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Contact Us - Wan Ling Tea House (UK-EU-US)
Wan Ling Tea House currently offers internet, telephone and email sales internationally. Our online tea shop is based in and ships from Dorset, UK.
Our team is here to help and answer any questions you may have. If you need some help with our shop please give us a call and we will get back to you as soon as we can. Else if you have any tea enquiries to make then we're always happy to advise you and help you to find a special type of tea.
Telephone (UK): +44 (0) 7960 471 243
Email: email@example.com
Address: 1 School Lane, Blandford St Mary, Blandford, Dorset. DT11 9LU. UK
Wan Ling Tea House (Shanghai)
For those visiting or living in Shanghai, please come and visit our
As from November 2017 Wan Ling Tea House Shanghai is located on Yu Qing Road near the corner with Guang Yuan Road in Xu Hui District, Shanghai otherwise known as the old French Concession (Pu Xi). The new location is in side an old colonial house, offering wonderfully peaceful surroundings. Please call in advance if you have not visited before.
Located in Shanghai's central Xu Hui district, Wan Ling Tea House is conveniently accessible from central sites. Please click here for a printable version of Wan Ling's business card includes the address in both English and Chinese.
Shanghai is the base for Wan Ling Tea House in China. Cai Wan-Ling speaks very good English and is always happy to help you with her wide knowledge of teas. The website only offers a small sample of the stock held in Shanghai. If there is a tea, tea accessory or something else tea related you haven't found on the site Wan Ling more than likely will still be able to help.
Wan Ling is also proud to offer a special tea service for those visiting from overseas. If you have a special type of tea you'd like to buy or sample, let her know in advance and she will source them for you. This way when you arrive the tea will be waiting!
Read more about Wan Ling Tea House Shanghai Tea Shop in our about us section.
Wan Ling Tea House Shop (Shanghai)
Telephone (Shanghai): +86 (0) 135 6424 8308
Email: email@example.com
Address: 200031 上海市徐汇区余庆路156弄1号一楼,近广元路
1st Floor, No. 1, 156 Yu Qing Road (near the corner of Guang Yuan Road), Xu Hui District, Shanghai, China.
Google Places: Wan Ling Tea House Shanghai
Click here to download a printable business card.
Wan Ling Tea House (Australia)
We are pleased to announce from the start of April 2013 the opening of our new branch in Warilla, New South Wales. Located close to Sydney the Wan Ling Tea House Australia team looks forward to bringing great tea to Australia and New Zealand. For our existing Antipodean customers this means lower cost and faster shipping as well as having a local number to call with questions and queries. Call Gary on: +61 (0) 435 885 848.
Telephone (Australia): +61 (0) 435 885848
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Address: 164 Osborne Parade, Warilla, NSW 2528, Australia
Web: www.wanlingteahouse.com.au


text:
Pennsylvania Events, Coupons, Reviews!
Pennsylvania Events, Coupons, Reviews!
5340 Alla Rd, 105 Los Angeles, CA 90066
Winc is a modern wine brand that makes it easy to find wines you love. Take Winc's 6 Question Palate Profile Quiz where you're matched with wines tailored to your tastes and preferences. They'll send you four great bottles a month, delivered straight to your door. Explore different varietals and rate your favorites. The more you rate, the better your recommendations. Join the thousands of Winc members already enjoying great tasting wine.
Get $22 Off Your First Month of Winc Wine - Winc offers 4 personalized wines each month, delivered to your door. Bottles start at just $13 each. Visit www.trywinc.com/usfamilyguide to learn more.
Disclosure: This post is powered by US Family Guide. I received product to review in exchange for my honest personal opinion.
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subset: commoncrawl


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According to historical record, soldiers of the Roman Empire marched with rations of bread baked with flaxseed meal and flax seed oil 3000 years ago. They most likely felt the "grounded" feeling, a feeling of mental stability after eating their bread, just like we do today when we add it to our foods.
Additional records prove that flax was also used in India, China, Syria and Turkey for its seed and fiber to make fabric, dye, paper, fishing nets, cattle feed, medicines and soap. It's extremely useful to us, just like coconut.
Flax may be responsible for why the Romans were so successful in their conquests.
One major reason why is that the type of fat consumed is linked with your state of mind.
In the early 1980's, Dr. Donald O. Rudin, Director of the Department of Molecular Biology at Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute found that within two hours, patients who had various mental disorders experienced improved mood and their depression lifted with flax seed oil.
Certainly, we wouldn't want those with mood disorders in our own military, but when you consider that omega-3s are involved in IQ and behavior, how one reacts to allergens, the status of the myelin sheath surrounding the nerves, inflammation, the ability to mentally focus, cardiovascular health and hormone modulation, flax seed meal and oil become more and more important.
One of Dr. Rudin's patients experienced dramatically improved moods after only three days. Her marked sense of increased physical energy and unique exuberance was also exhibited in other patients in varying degrees. After six to eight weeks, most of them were sleeping better and were more energetic. They also were less anxious and depressed. Switching them back to a high omega-6 fat diet, such as one found in the American diet, resulted in a return of their symptoms.
Not Just Mental Attitude, But Other Illnesses Helped
The brain is composed of 60% fat, and nerve cells are extremely rich in omega-3 fatty acids, containing five times more omega-3 fatty acids than red blood cells.
Flax seed contains 18 carbon omega-3 fats, which can be converted to other omega-3 fats, EPA and DHA (20 and 22-carbon chain fats), although the conversion rate is low (2-15%). Still, for some who don't eat fish, which may be a much better source of EPA and DHA because it needs no conversion in the body, adding flax seed oil may kick start health benefits. Taking 1-2 tablespoons of flax oil daily fulfills the requirement for linolenic acid, EPA and DHA, three essential fats important for preventing cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis and auto-immunity, as well as boosting our brain's ability to think clearly without the need for mood elevators. Flax seed oil is the plant world's most abundant source of omega-3 fats, about 55% by weight.
Researchers studied different sub-groups of the population to find possible correlations of low omega-3 fats and different health issues, and see if the addition of flax seed oil and omega-3 fats might help. Their results showed a definite correlation to those with high blood pressure, those on statin drugs that deplete the omega-3 brain fats, violent criminals, children with ADHD, women with PMS, those with calcium deposits and low bone density, and even moms who just gave birth. In addition digestion and elimination was also significantly improved.


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The only bikeable route to Staten Island (within the five boroughs) is the Ferry. Please take a minute to fill out this survey in the hopes of gaining bus access on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.
More about this survey:
Staten Island is the only borough of NYC without a direct pedestrian connection to the rest of the city. The Verrazano Narrows Bridge, which connects Staten Island with Brooklyn, is only accessible to cars and buses, though it is a key link in the bicycle network envisioned in New York City's Bicycle Master Plan. While pedestrians can cross the Verrazano Narrows Bridge by bus, bicyclists can't do the same legally and must rely on personal automobiles.
This survey focuses on two strategies that could improve bicycle and pedestrian access accross the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.
Find the survey here.


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So. Much. Stuff.
Things have been getting pretty crazy for Diarrhea Planet. Now's it's time for us to fill you in.
This week, we hit #13 on Grimey's Record Best Selling Vinyl list.....AHEAD OF KANYE!
We shot a really slick, really scary video for Part 1 of the Nashville's Dead Freaky Deeky video series, specifically shot and cut for the upcoming FREAKIN WEEKEND! On top of that ice cream shabazz, Nashville's Dead also has an EXCLUSIVE, FREE download of a demo of one of the singles off our new LP, Loose Jewels, which will hopefully be out in May.
The video and free demo download:
Oh yeah, and we're playing Friday night of The Freakin' Weekend at the Exit/IN with the one and only Jacuzzi Boys, JEFF the Brotherhood (with whom we hit Carbondale, IL and St. Louis, MI this weekend!), and Cy Barkley & The Way Outsiders! WOAH! Check out all the Freakin Weekend info and shows here:
Like always, we've got even more goodies coming up that we can't throw down about just yet. But soon enough!
- Casey


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Tom Hiddleston helps out budding directors
Actor TOM HIDDLESTON is helping young moviemakers to achieve their dreams by signing up as an ambassador of an ambitious project championing new directors.
The Thor star has stepped into his role for the 2013 Jameson Empire Done In 60 Seconds short film competition, in which would-be producers are challenged to condense their favourite movie into a simple 60-second clip.
Hiddleston is adamant Hollywood needs a regular induction of fresh talent and he is hoping the unique contest will unearth the stars of the future.
He tells WENN, "I think what I've seen is that it's really important in our industry to keep the doors open for new aspiring young talent to join the ranks of the established. It's very important for everyone to have a voice and film is like every art form, it's about the authenticity of individual voices...
"It's quite thrilling when you see first time work, whether its a 60-second type film that's an homage or a pastiche or something more. It could be hilarious and funny and stupid or it could be weighty and deep or somehow ethereal. I just think there's room for everybody and I'm excited by seeing it... if you've literally got one minute to put your stamp on something, in a way, the constraint of it sharpens your instinct."


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Photo by Getty Images
Shortly after 17-year-old Terry (who asked that her real name not be used) moved to Colorado Springs, her new friends urged her to skip choir practice and come to the mall. "We started trying on clothes at this one store, and someone suggested we take them," she says, "so I shoved a $10 belt in my bag." As she walked toward the exit, her cell phone rang. "It was my mom, asking if I wanted to go out to dinner," says Terry. At that moment, store security surrounded the teens. "I have to go," Terry told her mom. "I think I'm being arrested."
The hours that followed were a nightmare. "They escorted us into the security room to wait for the police," says Terry. "I was officially charged with taking $75 worth of stuff, the amount all of us stole, even though my item was only $10. The worst was when my mom arrived. She kept saying I'd never do such a thing. And they were like, 'Listen, lady, we have it on tape.' I finally had to say, 'No, Mom, it's true. I did it.'"
Young Minds, No Brakes
Parents always want to understand why kids steal, says Patricia Ruffini, executive director of Colorado Springs Teen Court (a nonprofit alternative sentencing program), which eventually handled Terry's case. "But most adolescents can't explain themselves," she says. "In rare cases, genuine need is the issue. Some are troubled and looking for attention, or lashing out at authority. And many, like Terry, do it to fit in with peers."
If an explanation for the bad behavior is hard to nail down, what happens in a teen's head—or doesn't—is simpler to decode. "Seventy-two percent of teens say they didn't plan to take anything," says Barbara Staib of the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention (NASP). "Most often these crimes aren't premeditated." Instead, impulse, combined with teens' general lack of judgment, takes over. And when summer comes, with less structure and supervision, there's an even greater chance of this knee-jerk stealing. "The courts and the police tell me that when kids have a lot of free time," says Staib, "it increases the likelihood they'll get in trouble."
Minor Thrills Have Major Repercussions
Shoplifting is a greater problem than ever, driven up by high teen unemployment and tighter family budgets. A leading industry study found that 61 percent of stores have seen a jump in what they call "amateur or opportunistic" theft. And NASP, which provides court-mandated educational programs for non-professional offenders, reports that requests for its services have risen 37 percent since the start of the recession.
Concerned retailers are countering the trend with more prosecutions—regardless of how old the thief is or how much he's stolen. One major chain lowered the age for pressing charges from 18 to 16, and decreased the time stores give parents to get there before police are called, from 90 minutes to an hour. And the cops don't come just for show. Two years ago store detectives caught 16-year-old Ryan (not his real name) stuffing polo shirts under his coat at the Mall of America in suburban Minneapolis. "I was arrested, handcuffed, loaded into the back of the cruiser, fingerprinted and put in a cell until my parents came," Ryan says. "It was humiliating." There's a simple motive for these measures—prosecution, along with educational programs, is the number one deterrent to future thefts.
Once a tween or teen is in the legal system, he faces tougher treatment than in the past. "Juvenile courts have become much more punitive," says Sandra Simkins, a lawyer and the author of When Kids Get Arrested. Almost every state has revised its code so that records aren't wiped clean at 18, as they once were, and Internet databases mean even minor convictions may stick. This can lead to difficulty getting into college, earning scholarships and finding work.
The Anonymity Myth
The rise in kids' tech usage has added a new dimension to shoplifting. "Teens are going on trading sites like Craigslist or eBay, as well as Facebook, Twitter and their cell phones to sell what they grab from brick-and-mortar stores," says Staib. "They tend to feel the rules don't apply in cyberspace." And assuming that nobody knows who they are, kids conclude they're safe. But they're not. These sites have investigators who work directly with retailers to connect goods a store is missing with the UPCs or other codes from items people are selling online. Getting caught is tough enough for teens and their families, but what's also at stake is a moral standard.
There's alarming evidence that adolescents' values are already slipping. According to the Josephson Institute, which tracks adolescent thoughts and attitudes, almost one in three kids say they've stolen from a store. Yet 92 percent of teens overall say they're satisfied with their ethics—meaning there's a large group who steal but don't see anything wrong with it. Selling stolen goods online, especially if you aren't discovered, feels so easy it can reinforce the notion that what matters is not whether you're doing what's right, but whether you're getting away with it.
Not My Kid
Shoplifting is an equal-opportunity crime: Boys and girls steal in the same numbers, and every economic and social group is affected. "There are angry teens, often in poverty, who steal out of rage," says Neil Bernstein, PhD, author of How to Keep Your Teenager Out of Trouble and What to Do If You Can't. "And there are affluent ones, with credit cards in their wallets, who do it for sport." (Terry had enough money on her to buy the belt she swiped.) While teens with a history of behavioral problems sometimes steal, it's actually kids who seem to have the fewest problems who are most likely to shoplift.
"The most popular kids at middle school are between two and three times more likely to shoplift than other children," says Joseph P. Allen, PhD, coauthor of Escaping the Endless Adolescence. "It's not that their motives are sinister. They do it to participate in whatever they see their peers doing." Whoever's involved, it's easier to predict what teens will take. "They're most likely to grab hot products, like iPods and video games, as well as any items that are small, high in value and can easily be concealed," says Casey Chroust, executive vice president of the Retail Industry Leaders Association. Restricted products, such as cigarettes and condoms, also have special appeal. (Girls are generally more likely to reach for makeup, jewelry and clothing, while boys grab electronics and clothes.)
Prevention Plan
Teen shoplifting is common, but it's not a rite of passage. Like other bad behavior, it can be headed off, and education is the way to hold kids to high standards.
—Teach on the spot. When you're in a store with your child, occasionally point out the many ways—cameras, magnetic tags, security guards—that the facility keeps an eye on everyone. Mention that stealing is not only wrong, but people who take things can be arrested, banned from stores and malls, have their picture displayed in public, and be sent to court and sometimes even to jail.
—Focus on the victims. Kids often think, "What's the big deal?" A monstersize store can spare a few pairs of jeans. Explain how retailers have to charge more to compensate for theft, and that many little shops go out of business because losses cut so deeply into their income. Point out the social consequences too: Since sales tax isn't collected for stolen items, schools and fire departments are shorted, says Joseph LaRocca, a security expert for the National Retail Federation. You might think teens would roll their eyes at these appeals to fairness, but, in fact, most respond positively. For that reason, juvenile courts often require adolescents to face the ones they've harmed. "We had one kid whose mom, a single parent, had recently lost her job," says Ruffini. "He had to listen to an unemployed woman, also a single mom, explain how she was laid off, in part because of theft. They both wound up in tears."
—Monitor their stuff. Keep up with day-to-day changes in what children are wearing, and periodically scan the house for new clothes, CDs, DVDs, video games, electronics and jewelry, suggests Allen. "When kids know you'll say, 'Where did you get that?' they're less likely to take something," he says. If you suspect your child may have stolen, ask follow-up questions in a matter-of-fact tone. "You don't want to make your child feel you don't trust her or that you expect her to take things because other kids do," says George M. Kapalka, PhD, author of Parenting Your Out of Control Child. "Adolescents naturally distance themselves from parents, and you run the risk of pushing them further away." You also don't want them to end up thinking, "They don't trust me anyway, so I might as well do whatever I feel like."
—Talk about values. Just as you periodically remind kids about your rules on drugs and alcohol, offer a few words about shoplifting from time to time. It might come up in the news, or they could bring it up in conversation—according to NASP, 89 percent of teens know kids who've stolen. Certainly, advises Bernstein, when your teen is off to the mall without you, say something like, "I'm giving you more freedom. That also means more responsibility. I'm counting on you to do the right thing and to behave in a way that is honest and doesn't hurt other people."
Shoplifting: A Sign of Deeper Problems
"Kids who engage in minor forms of delinquency are at increased risk for other, worse criminal behavior," says Joseph P. Allen, PhD. "There's also a connection to alcohol and substance abuse, and unprotected sex." Ask your pediatrician for a referral to a psychologist or psychiatrist if your teen:
—Steals from family or peers
—Continues taking things even after being caught
—Starts at 13 or under
—Is already in other trouble, for fighting, truancy or poor school performance
Your Kid Shoplifted: What Now?
Discovering that your child has been caught shoplifting requires a careful response.
1. Ask what happens next: Find out if your child will be charged and whether he needs to appear in court. Even without the legal system involved, expect that he'll be banned from that store or chain and that his name will be entered into a database shared by the retail industry. You probably will also have to pay a fine. "Stores usually expect reimbursement for their trouble as well as for the stolen merchandise," says Joseph LaRocca of the National Retail Federation. The additional sum is usually a few hundred dollars. (Court fees tend to be about the same.)
2. Hold off on reacting: Avoid any important conversation until you've cooled off. "Yelling in front of strangers won't accomplish much," says Jen Gustafson, a social worker who counsels Minneapolis teens. "And you'll probably say things you don't mean, or issue punishments you can't enforce. Stating, 'I'm so upset I can't talk to you right now' will buy you time to plan out appropriate consequences."
3. Discuss trust: When you're ready to talk, clearly let your teen know that she has lost your trust. "Kids need to hear how angry and disappointed you are," Gustafson says. And they also need to know they can earn back your confidence by responsibly making the amends the courts (if the case went that far) and you have laid out. You might ban shopping trips for a set period, give extra chores and schedule additional volunteer work. Also set up a plan for your child to repay you for any expenses.
4. Make sure your teen understands the law: If the store presses charges, author Sandra Simkins suggests hiring a lawyer. But tell your child this doesn't mean he's getting off. "Explain that once he's been arrested," says George Kapalka, PhD, "he has crossed an important line where you can't shelter him."
5. Maintain perspective: "Children need to know that even though shoplifting isn't life or death, it's a big deal," says Barbara Staib of NASP, "and their job is to learn from their mistakes." The good news is that for most families the episode passes quickly—in fact, only 1.6 percent of kids who attend court-ordered programs shoplift again.
Agonizing Decision: You Caught Your Teen
Should you turn her in to the store? Barbara Staib of NASP suggests calling the loss-prevention department to make sure it won't go to one of two extremes—pressing charges or brushing it off by saying, "Oh, don't worry about it." Once you've established the situation will be handled appropriately, accompany your child to the store and have her either return the items or pay for them. Social worker Jen Gustafson also suggests that you have your child write a short letter of apology and read it out loud to the manager. "That's a very humbling, powerful experience," she says. Staib advises against bringing in the police. "Education is the ideal response," she says. "You can't force kids not to steal. But if you make them understand why it's a bad idea, most will arrive at the correct conclusion on their own."
Originally published in the June 2011 issue of Family Circle magazine.


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2/24/08 – I ended up at the ER yesterday because the bleeding was too heavy. After an exam, curretage was recommended. I agreed to it especially since they wouldn't have to dilate my cervix. I am recovering fairly comfortably at home. There is very little bleeding after this procedure, when things go well, and it is nice to not have that to deal with this time around. The bleeding and passing the clots and tissue are constant reminders of another lost baby. I wouldn't have dealt well with it this time around. This is after all my 3rd miscarriage in a row.
This is the end of my journal for now . . . for good? I'm keeping this page public for a while longer in case people are interested to read my journey.
2/22/08 – I already posted this on the blog, but my pregnancy is non-viable. I scheduled an ultrasound because I'd had a bit of bleeding this week. The ultrasound showed a 7 week gestational sac and 6 week 5 day embryo. I am utterly destroyed and have no idea how to go on. I have a repeat ultrasound and consultation with an OB on Monday. I don't know if I should hope for a natural miscarriage or would a D&C or aspiration be prudent? We're looking for answers since this is the 3rd miscarriage in a row.
2/21/08 – cross posting – Yesterday I could tell that my cervical fluid (CF) was more prominent. My midwife said my leukocyte level was elevated, indicated by a urine test. She told me to do a "wash" twice daily of warm water and apple cidar vinegar. I ignored her since I was a bit confused on how to do this and because the yeast wasn't bothering me.
However, yesterday afternoon I felt a trickle. It wasn't completely familiar – didn't seem like blood but didn't NOT seem like blood either. My heart nearly stopped when I took a look at my pantiliner. There was a streak/string of red blood in the CF!! I tried to stay calm and called my midwife for guidance. She said that some women will bleed from yeast infections and suggested that I buy some Yeast Guard and apple cidar vinegar.
Luckily it was the end of my work day, so I was able to get to the store and home before my DH and DD came home. There was no more blood, but of course I'm checking my pants every few minutes anyway. And I'm afraid to poop.
This is what a recent history of miscarriage has done to me. At 10 weeks I was starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel of worry, and yesterday's blood threw me right back into the tunnel.
Today I am exhausted. Hardly functioning at work. Thank goodness I'm done early again today. It's a good thing considering that my entire office is SHAKING from the construction outside. It's making me feel insane.
My midwife didn't detect the heartbeat with her 3mhz doppler. However, the placenta sounds great! She's sure that the baby was hiding under/behind my anterior (damnit!) placental. I'm measuring "ahead" – 12 weeks. These are good signs. I'm scheduled for another doppler on March 3 – can't hardly wait. I did test positive for excess yeast. Need to work on that . . .
2/16/08 – first prenatal appointment – I haven't had a first prenatal appointment since 2004! My last 2 pregnancies ended before I got to the point of meeting with a provider for a real prenatal visit. I've been feeling a LOT less confident about this pregnancy this week. Maybe that one romp in the sack with DH was enough to shake my confidence. I had maybe possibly a teeny bit of pink-ish discharge after that? I really don't know. My eyes play tricks on me, I think. Regardless, I am nervous as hell. I've had so much more discharge this week. WHY WHY WHY?? My boobs aren't excrutiatingly sore. WHY WHY WHY? I'm still extremely tired and moody, so that's "good". I'm thinking (trying to convince myself, actually) that I'm just exceedingly nervous because my first prenatal is today. I know I'll want my MW to try and find a heartbeat. But at 9 weeks and 3-5 days, it's unlikely that she'll detect it. I'm trying to prepare myself for that and remind myself that it doesn't mean a THING if the heartbeat isn't found. My CNM didn't find DD's heartbeat with the doppler at nearly 11 weeks, and the ultrasound revealed my beautiful "ghost frog" baby fooling around in utero.
2/13/08 – I have continued to be tired and emotional. I got so angry with a student on Friday that I wanted to cry. I had to kick a student out of her lesson on Monday for being completely unprepared. Being tired does not help balance emotions! I just remembered that I am 9 weeks pregnant today, according to LMP!! Yippee! I can hardly believe I am here. I had some nausea over the weekend and am fairly sensitive to strong smells, but otherwise I'm doing ok. Sometimes I think I am feeling movement. Other times it's just gas. I'm still suspecting twins – can't really explain why, except that sometimes I feel movement to both sides of the midline, not just in one location . . .
2/8/08 – I am exceedingly tired and crabby. I was out until 11pm last night because of the opera performance and gala. I began teaching at 9am and stopped around 4:30pm. I'm due back at the theater at 6:30pm, so I should take a quick snooze (on my office floor) and then scare up some dinner. I'm already hungry. Today one of my students aggravated me so badly I nearly cried. My voice was shaking. Can you say "out of control emotions?"
I think I am feeling some movement. It feels like "buzzing". I remember feeling that before with my DD's pregnancy – not this early on of course. Otherwise, it's just gas. I am sure that as my uterus grows, the motion of other visceral materials will cause moving sensations. Then again, several women in my due date club who are repeat mamas also felt movement start in this week.
I looked at my blog stats today and was shocked to see that I had about 250 hits a couple of days ago. Wonder why . . .
2/5/08 – tomorrow I will be 8 weeks! Or yesterday I was 8 weeks (I ovulated on CD13). I can hardly believe it. After holding my breath for weeks now, and knowing that I still "could" miscarry in the future, I am all discombobulated! I'm having to limit my exposure to miscarriage and birth loss forums on which I participate, and that makes me sad. I've received such great support at those places, and I feel guilty not giving back to them right now. But I guess "me me me" and "baby baby baby" first! One of my friends started spotting red, but her baby is doing just fine. Phew! It was neat to see her ultrasound since she's only a few days behind me.
Today I feel like total crap. I woke up with a fierce headache and of course can't take anything for it at the moment. My stomach has been all topsy turvy today too. I didn't go to work this morning. Instead, got back in bed and slept. Went in to work in the late afternoon and have opera dress rehearsal tonight. I don't feel well.
2/2/08– I am so tired that I didn't drive over to Helena yesterday for their BOBB screening. I feel horribly guilty about that, but I'm not functioning particularly well this week. So so tired! Last night I had a vivid dream that I miscarried. In my dream I woke up to go to the bathroom. As usual I investigated my pad and was distressed to find a lot of pink on the pad. In my dream I kept trying to tell myself that perhaps there was still a baby in there and that maybe I had only miscarried one baby. Thank God I woke up from that nightmare. Women on my loss board that were due in August are still miscarrying . . . that's heartbreaking and terrifying – probably what prompted my dream. Trying to remind myself that I have excellent evidence of a healthy pregnancy.
1/31/08 – According to Baby-Gaga today, my baby is 5/8″ tall and his brain is beginning to grow. That is so exciting! I think my baby must be growing big brains. I am already showing. I am merely 7 weeks pregnant! Already my belly feels full and occupied. I know I won't last much longer in my regular pants and skirts. In fact, I was so certain that I'd never get my cute suit back on that I took a picture of myself in it the other day. It's not the greatest picture, but here it is. Too bad that I started this pregnancy 10-15 lbs up. That's what back-to-back miscarriages did to my body. Ugh.
I called a midwife and asked her to attend me during childbirth. We'll have our first prenatal appointment at our house shortly after Valentine's Day.
1/27/08– I am now a week past the point that I miscarried last time. Last week I learned about two studies on caffeine and miscarriage. One said that as little as 200mg of caffeine is associated with miscarriage. The other said that there was not a strong link between caff and miscarriage. My problem is that I am a coffee addict. I gave up alcohol for pregnancy, and I'm trying to limit the coffee, but I really am resistant to completely getting rid of it. Plus, I'm not sure what'd happen to my BMs if I didn't have the coffee lube. 😉
Pregnancy symptoms – yesterday I felt sick to my stomach most of the day and was tired. Boobs aren't nearly as sore as they were with my first pregnancy (with DD).
I haven't had my HCG or progesterone levels checked with this pregnancy. The OB that managed my miscarriage doesn't think that doing blood levels are terribly predictive. Obviously, she's not one to supplement with progesterone. I got kind of freaked out about NOT being on progesterone, but I do feel like I've been led to trusting that everything is going to be ok. The OB wanted to schedule me for a 7 week ultrasound. Not going to do that either. I will have my first appointment with my midwife at week 9. Maybe then we'll hear a heartbeat though I know that would be kind of early. I have decided on a midwife, so I should give her a call and let her know that I'd like to work with her. Just need to talk with our benefits administrator, because it seems that she has new information for me with regard to covered services. (Luckily I have several choices when it comes to insurance companies.)
1/16/08– Based on LMP I am 5 weeks along today. Based on ovulation I am 5 weeks and 2 days along. Maybe I should split the difference? Except that I know this baby implanted a bit later than "normal" based on 13DPO cramping and perhaps a light spot on 14DPO. (According to Fertility Friend, implantation takes place around 7-10DPO.) I never felt implantation before. I was sure that my period was going to come after all. LoL! Given that bit of information it is possible that I'm not even as far along as 5 weeks. The book I was reading though does date pregnancy from LMP and/or conception, not from implantation. I know in the long run it doesn't matter, but when you're praying that the ax won't fall, every minute that goes by that I don't bleed is a miracle and a blessing.
I woke up at 3am because DD had a nightmare. DH (oh dear dear hubby) got up to see what was wrong, but I wasn't able to go back to sleep. My stomach didn't feel good, and I was thirsty, and then I was hungry, and I had music (Suor Angelica) going through my mind, and the cell phone was beeping, complaining about being out of battery. And I've been awake ever since.
Symptoms – constipation (wow, that's unpleasant), exhausted (of course), boobs starting to feel sensitive (and praying that they start to ache as badly as they did when I was pregnant with my DD), middle of the night hunger, out of breath, easily dizzzzzzy
Interviewing another homebirth midwife today.
1/14/08– I saw my chiropractor today. She said my round ligament on the right side was very tight. When she worked on it, I felt sick. Ack! I "interviewed" two direct-entry midwives. I am in awe of midwifery and am excited about being cared for by a midwife. I plan to interview a couple more midwives, but I do think I have found my "match." My herbalist is still MIA, so I may have to buy more black haw from another local herbalist. Today I've been tired and out of breath. I felt faint moving from a sitting position up to my knees. One of the midwives said that these were good signs of surging pregnancy hormones!
1/13/08 – It's a new year. Bye-bye 2007 – you sucked. Two miscarriages; ailing grandparents moved back to Canada; beloved grandfather died . . . Enough!
Today is my 35th birthday. I am determined that this pregnancy is going to stick and be healthy and happy. Some minutes of the day I believe this, and other times my fear and insecurity and lack of Faith grabs hold of me. This is one of those times – I am feeling incredibly insecure and depressed this afternoon. Trying to find the source. Should read some Scripture before heading off to my party.
No symptoms other than being tired and crabby.
A gift from Enjoy Birth was this bit of Scripture – "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7
In spite of a UTI and horrible yeast infection, I am pregnant again! I'm very excited and trying not to let fear get the best of me.
9/24 – Dollar Tree test starts to look pregnant but isn't exactly convincing
9/25– First Response test confirms that I am pregnant (BFP)
9/27 – I told my chiropractor that I am pregnant and nearly burst into tears when she said "if". I've started feeling twinges in the lower abdomen, similar to my last pregnancy. Other than being exhausted (really for about 10-12 days now), I don't feel pregnant.
9/28– I interviewed a CNM today. This appointment was originally scheduled as a follow-up to the out of control yeast infection. Conveniently, it disappeared a couple of days before the appointment. So we talked and she answered many of my questions very well:
How many women want to VBAC with you and are successful? She thinks her cesarean rate is around 10% and VBAC success rate is about 70%. Part of the reason there are so few VBACs is that much to her "chagrin" (as she put it), women do elect repeat cesareans. However, I wonder if that's because they're really only told about the risks associated with VBAC and not the risks of cesarean birth. She is willing to pull her data if I would like.
Do you induce a VBAC? Nope, induction is the leading cause of uterine rupture.
What is her philosophy on going past 40 weeks? This is not a problem, but at some point there would be more frequent monitoring which is fine.
Does she attend vaginal breech births? Well, I didn't ask her this exactly, but during our conversation about malposition, I discovered that one of the docs does do versions. That's good news.
How many uterine ruptures have they witnessed? She hasn't had anyone rupture, but she has seen it happen.
Does she have a time-limit on how long you can labor before they send you for a cesarean? Well, I'll need to talk to her more about this. She indicated that long periods of pushing can damage the pelvic floor.
Am I permitted to move and deliver in whatever position you want? I assume so. When we talked about my . . . ahem . . . small pelvis, she said it's all about position. She doesn't believe in CPD. Pelvises move. If indeed my pelvis is short front to back, it means we'll have to work more with the tailbone. Phew! She was VERY encouraging here.
I have many more questions to ask but wasn't going to completely inundate her at the start. I have decided to continue care with her.
I did have a quantitative hcg test run which confirmed the pregnancy and a healthy level of hormone. I can repeat the test next week if I want, but that'd really just be a comfort measure for me. I could also have an ultrasound as early as 6 weeks, but again, I'm not really sure what the benefits would be other than peace of mind (or early confirmation that the pregnancy won't be viable). Is it better to know or trust?
9/29 – getting ready for a conference and lecture-recital in Helena. Excited to meet a fellow ICAN member on Sunday. Definitely feeling crampy/twingy. Boobs feel full but they aren't sore yet. Thus far this pregnancy is almost exactly like my last pregnancy, and that concerns me.
10/5– I tried to add to this journal earlier this week, but my changes weren't saving. I was sick with a head cold over the weekend, but I'm on the mend. I think being away last weekend made me nervous, so I called into the CNM's office on Tuesday saying that I wanted to talk about more hcg testing and early ultrasound. I heard back from the CNM on Wednesday, and by that time I had had a change of heart. I want to focus on positive mental energy, and those tests won't add to that at this point. We'll see how I feel in a few weeks. I scheduled my first "official" prenatal visit for early November before I leave for a conference out of state.
Maybe it's in my mind, but I am feeling crampy. Sometimes I feel a bit queasy or have fleeting nausea. Boobs are a bit sore but not what I remember with my DD.
10/7– strong cramping began around 4:30pm; went to the ER; diagnosed with "threatened miscarriage", a likely blighted ovum, and a subchorionic hematoma; despair . . . utter and total despair
10/14– it's been an emotional, frustrating, and tiring week. I wouldn't have made it through were it not for the support of my family, friends, colleagues, and on-line support networks such as ICAN.
I had an appointment with the OB on 10/9. The bleeding had stopped, and there had been no tissue loss. My hcg was great – had nearly doubled in less than 48 hours. But that didn't mean that everything was ok. And actually, later that day I had a real scary spell and the bleeding started up again. I think I started passing tissue on Friday. The bleeding picked up again Saturday, so today I am exhausted.
Tomorrow I have a repeat ultrasound scheduled for 4:30pm. I am very glad that I'm having this done. I'm almost certain that I am indeed having a miscarriage, but the bleeding has been way too heavy for a 5w miscarriage. I need to be sure that there isn't more going on. I can't imagine that my pregnancy has weathered this storm, but of course I am still holding out hope. I'm still praying that there is a healthy baby growing in my womb.
It is what it is, and there's nothing I can do to control that . . .
10/15 – the repeat ultrasound confirmed what I already knew ~ that I lost the pregnancy yesterday. I know that I completed the miscarriage yesterday because the entire placenta came out at one time! I also know now that I was misdiagnosed with a blighted ovum. I likely miscarried because of the hematoma. The OB wants to monitor my levels down to 0 and then do some testing when I'm back to "normal". Normal . . . what's that? I've been fluctuating between pregnancy and non-pregnancy since June.
Three pregnancies, two miscarriages, one child. My child is my miracle. Thank God for her and for my saint of a husband.


text:
The start of something new — FlakPhoto Digest.
We're developing a new project, a weekly newsletter focused on photography + visual culture recommendations carefully curated from across the Web. You know, the good stuff that deserves a closer look. FlakPhoto Digest is currently in closed beta and will be available to the public later this year. You can request an invite by subscribing below.
Nikita Beketov, 21, student, fan of the series Brak po Zaveshaniu (Marriage by Will),
Website - MaxSher.com
Born in St. Petersburg, raised in Siberia and educated in Siberia and France, Max Sher took up photography in 2006. His work (personal and commissioned) has since appeared in Courrier International, Monocle, Esquire (Russia), le Monde, Libération, Ogoniok, Independent Magazine, Afisha, Bolshoi Gorod, Russian Reporter, Snob, GEO Traveler, Foto8, Private, Newsweek Japan, etc. and was exhibited in St.Petersburg, Vienna, Moscow, Bratislava, among others. Max was nominated for KLM Paul Huf Awards in 2008. He is currently based in Moscow.
Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2012.
Untitled, 2009
Untitled, 2008
Eye Holes, 2001
Ice cave, Mendenhall Glacier, 2012
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Wetpixel/JASA Sharks & Dolphins July 2010
Posted 16 July 2010 - 05:36 PM
I am in Florida again! Excited to be going out on one of the best trips in the business. The JASA summer trips are my favourite. Perhaps not the best time of year for the most really big sharks, they are hugely productive with fantastic conditions and tonnes of subjects. You can easily get more stunning images on one day of one of these trips, than in a whole week in another destination.
The aim of this thread is an informal diary of the trip, plus any banter and contributions from those on the trip, those we meet here in Florida and those not lucky enough to be here. It is open to all contributions, text or pictures. In a similar style to previous years. Here is the write up from the last time I did this particular itinerary - in 2008 - to give you a flavour of what to expect.
I've just got to Palm Beach, but I have already been immersing myself in the UW photo world over here. I landed at Miami Airport just after lunch and by mid-afternoon I was out on the Interstate heading to Reef Photo Video. Popping in on Ryan and the gang has become a tradition for those of us coming from Europe for the JASA trips. In fact, we choose to fly to Miami and drive, just for this reason (rather than flying into West Palm Beach!). But this year was more than a social call. I have been eyeing up one of the new Zen 230 domes since I first heard it announced and I am pleased to say that there is one bolted on my housing now, ready for action. I have strong views on domes, and I know what I like. And I have to say that the Zen 230 looks exactly as I hoped. I am really excited to try it.
Me with my new dome (and lighter wallet). Apologies for image quality this is with the Canon S90 at (mistakenly) ISO 3200.
I actually have quite a few new products with me to test/review (what this space - or rather watch the Wetpixel front page), but I am more excited by seeing this dome. I know it is just a dome - but I feel it is what I have been waiting for. Oh, and more on the other gizmos later.
At Ryan's I also bumped into Phil Rudin and Nigel Moyter - which was an excellent surprise. I'd not seen either of them for while. Hoping to see Phil in the water tomorrow. Sounds like they had an excellent week. Was a pity that I wasn't there in time to see Stuart Westmorland (I was keen to congratulate him on his recent award winning sailfish photo - it is a stunner and if ever a photo catches a moment - this is it)!
Tomorrow we're going in at Blue Heron Bridge - West Palm Beach's amazing muck dive. Hopefully a few local photographers will be along to say hi - but remember socialising is always after the dive - we don't want to miss the best of the tide!
Right - better go an find some food, then bed. Although still buzzing with excitement about the new dome!
p.s. Not seen any of the group yet - hopefully the team will start to come together during tomorrow.
Alexander Mustard - www.amustard.com - www.magic-filters.com
Nikon D5 (Subal housing). Nikon D850 (Subal housing). Olympus EM10-Mk3 (Nauticam housing).
Posted 17 July 2010 - 02:59 PM
Now installed in West Palm Beach and had a quality day down at the bridge (Blue Heron). Not my best dive there, but lots of quality critters, including seahorse, hairy frogfish, flying gurnards etc etc. Actually, what am I saying it was fantastic.
Here is a back-lit froggy. This was on camera-backlighting (with a long strobe arm). I think I will go with an off camera strobe tomorrow - which I think will allow me to get a more controlled effect.
I dived with two cameras today. The other was a Canon S90 compact, which I took in as well. And for comparison, here a photo of the same froggy with that - taken with available light only. Obviously a much more standard snap, but a very pleasing record of a cool fish.
The other new toy we took in was the new Light and Motion Sola 600 focus and video light. I have this for review and it has been very impressive so far. The main selling points are it packs a mighty performance into a small (half the size of competitors) and completely sealed unit. I leant it to one of the gang, Malcolm Nobbs, for the dive (so I could photograph it on his housing). It has both white light and red light LEDs - it is in the Red Mode here (obviously), which we turned on for the picture. I was also keen to hear Malcolm's opinion on it - he's sold "much better than my current focus light", I think Light and Motion have a sale already!
I also got to meet a few of Florida's underwater photographers today. Which was a real pleasure. I have to give a special mention to Suzan Meldonian, who was kind enough to give me a copy of her new book Under The Bridge an exploration and celebration of the amazing life and characters found at Blue Heron Bridge. It is a place that has a reputation for turning up oddities and a quick flick through the pages has left me most jealous! That so much biodiversity can be found on one shallow, shore dive, in the middle of Florida is astounding. Much against her will I made her pose for a photo with the book!
I'll bug her for a link for more information about it. EDIT - got it - more info here.
It wasn't all plain sailing today, though. We found out today that Jim isn't coming on our trip. As a friend I am very happy to hear that he is taking time off from being on Shear Water, but sad for the group that we're going on a Jim Abernethy trip without its eponymous hero. Luckily most of the group have done several JASA trips before, and like me are curious to see how it will be different without shark diving's "canon ball of enthusiasm" to quote Charles Hood. Amongst the group, we're already joking about the positives - mainly revolving around how much more space there will be on board without Jim's personal arsenal of Canons!
We're boarding tomorrow after 5pm, so we're hoping to get another dive in at the Bridge and then set sail for adventure. I am already seriously exciting thinking about it.
Alexander Mustard - www.amustard.com - www.magic-filters.com
Nikon D5 (Subal housing). Nikon D850 (Subal housing). Olympus EM10-Mk3 (Nauticam housing).
Posted 18 July 2010 - 03:11 AM
The tide time at BHB today is mid-afternoon, so we will be diving there, then going straight to the Shear Water. Checking out of the motel now. I will continue writing updates - but they will only get posted as internet access allows (I don't have a iPhone/Blackberry - so there might be a delay).
Alexander Mustard - www.amustard.com - www.magic-filters.com
Nikon D5 (Subal housing). Nikon D850 (Subal housing). Olympus EM10-Mk3 (Nauticam housing).
Posted 19 July 2010 - 06:36 AM
We're scheduled to join Shear Water in the evening, so this gives us a chance to get some final shopping done, do the check in paperwork and for the Brits in the group – enjoy a traditional American Sunday brunch. I have to skip, too much to do, but the guys return in high spirits. We check out of the Super 8 and head down to JASA. Laz puts us through our paces with the paper work. Its good to see the man – but I'd rather he was coming down to the Bridge with us. Few, if any, know that site as well as the salty pirate (his nickname from the first WP/JASA trip I did).
Here we meet up with Frank and then Jonathan. Once checked in, 5 of us decide to dive the Bridge. Although Frank and Jonathan dive from the pier side – so we don't see them. I head in from Phil Fosters park with Malcolm and Tim. Tim is trying a new Mistral reg and it turns out he does not have enough lead – so manages an hour skip breathing to stay down. Our strike rate increases considerably from the day before, thanks mainly to some excellent tips from the locals:
We see froggies, nudis, jack knife juvies, a couple of long arm octopus, sea robins, snake eel. I return to the frogfish of yesterday, armed with an off camera strobe setup (Inon Z240) fitted with a Seahorn snoot. I find him immediately, but unlike yesterday he is not on the sand, but sitting on a rock covered in Caulerpa alage. Which means I can do my backlighting easily. Stupidly, I don't realise the potential of the setting. Having brought the off camera strobe I am only thinking of that shot – and fail to realise for about 10 minutes that actually I have a frogfish in a great setting. Eventually it dawns on me – and I turn off the off camera strobe and just take some simple portraits of the froggy in his bed of algae. He looks great on the green background.
I am shooting the 105mm on the 1.7x teleconverter – which is quite a lot of lens, and since I use a full frame camera I decide to make the most of it for shooting subjects against pleasingly blurred (bokeh) backgrounds. I open up to between f/8 and f/11 to shoot portraits of one of the Caribbean long arm octopus (think of it as the Atlantic Ocean's version of the mimic octopus). I am shooting with just one strobe – every time I do so for macro I wish I did more dives with just a single strobe.
After the dive we pack up and load up. The Shear Water has had some changes since last year. And there is so much more space for cameras (especially without Jim on board!). The crew added some more (joking) positives of not having Jim on board. Not all repeatable here! We're all surprised how quiet the TV on Shear Water can be!
Off to bed now – then off to the Bahamas in a few hours. Crossing may be rough – and we're having the "if I am gonna hurl, where should I go" conversation!
Alexander Mustard - www.amustard.com - www.magic-filters.com
Nikon D5 (Subal housing). Nikon D850 (Subal housing). Olympus EM10-Mk3 (Nauticam housing).
Posted 19 July 2010 - 06:41 AM
Were in the Bahamas. In West End marina and I am jumping on the Wi-Fi to send you this. It was quite a bumpy crossing, but we all slept well and are raring to go.
So to get the official stuff out of the way. The gang on board is as follows:
Alex Mustard Nikon D700 + Subal housing,, Canon S90 + Canon housing,
Frank Baensch Canon 7D + Subal housing,
Malcolm Nobbs Nikon D200 + Subal housing
Paul Carre Nikon D300 + Subal housing
Jarret Brown Nikon D300 + Subal housing
Tim Priest Nikon D200 + Nexus housing
Jonathan Dietz Nikon D80 Ikelite housing
Don Hughes Canon 5D + Aquatica housing
Minky Hughes Canon S90 + Canon housing
More reports in about a week although Ill keep writing while were gone and if I get the chance to upload, I will.
Alexander Mustard - www.amustard.com - www.magic-filters.com
Nikon D5 (Subal housing). Nikon D850 (Subal housing). Olympus EM10-Mk3 (Nauticam housing).
Posted 19 July 2010 - 06:54 AM
Posted 19 July 2010 - 07:17 AM
Join us for an Underwater Photography Workshop in the Lembeh Strait at NAD Lembeh with Doug Sloss in 2018
Blog and Photo Archive/Portfolio Site www.mikeveitchblog.com
Learn underwater photography in the ultimate classroom, Bali! or join us on a trip www.underwatertribe.com and www.baliuwphoto.com
Join us for a trip in Indonesia in Komodo or Raja Ampat
Posted 19 July 2010 - 08:54 AM
Thanks for the updates, Alex -- am excited to see what you guys get out there.
Posted 20 July 2010 - 05:19 AM
Interesting comments on the almost not seeing the obvious great setting for the frogfish. How many times have we done a dive and come back only to then think of ideas as to how we could have shot the subject presented to us. One of the nice things of a place like BHB and a place like Bonaire is you can go back in a try the composition missed in most cases.
Also nice to see you bugger up settings like the iso too. Brings you down to a real level with all of us. LOL
Cheers and have a great one. Hello to Jimmy!
all photographs posted © Todd C Mintz
Posted 26 July 2010 - 07:54 AM
... and I never got to see Emma, so (bear with me) I wrote this:
Anticipating Emma
Light spikes into blue
Over white
And purple fronds tease
Grey, massive, ancient
Tiger teeth;
Towards the
Black-clad bubbling.
White from blue over white
And back to blue.
Tiger stripes and spots
Fade, blurred.
Old ocean mother
Strong, life-affirming
Muscular matriarch;
Her mouth to
Camera holding
Strangers from the surface.
Tidings from
Fishermen pass the reef
Death moves
Guile is no defence,
Tempted, swift-striking
Hunted hunter.
The waves wait:
Lines of light
Painting white sand patterns.
Will there be
And I took a few pictures:
No doubt a few more will appear in the future!
Flickr galleries
Photobox; images on sale!
The Fin Foundation
Nikon D800 in Nauticam housing...
Posted 26 July 2010 - 08:02 AM
As Chris Evans used to say (on UK TV!)
More! More!
Posted 26 July 2010 - 12:11 PM
Alexander Mustard - www.amustard.com - www.magic-filters.com
Nikon D5 (Subal housing). Nikon D850 (Subal housing). Olympus EM10-Mk3 (Nauticam housing).
Posted 26 July 2010 - 12:24 PM
It was a lumpy crossing, so we are running a bit late anyway. And we spend a bit longer in port a few of us grabbing a shower on terra firma before heading over to El Dorado, a pretty reef, with a good concentration of Caribbean Reef Sharks. We spend the rest of the day here, working the ops.
Shear Water in port.
Reef sharks are a great way to get into the grove. Feisty enough to get the adrenalin going, but cooperative enough so that everyone can get their eye and camera settings dialled in. These sites are classics for taking reef sharks on the reef: pretty sponges or corals with a shark or two cruising over the top. I heard recently that we owe Doug Perrine thanks for coming up with this shot, years ago, and asking Jim to put the bait crates near to some pretty sponges. Jim had the sense to ask Doug why he wanted the crates there, and the rest is, as they say, history.
Jarret and Frank get ready to dive
In the afternoon it clouds over and by our final dive of the day it is getting fairly dark. Only three of us are left in, Shawn (crew) and Frank and I. I am mucking about with ridiculously long exposures (mostly 1/2 a second), but playtime is soon over, when our first tiger of the trip cruises into view. Nice. Day 1 in the Bahamas and our first stripy. Shes a decent size, at 12 ft and has a lacerated dorsal fin. Shawn reckons 14ft, but 11-12ft is more accurate. She cruises by a couple of times, but never really close enough for pictures. But she is a good omen for the rest of the week.
Dark evening lets me shoot 1/2 sec long shark shots.
The seas were picking up in the evening, so we decided to head for a safe anchorage. The is tropical storm Bonnie in the area, and although were not in direct path, she is likely to rob us of the glassy flat seas you can usually expect at this time of year.
Alexander Mustard - www.amustard.com - www.magic-filters.com
Nikon D5 (Subal housing). Nikon D850 (Subal housing). Olympus EM10-Mk3 (Nauticam housing).
Posted 26 July 2010 - 01:12 PM
Flickr galleries
Photobox; images on sale!
The Fin Foundation
Nikon D800 in Nauticam housing...
Posted 27 July 2010 - 01:49 AM
Today we're going to the beach. Tiger Beach. With the way the tides are, the plan is to start the morning at Crystal Tiger, which should be green in the morning, but should be the first spot to clear.
Although it is green, it is clear, and I rather enjoy shooting the lemons (lemon sharks) against the green. It is well known I am a big fisheye lover, but armed with the new Zen 230 dome, I decide to give the new 16-35mm a thorough workout, which has been kindly leant to me for the trip by Ryan Canon. I use it for three of the four dives today. And love it. It performs brilliantly with the Zen dome on my FX Nikon. Review coming soon. Very impressive. Despite much ribbing from friends on board who know of my passion for fisheye lenses.
Don and Minky prepare for a dive, seas not glassy calm again!
On my second dive I pop back to the boat to give my Canon S90 a workout too. Fitted with the Inon 100 wide angle and an external Magic filter (not commercially available, yet) it produces great pictures and video. It even makes the greeny water look blue. The main difference between using a filter and not at these depths is that the filter helps you hold a much richer blue in the background:
This camera is so impressive, even shooting at ISO 800 inside the Shear Water it takes such clean images. Even with the impressive new noise reduction function in Lightroom 3, which Frank is extolling the virtues of. He has gone from a full frame 5D to the 7D recentlty, so is a vocal critic of the 7D's noise at 100%. But with a default noise reduction applied in Lightroom, this weakness is easily controlled.
And here is a video from the Canon S90 (the re-sizing for Vimeo (or my lack of knowledge of video stuff) has ruined the resolution, but it still shows the nice colours the system produced:
I soon spot an issue of switching over to the Canon S90 – my computer is attached to my SLR – and that is my only tank pressure gauge. Trying to save luggage weight. Oh well, I have stolen Jimmy's 15 litre steel tank, in his absence, so I have plenty of air. It seems inexhaustible.
By lunch, blue water is flooding Tiger Beach and we keep on shooting. Grabbing a bite to eat when we happen to be out of the water.
Mid-afternoon we relocate to the chain. I really like the chain, especially the sparks of colour and schools of fish it adds to the white expanse of sand. I especially enjoy photographing the tight schools of cottonwick, for once in beautiful blue water. They had tigers here last week. But we only get lemons. They are cooperative so we happily focus on them.
The rough weather means that as soon as the tide turns the visibility drops right away. It is real pee-soup in no time. Frank suggests that I could try faux-night shots in the dark conditions. Lots of strobe, small aperture and fast aperture. It is a different look. Apparently a few well-known night-time shark images have been taken on dark days this way!
Frank shoots long exposures today. I also shoot some silhouettes of the sharks against the evening light in the pretty green water. It is a bit too windy to get a really nice sunbursts, but the water colour makes for an interesting background. Very different from the beautiful sunbursts you get here on a blue, calm evening. But one of the best options for producing a contrasty, punchy images in this low viz (by forcing the contrast gradient as much as possible).
Taken with D700 + 16-35mm.
We agree that the changeable conditions are actually allowing us to get some very different images of the sharks, expanding rather than just repeating our portfolios from previous trips. Of course, those on their first trip would prefer the perfect blue conditions. Perhaps tomorrow?
About an hour after we stop diving for the day, Ed spots a big tiger is circling the boat. It is way to murky to jump back in. But it is encouraging for tomorrow. And that means we keep our record of at least a tiger a day (keeps the doctor hap-pay). Not quite up to Tim's poetry standards.
Alexander Mustard - www.amustard.com - www.magic-filters.com
Nikon D5 (Subal housing). Nikon D850 (Subal housing). Olympus EM10-Mk3 (Nauticam housing).
Posted 27 July 2010 - 02:03 AM
The plan for today was to do reef in the morning before relocating back to the beach in the afternoon. But in the end we just stopped at Hammer Time – a pretty reef dive.
We had spent the night at Tiger Beach, but it was too green in the morning top dive. The wind still hasn't let up, so it is limiting our options. Thanks Bonnie (the storm). So we decided to relocate to the reef. We dragged (power-chummed) the bait behind the boat that meant we had both lemons and Caribbean reefies posing on the reef. It is particularly nice to have the chance to shoot the lemons in this environment.
The large groupers were also popular subjects. Jarret even took them on with the 60mm. I played around with off camera strobes, which didn't really work well, I felt the reef was too flat to provide good hiding places for them
Then at about lunchtime, the call went out that we had a tiger. Keen to get photos of the stripy shark on the reef, we decided to stay. It was the same individual that Frank and I had seen at El Dorado, two days before.
Approaches by the tiger shark allow me to test the close focus ability of the 16-35mm on the D700. Impressive, this is at 16mm.
Later in the afternoon a second, slightly smaller tiger shows up too. Ed is controlling the bait crates and ensures that all the group get nice close tiger passes and by the evening the boat was buzzing as Macbook Pros busily polished up the days pictures. Paul has stuck an Apple sticker on his PC so he doesn't feel left out.
Another highlight of the evenings is watching Tim fill in his dive log. On all his trips he has a little note book, where he writes about highlights of the dive and also draws sketches of the highlights. Unsurprisingly, tigers were the subject of today's artwork (Tim got some excellent shots of them too, although he uses a standard side on shot for the basis of the artwork).
The only downside of the day was Jonathan getting a small sting from lionfish. Lionfish are one of my favourite fish, but I have to say, that this invasive species are now so common on these reefs that even I am not pleased to see them. Their numbers have really ballooned in the last 5 years. You see them, more than 10, on every single dive. Anyway, Jonathan got a small sting, which thankfully wasn't too bad. We did the hot water treatment and reckon he must have only got one spine – as it hardly swelled up. So no Mr Sausage fingers! I am pleased to report that he was diving and shooting again the next day.
Jonathan gets his hand straight into water as hot as he could stand - to denature the poison. The treatment works well and Jon is shooting again the next morning.
Alexander Mustard - www.amustard.com - www.magic-filters.com
Nikon D5 (Subal housing). Nikon D850 (Subal housing). Olympus EM10-Mk3 (Nauticam housing).
Posted 27 July 2010 - 02:23 AM
Morning started with a quick fix to Malcolm's 10-17mm. The lens casing of the Tokina's sometime have a habit of breaking. It is not terminal, but it is a bit disconcerting to be able to see the inner workings of your lens. Malcolm seems to be attracting gremlins this week. Yesterday, Paul fixed his dive computer (well replaced the battery – a sure way to get more bottom time). Anyway Frank lent me some electrical tape and we soon had his tick-Tok running like clockwork. I think Malcolm had had the problem for a while and it was causing his lens gear to slip – and everyone he took it to blamed him for not fitting the gear correctly!
Then it was a morning at Cover Shot, shooting verticals of the reef sharks cruising over the top of various pretty sponges. Having shot most of the sponge formations as verticals on previous trips, I shoot horizontals. It is a great site for this, although can be a bit congested when it was switchover time for the groups and there was more than 4 or 5 in the water at a time. Although most of us managed to find plenty of space.
OK, I did shoot some verticals:
At the end of the dive I photograph Mike's bubble-ring blowing prototype. Which is starting to produce results. Another Bates product coming to a pawn shop near you, soon. This is a shot from later in the day (after more modifications) at Sugar wreck:
Tim is having problems with his 10.5mm Nikon fisheye, but Paul kindly lends him his – so he can keep working his favourite setup of 10.5mm and mini-dome. I am very happy with my Zen dome and am busy proclaiming it the best dome I have used or seen - not that I have done back to back testing! On the Sugar Wreck I shoot a series of tests for a forthcoming review. Here with the new Nikon 16-35mm rectilinear lens on full frame camera, top frame at f/14, lower at f/4.5. Even at f4.5 it is only slightly naughty in the corners - even in the foreground well in front of the point of focus. The aperture would be fine in open water (big animal) shooting, which is very impressive on an FX camera (crops and more apertures coming with the review):
In any case, the coating on the Zen, coloured like the front of an expensive lens, looks damn cool IMO:
Minky joined the ranks of photographers today – getting her Canon S90 going in the Canon housing. Although she ended up losing her pictures from that dive. She thought she had transferred the files to her iPad, but actually had only viewed them. By the time she realised, Don had reformatted the card, ready for the next dive. A frosty moment.
In the afternoon we watched the ocean conservation film End Of The Line, which should be compulsory viewing for all. Check it out, if you haven't. This was during our travel to the Sugar Wreck for an afternoon dive, and people really pushed out the dive times. Tim and I were feeling pretty chuffed (happy) at hitting two hours, only to discover that Frank had racked up a three hour dive. Malcolm and Jarret did shorter dives, but got two in during the afternoon.
Then three of us (Frank, Jonathan and me) headed in for a night dive. It was a great chance to try the Light and Motion Sola 600 focus light. It is excellent, the best focus light I have used. The light beam is soft and wide and can be either white light or red light. The red light is excellent and works very at not disturbing critters. After a one hour dive it still had between 50 and 70% battery remaining. Review of this light coming soon! I have a lot of writing coming up.
Alexander Mustard - www.amustard.com - www.magic-filters.com
Nikon D5 (Subal housing). Nikon D850 (Subal housing). Olympus EM10-Mk3 (Nauticam housing).
Posted 27 July 2010 - 02:43 AM
It has been a windy week (caused by the afore-mentioned tropical storm Bonnie), and each day we hope it will calm down. But is hasn't yet. The main consequence is that the waves are stirring up the seabed, making clear blue waters a rare commodity particularly at Tiger Beach. It has limited our time on the Beach and also stopped us doing fun stuff like surface photography and pole-camming. We're also starting to get concerned it might stop us doing dolphins later in the week. The dolphins can be hard to find in rough seas, and it is also pretty unpleasant snorkelling in the chop. That said we are still diving full on each day, just not getting perfect conditions. The ocean is a cruel mistress!
Today is the windiest day so far. So we decide to do a couple of morning dives at Tiger Beach to catch the high tide, and hopefully the clearest water. It is still very green and there are 5-10 lemons around the boat. I slip in first and spot a Tiger sniffing the bait. Game on. I surface to spread the word and then sink quickly to the bottom. Annoyingly, I have put a 28-70mm on for this dive (expecting to be shooting lemons in low viz), but it provides the chance for some tighter tiger shots. Not the best choice for the conditions.
A tiger to start the day meets with Jarret's approval:
The group is soon in and we all get good tiger encounters. It is the same individual from the days before. A few manage to get sneaked up on by a 11ft tiger (you have to keep looking and not get stuck in your camera), perhaps they need to adopt Billy Rafter's one legged tiger spotting dance! I surface after 70 minutes and change to a fisheye. But by the time I am back in the tiger has stopped playing.
We tell Jarret that there is something wrong with his setup that will stop him taking pictures. At this point he doesn't know what!
His comeback is razor sharp - "its Subal's new white balance port!"
We do a bit more with the lemons before deciding to relocate to "breaching tiger, drowned dragon", a site protected from bad weather where it is possible to photography tigers breaching at the surface. We rename it "breaching tiger, angry dragon" – in honour of an old (joke on a previous) Wetpixel trip on the Shear Water. There is a strong current running and we are hopeful of pulling in some sharks quickly, but none show up. It rains a lot, though.
Typical Bahamas weather (not really):
So we leave late afternoon, so we can get back for a final dive at Tiger Beach.
Frank's towel is having a tough week. It keeps being used to open O2 bottles - and gets stained suspiciously in the process. Shawn raises the stakes with this number (there are worse pictures...)
Even though it is overcast and the viz is still low, we get some lemons and have some fun in the low light. Frank takes some very nice looong exposure shots – blurring the surface to a beautiful deep blue. I hope he posts them. They are beautiful shots – once again we find that different conditions allow different shots – when you think out of the box and don't just try and create those same perfect Bahamas blue water shark shots.
I shoot lemons on black backgrounds using a snoot just to light their faces. A decent idea, but I need more chances to perfect and two sharks shared between the group don't provide enough chances. I am pleased enough, I will save them, with my other best shots for my trip gallery. Here is a snoot test shot of Minky (while waiting for the lemons we took shots of each other - she has some funny shots of me reclining on the sand).
We all head to bed, hoping that the wind will relent enough to allow us to swim with the dolphins tomorrow.
Alexander Mustard - www.amustard.com - www.magic-filters.com
Nikon D5 (Subal housing). Nikon D850 (Subal housing). Olympus EM10-Mk3 (Nauticam housing).
Posted 27 July 2010 - 03:09 AM
Jamin appears after working in the engine room (it should be noted that she was not happy to be photographed with her hair in a mess - but she was in the middle of working):
We still have our bait, so we decide to make a final dive at Carcharias Cut, a pretty reef, for some final reef shark dives. The wind is slowly dropping, so we hope a later start with the dolphins might allow us to catch the best conditions. Plus get them at happy hour (mid-afternoon) when they take a break from feeding and seem most in the mood to play.
The current is really running at the reef, but were all used to the routine now and settle down around the bait stations photographing sleek Caribbean reef sharks. Frank was one of the first in and photographs a fish trap laid on the reef, which has caught a pair of grey angels, a pair of queen angels, a large rainbow parrotfish and two Nassau groupers. By the time I get in the water I am pleased to discover they have escaped. There is a chain of these traps right across the local reefs indiscriminately catching both food fish and non-food fish.
Jonathan and I do our best to stay out each others shots. The currents make it difficult to keep your bubbles out of the way, when they are going sideways. The sharks seem much happier than us in the currents. Minky explored the Cut and takes some very atmospheric images of the silversides in there. Don follows Jamin when she goes to release the remaining bait and enjoys some monster chaos with the reefies exploding towards his lens. I am playing with off-camera strobe sharks again - which still isn't working 100% (at the end of the dive - I finally figure out the shot that will work - too late - grrrr, next year).
Poor off-camera strobe shot of shark - best ones will be in my trip gallery - but I worked out the shot I wanted too late.
Then it is time to head north to White Sand Ridge and hunt for dolphins.
Despite our concerns about the weather, it turns into the best dolphin photo session I have experienced. We have dolphins for most of the afternoon and nearly all of them want to play. It is an amazing experience. Here is a video I shot (with the Canon S90 compact) of a pass I got from a pod:
Regarding stills technique, I suggest that people go as fast as possible on shutterspeed. I suggest shooting shutter priority (S or Tv) set at 1/500 or faster if possible. I push it up to 1/640th when the dolphins are really buzzing. The add the appropriate under exposure to get a nice water colour. On newer Nikons this is 0.3, on older Nikons it is 1.3 ot 1.7 EV. It is amazing how much they changed the metering between the generations. Anyway the settings nail the results. And go on continuous fire but set it slow to about 2 or 3 frames a second. Otherwise you end up with a video.
Life may seem idyllic for the cetaceans, but it is far from. A pair of male bottlenose dolphins are harassing the Atlantic spotted dolphins and forcing them to have sex. Nice. They guys say that the male bottlenoses arent picky and mate with both female and male spotteds. I watch as one male bottlenose restrains a spotted and his buddy penetrates. Charming. Again, photos will be in my gallery.
Shawn works hard on the scooter to keep the dolphins around graciously he leaves his camera behind. Not only does this mean that he looks much better when he appears in our photos, but it is really works having someone on the scooter dedicated solely to rounding up the dolphins for the rest of the group.
Frank is the undisputed dolphin man of the group, being able to swim fastest and longest to get the best encounters. Jealously, we suggest that he is offering the dolphins more than just a chance to appear in his photos. Jonathan also does very well at chasing the dolphins and then having the energy to dive down for great encounters. Paul enjoys a game of seaweed fetch with one of the dolphins and even managed to snap pictures during the encounter.
Frank enjoys yet another great dolphin encounter. Maybe bribery was involved. After seeing the bad behaviour of the bottlenoses, we suggest that Frank might have some dolphin in him...
Everyone produces first rate images. I am getting so many I even take the Canon S90 in and leave the SLR on the boat. This is another shot from the Canon S90, showing a pod with Malcolm in hot pursuit (I really like this little camera):
In the evening we try and go and do night dolphins in the Gulf Stream, but it is just too windy and the boat is rocking violently and the current runs at 90˚ to the wind and waves. So we dont get in. It remains windy through the night and we all do not sleep well, most people are thrown out of their bunks at some point, hopefully a final farewell from the tropical storm Bonnie.
Alexander Mustard - www.amustard.com - www.magic-filters.com
Nikon D5 (Subal housing). Nikon D850 (Subal housing). Olympus EM10-Mk3 (Nauticam housing).
Posted 27 July 2010 - 03:24 AM
Our final day in the Bahamas is aimed at dolphins again. We see dolphins in the morning, but do not get decent encounters. They are not in the mood. A lot of spotting dolphins on the bow or roof and then running to kit up, jumping in, climbing out and repeat. Malcolm, Paul and Tim poised:
Even Shawns dolphins chant fails to attract them, perhaps unsurprisingly.
Shawn and I debate the trans-Atlantic vocab differences between US and UK sun protection. What happens next will have to stay between me, Shawn and Joe Romerio.
Again the first bite of lunch heralds an encounter. And then an excellent final fling after lunch. It is a great encounter with a group of 8 to 9 spotted dolphins. Thankfully with no bottlenoses bullying them. Half way through the encounter the pod splits into pairs and everyone gets excellent passes. The extra day also allows us to adjust to this rather unusual type of underwater photography. As Tim puts it, I saw far fewer dolphins today, but got much better pictures.
Frank and Jonathan attach strobes. They take more effort to push through the water and they cant just blat at every pass, like the rest of us! That said I get photos with both Frank and Jonathans strobes going off I guess that says more about me blatting! Jarret proclaims he is king of blatting, but I am not sure.
Then it is time to head home. The ice machine is not working, one engine is out too. But we have lots of butter left (without Jimmy on board). And lots of happy photographers. There have been two bottles of Heineken that have been falling out of the fridge all week. Presumably left by the Irish the week before. Paul claims one and hands me the other. We drink to another excellent trip. We didnt have the luck with the weather, but it has still be hugely productive.
Thanks to all on board, guests and crew for an excellent week.
Alexander Mustard - www.amustard.com - www.magic-filters.com
Nikon D5 (Subal housing). Nikon D850 (Subal housing). Olympus EM10-Mk3 (Nauticam housing).


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Since it is my turn I would like to compare Obama and Gov. Romney.
By BETTY MALIN
Reading Rezwan Haq�s column in the Sept. 20 News Herald sets my teeth on edge. I�m 88 years old and I want to assure Rezwan that President Lincoln would not be ashamed of the Republican Party for wanting to take back America from President Obama.
Republicans did not pass legislation that was for late-term abortion like Obama voted for in the Illinois Senate. That is killing a live fetus. How ghastly!
Our Republican Party does not need Rezwan to tell us who to associate with. He is taking liberties to suggest that President Eisenhower would be called �too liberal� today. I lived through his term.
Since it is my turn I would like to compare Obama and Gov. Romney.
Obama is for taxpayer-funded abortion. Gov. Romney supports the Hyde Amendment, which broadly bars the use of federal funds for abortion. Obama has no respect for �rights of conscience� as he issued a final rule mandating that religious schools and hospitals provide health insurance plans that cover certain drugs and procedures that violate the group�s religion and moral convictions.
The Supreme Court could have two or three vacancies in the next four years. Gov. Romney would appoint judges like John Roberts or Samuel Alito, while Obama would appoint the most liberal judges.
Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Gov. Romney favors domestic partnership benefits, hospital visitation rights and appropriate behavior.
Immigration for Obama is anyone�s guess. Gov. Romney believes in the law and would fully enforce federal immigration laws. In education, Gov. Romney believes in the creation of federal vouchers to help educate the poor and disabled. Obama defunded the scholarship program in Washington, D.C. that provided vouchers for low-income children to attend public or private schools of their parents� choice.
As to the frenzy where Gov. Romney said 47 percent of America receives help from all of the people, let�s take a look at Obama record. He forced GM bondholders to accept less than 100 of what they were legally owed but made sure his UAW union buddies got a sweet deal while the bond holders got shafted.
Romney is representing all Americans. When 60 percent of Americans were against Obamacare, the president signed it anyway. That resulted in a November 2010 GOP landslide election. Does he think he represents all Americans when he squandered $527 million of taxpayer money on the Solyndra loan guarantee to protect the 2008 campaign investors? Was he thinking of Americans when he provided a full Secret Service protection for confident Valerie Jarrett but felt Ambassador Chris Stevens did not need a Marine detail in Benghazi, Libya on Sept. 11, 2012?
There are a lot of media saying Gov. Romney is not likable. From the liberal side, here are 10 reasons to like Gov. Romney:
1. He is handsome with a statesman-like aura.
2. He has been married to one woman for 43 years.
3. He has no scandals or skeletons in his closet.
4. He is highly intelligent. He graduated cum laude from Harvard Law and Business schools and his academic records are not sealed.
5. He doesn�t smoke or drink alcohol, and has never done drugs, not even in the counter-culture age when he went to college. He�s too square for liberal America.
6. He represents an America of �yesterday,� where people believed in God and went to church, worked hard, and became a success.
7. He has a family of five great sons ... and none of them have police records or are in drug rehab. They were raised by a stay-at-home mom, and of course that �choice� deserves America�s scorn.
8. He is a Mormon. We really need to be very worried of that strange religion that teaches its members to be clean-living, patriotic, fiscally conservative, charitable, self-reliant and honest.
9. Pundits say because of his wealth he can�t relate to ordinary Americans. He made that money himself. He did not marry it or inherit it.
10. Mitt was an unpaid president of the Salt Lake Olympics. He took no salary as governor of Massachusetts.
Gov. Romney will not bow down to foreign powers or practice fiscal irresponsibility, nor will he go to a church where the pastor called for God to damn America.


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That's you! Let's be honest. If you're reading this, you can probably count yourself among the "ones who have everything" right? And your friends and family are in that group too. OK, I'm not trying to be a big grinch and stomp down on all our Cyber Weekend shopping fun. I'm just suggesting that some of the frenzy whipped up over these unbelievable deals is a bit contrived-- maybe you and those on your List don't really need or want an extra flat screen TV anyway.
So what to buy that would have some meaning?
Here's a short list of my Top 4 Favorite Christmas and Holiday Gifts:
- A $20 donation to Heifer International could offer an education (and a new world) to a child otherwise doomed to a life of poverty in a third world country. If you can read this story about Beatrice Biira and not be inspired to swap a goat or flock of chickens for the Blu-ray player, I'll be surprised.
- For the animal lovers on your list, what could be more thoughtful than the World Wildlife Fund symbolic adoption of an endangered species? Tigers are my favorite animals and they are among the most critically endangered species on earth, but WWF offers over 100 adoption choices from Red Eyed Tree Frog to the Ring Tailed Lemur. Adoption gifts include a stuffed animal, a personalized, framed adoption certificate and a photo of the animal in the wild. These are fun for kids and adults alike.
- Do you have any outdoor enthusiasts on your list? How about an acre of rainforest for them? The Nature Conservancy has several gift options including adopting an acre of rainforest in Costa Rica, planting trees in Brazil and adopting hummingbirds. I should mention too that TNC has a cool Green Gift Monday webpage with all kinds of ideas for gifting repsonsibly.
- Swimmers? Surfers? Sailors? Definitely check out Oceana's Marine Wildlife Adoption and Gift Center and adopt a whale, turtle, shark, octopus, penguin or whatever your favorite ocean species is.
The best part is that there's no Black Friday or Cyber Monday RUSH on buying these items. But... you could take a big load off your shoulders and get everything done today. Then you could relax and enjoy the rest of the Christmas season in peace-- what a concept!


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Online Point of Sale (POS) is the place where a retail transaction is completed. With the birth of the internet and the development of cloud computing POS systems have developed online under the SaaS (Software as a Service) model. Integration with your existing ecommerce and accounting systems is essential and consideration should be given to inventory tracking and customer account management.
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Fraport Twin Star Airport Management
The airport is situated on the Southern Black Sea coast, between the city center of Burgas and the tourism resort of Sunny Beach. Burgas is an important business, commercial, transport and tourist city, as well as a starting point for visiting the Southern Black Sea resorts and the nearby holiday villages.
A comfortable and relaxed airport experience to our passengers through our VIP Lounge Service
A new customer care program at Burgas Airport