James Wiseman

Aliases: james, jamesw Role: Wetpixel co-administrator, gear reviewer, technical writer, underwater photographer First appearance: 2002 ([1]) Location: Houston, Texas Affiliation: Wetpixel (co-administrator), Houston Underwater Photographic Society (HUPS)

Biography

James Wiseman is the most prolific forum contributor in Wetpixel’s history with 8,634 posts, and one of the original trio (with Eric Cheng and Alex Mustard) who ran the site in its formative years. He served as co-administrator — not merely a moderator — placing him in the Wetpixel leadership tier alongside Cheng. He authored 158 articles (peaking at 70 in 2005), making him the primary content engine of Wetpixel from 2002–2005 before Adam Hanlon took over editorial duties.

Based in the Houston area, Wiseman was active in HUPS and was named their Member of the Year in 2005. He was a methodical, technically oriented writer focused on helping beginners navigate the film-to-digital transition — many of his articles were reprinted from the HUPS newsletter.

He started with a Fuji S2 Pro + Nikon lenses, then switched to Canon (1D Mark II in Seacam housing) in late 2004, documenting the transition for the community.

Contributions

Foundational Beginner Guides (2002)

Wiseman wrote two articles that became foundational community resources during the digital transition:

Housing Reviews

He reviewed more housings across more manufacturers than any other Wetpixel contributor in the early years:

Technical Tutorials

RAW vs JPEG (2004), Adobe Camera Raw tips (2004), chromatic aberration correction (2004), channel mixer green water correction (2004), lens selection guide (2004), CompactFlash card performance (2004), printing guides (2003), travel with digital camera gear (2003).

Community Engagement via Comments

Wiseman was an active article commenter whose contributions often had standalone educational value. In the “RAW vs JPEG” article comments, he offered practical advice for photographers intimidated by RAW: “Shoot a whole dive on RAW” and compare the results, a suggestion that helped ease the community’s transition. He also contributed detailed technical commentary on the Aquatica Kodak ProSLRn housing, clarifying that the SLRn and SLRc shared only the sensor and electronics but had completely different bodies. (article comments)

Complementary Filter Photography (2007)

Published the tutorial on complementary filter techniques for wide-angle UW photography, testing the CC30m/CC30g filter system with Craig Jones and Alex Mustard. Jones’ 2003 article was the foundation; Wiseman formalized the technique ([4]).

Super Macro Presentation (2009)

Presented “Super Macro” techniques at HUPS covering equipment choices, focusing technique, and image processing ([5]). See Macro Photography.

Site Building

Co-built Wetpixel v3.0 with Cheng and Craig Jones in January 2004. Co-covered DEMA 2003 and 2004 with Cheng. Co-led Digital Shootout Fiji 2004 webcast. Gave digital workshops at Seaspace 2004 with Cheng.

Article Output

YearArticlesNotes
20024Seaspace, housing review, beginner guides
20037Printing, travel, housing reviews
200446Peak breadth — Seacam, lenses, RAW, DEMA
200570Peak volume — camera switch, housing reviews
200622Aquatica D200, Seacam 5D, workshops
20076Complementary filters, Visions conference
20083Last major reviews

Timeline

References

Sources

  1. Wetpixel article, Apr 16, 2002: Seaspace 2002 Report Truly Unsinkable ↩
  2. Wetpixel article, Oct 31, 2002: How To Get Started In Underwater Digital Photography ↩
  3. Wetpixel article, Oct 31, 2002: Strobe Use For Digital Cameras For Beginners ↩
  4. Wetpixel article, Jun 15, 2007: Complementary Filters And Wide Angle Underwater Photography ↩
  5. Wetpixel article, Feb 27, 2009: Wetpixels James Wiseman To Present Super Macro At Hups ↩
  6. Wetpixel article, Apr 16, 2002: Seaspace 2002 Report Truly Unsinkable ↩
  7. Wetpixel article, Oct 24, 2002: Forum Announcements ↩
  8. Wetpixel article, Oct 31, 2002: How To Get Started In Underwater Digital Photography ↩
  9. Wetpixel article, Oct 7, 2003: Dema 2003 Show Coverage1 ↩
  10. Wetpixel article, Jan 23, 2004: Wetpixel V30 ↩
  11. Wetpixel article, May 7, 2004: Digital Shootout Fiji Webcast 2004 ↩
  12. Wetpixel article, Jan 28, 2005: Upgrading Your Digital Camera Kit ↩
  13. Wetpixel article, Feb 4, 2005: James Wiseman Inon Artist Of The Month ↩
  14. Wetpixel article, Sep 14, 2005: Wetpixel Expands Moderating Team ↩
  15. Wetpixel article, Nov 9, 2005: James Wiseman Hups Member Of The Year ↩
  16. Wetpixel article, Sep 23, 2006: James Wiseman To Speak At Aquarium Conference ↩
  17. Wetpixel article, Jun 15, 2007: Complementary Filters And Wide Angle Underwater Photography ↩
  18. Wetpixel article, Aug 14, 2007: James Wiseman To Speak At Visions Conference ↩
  19. Wetpixel article, Nov 27, 2008: Aquatica 1ds Mark Iii Housing For Canon 1d 1ds Mark Iii Review ↩
  20. Wetpixel article, Feb 27, 2009: Wetpixels James Wiseman To Present Super Macro At Hups ↩
  21. Seaspace 2002 Report (article) ↩
  22. How to Get Started in UW Digital Photography (2002) (article) ↩
  23. Strobe Use for Digital Cameras for Beginners (2002) (article) ↩
  24. Wetpixel v3.0 (2004) (article) ↩
  25. INON Artist of the Month (2005) (article) ↩
  26. HUPS Member of the Year (2005) (article) ↩
  27. Complementary Filters Tutorial (2007) (article) ↩
  28. Aquatica 1Ds Mark III Review (2008) (article) ↩