Photography: Painted skies & oceans the Colors of Micronesia, adventure travel with your Digital Camera.
“Painted Skies
& Oceans”
the Colors of
Micronesia.
© Gunther Deichmann - Dramatic Sunset & Rainbow
over the Pacific.
A dramatic sunset in the
Pacific, the Image above taken between Chuuk (Truk
Lagoon) and Pohnpei in Micronesia.
The Federated States of Micronesia is an independent,
sovereign nation made up of Pohnpei and three other
states; Chuuk,
Kosrae,
and Yap.
Together, the FSM comprises approximately 607 small
islands in the Western Pacific spread over almost
1,700 miles (2,700 km) from east to west
just above the equator some 2,500 miles
(4,000 km) southwest of Hawaii and about
1,800 miles (2,900 km) north of eastern
Australia, above Papua New Guinea.

© Gunther Deichmann - Sunset over the famous Truk
Lagoon,
a Divers paradise for WWII ship wrecks
Chuuk or better known
amongst the Scuba Diving community as Truk Lagoon is
a must for Divers who like to explore the amazing
WWII wrecks in this Lagoon. A whole Japanese fleet
was sunk here during the WWII. Great Visibility and
little current makes this a perfect destination for
Wreck Divers.

© Gunther Deichmann - A
lone Coconut tree at the edge of
Truk Lagoon, Chuuk Micronesia

© Gunther Deichmann - dramatic clouds over the
Palau Rock islands, Micronesia
Palau is also know as one of
the best Dive destinations
in the world,
diving highlights include Blue Corner and the Blue
Hole, plus so many others. In
2009 Palau became also the first Shark Sanctuary
in the World, one of Natures best kept secret with
its amazing bio diversity below and above the
waves. Check out Sam’s Tours for all your
scuba diving activities in
2010.

© Gunther Deichmann - a small island just in front
of the Palau Pacific Resort

© Gunther Deichmann - typical Pacific sunset,
Palau

© Gunther Deichmann - Islands at sunset, Palau
Micronesia
© Gunther Deichmann - Coconut
trees at the edge of
Truk Lagoon, Chuuk Micronesia
© Gunther Deichmann - aerial view at sunset, Rock
Islands Palau
© Gunther Deichmann - view from inside a
cave in the Palau Rock Islands, Palau

© Gunther Deichmann - sunset at the
Palau Pacific Resort also known as PPR
Check out the GD PhotoWorkshop site
for all the Calendar dates in 2010
including a trip trip to Palau Micronesia in June
2010
Adventure Travel with your Digital
Camera!
Photography & unexpected elements you sometimes discover during editing, how a fisherman lost his Sunglasses.
How a
Fisherman lost his
Sunglasses…
The
things you discover when you do your
editing…sometimes strange or bizarre or just…Wow, I
didn’t see that when I took that shot.
The image below is just one of those weird occasions;
a couple of years ago I was in Chuuk Micronesia and
one morning during breakfast on the Veranda of the
Hotel I spotted this Fisherman casting his net. It
was pouring rain at the time so I thought this was a
nice shot just from the breakfast table without
getting wet, an easy one.
Later during my editing in Aperture I noticed the
Fisherman’s Sunglasses in mid air, if I had realized
this during the actual shot I would have told him…hey
you just dropped your Sunshades.

© Gunther Deichmann -
converted the original image into B&W using
the Monchrome
Mixer in Aperture 2 (See if you can spot the
Sunglasses in mid air.)
I guess he is still looking
for them “today”, he was fishing at an incoming tide
and I am sure his Glasses are gone.
Have a good look and
see if you can spot the sunshades in mid
air. It is cool what you discover
during your edit sometimes.
GD
The ultimate Digital Photo Center in Micronesia and now TOUR OPERATOR OF THE YEAR 2008.
Sam's Tours in Palau Micronesia
wins PVA's Tour Operator of the Year Award
2008!
I am
happy and proud to be associated with Sam’s Tours in
Palau Micronesia who has just received the
Tour Operators of the Year Award.
Congratulations to Sam’s Tours!

Sam’s Tours location in Palau
Micronesia
click this LINK or the image and go
direct to the Digital Photo
Center
You might remember my involvement in setting up this
truly unique Digital Photo Center at Sam’s Tours at
the beginning of the Year.
The Digital Photo Center has some six Apple iMacs
fully loaded with software including
Aperture plus
a complete backup system for all your needs. The
Center is Wi-Fi connected and can transfer all your
images and Videos to your iPod. Small Digital Cameras
with underwater housings are also available for rent.
Then there is Ocean Wonders Video Service at Sam's
Tours operated by award-winning High Definition
Underwater Filmmaker and Digital Video Producer, Dr.
Nick Martorano, Ph.D. Nick is also available for
professional work including underwater digital
videography services, digital video editing,
post-production and final output assignments.
Sam’s Tours the premier Dive Center in Palau
Micronesia, a Photographers haven above and below the
waves!
GD
See
the official Press release
below...
Sam's Tours - TOUR OPERATOR OF THE
YEAR!
The Palau
Visitors Authority (PVA), Palau's official tourism
board, announced their selection of Sam's Tours as
"TOUR OPERATOR OF THE YEAR" for 2008. The
announcement and award presentation took place during
the Annual Christmas Gala of the Belau Tourism
Association (BTA), Palau's private sector tourism
industry association, recently held at the Palau
Pacific Resort.
Awarding winning is not new to Sam’s Tours which has
been consistently recognized over the years not only
by government and industry bodies for their
commitment to development of sustainable tourism in
Palau but also by their customers for consistent
service excellence. In 2007 Sam's Tours received a
Top 10 Sponsor Award from PVA for "their continual
support and sponsorship" and in 2006 the private
sector Belau Tourism Association recognized Sam's
Tours with their Outstanding Member Award for their
"dedication, support and commitment over the years to
Belau Tourism Association and its objectives.”
The readers of a leading international dive magazine
have recognized Sam’s Tours more than any other dive
center in Palau or Micronesia with seven “Readers
Choice Awards” since 1997 including a Gold List Award
for top dive center, top staff, and top value.
Sam’s Tours is the first and only dive center in
Palau to receive the Palau Conservation Society “Ten
Year Partner in Conservation Award” and is a
Corporate Sponsor of the Palau Shark Sanctuary, a
shark conservation organization founded in 2001 by
Sam’s Tours General Manager, Dermot Keane, to help
bring an end to the destructive practice of
shark-finning by foreign fishing fleets operating in
Palau’s waters. The Palau Shark Sanctuary received a
PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) Environmental
Education Gold Award for their work.
“Sam’s Tours has consistently demonstrated their long
standing commitment to responsible tourism
development, environmental preservation, and
excellence in customer service and while recognition
is not what drives us to excel, we sincerely
appreciate the acknowledgment of our efforts by our
industry peers and our valued customers alike” said
Dermot Keane, General Manager, Sam’s
Tours.
Gunther Deichmann UPDATED BLOG Page...see for yourself and go to http://www.deichmann-photo.com/blog.html
We keep these to a minimum number, we like to be informative and not clutter up our site, they are very much related to photography, travel, latest on Aperture 2, the Digital Photo Center in Palau complete with Wi-Fi and Aperture, Underwater Photography and other similar subjects.
Now a special mention on the new PALAU TOURS Website, announced only today... a great NEW SITE for PALAU in Micronesia with stunning images and very informative text...
"The
Pearls of the Pacific" and Natures best kept
secret.

Click
on the image and visit the NEW PALAU TOURS WEBSITE
http://www.palautours.com/

Click
on the image and visit the NEW PALAU TOURS BLOG
http://www.palautours.com/blog.html
This new site is still undergoing development, but it
is out in Cyberspace now, including the
NEW
PALAU TOURS BLOG with frequent up dates,
check the blog @ http://www.palautours.com/blog.html
GD
Aperture...PhotoShelter...Palau Micronesia...& a big surprise soon...
It all started with the PhotoShelter Personal Archive, and for me it was the perfect solution in keeping my images away from the office (I am crazy when it comes to backups) in a completely different location, not only that but PhotoShelter makes another backup again.
With the arrival of Aperture and shortly after the plug in from PhotoShelter things even got better, now I can be anywhere in the world provided I have a connection and upload my images into my archive.
That’s not all, with a provided super databank and a cool looking micro site I can sell images 24 hours a day, but now back to the difference between the two:
In the PhotoShelter Personal Archive I can store and make available thousands of my images in high resolution, currently some 3000 plus, organized in different countries, you can find them also via specific keywords, of course these are edited and include the images from my Book "Journey Through Color and Time" (pls. note: not complete yet)
The PhotoShelter Collection is a bit different, here you find a selection of edited images hence the word collection, again this is supported by keyword searches etc., etc., and a micro site as well. The PhotoShelter team is also actively marketing this site, where as the Archives are not, the Collection is more defined and the edited images have been chosen according to subjects and market requirements. In simple terms a very tied edit.
Aperture made captioning and key wording so easy, and PhotoShelter loves key words hence the reason they work so well together.
For more info on PhotoShelter check out my previous blog from the 19. 12. 2007 - category Stockimages
Click on the image below and go to the PhotoShelter Collection to visit the Personal Archive please click here.
I am
leaving for Palau and Chuuk Micronesia on the
4th
until
the 26th of Jan. my blogs will be a bit light during
this time.
As mention some time ago there is a major
announcement during my stay in Palau and you better
believe it, this will rock, absolutely amazing, a
very first indeed. I keep you in suspense a bit, I
love doing that, so keep your eyes peeled or
subscribe to our blog, announcement date is going to
be around the 14th
of Jan.
2008 direct from Palau.

Click on the image
and visit Sam's Tours
One last thing, if you feel up to it visit my site
with the Podcast’s for some cool music and some clips
created with iLife, just added recently.
PODCAST
LINK
Happy
New Year,
take good care and be careful with these
firecrackers on the 31st.
GD
A
very happy
New Year - prost
Neujahr - bonne
année - onnellista
uutta vuotta - gelukkig
Nieuwjaar - ath bhliain
faoi mhaise - selamat tahun
baru - godt nytt
år - szczliwego
nowego roku - feliz ano
novo - gott nytt år
manigong bagong taon - sawatdii
pimaï - kung hé fat
tsoi - xin nian kuai le / xin nian hao
-
godt
nytår - eutichismenos
o kainourgios chronos - felice anno
nuovo, buon anno - S novim godom
- sreno novo leto - Cung Chúc Tân
Xuân- yeni yiliniz
kutlu olsun
_________________________________________________
SURVIVOR PALAU - Lost in the Rock Islands?
http://www.samstours.com/blog
Diving in Palau Micronesia is just out of this world, not to mention the spectacular Rock islands, I believe Palau is still one of the last great places left on Earth where nature is at its very best, I guess that is the reason for TV Channels like Survivor, Discovery Channel and National Geographic for keep coming back for the production of a variety of shows, explore and discover Palau above and below
with Sam's Tours.

SURVIVOR
PALAU - Lost in the Rock Islands?
The Rock
islands in Palau, © Gunther Deichmann
It's no secret that Survivor is back in Palau
shooting a second show but I wonder if the
contestants locked away on one of Palau's myriad
islands battling it out with one another really know
what they're missing?
Sam's Tours marketing agent, good friend and
professional photographer Gunther Deichmann who was
just in Palau for Sam's Tours recent 17th Anniversary
Celebration, shared a few images with me that he just
shot during his last trip. He took a flight with
"Matt the Pilot" from PALAU HELICOPTERS and added
some more aerials to his library and although I've
seen Palau myself from the air many times, I'm still
amazed by the stunning beauty of the green carpeted
Rock Islands. I sure hope the contestants in SURVIVOR
PALAU get a chance to enjoy Palau's real beauty when
they're done with the show.
Even more amazing to me is "eye" that Gunther has.
Perhaps all photographers have it, but I certainly
don't. The image below was taken by Gunther while I
sat and had a beer with him at RIPTIDE, a local beach
bar, while we waited for the moon to rise. I was
sitting looking right at this same scene but never
even saw it...until he took the picture and showed
me.... only then did I notice all the different
lights and colors right before me. And no, the image
was no touched up or edited. What you see is what you
get! Gunther explained to me that although he now
shoots only with digital for the past four years, it
hasn't really changed a thing about HOW he shoots. "I
only use the camera to record what I already see"
said Gunther as he explained that his pictures are
taken long before he opens the shutter.
SITTING ON THE DOCK OF A
BAY - PALAU, MICRONESIA.
Koror,
Palau, Micronesia, Malakal Harbor. © Gunther
Deichmann
Gunther will conduct one of his popular PHOTO
WORKSHOPS right here at Sam's Tours in April 2008.
The workshop is for underwater photographers and
topside photographers alike with lots of hands on
time with Gunther and lots of underwater or field
time too to capture your own stunning images of
Palau. Dates to be posted soon. Reservations
required. Stay tuned for more details or visit
www.DEICHMANN-PHOTO.COM
Dermot
____________________________________
An Alien afternoon...

© Gunther Deichmann,
Cuttlefish Sepia sp.
-
Alien afternoon...
Hi
everybody... I am leaving this afternoon for a short
one week trip to Palau to be with my friends and
client at Sam's Tours, they are celebrating the Grand
Opening for the completely renovated
Sam's Tours
premisses, the big party is on the 26 of October and
I give you a full report with images once I am back
next week, but now I have to run hence this Alien
afternoon.... so much to do and no time left.
Until soon,
Cheers Gunther
The living fossil in Palau, Micronesia
Before you read the whole story on the provided link, here is some information referring to the two images below, as you all know my background is Paleontology.
Image on the left: I have found this Ammonite some 40 odd years ago digging for Fossils near the German Town of Goslar, it is dated back to the Jurassic period some 160 million years ago.
The image on the right is a close relative of the Ammonite, the Nautilus that I photographed in Palau about four years ago; it is the surviving member from this cephalopod family.
If you ever have the urge to go “back in time” talk to Dermot Keane or Sam Scott from Sam’s Tours in Palau, they can make arrangement for a Nautilus dive, to bring you closer to one of the few and true living fossils.
Contact Sam’s Tours at: www.samstours.com

Left: An Ammonite, 160 million years ago.
Right: 4 years ago in Palau, at the "Big Drop off",
a Nautilus, the "living fossil."
Photos: © Gunther Deichmann
Great trip to Palau, back in Manila and ADEX next week in Bangkok.
and myself had to finish the Sam's Tours website, well in between I took
some images.
New aerial and land shots check them out in a day or so at my
Photoshelter site, it has become a breeze to up load them now thanks to
Aperture, new aerials of the waterfall, the mysterious Monolith, aerial of
meeting House called "Bai" the really cool new road and many others.
Sorry, no underwater images from this trip, next time.
I like to express my sincere thanks to Sam Scott and Dermot Keane from
Sam's Tours who have been more than helpful and accommodating during
this trip. Thanks Guys!
You find below the link to Photoshelter, but why not subscribe to the RSS then
you up dated all the time with the latest images.
http://www.photoshelter.com/c/gdeichmann
or check my Aperture website at:
http://homepage.mac.com/gdeichmann/New%20Palau%20Images/index.html
Now I am leaving for the ADEX show in Bangkok and after that a few days in
Siam Reap and Ankor Wat, Cambodia, back in the first week of May.
Joining me at ADEX will be Dirk Fahrenbach from Club Paradise and
Dugong Dive Center, Palawan,Philippines and Dermot Keane from
Sam's Tours Palau, Micronesia, ha, ha, Dermot cant stay away from me.
These are two members of the Philippine-Micronesia Alliance.
THE DIVERS CHOICE.
At ADEX we catch up with Tony Wu from Fins Magazine and other old
friends, and oh, well I am going to have my Birthday in Bangkok with my
very good friends.
My friend Tony Wu has a great website and real cool underwater images,
you should check it out at: http://www.tony-wu.com
A full report will be issued up on my return.
Enjoy the images from Palau,
Cheers Gunther

Aerial of the Ngardmau Falls surrounded by lush Jungle
© Gunther Deichmann
Aerial of Milky Way, © Gunther Deichmann
The Road in Babeldaob, the biggest island in Palau
© Gunther Deichmann
The new Capitol in Palau, © Gunther Deichmann
Book presentation to the President of Palau
to H.E.Tommy E. Remengesau Jr., President of the Republic of Palau.
Palau, and the FSM States of Yap, Chuuk and Pohnpei are featured in the
Micronesian section of the book.
Also present were journalists from local newspapers, the Chief of Staff,
Mr. Billy Kuartei and Dermot Keane the General Manager of Sam's Tours,
a local dive operator.



