{"id":9397,"date":"2025-10-19T17:43:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T03:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/?p=9397"},"modified":"2025-10-19T17:43:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T03:43:09","slug":"i-can-see-clearly-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/?p=9397","title":{"rendered":"I Can See Clearly Now"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The rain has gone.  Well, almost.  August and September were very wet months and now we’re into October and the downpours are becoming less.  Our local centres of Waisai and Sorong have suffered some terrible flooding this year, which many locals blame on the amount of plastic garbage blocking the drains and waterways.  Who knows, maybe it’ll be the impetus the local government needs to take action?  One can only hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Glad that our rainy days are getting fewer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Ironically, just as the rain started to ease up was the time our watermaker pump decided to give up the ghost. The rain that we were cursing now became something that we prayed for while we waited for a replacement pump to arrive from Jakarta.  Luckily a couple of heavy showers were enough to keep our tanks full until our most recent trip to Sorong to collect the new pump. And now, thankfully, we’re back in business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can also see more clearly at night now, thanks to Bruce’s latest project – the installation of garden lights controlled by light sensors, meaning they automatically come on when it gets dark and go off in the daytime.  It makes moving from building to building at night a lot safer without the need for a torch.  And with only 1-watt bulbs they hardly use any power at all. It was a bit of a headache getting them installed and working properly but I think he’s now well and truly qualified for his sparky ticket!<\/p>\n\n\n

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Looking very resort-y indeed!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

And staying with the theme of visual acuity, I wish we could see a little more clearly underwater – what with the terrible viz lately and our aging eyes it’s becoming quite a challenge to achieve good photos.  However, Bruce is enjoying his new camera (Canon R7) although it’s a much more complex beast than his previous Sony compact so there’s still lots to learn.  Despite the early days, I think you’ll agree he’s managed to produce some pretty stunning results:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yours truly swimming with the fishes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Me trying to sneak up on a very large, and notoriously skittish, Bumphead parrotfish<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I’ve also been branching out a little with my photography. For some reason the little nudibranchs have been very thin on the ground lately, so I’ve been playing with some wide-angle shots of soft corals and fish, and on one magical dive recently a couple of large bumphead parrotfish gave me an opportunity to practice my videography.  There’s always so much to learn!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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