Earlier this month I had the pleasure of working the NEC Dive Show in Birmingham, UK. Some 16,000 divers visit the show and they bring along a serious enthusiasm for the sport! Countless prize drawing entry forms had "50 - 100" penciled in after "number of dives per year." And cold water diving! Hardly a soul winced when I solicited opinions on local dive destinations. Families were everywhere, and it's great to see so many young people taking an active interest.

Everyone was interested in the great new point-and-shoot offerings in our newest ULTRAcompact Digital Still Housings. Cameras like those in the Canon Powershot series are simple but powerful and are capable of pretty spectacular results. Add a wide angle lens, learn to manually white balance and get close to your subject for stunning photos easy as 1-2-3.

Post-show I went North in search of new underwater adventures. After a test dive in Capernwray Quarry, we headed up to Oban on the western coast of Scotland. Wow! The landscape is beautiful and dozens of stops for photos made for an all day drive. Dive sites seemed to be anywhere we pulled over to the side of the road. You wouldn't know by looking at it, but there's abundance of life hiding below the surface of the water! Every piece of slate and patch of kelp provided shelter for loads of little creatures like snails, crabs, scorpion fish and urchins.

I surfaced from a breezy drift dive in Loch Creran with a new respect for British photographers. These were some of the most challenging conditions I have taken photos in so far. Think serious current in 54°F (12°C) water with a temperamental silt bottom and thick neoprene gloves. Then try to stop, adjust your strobe position properly and stay still long enough to creatively frame your subject.

In this instance I was glad I chose the new Canon Powershot G10 and a single Substrobe DS160. The housing handles brilliantly underwater and is comfortable to hold and control even with bulky gloves. The DS160 has plenty of power with a beautifully wide angle of coverage. The built-in LED modeling light cut through the darkness and proved invaluable for aiming and focus. By setting the camera in shutter priority mode (Tv) and leaving the strobe on "TTL" I was able to maximize my results and minimize the amount of energy spent kicking against the current.

Systems like this are fun to use, easy to travel with, and provide a great alternative to the full-on SLR rig. The housing for the Canon G10 is currently in production and will be available in early December. We're still testing a variety of wide angle options so look for more information in the near future.

Huge thanks to Pete, Lissy, Dave and all of Blackpool Area Diving Centre for taking care of me and all my diving needs.

Also thanks to Jenny and the entire staff of Cameras Underwater Ltd, the official distributor of Ikelite photographic equipment within the UK.