whitey

Forum username: whitey
Posts: 384
Active years: 2003–2017
Primary forums: Photography Gear and Technique, Photo/Video Showcase, Lights/Strobes/Lighting Technique
Specialization: Ikelite housings, Canon DSLR systems, port optics, gel filters, Australian dive sites

Community Role

Whitey was a long-tenured Wetpixel member from Australia who contributed 384 posts over a fourteen-year period. He was one of the community’s most practically oriented contributors, frequently asking and answering questions about the real-world performance of underwater photography equipment. His posts reveal a photographer who progressed from an Ewa-Marine bag to an Ikelite housing system, and who approached equipment evaluation with careful attention to image quality and optical performance.

Whitey’s threads often generated substantial community engagement, with his most popular thread on port optical quality drawing 56 replies — one of the more comprehensive comparative discussions on the topic.

Notable Contributions

• Port optics comparison: Whitey’s most impactful thread, “Are all ports created equal?” (56 replies, May 2004), posed a fundamental question about whether port quality varied between housing manufacturers. The thread drew definitive comparative responses from James Wiseman and scorpio_fish, covering Ikelite versus Aquatica port systems, acrylic dome quality differences, extension ring flexibility, and the practical trade-offs between TTL capability and port optical quality. The discussion became a reference thread for photographers choosing between housing systems (^[1]).

• Gel filter exploration: Whitey’s thread on gel filters (28 replies, 2005) explored the use of warming gels on strobes for wide-angle underwater photography, contributing to the community’s collective knowledge of color correction techniques (^[2]).

• Tamron 11-18mm lens discussion: He started a 25-reply thread evaluating the Tamron SP 11-18mm lens for underwater use, an alternative to the more popular Tokina options, providing the community with information about a less commonly discussed wide-angle option (^[3]).

• Dive medical discussions: Whitey contributed to a notable 24-reply thread on dive medical questions, reflecting the community’s concern with diving safety beyond just photography (^[4]).

• Goodwyn Island showcase: His “10D in Ike Housing - Goodwyn Island” thread (20 replies) shared images from his first dives with a new Ikelite housing for the Canon 10D at Goodwyn Island, Australia. He candidly discussed corner performance issues with the Canon 17-40L lens and his single DS-50 strobe’s limitations for wide-angle scenics, demonstrating the community’s characteristic openness about equipment limitations (^[5]).

Equipment

• Ewa-Marine bag (early setup)
• Canon 10D in Ikelite housing
• Canon 17-40L f/4 lens
• Ikelite DS-50 strobe (seeking upgrade to dual strobes)
• Tamron SP 11-18mm lens

Activity Profile

• First post: October 2003
• Peak years: 2004–2006
• Threads started: 24
• Last appearance: May 2017
• Forum focus: Housing and port selection, lens evaluation, lighting technique, Australian dive site photography