Craig Jones

Aliases: craig
Role: Wetpixel co-administrator, moderator, news editor, underwater videographer, photographer

Note: Craig Jones is sometimes described as a “co-founder” of Wetpixel, but his documented role was as one of the earliest core contributors and co-administrators alongside Eric Cheng and James Wiseman. First appearance: 2002 ([1])
Affiliation: Wetpixel (co-admin/moderator, 2002-2009)
Website: hecubus.net
Forum posts: 2,473 across 51 threads started
Active years: 2002-2009

Biography

Craig Jones was one of the earliest core contributors and co-administrators of the Wetpixel community alongside Eric Cheng and James Wiseman. From his very first article in April 2002 through his prolific 2003 output, Jones served as the site’s primary news editor and a driving force behind its growth from a small enthusiast forum into the leading digital underwater photography community. He came from a computer science background and was a digital video veteran who transitioned to underwater still photography ([2], [3]).

Jones authored 133 articles for Wetpixel — 36 in 2002, 86 in 2003, and 11 in 2004 — making him responsible for the majority of published content during the site’s formative years. His 2003 output of 86 articles constituted roughly three-quarters of everything published that year, covering gear announcements, housing reviews, show reports, competition results, and community milestones ([4], [5]). He also co-authored articles with Wiseman, including the Jonah D100 housing review and the Adobe Camera Raw tutorial ([6], [7]).

On the forums, Jones was also highly active, contributing 2,473 posts across topics ranging from filter theory and camera sensor modifications to trip reports and photo showcases.

Contributions

Primary News Engine (2002-2004)

Jones authored the vast majority of articles during Wetpixel’s first three years. His coverage spanned the full scope of the emerging digital underwater photography industry:

Ambient Light Photography Pioneer

Jones authored the foundational technical article “Filters and Ambient Light Photography” (June 2003), a detailed explanation of how water filters light and how color compensating (CC) and color conversion filters can be used to restore natural color in ambient-light underwater photography. The article covered color temperature theory in mireds, the physics of water’s bandpass filtering, and practical filter selection advice ([28]). He followed this with a feature article on the technique, with photographs by Alex Mustard, which described Jones as “a digital video veteran” who was applying video color correction principles to still photography ([29]).

Jones also pioneered the use of complementary filter pairs — placing a magenta CC filter on the lens and a green CC filter on the strobes to achieve natural-looking fill flash with ambient light. He posted results shot with a CC30M gel over the lens and CC30G gel over the strobes from Sipadan/Mabul/Kapalai ([30], [31]). Eric Cheng noted Jones’ filter expertise when at SeaSpace 2003, where Jones “engages the folks in a 2-hour conversation about the use of filters for underwater still photography” at the Backscatter booth ([32]).

James Wiseman’s 2007 complementary filter tutorial explicitly credited Jones’ 2003 work as the foundation for the technique that later evolved into Magic Filters: “The magic filter builds on principles that were thoroughly explained in an article here on Wetpixel by Craig Jones back in 2003 called ‘Filters and Ambient Light Photography.’ Craig took the concept a step further when he started experimenting with complementary filters” ([33]).

Video Editing Tutorials (2003)

Drawing on his video production background, Jones published four video editing tutorials on a single day (June 11, 2003), covering techniques in Adobe Premiere:

  1. Directed Fades with Pixelan SpiceMaster — replacing standard cross dissolves with subtle directed fades using the SpiceMaster plugin ([34])
  2. Silhouette Color Correction — correcting white balance and tinting green water blue in wide-angle silhouette shots ([35])
  3. Flash Removal Using a Virtual Clip — removing unwanted strobe flashes frame by frame using virtual clips, then applying color correction ([36])
  4. Using the Channel Mixer — blending green channel data into the red channel to correct flat, green underwater video, a technique Jones brought from his videography background ([37])

The channel mixer technique proved influential. Wiseman credited Jones with introducing him to it: “The Channel Mixer tool is something cool in Photoshop that was introduced to me by Craig Jones — a friend that has come over to digital still from shooting video” ([38]).

Technical Expertise: Sensor Filters and Camera Modification

In August 2008, Jones authored a detailed forum post arguing that underwater photographers should consider removing the hardware anti-aliasing (AA) and UV-IR cut filters from their DSLR sensors. The post, which generated 60 replies, drew on deep knowledge of sensor technology, analyzing how the AA filter robs image sharpness for no benefit underwater (where water column, dome ports, and diffraction already limit resolution), and how the absorptive ICF causes more than a stop of dynamic range loss in the red channel — already the weakest channel underwater. He proposed using reflective ICFs as replacements and referenced companies like MaxMax that offer camera modifications ([39]).

Adobe Camera Raw Tutorial (2004)

Co-authored with Wiseman, Jones wrote a beginner tutorial on the 10-step process for converting RAW files using Adobe Photoshop’s Camera Raw converter. The article identified Jones as shooting a Nikon D100 in a Nexus housing and coming from a computer science background ([40], [41]).

Site Building and Administration

Jones was central to building Wetpixel’s infrastructure during its early years:

DEMA Show Coverage

Jones was part of the Wetpixel coverage crew at multiple DEMA shows:

Photography Recognition

Jones was selected as one of the first two INON Artists of the Month (November 2003), alongside fellow moderator Herb Ko. INON America featured testimonials and a gallery of their images ([53]). In early 2004, Eric Cheng noted that Jones won “best of show” in a competition associated with a Sipadan trip ([54]).

Gear Expertise and Influence

Jones’ technical recommendations influenced other prominent Wetpixel contributors:

Wetpixel Expeditions

Jones participated in multiple Wetpixel-organized dive expeditions:

Continued Moderator Role (2005-2009)

When Wetpixel expanded its moderating team in September 2005, Cheng confirmed that “Herb Ko and Craig Jones continue as moderators” alongside co-administrators Wiseman and Mustard and a roster of new moderators including Todd Mintz, Dave Burroughs, Mike Veitch, Drew Wong, Leslie Harris, and others ([61]). Jones’ last recorded forum activity was in May 2009.

Personal Gear

Based on articles and forum posts, Jones used the following equipment:

Article Output

YearArticlesNotes
200236News editor from April onward
200386~75% of all Wetpixel articles that year
200411Including DEMA 2004 coverage

Timeline

References


Sources

  1. Wetpixel article, Apr 6, 2002: Canon D60 Digital Slr
  2. Wetpixel article, Apr 26, 2004: Tips For Using Adobe Camera Raw
  3. Wetpixel article, Jul 21, 2003: Feature Ambient Light Photography
  4. Wetpixel article, May 6, 2003: Wetpixels 1000th Forum Member
  5. Wetpixel article, May 18, 2003: Wetpixel Surpasses 250000 Unique Visitors
  6. Wetpixel article, Sep 11, 2003: Jonah Nd100 Housing For Nikon D100
  7. Wetpixel article, Apr 26, 2004: Tips For Using Adobe Camera Raw
  8. Wetpixel article, Apr 21, 2002: Ikelite Adds More To Digital Line
  9. Wetpixel article, Jan 28, 2003: Jonah D60 And D100 Housings
  10. Wetpixel article, Jul 24, 2003: Sea Sea Dx 1ds Canon 1ds Housing
  11. Wetpixel article, Jun 13, 2003: Nexus D100 Review
  12. Wetpixel article, Sep 11, 2003: Wetpixel Staff Reviews Jonah D100 Housing
  13. Wetpixel article, Oct 2, 2003: Ikelite D100 Housing Review
  14. Wetpixel article, Dec 3, 2003: Light Motion Titan D100 Review
  15. Wetpixel article, Nov 28, 2003: Jonah 10d Housing Review
  16. Wetpixel article, Nov 28, 2003: Hydrooptix Mega 45d Mask Review
  17. Wetpixel article, Jan 11, 2004: Seacam Fuji S2 Pro Housing Review
  18. Wetpixel article, Oct 27, 2002: Dema 2002 Show Report
  19. Wetpixel article, Jun 13, 2003: Seaspace 2003 Coverage
  20. Wetpixel article, Oct 8, 2003: Dema 2003 Show Coverage
  21. Wetpixel article, Oct 25, 2003: Visions In The Sea 2003 Report
  22. Wetpixel article, Nov 28, 2003: Birmingham Image 2003 Festival Coverage
  23. Wetpixel article, Feb 17, 2003: Bi Monthly Photo Contest
  24. Wetpixel article, Sep 13, 2003: Ncups Sea2003 Contest
  25. Wetpixel article, Jul 18, 2003: Lumix 2003 Digital Photography Awards
  26. Wetpixel article, May 6, 2003: Wetpixels 1000th Forum Member
  27. Wetpixel article, May 18, 2003: Wetpixel Surpasses 250000 Unique Visitors
  28. Wetpixel article, Jun 30, 2003: Filters And Ambient Light Photography
  29. Wetpixel article, Jul 21, 2003: Feature Ambient Light Photography
  30. Wetpixel article, Mar 20, 2004: Mcd Inon Z 220 Filter Holder
  31. Forum thread: Sipadan Mabul Kapalai
  32. Wetpixel article, Jun 13, 2003: Seaspace 2003 Coverage
  33. Wetpixel article, Jun 15, 2007: Complementary Filters And Wide Angle Underwater Photography
  34. Wetpixel article, Jun 11, 2003: Directed Fades With Pixelan Spicemaster
  35. Wetpixel article, Jun 11, 2003: Silhouette Color Correction
  36. Wetpixel article, Jun 11, 2003: Flash Removal Using A Virtual Clip
  37. Wetpixel article, Jun 11, 2003: Using The Channel Mixer
  38. Wetpixel article, Jan 29, 2004: Using The Channel Mixer To Correct Green Water
  39. Forum thread: Hardware Aa And Uv Ir Cut Filters
  40. Wetpixel article, Apr 26, 2004: Tips For Using Adobe Camera Raw
  41. Wetpixel article, Jan 29, 2004: Using The Channel Mixer To Correct Green Water
  42. Wetpixel article, Oct 9, 2002: Forum Software Replaced
  43. Wetpixel article, Oct 24, 2002: Forum Announcements
  44. Wetpixel article, Sep 18, 2003: Herb Ko Moderator
  45. Wetpixel article, Jan 23, 2004: Wetpixel V30
  46. Wetpixel article, Feb 11, 2004: Features Migrated
  47. Wetpixel article, May 5, 2004: Fiji Digital Shootout
  48. Wetpixel article, Oct 27, 2002: Dema 2002 Show Report
  49. Wetpixel article, Oct 8, 2003: Dema 2003 Show Coverage
  50. Wetpixel article, Oct 15, 2004: Dema Show 2004 Report
  51. Wetpixel article, Oct 16, 2004: Dema 2004 Show Report
  52. Wetpixel article, Oct 15, 2004: Wetpixel At Dema 2004
  53. Wetpixel article, Nov 27, 2003: Inon Artists Of The Month
  54. Forum thread: Sipadan Mabul Kapalai
  55. Wetpixel article, Feb 15, 2005: Sigma 150mm F28 Apo Dg Ex
  56. Wetpixel article, Sep 5, 2005: James Wisemans Buoyancy Collar Review
  57. Wetpixel article, Sep 16, 2008: Nikon D3 Field Review In The East Pacific Part 1
  58. Wetpixel article, Sep 28, 2007: Wetpixel Solomon Islands 2007 Slideshow
  59. Wetpixel article, Apr 15, 2009: Cor Bosman And Craig Jones Post Ultimate Indonesia Trip Reports
  60. Forum thread: Wetpixel Ultimate Indonesia
  61. Wetpixel article, Sep 14, 2005: Wetpixel Expands Moderating Team
  62. Wetpixel article, Apr 26, 2004: Tips For Using Adobe Camera Raw
  63. Wetpixel article, Sep 16, 2008: Nikon D3 Field Review In The East Pacific Part 1
  64. Wetpixel article, Jun 13, 2003: Nexus D100 Review
  65. Wetpixel article, Sep 11, 2003: Jonah Nd100 Housing For Nikon D100
  66. Wetpixel article, Mar 20, 2004: Mcd Inon Z 220 Filter Holder
  67. Wetpixel article, Mar 20, 2004: Mcd Inon Z 220 Filter Holder
  68. Wetpixel article, Apr 6, 2002: Canon D60 Digital Slr
  69. Wetpixel article, Jun 16, 2002: Seaspace Unsinkable
  70. Wetpixel article, Jul 21, 2002: Bahamas 2002 With D60s
  71. Wetpixel article, Oct 27, 2002: Dema 2002 Show Report
  72. Wetpixel article, Oct 9, 2002: Forum Software Replaced
  73. Wetpixel article, Oct 24, 2002: Forum Announcements
  74. Wetpixel article, Feb 17, 2003: Bi Monthly Photo Contest
  75. Wetpixel article, May 6, 2003: Wetpixels 1000th Forum Member
  76. Wetpixel article, May 18, 2003: Wetpixel Surpasses 250000 Unique Visitors
  77. Wetpixel article, Jun 11, 2003: Directed Fades With Pixelan Spicemaster
  78. Wetpixel article, Jun 30, 2003: Filters And Ambient Light Photography
  79. Wetpixel article, Jun 13, 2003: Seaspace 2003 Coverage
  80. Wetpixel article, Jun 13, 2003: Nexus D100 Review
  81. Wetpixel article, Jul 21, 2003: Feature Ambient Light Photography
  82. Wetpixel article, Sep 11, 2003: Wetpixel Staff Reviews Jonah D100 Housing
  83. Wetpixel article, Sep 18, 2003: Herb Ko Moderator
  84. Wetpixel article, Oct 8, 2003: Dema 2003 Show Coverage
  85. Wetpixel article, Oct 25, 2003: Visions In The Sea 2003 Report
  86. Wetpixel article, Nov 27, 2003: Inon Artists Of The Month
  87. Wetpixel article, Nov 28, 2003: Birmingham Image 2003 Festival Coverage
  88. Wetpixel article, Jan 23, 2004: Wetpixel V30
  89. Wetpixel article, Feb 11, 2004: Features Migrated
  90. Wetpixel article, Mar 20, 2004: Mcd Inon Z 220 Filter Holder
  91. Forum thread: Sipadan Mabul Kapalai
  92. Wetpixel article, Apr 26, 2004: Tips For Using Adobe Camera Raw
  93. Wetpixel article, May 5, 2004: Fiji Digital Shootout
  94. Wetpixel article, Oct 15, 2004: Dema Show 2004 Report
  95. Wetpixel article, Oct 15, 2004: Wetpixel At Dema 2004
  96. Wetpixel article, Feb 15, 2005: Sigma 150mm F28 Apo Dg Ex
  97. Wetpixel article, Sep 14, 2005: Wetpixel Expands Moderating Team
  98. Wetpixel article, Jun 15, 2007: Complementary Filters And Wide Angle Underwater Photography
  99. Wetpixel article, Sep 28, 2007: Wetpixel Solomon Islands 2007 Slideshow
  100. Forum thread: Hardware Aa And Uv Ir Cut Filters
  101. Wetpixel article, Sep 16, 2008: Nikon D3 Field Review In The East Pacific Part 1
  102. Wetpixel article, Apr 15, 2009: Cor Bosman And Craig Jones Post Ultimate Indonesia Trip Reports
  103. Forum thread: Wetpixel Ultimate Indonesia
  104. Canon D60 — first article (2002) (article)
  105. Bahamas 2002 with D60s (article)
  106. SeaSpace 2002 (article)
  107. Forum software replaced (2002) (article)
  108. Forum announcements — Wiseman moderator (2002) (article)
  109. DEMA 2002 Show Report (article)
  110. Bi-monthly photo contest (2003) (article)
  111. Wetpixel’s 1000th forum member (2003) (article)
  112. Wetpixel surpasses 250,000 unique visitors (2003) (article)
  113. Directed Fades with Pixelan SpiceMaster (2003) (article)
  114. Silhouette Color Correction (2003) (article)
  115. Flash Removal Using a Virtual Clip (2003) (article)
  116. Using the Channel Mixer (2003) (article)
  117. SeaSpace 2003 Coverage (article)
  118. Nexus D100 Review (2003) (article)
  119. Filters and Ambient Light Photography (2003) (article)
  120. Feature: Ambient Light Photography — with Alex Mustard (2003) (article)
  121. Herb Ko, Moderator (2003) (article)
  122. Jonah ND100 Housing review — with Wiseman (2003) (article)
  123. Jonah ND100 Housing for Nikon D100 (2003) (article)
  124. Ikelite D100 Housing Review (2003) (article)
  125. DEMA 2003 Show Coverage (article)
  126. Visions in the Sea 2003 Report (article)
  127. Birmingham IMAGE 2003 Festival Coverage (article)
  128. INON Artists of the Month (2003) (article)
  129. HydroOptix MEGA mask review (2003) (article)
  130. Jonah 10D Housing Review (2003) (article)
  131. Light & Motion Titan D100 Review (2003) (article)
  132. Seacam Fuji S2 Pro Housing Review (2004) (article)
  133. Wetpixel v3.0 (2004) (article)
  134. Features migrated (2004) (article)
  135. MCD INON Z-220 Filter Holder (2004) (article)
  136. Tips for Using Adobe Camera Raw (2004) (article)
  137. Fiji Digital Shootout — Jones runs site (2004) (article)
  138. DEMA Show 2004 Report (article)
  139. DEMA 2004 Show Report (article)
  140. Wetpixel at DEMA 2004 (article)
  141. Sigma 150mm f2.8 — recommended by Jones (2005) (article)
  142. Wetpixel expands moderating team (2005) (article)
  143. Buoyancy Collar Review — credits Jones (2005) (article)
  144. Complementary filters — credits Jones (2007) (article)
  145. Solomon Islands 2007 (article)
  146. Nikon D3 Field Review — Jones’ camera (2008) (article)
  147. Using Channel Mixer for Green Water — credits Jones (2004) (article)
  148. Ultimate Indonesia trip reports (2009) (article)
  149. Hardware AA and UV-IR cut filters — forum thread (2008) (forum)
  150. Sipadan / Mabul / Kapalai — forum thread (2004) (forum)
  151. Wetpixel Ultimate Indonesia — forum thread (2009) (forum)