The New York Underwater Photographic Society (NYUPS) is a sub-group of the Big Apple Divers dive club. Big Apple Divers is one of the largest dive clubs in New York. The club was founded in 1971 by local scuba divers and instructors and operates as a not-for-profit organization.

Each month, Big Apple Divers hosts a mix of evening talks, local diving, out-of-town trips, and social events. Membership is $25 per year. You do not need to be a member to attend club meetings. However, you must be a member to dive with the club.

NYUPS is a community of underwater photographers and videographers. We meet monthly to talk technique, share recent work, and learn from each other. You also do not need to be a member to participate. Our meetings are typically held at a local bar in the city. We simply ask everyone to purchase an entrée and a drink since the venue provides space at no charge. For the last two months, we’ve met in the back section of a bar called Gossip on the west side of Manhattan.

This month’s theme was “Best Underwater Images From 2019.” I shared the video above with the group, titled Compact Moments.

If you follow this blog, you may recognize a few of these clips from earlier posts—apologies for the redundancy. They’re still some of my favorite underwater moments from last year.

These are the underwater creatures featured in this short film:

• Dugong – Marsa Alam, Egypt
• Spotted Jellyfish – Dauin, Philippines
• Spiny Devilfish – Dumaguete, Philippines
• Wunderpus Octopus – Dumaguete, Philippines
• Needle Cuttlefish – Komodo, Indonesia
• Whitemargin Stargazer – Komodo, Indonesia
• Peacock Mantis Shrimp – Komodo, Indonesia
• Manta Ray – Komodo, Indonesia
• Marbled Ray – Komodo, Indonesia
• Napoleon Wrasse – Red Sea, Egypt (Somewhere in the south)

Big Apple Divers and NYUPS will have a booth at Beneath the Sea (BTS) in late March. BTS is a consumer scuba diving show held annually in New Jersey. This year, the club will be displaying member images at the show. I’ll be submitting the video above as well—hopefully it will be accepted and screened during the event.

I shot all of the footage with the following gear: GoPro Hero 6 Black or Hero 8 Black. I used SeaLife Sea Dragon 2500 Lumen Lights, and red filters from Backscatter and PolarPro. Mid-year, I took advantage of Gopro’s upgrade offer and traded the Hero 6 for the Hero 8. I’ve been happy with the improved image quality. There have been a few operational upgrades as well. I especially appreciate the ability to set up to 10 custom presets. Here’s a link to my current underwater set-up.

Hope you enjoy the video.