Bill Van Antwerp

Forum username: bvanant
Real name: Bill (from forum posts signed “Bill”)
Location: Los Angeles area
Posts: 2,197 across 1,555 threads (94 threads started)
Active years: 2002–2025
Camera: Canon 7D
Housing: Subal
Primary forums: Photography Gear and Technique (33%), Lights/Strobes/Lighting (20%), Shooting Technique/Workflow/Editing (14%), General Chat (13%)
Specialization: Strobe technology, fiber optic cables, DIY lighting solutions, photo competition judging (LAUPS)
Comments: 4 article comments

Community Role

bvanant is one of the longest-tenured active members of the Wetpixel forums, with a posting history spanning 23 years from April 2002 through September 2025. This extraordinary longevity makes him one of very few members who were active from Wetpixel’s founding era through to the present day.

The bulk of bvanant’s contributions center on lighting and strobe technology — 20% of his posts were in the Lights/Strobes/Lighting forum, an unusually high concentration for that specialized area. He brought a distinctly technical and engineering-oriented approach to underwater photography, using tools like MATLAB for strobe beam pattern analysis and organizing community group buys for specialty components. His forum posts were frequently signed “Bill,” and his participation in the Los Angeles Underwater Photographic Society (LAUPS) competitions connected Wetpixel’s online community to the real-world underwater photography club scene.

Notable Contributions

Strobe testing and engineering

bvanant conducted rigorous, scientific strobe beam pattern tests at his local pool, using a white screen at 11 feet depth, a tripod-mounted strobe, photodiode strips, and MATLAB image processing to average 20 exposures per strobe. He tested multiple strobes including Inon and Sea & Sea models, producing quantitative beam pattern comparisons that went well beyond typical subjective reviews. His approach was notable for acknowledging limitations (“this is all from a single example of each strobe so YMMV”) while providing data the community lacked (^[1]).

Fiber optic cable group buy

bvanant identified that the 613-core fiber cable used in most commercial underwater fiber optic cables (Asahi Kasei P/N MCQ-1500-22) could be purchased in bulk at $3.40/meter vs. retail cable prices. He organized a community group buy, proposing that 20 members could each get 25 meters of high-quality fiber for $85 plus shipping, noting that “when fibers break, the connectors on the ends are still perfectly good” and replacement was straightforward. The thread (120 replies) became a practical resource for DIY-minded underwater photographers (^[2]).

DIY strobe trigger technology

bvanant contributed extensively to threads on building microflash-to-optical-strobe adapters, enabling photographers to fire fiber-optic-triggered strobes without relying on the camera’s built-in flash. This addressed the shooting speed limitations caused by internal flash recycling, particularly relevant for action and fast-sequence underwater photography (^[3]).

He also maintained expertise on Sea & Sea fiber optic cable alternatives (^[4]) and leak detection / vacuum valve technology (^[5]).

Photo competition judging (LAUPS)

As a member of the Los Angeles Underwater Photographic Society, bvanant provided insider perspective on underwater photo competition integrity. His “AARGH or Insert Curse Word Here” thread (38 replies) documented widespread manipulation in LAUPS International Competition entries — competitors adding missing crab claws, compositing backgrounds, and removing backscatter beyond what rules allowed. He raised the question of whether requiring RAW files for all submissions was practical, sparking a substantive community debate about digital editing ethics in underwater photography competitions (^[6]).

He also discussed the Reef Keeper Supply photo usage controversy and the Miami Rosenstiel Underwater Photo Competition ethics (^[7]).

Community preservation

bvanant was an active participant in the “Preservation of Wetpixel” discussion (126 replies, 27 posts from bvanant), demonstrating long-term commitment to the community’s continuity at a time when the forum’s future was uncertain (^[8]).

Community humor and etiquette

• Started “Why Hitler Doesn’t Dive the Channel Islands” (50 replies), a humorous video parody thread about California diving that became one of the forum’s most popular lighthearted posts (^[9])
• Started “Underwater Etiquette” (32 replies), addressing diver behavior around photographers (^[10])
• Active in strobe selection discussions: “What or which strobe” (37 replies) (^[11])

Activity Profile

• Activity score: 2,487 (person_matrix.json)
• Longevity: 23 years (April 2002 – September 2025), one of the most enduring contributors
• Forum focus: 33% Photography Gear, 20% Lighting/Strobes, 14% Technique/Workflow, 13% General Chat

References