A Shogun in Bali (bandwidth warning - lots of pics!)

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bedlam
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A Shogun in Bali (bandwidth warning - lots of pics!)

Post by bedlam » April 23rd 2014, 9:23pm

Just finished a dive trip around Talumben and Sanur for 2 weeks. Before I left there was the usual difficult exercise of choosing a 'one watch' that would be competent across the board. In the end I decided on the Shogun; its light and easy wearing, has the iconic Seiko diver look, and is a first class dive watch. Its a perfect under-the-radar diver that avoids 'look-at-me' bling in a corner of the planet where many are still living a 3rd world existence.

The Shogun has mixed responses amongst WIS. My sense is that those who wear it for a sustained period are the ones most likely to be won over. Its my perfect size for a dive watch at 44mm but wears more like 42-43mm and is around 13mm tall. The hardened titanium case is a mix of finishes - with the sides and lugs being brushed and the upward facing case aspects polished. The 22mm lugs curve down around the wrist so its sits well and makes it easy to find straps that look good. No Sumo-like lug gap here. It comes on a reasonable titanium bracelet, though I like the included dive strap and think it looks best on a NATO.

The Monster-like handset has its detractors but in real-world diving they work really well. They are instantly distinguishable at depth, well illuminated and well finished. The bezel is fully indexed and has an accurate but slightly lumpy action. The bezel worked well across all the dives and certainly never moved off-position. The crown is signed and has a reassuringly firm action with negligible wobble.

I'm a fan of the Seiko 6r15 movement for its power-reserve and dependability, and the one in in my Shogun has also been good in terms of accuracy having gained almost exactly a minute over the 15 days I was away.

The diving was a mix of shore dives and boat dives from outriggers. The water temps ranged from 31C in Talumben to 22C in Padang Bai. The visibility ranged from 15m to 30+ but was mostly between 20-30m. There were frequent bottom currents rather than the surface current and bottom surge I am used to in Australia. It means you have to keep an eye on things or you can quickly be moved along or, more dangerously, moved down. Several sites are not good places for an inattentive diver and a couple of divers are lost each year at Crystal Bay due to down currents.

I took the pics with a Panasonic LX-5 Lumix camera in a 10Bar aluminium housing rated to 100m. I could only take one strobe/flash (Sea&Sea YS-01) as my second unit developed an electrical fault and was still being repaired. I use a LightMonkey torch (220 lumen which takes a defuser or coloured filters for night diving) as a focus light and the whole kit sits on an Ikelite dual-grip frame.

The sea life across all the dives was abundant and the variety of creatures is amazing. We did 32 dives in 10 days. Here are some pics of the watch in action and a selection of the critters I encountered. :-)

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Heading out...
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A really big eel shot through my legs in the Liberty Wreck at Talumben...his head was bigger than mine
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Horseshoe Crab at night
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Baby cuttlefish hunting
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Bump Fish at dawn - these guys are huge
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Rare Harlequin Shrimp
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Cuttlefish displaying aggression...then running away
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Trumpet Fish
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Glass shrimp...hard to see and photograph (about 1.5cms long)
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Hermit Crab
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Inside a bait ball at Padang Bai Jetty
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Rare Leaf Fish and baby
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USS Liberty wreck
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Lion Fish (unusual to see a black one)
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Mantis Shrimp (dangerous critter that can smash a camera lens if you get too close)
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Orangutan Crab
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Pygmy Seahorse (1cm) perfectly camouflaged on coral
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Batfish
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Scorpion fish
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Bluering Octopus
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Barracuda
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Until next time (Guam in September!)
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Last edited by bedlam on April 23rd 2014, 10:45pm, edited 2 times in total.
Meritocracy: the privilege, wealth and advancement of those who chose their parents wisely.
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bedlam
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Re: A Shogun in Bali (bandwidth warning - lots of pics!)

Post by bedlam » April 23rd 2014, 10:05pm

conjurer wrote:That's a really first class report, Carl! A great review and stunning pics. It's nice to see that one of our members was actually doing something useful and watch-related while me and the rest of the knuckleheads were fucking around with the troll.

Thanks John. I don't know what we would all do if we didn't have guys like you doing all the heavy lifting with the Trollish. You are doing a goddamn community service here! 8-)
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Re: A Shogun in Bali (bandwidth warning - lots of pics!)

Post by biglove » April 23rd 2014, 10:30pm

Fantastic pics! Actually saved a couple for desktop pics...hope you don't mind?

Thanks for reminding us what dive watches are really all about. 32 dives in 10 days is an amazing trip.
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bedlam
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Re: A Shogun in Bali (bandwidth warning - lots of pics!)

Post by bedlam » April 23rd 2014, 10:39pm

biglove wrote:Fantastic pics! Actually saved a couple for desktop pics...hope you don't mind?

Thanks for reminding us what dive watches are really all about. 32 dives in 10 days is an amazing trip.


No probs. Glad they inspired you! 8-)

My personal favourite is the Porcelain Crab towards the end of the post
Meritocracy: the privilege, wealth and advancement of those who chose their parents wisely.
Capitalism: a cult that promised to do good for the worst reasons.
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Re: A Shogun in Bali (bandwidth warning - lots of pics!)

Post by bedlam » April 24th 2014, 7:45am

AlbertaTime wrote:Wonderful, wonderful post. Major eye candy!

Cheers. I was just noticing how much the orange Scorpion fish looks like those ceremonial dragon heads you see in Chinese parades.

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Re: A Shogun in Bali (bandwidth warning - lots of pics!)

Post by bedlam » April 24th 2014, 9:08am

svaglic wrote:Very nice pictures. Do you not wear gloves?

Most of the time, yes (though not in the watch pics above...which was just chance). The water was really warm so I didn't wear them unless there was an issue. They would help with the Bluering but not with things like the Scorpion fish.
Meritocracy: the privilege, wealth and advancement of those who chose their parents wisely.
Capitalism: a cult that promised to do good for the worst reasons.
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Post by anonymous-10 » April 24th 2014, 10:21am

Outstanding photographs of some really ugly fucking creatures!
Orange really pops underwater :mrgreen:
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Re: A Shogun in Bali (bandwidth warning - lots of pics!)

Post by bedlam » April 24th 2014, 8:12pm

foghorn wrote:Outstanding photographs of some really ugly fucking creatures!
Orange really pops underwater :mrgreen:


It pops when you bring your own sun! :mrgreen:
Meritocracy: the privilege, wealth and advancement of those who chose their parents wisely.
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Re: A Shogun in Bali (bandwidth warning - lots of pics!)

Post by bedlam » April 24th 2014, 10:27pm

jason_recliner wrote:Great pics Carl. Looks like some beautiful dive spots, but maybe not for beginners!


Around Talumben is ok and you can do your open water cert there. I would be a lot more careful around Sanur and I wouldn't even go near Crystal Bay. I had a head cold and didn't go, but the rest of my crew went to Manta Point which as the next bay around from Crystal on the second last day of my trip. They had a side current that carried them over a kilometer and at points their bubbles were going down below them rather than up. Yeah, not for noobs.
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Re: A Shogun in Bali (bandwidth warning - lots of pics!)

Post by bedlam » April 24th 2014, 11:05pm

catnap wrote:Exquisite snaps, surely ruined had you gone with a Monster. Was the chap in the grass hat captain of the vessel?


That man is god on that boat and you treat him well. When a heavy side current is carrying you away and you need him to spot your safety buoy and pick you up there is also a lot of tipping in addition to the respect :mrgreen:
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Re: A Shogun in Bali (bandwidth warning - lots of pics!)

Post by catnap » April 24th 2014, 11:13pm

bedlam wrote:
catnap wrote:Exquisite snaps, surely ruined had you gone with a Monster. Was the chap in the grass hat captain of the vessel?


That man is god on that boat and you treat him well. When a heavy side current is carrying you away and you need him to spot your safety buoy and pick you up there is also a lot of tipping in addition to the respect :mrgreen:

Sounds like a dependable fellow. Hope you and your chums didn't short change him and paid him accordingly.
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Re: A Shogun in Bali (bandwidth warning - lots of pics!)

Post by bedlam » April 25th 2014, 12:55am

catnap wrote:
bedlam wrote:
catnap wrote:Exquisite snaps, surely ruined had you gone with a Monster. Was the chap in the grass hat captain of the vessel?


That man is god on that boat and you treat him well. When a heavy side current is carrying you away and you need him to spot your safety buoy and pick you up there is also a lot of tipping in addition to the respect :mrgreen:

Sounds like a dependable fellow. Hope you and your chums didn't short change him and paid him accordingly.

No, we were more than kind 8-)
Meritocracy: the privilege, wealth and advancement of those who chose their parents wisely.
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Re: A Shogun in Bali (bandwidth warning - lots of pics!)

Post by bedlam » May 1st 2014, 5:06pm

tempusmaximus wrote:Stunning pictures , thank you for sharing them with us.

Totally agree , the shogun does look good on the NATO strap.


Thanks Tempus 8-)
Meritocracy: the privilege, wealth and advancement of those who chose their parents wisely.
Capitalism: a cult that promised to do good for the worst reasons.
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