As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been working on a story about the Whales of Bristol. This morning I heard back from my source.

Here’s a brief summary of the article, in case you need a recap.

Bristol has been selected as the European Green Capital 2015, which is an award that “recognizes cities that are leading the way with environmentally friendly living. ”In order to commemorate Bristol’s status as the 2015 European Green Capital the city created a statue of two life sized whales. This installation is not just to celebrate Bristol’s achievement, but also to remind its citizens about the importance of continued environmental stewardship.

The statue of the whales was created by a Bristol based company called Cod Steaks. My source was Sue Lipscombe, the Managing Director of Cod Steaks. I had emailed her some questions last week regarding the statue and her involvement in the project (I conducted my interview through email, rather than over the phone, due to the time difference between us).

This morning I heard back from Lipscombe about her involvement with the Whales of Bristol installation. Sue’s answers were very helpful and gave me some great quotes to work with. After reading her email I worked on my rough draft for most of the day. I was able to finish it after lunch, now I’m just waiting for Ashley (the Deputy Editor for Scuba Diving) to read through it so I can make edits!

While most of the day was dedicated to wrapping up my story, the last few hours were set aside for a special meeting with SeaLife. For anyone who isn’t familiar with SeaLife, it is a camera company that specializes in underwater photography. Underwater cameras are of obvious value to divers, and Bonnier’s dive group (Scuba Diving and Sport Diver magazines) has had a close working relationship with them since they came on the market in the 90’s. SeaLife often meets with the dive group to show off new products for demonstrations and reviews, and they have even been gracious enough to let them take cameras on assignment.

That afternoon however, the dive group wasn’t the primary reason for SeaLife’s visit. Sven Harms, the Vice President of SeaLife, flew into town to talk to Bonnier’s other water adjacent magazine groups such as fishing, travel, and yachting. SeaLife is interested in reaching a wider market, and thinks its newest camera is great not only for diving, but any activity near or on the water!

SeaLife’s newest offering is the Micro HD. This camera is the first of its kind, unlike other underwater cameras, which have separate housings; the Micro HD’s housing and camera are one and the same. In other words, the camera is permanently sealed. This feature not only makes the camera completely leak proof, it also makes maintenance a snap. You don’t need to worry about taking apart and putting together all of the parts and pieces. The only maintenance the Micro HD really needs is a quick freshwater rinse at the end of the day. This feature alone makes it much more accessible to non-divers than any other underwater camera on the market.

Sven brought a few Micro HD cameras to the office with him, and let us try them out. The camera is very small, it fits in the palm of your hand. It’s designed for ease of use, with only three, clearly labeled, piano key sized buttons (and the shutter button of course!). The built in 140 degree fish eye lens can focus from 1 foot to infinity, and the 2.4 inch lcd display makes it easy to line up a shot. This camera is designed with beginners in mind, so while it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles a professional might want, its certainly steps up to the plate for users familiar with smartphone cameras and point and shoot cameras.

With their new easy to use, completely water proof camera, SeaLife believes they have a great product not just for divers, but for all water related activities. I think it’s a smart move. I could definitely see their cameras catching on with other markets. I was very grateful for the opportunity to sit in on the meeting and play with SeaLife’s newest camera!