection came 24 hours together at the end of my trip, learning from someone with a very different approach to his work than I have, but a similar spirit. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so creatively challenged. Totally unexpected.
There’s no real lesson in this letter to you. Just a reminder that the zigs and zags of life are part of the joy. Even the most well-planned days are full of the unexpected. That can send us into a tailspin, or it can make us wonder and laugh. I hope it’s the latter for you (though without the bullet ants).
I also wanted to give you a chance to see some of the photographs from this recent trip, perhaps share the wonder. Every trip I wonder if I’ll come back with anything that is even close to how I feel about the places, and the animals, and I’m so thrilled to be returning with what I think is some of my strongest work yet. Click on any of the images to see them larger.
One of my favourite images from this trip is the one above. Two southern white rhinos watch the flames of a wildfire approaching, destroying their home. There’s a story here that’s hard not to feel deep down. Well-told stories can do that—they can touch us in deep places. Not every photograph needs to tell a story, but it’s often the most powerful ones that do.
How are your storytelling chops? I’m giving a presentation on this very topic on March 19 at 4:00 pm PT / 7:00 pm ET, and I’d love to see you there.
My class, Photographic Storytelling: Hooking the Heart & The Imagination, is one of four great presentations hosted by Nic Stover’s Nature Photography Classes. You can find more information here.
Other presenters include Margaret Soraya, Talor Stone, and Sapna Reddy, and they all look fantastic. Cost is $22 each, or you can subscribe to the series for $77. The first presentation is on March 01, so I’ve missed that one, but if you subscribe you can watch the video for any of the series that you miss.
