Scubashooters net e mag issue n3 may 2015

ISSUE

N° 3

M A Y 2015

A-mazing Anilao PORTFOLIO Montse Grillo MONTHLY CONTEST Giacomo Marchione wins “Shrimps” contest PUSHING THE TG3 Stunning compact by Olympus

and Anilao Photo Hotel

THE WEIRD AND WONDERS OF MUCK DIVING with Beth Watson UNCAN THE SARDINES a presentation

by Henry Jager

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Dear Scubashooters, This is the third issue of our brand new magazine and I’m already waiting this appointment with you, fellow readers, as this is a great occasion for me and for us here at scubashooters.net to unveil and explain the phylosophy that lays behind our network and our work.

It all began with a simple idea of creating a searchable database to show the world the beauty of underwater life. As all simple ideas it soon showed impressive possibilities of improvement and all of a sudden we found out that the website has a database capability able to build scientific interest for marine biologists too. On the website you can easily discover where you can see what and viceversa; this led us considering also the touristic potential of the scubashooters platform and hence we started dealing with underwater industry big players, manufacturers and divings and resorts offering them a chance for their products to be noticed on a highly specialized platform for underwater photography. But of course the “core business” remains Underwater Photography in all its variations and tones. Scubashooters.net is to become the home of Underwater Photographers all over the world, it’s a place where they can build their own albums, get their own portfolios and very soon their personal website, it’s a place where they can learn new techniques from others and get inspired, they can see a specie they have never seen before and learn where to find it and eventually find the right resort in that place in order to be able to get pictures of that fish, but it’s also a place where they can get some fun with our contests.

We run multiple contests every year: the monthly contest, soon to be moved onto our propietary platform on the website, we run the nudi of the week contest ( and yes, we will have a nudi of the year contest too !) and we run the pic of the day contest. We believe that no other organizations have this variety of possibilities for Underwater Photographers and , it’s a promise, there are more to come! So stay tuned for more beauty .

Marino Palla Owner & Founder Scubashooters Network

Cover image “The family” By: Montse Grillo

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EDITORIALE Marino Palla THE WEIRD & WONDERS OF MUCK DIVING With Beth Watson PUSHING THE TG3 Stunning compact by Olympus PORTFOLIO Montse Grillo A-MAZING ANILAO !!! ...and Anilao Photo Hotel With Suzan Meldonian

UNCAN THE SARDINES A presentation by Henry Jager 13° SCUBASHOOTERS.net MONTHLY CONTEST: “Shrimps”

BEHIND THE SHOT: Giacomo Marchione

MONTHLY CONTEST - a new judge: ISABELLA MAFFEI

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MONTHLY CONTEST - a new judge: IVANA ORLOVIC

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OCEAN ARTISTS SOCIETY Using Ocean art to inspire people.

With Charlie Fasano PLANNING A LIGHT SCHEME Cristian Umili and Alessia Comini

DAN EUROPE: DO NOT THINK LIGHTLY ABOUT USING A SURFACE MARKER BUOY 3째 INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF UW PHOTOGRAPY - KIKINDA - SERBIA

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NOT ONLY UW: LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL With Alberto Carati

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WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT With Top One diving & DAN

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Editor: FABIO STRAZZI Verein Scubashooters, 8952 Schlieren - Switzerland

SHARKS, MANTAS & CROCODILES.

Blue Space presents two exclusives destinations at Caribbean, two real and exciting adventures: Mexico and Bahamas.

MEXICAN ADVENTURE WITH WHALE SHARKS & CROCODILES + RELAXING BAHAMAS WITH TIGER SHARKS & MANTAS Isla Mujeres, Mexico, where the rhythms become loose and the landscape is still wild and intact, from June to mid-September whale sharks arrive, forming a spectacular migration of hundreds of specimens with their babies, mantas, manta rays, dolphins and pelagic fish. A trip highly recommended to underwater photographers and videographers but also to lovers of nature and the sea.

Moving to the southeast, near the border with Belize, there is the National Marine Park of Xcalak, one of the few natural paradises still virgin and the natural habitat of the American crocodile. We’re planned three expeditions: July 10 to 16, from 1 to 7 August or from 16 to 22 August 2015.

An excellent alternative to Mexican Adventure is staying in the Bahamas, a special trip for experienced divers and enthusiasts shark diving coming up tiger sharks, bull, dozens of lemon sharks, nurse and hammer head in Grand Bahama, white tip or longimanus in Cat Island and giant hammer head to Bimini. photo by Raffaella Schlegel

Read more about the destination on www.bluespace.it or contact us at info@bluespace.it via San Giorgio, 12 10023 Chieri (TO) Italy tel. 0039 011 9409871

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TRAVELS

THE WEIRD & WONDERS OF MUCK DIVING WORDS AND PICTURES

Beth Watson

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The term ‘tropical’ diving generally conjures images of crystal clear, warm water flowing over beautiful, lush coral reefs teeming with colorful fish. “Muck” diving is a different experience altogether! Basically, it means rummaging around in sandy, muddy, murky areas among discarded bottles, old tires, pizza boxes.... all manner of garbage, in search of the oceans tiniest, most weird and wonderful creatures.

Many areas are particularly known for this type of diving. The term ‘muck diving’ is descriptive of a particular environment. The oceans substrate is covered with fine sand and silt, currents are mild and visibility can be poor. Patches of sand, sea grass, volcanic areas, and oddly enough, areas with a lot of rubbish can be great for muck diving. Many of the oceans strangest residents make their homes in these places, utilizing them to their best advantage. What a treat it is to see, for example, a coconut octopus scurrying around gathering pieces of cardboard which he uses for protection.

Muck diving can afford one the opportunity to see and photograph some of the oceans most unique and amazing critters. Most subjects will be well camouflaged

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or entirely hidden in the sand, but with the knowledge and well- trained eyes of a good dive guide, the weird and wonderful will be revealed! On a recent dive day in Lembeh Straits, Indonesia the following critters were spotted: a baby painted frogfish, blue ringed octopus, wunderpus, algae octopus, halimeda crab, ambon scorpion fish, fingered dragonet, calamari squid, zeno crab, female ornate ghost pipefish with eggs, painted lobster, zebra batfish, snapping crinoid shrimp, decorator crab, soft coral crab, minute filefish, and a variety of nudibranchs and sea slugs. This would be a fairly typical sighting list for a day in Lembeh. Muck diving is about the critters, period! Muck diving can be a very rewarding and enlightening experience, especially for the underwater photographer.

Muck diving tips:

• Be a responsible diver, don’t poke or prod subjects. The environment is very fragile.

• Good buoyancy and proper weighting is a must. Make sure you are not over weighted.

• Avoid grabbing anything with your hands to stabilize yourself.

• When weighted properly, kicking should not be necessary to maintain a stationary position.

• Good muck diving technique involves two basic principles. Keep your head down, eyes on the bottom looking for critters and fins should be up to avoid kicking up the sand, mud, and silt.

• While kicking, water turbulence and fin tips can cause damage to creatures and reduce visibility.

• Try using a frog kick to avoid disturbing the substrate, and occasionally look behind you to make sure you are not leaving an unintended, unwanted wake.

• Be aware of your surroundings at all times.

Muck Diving Destinations: • Lembeh Strait, Indonesia • Anilao, Philippines • Ambon, Indonesia • Mabul, Borneo • Dumageutte, Philippines • Bali, Indonesia • St. Vincent, Caribbean • Blue Heron Bridge, Florida USA • Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea

Muck Diving Photography Tips & Techniques:

• Plan your dive. Muck dives are typically done in shallow water allowing longer bottom times.

• Get close to your subject and then get closer.

• Eliminating the amount of water between you and your subject is the key to producing colorful and sharp underwater images.

• Approach your subject slowly and cautiously.

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• Have your strobe and camera settings pre-set before going in for the shot.

• Muck diving can reward you with many wonderful macro opportunities. To fill the frame, use a diopter, teleconverter or extension tube to add magnification.

• When adding magnification your depth of field tends to become very shallow, making it difficult to focus. Try rocking the camera back and forth to achieve proper focus.

• Focus on the eyes. When shooting an animal, if only one thing is in focus it must be the eyes.

• Use a snoot to isolate your subject from the background.

• If you want more of your subject in focus, keep the subject parallel to the camera.

• Be considerate and respectful of the critters you are photographing.

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PUSHING THE TG3

STUNNING COMPACT BY OLYMPUS Words and Pictures

Tim Ho

REVIEW

26 I’ve been playing the Compact Camera Photography game for some time now and have had a go at almost every compact camera that crossed my path. Starting off with the IXUS 80is years back, I was determined to attempt to get some results with a bare minimal set-up.

Pressing every button and trying every preset scene on the compact, I discovered ways to achieve some decent results using only a compact camera with no Manual Mode and without using the internal flash or strobe. Decent results not worthy of a National Geographic print,

but results enough to NOT look a total newbie when photos are displayed side by side with some massive set-ups on a computer screen. As time passed, I ventured into more capable Compact Cameras with Manual settings, then into the use of lights utilizing any torch I could get my hands on.

I would NEVER claim that a compact camera can achieve the same results as a big DSLR with a full set of strobes, premium lenses, diopters and video lights, however I

am convinced that using the advantage of size, ease of use and some preset scenes settings on a compact (these scene modes don’t exist on big DSLR settings), one can achieve some results worthy of eyebrow raising these days.

With the evolution of technological advancement, I was shocked when I started to explore a simple point and shoot camera that I had purchased merely for renting out to guests at my dive shop.

The Olympus TG3 had been in the market for some time now and this was my choice as for basic underwater camera rentals, I decided a waterproof camera was the best way to go to reduce the risk of camera flooding when the housing leaks.

Going on the dive for the first time, I fogged-up the housing and decided to remove it from the housing while underwater and clear off the fog. I opened it up and filled it with water and continued shooting.

The Olympus Tough TG3 has a very interesting mode called the “Microscope Mode� that I decided to test out. To my surprise this mode could still focus when on full zoom and works with a focusing distance of practically zero mm while on this mode.

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Filling the entire frame with a Skeleton Shrimp face is unthinkable even using stacked diopters and a super macro lens of a DSLR but this tiny “toy” camera can achieve it (A representation for those who don’t know what this means, imagine photographing 1 single grain of sugar and being able to fill up the frame).

Shooting the TG3 without a housing can withstand depth pressure of up to 15m and I also attempted to test this out. Advantage of doing this is the LED light that is available on the camera acts as a great focus light wen shooting into darker spaces. This LED light is blocked when the camera is used inside the 40m dive housing.

The ability to custom white balance on this mode also allows for decent natural light photography and within this mode, you can also adjust ISO and exposure value.

Using a strobe, you will need to control strobe power to achieve the lighting results you want as there is no full “Manual Setting Mode”. So other than adjusting the exposure value you will need to control the brightness by managing your slave triggered strobe.

I can go on-and-on about this camera, but I’ll brag most about it being cheap and easy to use and that with it, I have managed to achieve some results I never thought were possible on a camera what more a basic basic point and shoot camera. Ask anyone around you “Who goes and shoots skeleton shrimp face only with not a single diopter and no strobes”?

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Located in the center of the Gulf of Kvarner - Croatia, our diving center is in the ideal location for countless different dive sites.

Three wrecks, colorful walls and ideal sites for macrophotography.

We offer the opportunity to dive for every level.

From our beach, with our boat... ...come with us and enjoy your dive!

www.diving-marcopolo.com

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PORTFOLIO Montse Grillo

PORTFOLIO

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Home for Montse Grillo is Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain.

She has always liked photography but it was not until late 2011 when she took her first pictures underwater that she discovered her passion for underwater photography.

Just a few months later many of her photographs received awards in the world’s most prestigious underwater photography competitions.

Eilat Red Sea shootout 2012, 3rd place in Wide-angle, Laups 2012 3rd place in Macro, Beneath the Sea 2013 2nd place in Marine Life and an Honorable Mention, 3rd place in Macro, Acqua 2013 1st and 3rd place in Wide-Angle, 1st place in Behavior, Subsurface 2013 2nd place in Wide-Angle, 2013 Ocean Geographic society 2nd place in Portrait, Ocean Art 2013 1st place

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For Montse one of the most important awards was the “Smith Rice International Awards 2013” where she won in the category of “Ocean” and an Honorable Mention at the Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science 2014 2nd place in Wide-Angle.

Montse has dedicated many years to studying green turtles.

She collaborates in the Canary Islands in a research project on these beautiful and amazing creatures and is also part of an association for the dissemination and protection of the marine environment “Big Blue”.

Montse’s images have appeared in Asian Diver, Espèces magazine, cover of Home the last book of Umberto Pelizzari Apnea, Unterwasser, Tauchen and many other internationally renowned underwater magazines.

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�My pictures are the result of my passion for underwater photography. When I take a picture, I always try to transmit a feeling to the viewer and let the picture tell a story. This requires much time and dedication on each occasion.

It needed many hours and patience to catch the perfect moment. In most cases there is just one chance for the perfect picture and I prepare with my finger on the trigger. Everything correctly adjusted, waiting for that moment to arrive. Only Subal housings give me the confidence that when the time comes, everything will come out just the way I want “ I shoot with Canon EOS 7D and Subal CD7 Housing.

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A little slice of heaven

Hoga Island, Wakatobi National Park is located in the heart of the Coral Triangle, one of the most bio-diver will see incredibly colourful corals teeming with marine life from large trevallies, schools of barracuda to small b

Hoga Island Dive Resort

Hoga Island Dive Resort is a budget dive resort in the middle of Wakatobi. The traditional cottages are built there are also hammock areas where guests can read a book, meet for a cold beer and watch spectacular sunse well. Dive package: 95 â‚Ź per person per day, accomodation , meals and 2 dives.

Often served on the beach, meals are varied and generous and are made with fresh ingredients including th traditional Indonesian dishes!

When not diving, Hoga Island Island also offers other activities such as walking around the island (5-6 hours have a small library of books in various languages as well as marine life reference books.

Hoga Island Dive Resort’s involvement with the local community includes providing local children with a bo children clean the beaches to earn money to pay for their school uniforms.

Diving with Hoga Island Dive Resort

The dive sites are all within a short boat ride from the Resort and include fantastic pinnacles, ridges, walls, le Due to Hoga Island’s remote location we do not have to compete with other divers for nice quiet dive sites a Asrul, our local dive guide has a great eye for the small creatures on the reef, he easily finds creatures such as p you can hang out at the end of your dive at 6 meters in utter bliss.

www.hogaislanddiveresort.com

rse regions of the Indo-Pacific and indeed the world. This makes for a unique diving experience, where you but stunning nudibranchs and cleaner shrimp.

on stilts facing the beach and the sea, each with their own balcony and hammock for relaxing. On the beach ets. The resort has electricity from 6pm till 10pm. Two rooms share one mandy bathroom with water from the

he catch of the day brought in by the local fishermen. Wiah’s chips and spaghetti are famous as well as her

s at low tide), a visit to the local sea nomad village, a trip by motorbike on nearby Kaledupa Island. We also

oat to take them to & from school each day with funds raised by the charity (www.piara.nl). On Sundays, the

edges and overhangs which together, make this an unforgettable, underwater paradise. and, whatever the weather, there is always a great choice of varied locations. pygmy sea horses and the orangutan crab in the bubble coral. Some sites have a superabundance of fish, where

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TRAVELS

A-MAZING ANILAO !!! ...and Anilao Photo Hotel Words

Suzan Meldonian Pictures

Suzan Meldonian, Tim Ho, Marylin Batt, Doug Batt & Wayne Jones

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If you don’t know by now, Anilao in the Philippines is one of the best places on the planet for underwater macro photography.

Just two and a half hours drive south of Manila, with over 400 dive resorts to choose from, it boils down to ease of access, dive guides and your budget.

This past April, we selected the Anilao Photo Hotel to host our Underwater Photo Workshop.

Owned and operated by renowned Tim Ho, an advocate for point and shoot –no strobe underwater photography… and boy if you haven’t seen what he can do with an Olympus TG2, go have a look on Facebook Underwater Art! That little camera is enough to make most macro shooters turn in their SLR’s.

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Of course learning how to get the maximum out of your camera is what Tim professes.

Anilao is about the underwater photography. Eat, sleep and dive, upload 窶電ownload, and get up and go do it again. Most of the dive guides at Anilao Photo Hotel have all won awards for their photography in the Anilao Photo contests.

The Anilao Photo Hotel is a simple hotel offering 6 rooms with air conditioning and 6 without, serving typical Philippine fare.

It is not fancy, but they do have a great layout, comfortable rooms, dedicated camera rinse tanks, an excellent dive platform, outdoor showers, and dedicated gear rinse tanks with a wonderful photo room with plenty of room to

process photos in an air conditioned environment.

The Wifi is superb. Located just south of the famous Pier, your backyard pool offers the overflow of critters from the Pier right outside your door.

Their house reef (lovingly names Fugly’s Garden) is unbelievable! You could easily spend a week just diving out front, with everything from a wall dive, underwater statues, and even Blue Ribbon eels.

We were very fortunate to have Ivan Manzanares as our lead dive guide who proved to be most worthy and helpful with the Olympus and Canon point & shoot users. Besides being an amazing spotter, he understands photography which is certainly a plus when it comes to dive guides.

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We also enjoyed Ian Amboy’s spotting in finding the nearly invisible Lembeh Sea Dragon at Minilog and Jason Mendoza proved most excellent as well.

We enjoyed daily boat dives to Secret Bay, Secret Garden, Mainit, Wreck of the Daryl Laut- a favorite of mine, and Sunview was a special place, which we chose to visit more than once. We also ventured to Sombrero, Matu and Coconut.

Just to mention, if you do go to Daryl Laut, it is imperative that you get their first thing in the morning, as it is easily silted up when too many divers are there. It is also great for wide angle, as are Kirby and Beatrice sites.

All in all if you are seeking an easy place to hang your hat and get down to some serious diving, without the frills and expense, Anilao Photo Hotel is a great place to bookmark for your next trip to Anilao.

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DIGITAL UNDERWATER PH RED SEA - 22nd/26th Jun Soft corals of more than a thousand colors, coral reefs presenting meetings with schools of fish dense enough to darken the sun, waters embarrassingly transparent… in other words, not surprisingly, the perfect place to test yourself with underwater photography!

From 22nd to 26th of June 2015, Adriano Penco, a well-known underwater photographer and journalist, will arrange a digital underwater photography workshop at the Sheikh Coast Diving Centre, Domina Coral Bay, in the Red Sea. Digital photography arrival made even underwater photography more accessible and enjoyable than ever. This workshop, actually more a lab than a course since immediately every participant will put into practice, and then discuss, the basics shown, has the purpose of bringing a dowry of each participant’s personal expertise and basic information to shoot good pictures in course of action. Technical growth may only come from putting into practice and applying the topics dealt and then discussed during the meeting. In this way, debating becomes the cornerstone for learning.

The workshop program plans to deal extensively with topics such as creating and composing a digital image, using a model underwater, motives for shooting, using the proper focus and shutter speed to obtain the best exposure, managing lighting underwater, to end up with photographic critical review.

The workshop is open to any photographer with a little knowledge and basics about photography, in possession of any kind of compact or DSLR camera bearing any lens, with related underwater housing. The workshop’s schedule consists in morning boat trips in order to effect two dives, lunch during the return trip to arrive at the dive center early in the afternoon to download the images, which will be analyzed and discussed together with the daily topic.

info: booking@sheikhcoast.com

HOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP ne with Adriano Penco During his several years of activity, Adriano Penco realized lots of special reports from all over the world. His editorial production counts several picture books that help drawing the attention and value the seabed and peculiarities of the underwater world.

The Genoa and the Milan Aquarium, the Montpellier and Antibes photo festival, together with the eminent Japanese monthly magazine Marine Diver, exhibit big blowup versions of Adriano’s pictures. The color publication “100 Ans de Photographie Sous-Marine” (100 Years of Underwater Photography), which contains the most beautiful underwater images taken in the last century, also contains some of his shots.

Alberto’s biography is also present inside the work entitled “Fotocinematografia Subacquea Italiana: I Protagonisti” (Italian Underwater Photo-Cinematography: the Key Players).

On its 500th number, Underwater World dedicated Alberto a splendid biography appointing him as one of the major excellent contemporary signatures.

Worth mentioning Alberto’s collaborations with Marevivo, Legambiente, Rome’s “La Sapienza” University, Bologna University, Italian National Geo-Volcanology Institute, Lipari’s Barnabò Brea Archeological Museum, Tuscany and Liguria Archeological Superintendence, IANTD Expeditions.

At present, Alberto Penco is the Director of the Scuba Guidebooks Collection edited by Magenes.

Contacts:

www.adrianopenco.com - adriano@adrianopenco.com

The Sheikh Coast Diving Centre is one of the most comfortable diving centers in Sharm el Sheikh, thanks to its private marina, just a few dozen meters from its headquarter.

The private marina exclusivity, in fact, allows guests to board directly from inside the touristic resort, avoiding to divers and their companions boring transfers by buses or shuttles to Sharm’s main harbor, together with the never-ending waiting times before boarding.

Every day luxurious boats leave their mooring from Domina Coral Bay, laying out for the amazing scuba day trips to discover the most beautiful, colored and crawling with marine life coral reefs between Tiran Island and the legendary Ras Mohammed Marine Park

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Uncan the Sardines Words and Pictures

Henry Jager

The ADEX 2015 held from 10 -12 April in Singapore provided countless fantastic presentations and speeches about conservation, exploring, tec, free and sport diving, video and photography. We picked one out for you. It’s the presentation about shooting schooling fishes and wide angle in general by our Scubashooters head of jury and admin Henry Jager. We look back to his presentation with a few question and some selected pictures out of his speech.

“Uncan the Sardines”, please tell us more about this topic, Henry.

I remember very well my first dive with a school of sardines. It was the well-known school at Pescador Island in Moalboal, Philippines back in 2010. Together with the guide from Kasai Village we jumped into the water and found ourselves in 5m depth surrounded by millions of sardines. I was overwhelmed by the great show and I took probably hundreds of pictures.

Back in the resort, opening my laptop was like opening a can of sardines. The pictures were so poor, you could hardly recognise an individual fish or a shape of a school, only a big mash. In my speech I was telling the audience how to get out of this situation, get the sardines out of that can and free them to clear, attractive shots of schooling fishes.

How can we improve our pictures?

Be aware of the following situation: You face small individuals in a huge school. Most of the time they behave chaotically, changing directions often and swim fast. The light situation is not really optimal as a school of sardines can block a lot of sunlight.

When you look at “Sardines Tornado” seconds after the shot the covered the sun and it became very dark. Like when a above water tornado appears.

Best is to use a fisheye lens or a good wide-angle lens. And then go really close to the school. Avoid too much water between you and the school.

Water is like a soft filter, which blurs your picture.

Second, choose wisely your shooting angle. Shoot towards the surface so light can flood through the school.

This separates the individuals and

TECHNIQUE

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Shall we use strobes?

The use of strobes is a matter of the situation. Silver fishes are reflecting very well, depending on the position they have. It’s hard to have them even exposed. A lot of pictures I have done with ambient light therefore. But adding strobe light successfully can add depth and structure to the picture.

Using ambient light can create dramatic or glorifying moments. It’s a play with light and shapes. When we look at the picture “Cathedral at Pescador Island” and imagine the wall was not black, the picture would be not partial that dramatic. Adding the sun or the sunrays and the surface makes the subject shine in glory like the example of “Manta Silhouette”. You can apply these general wide-angle techniques also to school of fishes.

When it comes to coloured fishes, or coloured subjects within the composition, (selective) flashlight is needed.

Composition is key! Do you have some advises on that for us, Henry?

When you plan to take pictures of school of sardines or jacks, it’s crucial to plan your dive and plan ahead what you like to shoot. This is not something typically

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72 when shooting schools but a general advise. Think of shooting the entire school as subject.

Schooling behaviour is very fascinating. it is similar to flocking behaviour of birds. So the shapes of the school are great subjects.

But think also of going closer and picture a group of individuals as part of the school. Freeze the movement or do the opposite: long-term exposure to gain motion blur.

As we already discussed, adding sun and surface is a good idea, too.

Going closer to the school: This is quite difficult!

It can be difficult, especially if you are diving in a group. It’s best to have your own guide and take your time! Improve your skills and approach the subject very slowly.

I have made very good experience by using the rebreather. I learned to use this at the Dive Academy of Kasai Village, a dive resort very near to the sardines.

Silent, bubble free approaching helps a lot to get closer. And with the Poseidon MK VI, there is a rebreather for recreational use and one who gives you also time and convenience to concentrate on your subjects.

How much post processing is behind these shots?

I always strive to deliver best quality pictures to the audience. In my honest opinion, post processing belongs to the craft as well as shooting a perfect picture does. There is no way to conjure brilliant pictures out of a mash you brought to the surface. But investing some time for post processing in high quality raw material is very valuable.

Regarding my schooling fish pictures, not much but wisely applied corrections are done. Besides a normal workflow I focus on clarity and separation of the individuals. I have made good experience by improving contrasts not only with the

one slider Photoshop provides, but with third party tools which allow up to 4 different setting from micro to high contrasts. This minimises the need of sharpening tremendously and avoids the typical artefacts of over-sharpening.

Sharpening is generally something, which nearly disappeared in my workflow since using the Olympus OM-D E-M1. Like some full frame cameras it has omitted the optical low pass filter, which is of advantage for sharpness.

Let’s look at another aspect. Is it easy to access this specific school of sardines?

The school is located at Panagsama beach at the moment. It’s cruising in depth even open water divers can enjoy. There are many dive operators around whereas I have chosen to dive with Kasai Village Dive and Spa Resort mainly because of their convenient camera facilities, the spacious dive boat and the opportunity to dive with the Poseidon MK VI rebreather. Of course I also enjoyed the vey friendly people and the professional service and dive guides there.

How do you best travel to Moalboal?

From anywhere in the world it is of advantage to have a look at Singaporeair.com for best connections and fares. The hub in Singapore collects people around the globe and provides a convenient trip to Cebu, avoiding the hassle of Manilas airport. From Cebu it’s only a short drive to Moalboal.

Thank you very much, Henry, for answering our questions. More pictures made by Henry Jager you can find on

www.conartix-photo.ch

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CENTRO SUB CAMPI FLEGREI was established in 1992 and is orientated towards recreational diving activities.

The diving centre has two bases within the area of the Phlegraean Fields. One is located in Pozzuoli and is home to the secretariat, the classrooms, the Incoming Service and the workshop for equipment inspection and maintenance. The second is in Lucrino direct on the shore of the underwater Archaeology Park of Baiae where all the facilities associated with beach front diving activities, e.g. showers, changing rooms, equipment rinsing facilities, tank filling station, jetty for the boats, bars, sun decks, etc., are to be found.

We offer the following services:

from NAS and PADI (Distinctive Specialty).

COURSES: We offer PADI, CMAS and PTA courses ranging from introduction dives through to instructor level training, including numerous specialites. The diving centre’s classroom is equipped with didactic materials and multimedia facilities to meet all training requirements. Training is also carried out in the field of underwater archaeology via courses

EQUIPMENT: The diving centre has three Coltri Sub compressors, a Coltri Sub membrane compressor (nitrox for free!), trimix blending facilities, 50 complete sets of diving equipment, a workshop for any necessary repairs and ample wet and dry storage areas.

GUIDED TOURS: We offer diving at sites within the sunken city of Baiae, in the Gulf of Naples and around the Phlegraean islands of Ischia and Procida. Transfer to these sites is provided by our own rhibs (8m and 7m).

INCOMING SERVICE: In collaboration with other entities within the tourism sector, we various different itineraries combining activities both underwater and on land which enable visitors to discover the wonders within our locality.

TOURISM: We organise weekend diving packages. Longer holidays and cruises are also regularly arranged both locally and overseas (in partnership with other tourist agencies).

EVENTS: In association with local agencies, training organisations and clubs the diving centre organises events and informative demonstrations to encourage a more environmentally conscious culture, particularly with respect to gaining a deeper respect for the marine environment and promoting its protection.

Experienced instructors and a welcoming atmosphere ensure your diving experience will be both safe and fun.

www.centrosubcampiflegrei.it

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13° “SHRIMPS”

FIRST PLACE

GIACOMO MARCHIONE “Pontonia corallicola”

MONTHLY CONTEST

MONTHLY CONTEST:

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SECOND PLACE MARYLIN BATT “Mantis shrimp with eggs”

THIRD PLACE LYNN WU “Hitchhiker”

FOURTH PLACE AJIEX DHARMA “Skeleton shrimp”

FIFTH PLACE KONG HON PING “Bumblebee shrimp”

SIXTH PLACE RANDY ANG “Rhino shrimp”

This accessory has the function of “rear-view mirror”, applied at the junction of the arms through a triple clamp CP/3 allows to view what happens behind.

Through an additional quick release arm AR13/SF it is possible to use the mirror by hand for macro photo effect.

The front part is arranged with a 67 mm thread that allows to place additional lenses. The side is also arranged with threaded holes M8, Kodak and M6 that allows to place balls SF/M8, SF/WT and SF/M6.

The ball and the mirror holder are made out of anticorodal aluminum anodized 40 microns to ensure the maximum durability and excellent resistance to wear and to sea salt.

The mirror is resined in order to maintain a long lifetime.

www.easydive.eu

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Behind the shot:

GIACOMO MARCHIONE This photo was taken in the seabed in front of the promontory of Bitung, territory that forms part of the northern tip of Sulawesi.

Exactly at the island of Ganga where the seabed is varied and diverse than the walls of Manado or muddy bottoms and lava sand in the channel of Lembeh.

Here the depths vary from sandy to rocky coral, life is rich and varied due to strong currents lapping on these islands.

The shrimp that won the contest was a shrimp that is part of the family Palaemonidae, shrimp diners whose scientific name is Hamopontonia corallicola.

Shooting was accidental, as I tried, in the coral in which it lives, the Periclimenes Koronensis.

Instead, on the edge of the plate madreporic coral mushroom it was, in beautiful pose, this handsome shrimp.

The shot was made with a Nikon D800E Nikon 2.8 macro lens 105, with housing Seacam. I used two flashes Sea and Sea 120Ys. Metadata is: ISO 200, F40, 1/200.

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Born in Varese (Italy) in 1973, where she still lives, Isabella always liked to swim and she made her first dive with mask and snorkel when she was 16 years old.

A true passion for the ocean drove her to become a scuba instructor and manage her dive center, “Deep Avenue” , in Mendrisio, in the Italian side of Switzerland.

She started to take underwater photos to her scuba diving students as first tangible results of a new adventure. However, this initial business approach developed soon into a true deep genuine passion.

“UW photography is a form of communication, an universal visual language which meet my ambition to tell without a word the amazing beauty of nature. As the sea has its own laws, as well photography, which includes theory and practice together. I had to study and dive to put in practice what I was dreaming in my soul. Sometimes I found myself disappointed but I never gave up, always thinking that I have still a lot to learn to develop my skills “.

Isabella has won numerous awards in national and international competitions, she is already working with a number of magazines, “MARE”, “SUB”, “IL SUBACQUEO”, “SCUBAZONE” and “FACCIUNSALTO” combining her passion of photography to writing.

She got a number of international awards very much deserved because of her very personal way to use the light for depicting the environment.

My way to take underwater photography is my way to communicate using an universal visual language; it comes from my strong ambition to tell, to describe without words the marine underwater perfection.

I fancy the idea to shoot dynamic pictures in order to draw the observer inside the image; I love it so much and I cannot consider anymore a picture as a static, bi-dimensional image…

In such trend, I want to develop my future experimentation. I do know is hard, in photography nothing can be improvised and rules, for a perfect canonic composition, must be respected. However with no challenges there is not gain.

Anytime I dive, my Nikon’ camera is with me, as an added part of my body … My love for the underwater diving builds up however I do not look anymore the Neptune’s Garden through my mask but my camera’ shutter.

To observe the World trough a lens was a way to increase my sensitivity towards the environment. I was even feeling more deep inside it.

A digital image is not just a number of pixels, but a powerful way of communication which may be more effective of words.

Besides this, to collect unique images of the Marine World may help to monitorize the environment and to contribute to save it, providing to all the spectators (not only the scuba divers)

A new judge:

ISABELLA MAFFEI

positive feelings and environmental responsiveness.

The emotion arose by a photo can be very devasting; it doesn’t matter if comes from a dyeing turtle cought in an abandoned net or from a beautiful landscape of an intact blooming coral barrier.

The sent message is always the same : the importance to preserve and protect the underwater World.

To write by light� is like to weave a plot of an amazing never ending story where we are all embroiled.

MONTHLY CONTEST

MONTHLY CONTEST

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Born at the center of Balkan Peninsula in Belgrade, Serbia, hundreds of miles away from the seas it was almost incredible to foresee that Ivana Orlović Kranjc would chose to make sea her passion, home and a workplace. She finished her first diving course at the age of eight and since then her commitment and her connection with the sea became greater and greater with each day. She finished college and become engineer of Marketing and Sales. She started with recreational diving followed by her first professional assignments, apnea competitions, she became diving instructor and it all culminated in the greatest passion for her of them all – underwater photography.

Diving expeditions took her all over the globe. She dove at the merging point of two oceans in South Africa accompanied by great white sharks, at surreal underwater locations in Maldives, explored caves in Bosnia for endemic Olm species, swam with whale sharks in Indian ocean, danced with Conger eels on island of Vis in Mediterranean Adriatic sea, submerged beneath frozen Alpine lakes, pet Morey eels in Red sea… And still so many more adventures to come.

Besides this adventuring part of her diving career, Ivana and her husband are owners and run the biggest diving club in Serbia - S.D.T. Svet Ronjenja which every year trains new generations of scuba divers. There is a constant education in underwater photography and apnea as well. Through this continuous education S.D.T. Svet Ronjenja attempts to raise questions of water pollution, constantly working on questions of ecology and nature preservation, because this planet will be home for many generations to come.

Last ten years Ivana has been dedicated to underwater photography. Everything started with disposable underwater camera, followed by compact cameras in underwater housings, and finally now in recent years with DSLRs. Today Ivana is using Nikon D7000 in Subal housing. Her specialities are underwater selfies with inhabitants of underwater world and her great split images.

Her commitment and exceptional quality were recognized by American Underwater Products company which promote Ivana as their Oceanic Worldwide Ambassador since January 2015.

“After all these years that I spent under the surface, I can’t imagine my dive without a camera. I think that underwater photography is the most powerful way to promote this amazing world to common people, non divers. I am certain that after they see my photographs that they will be more eager to come with us in our new adventures that lay beneath the surface of the water” – says Ivana Orlović Kranjc, underwater photographer.

A new judge:

IVANA ORLOVIC

MONTHLY CONTEST

MONTHLY CONTEST

Underwater Photog

Tim & Beth will be in the water engaging in one-on-on settings and teaching beginning to advanced techniq lighting, camera gear and image editing using LIGHTR tographers are welcome, those

To make a reservation c

www.softlitestudios.com tdneumann@softlitesstudios.com www.facebook.com/TimothyDNeumann 1-614-312-0655

graphy Expedition

ne mentoring, helping with strobe positioning, camera ques. Learn valuable information about composition, ROOM & PHOTOSHOP. All cameras and level of phowith “Point & Shoot” to “DSLR”

contact Amy Garrow at:

www.bethwatsonimages.com bethwatsonimages@gmail.com www.facebook.com/bethbwatson 1-573-247-0462

SUB

AQUATIC

flea market

SCUBA DEMO DAY Do you want to meet the latest equipment of Mares, presented from their high educated technicians and under water try all those products out? Mares day is a perfect chance for that.

If you do not know where to put your old equipment after buying a new one, we will organize the first diving flea market in Istria where you can sell, buy or change a second hand stuff.

STELLA MARIS RESORT sport center UMAG - CROATIA www.subaquatic.org E: subaquatic.umag@gmail.com Phone.: 00385 52 710 981 Mobil: 00385 92 26 16 168 subaquatic diving center

wanderlass.com

96

OCEAN ARTISTS SOCIETY

USING OCEAN ART TO INSPIRE PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD TO THE GREATER AWARENESS OF OUR NEED TO PRESERVE OUR NATURAL WORLD

It started off as an average day that week… pick up marine artist Wyland at the hotel and go shore diving somewhere.

This was my third film shoot this year with him and we really synced in our filming and artistic style. The conditions looked good for dolphins so we headed about 30 minutes south.

During the ride, he described to me the beginnings of the Ocean Artists Society.

THE BEGINNING During DEMA 2003, Wyland and fellow marine artists Guy Harvey and Bob Talbot were holding an event together. After the event, they remarked how large the crowd was. They said that they recognised old faces and how some audience members were fans of one artist and some were fans of the other artist.

It was then that they brainstormed an idea of collaborating their artwork so as to reach as many people as possible.

How can one artist reach the fans of another artist, and visa versa, to deliver the overall message of marine conservation through their artwork?

Thus, the birth of the Ocean Artists Society came about.

The goal? To collaborate members’ artworks with a mission of delivering a message of marine conservation and environmentalism.

For the last 10 years, that has been the objective of the OAS. Our mission statement is; “Using ocean art to inspire people around the world to a greater awareness of our need to preserve our natural world”.

Through the years, artists from around the world have been inducted into the Society with a objective of delivering a message of environmentalism. Inductions have included some real “movers and shakers” in the industry, such as our scientific advisor Dr. Sylvia Earle, David Doubilet, Brian Skerry, James Cameron, Ron and Valerie Taylor, Ernie Brooks, Stan Waterman, Howard and Michelle Hall, Greg MacGillivray, Stephen Frink, Emory Kristof, Michael Aw, Alex Mustard, Amos Nachoum, Flip Nicklin, Doug Perrine, Shawn Heinrichs, and Jim Toomey to name a few.

By accumulating these marine artists, each one has been delivering their own message to the masses, but more on an individualistic action.

ENVIRONMENT PHOTO BY OAS MEMBER SUSAN KNIGHT MODEL OAS MEMBER DANIELLE ZIRKELBACH

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PHOTO BY OAS MEMBER AMANDA COTTON

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There wasn’t a sense of collaboration except to say that they were part of the same Society.

The Society hadn’t really engaged the public with delivering a collaborative message.

That’s when Wyland asked me to be the Executive Director, with a job description of being the collaborator.

THE MISSION The mission statement stayed the same, but how we delivered our message would become more precise.

Wyland knew my editing style since we were in production of two other films – one about Midway Island and another one concerning mermaids.

He asked me to make movies for the Ocean Artists Society.

It would be my job to create films about certain marine topics every quarter using nothing except the members’ submitted artworks.

These topics would be solely about marine conservation.

They included Saving Sharks (January 2013), Water Drives Nature (water conservation April 2013), Forests of the Ocean (on coral reefs, July 2013) and Ocean Awareness (October 2013).

THE SOCIETY We as a Society use a different medium in conservation.

In being a marine artist, it is our responsibility to create a connection between the people who view our artwork and the ocean itself.

PHOTO BY OAS MEMBER SUSAN KNIGHT MODEL OAS MEMBER DANIELLE ZIRKELBACH

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These films and e-zines are the bridge of our artwork and our message that we deliver to the masses. It is our Society’s collective voice in bringing awareness of the environmental topic.

The films are comprised of members-only artworks, including the music and narration. The artists tell their story of how their artwork relates to the environmental topic. Also accompanying the film is our e-zine, Ocean Artists United.

The e-zine showcases the individualistic artist and their stance on the topic.

It is a visual publication with beautiful imagery and short articles written by the artists themselves. Both the films and e-zine are free and can be viewed or downloaded on any medium, including mobile devices.

The difference of an OAS member and other underwater artists.

There are more underwater artists today than ever before, especially photographers.

With more and more people becoming scuba certified and with today’s DSLR technology, it is easy to dive beneath the surface and take hundreds of photos on a single dive.

Gone are the days of having to take three cameras on a single dive to obtain 36 exposures, like Stephen Frink and other pioneers. Also gone, unfortunately, is the ease of finding untouched natural beauty; one where man has not had an effect on the ecosystem as Valerie Taylor had so eloquently narrated in our Water Drives Nature film.

There is a new role for today’s underwater artist and especially one who is to be a member of OAS. It is no longer about taking pretty underwater photos and films or painting pretty scenes. It is now about marrying an active conservation message along with their art. Every OAS member is required to prove a correlation of a strong conservation message/action with their artwork. It is our duty to become the new pioneers of underwater imaging but to not only document with aesthetics, but to also educate, drive, and inspire action to reverse the wrongful negative impacts man has had on the Earth. It is our responsibility as underwater artists and this will set our Society apart from other artists and underwater imaging groups.

THE “ENVIRONMENTAL RENAISSANCE” This new objective of marine conservation that we wish to deliver to the masses leads us to our “Environmental Renaissance”. During the 1400s in Europe, a renaissance of art, intellect, and science emerged. It took man out of the Dark Ages and opened a new ideology in overall thinking, bringing enlightenment in how man viewed and behaved with the world. Our new “Environmental Renaissance” is what we as Ocean Artists are hoping to initiate. We hope to use art to change man’s intellect and science in moving from the environmental Dark Ages of the Industrial Revolution and move away from this Plastics Age. We want to invoke in man a new enlightened thought to become more environmentally aware to help our Earth.

Now, there’s a further step. Ask yourself, who was the leader of the European Renaissance? Can you name him or her?

Exactly! There wasn’t just one single person leading. It was the collective thoughts of man that initiated these new ideologies. And that’s what is needed today.

For mankind to come together collectively, without a single leader, and begin the “Environmental Renaissance” to help our Earth.

After discussing the Society during the drive, Wyland and I turned into the bay and checked the waters.

It was calm, with the sun coming up behind us over the mountain. The light would be perfect for filming at this angle. We stood on the lava rock and waited for the dolphins to arrive.

As we prepared our gear, I spotted several fins in the water over his left shoulder.

The dolphins were here. It was time for us to play with them, which was made extra special with the knowledge that our work would be presented as part of an important cause in the future of the new Ocean Artist Society.

WWW.OCEANARTISTSSOCIETY.ORG WORDS: CHARLIE FASANO IN THE PICTURE ABOVE: OAS FOUNDER WYLAND AND CHARLIE FASANO

Sportissimo Milano by Giorgio Sangalli Via Ripamonti 15 (corner Via Giulio Romano) 20136 Milano (IT) Ph: +39 02 58305014 - e-mail: info@sportissimomilano.com At Sportissimo Milano you will always find professionalism, experience, customer service, products selection and the best quality/price ratio.

You will find the best products and the best brands, you will see and touch and try (many products are available also to an underwater test) before you decide to buy anything.

Visit also www.sportissimomilano.com a MEGAStore on-line in which you will find a huge amount of selected and guaranteed items.

You will find all the latest products and special offers such as warranty extension, all inclusive equipment inspections and many other!

Sportissimo Milano is also on facebook: click “like� here and find special offers every day https://www.facebook.com/sportissimo.milano?fref=ts

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PLANNING A LIGHT SCHEME Words and Pictures

Cristian Umili and Alessia Comini

In advertising photography, before taking a picture you think about the positioning, power and color of the lights to use, either flash or continuous.

In underwater photography, thinking how to illuminate the scene in front of us does not happen: often the standard positions of the flash limit the photographers, with the frequent result of having the subject well lit, but illuminated flatly almost like a passport photo.

Willing to create the appropriate lighting to enhance the subject, first we should take off from our minds fixed flash positions, and study the subject to choose the best set up.

For sure, in wide-angle photography and using a fisheye, is almost mandatory using our flashes in a certain position to avoid their entering inside the frame.

To the contrary, in macro photography we have the chance to go wild by positioning our strobes so to better value both the subject and its background.

For the maximum freedom, we might choose arms not too short, but also not too long. Two 25 cm sections jointed arms for each strobe are the best set up, in my opinion, since we may either distance or get very close with our lights, by extending or tightening the joints.

First, let us look into the different light sources: MAIN LIGHT: Is the light we use to set exposure and shutter-speed. It should be the first source of light we think about both for position and power, being the one helping us planning and arranging the rest of our lights.

FILL LIGHT: Serves to lighten the shadows produced by the main light. Usually, its power is slightly less than the main light (½ stop, max. 1 stop) since the same power will generate a flat lighting.

CONTRAST LIGHT It is a light usually 1 stop stronger than the main light, to prevent unsightly burns.

Contrast light comes from behind the subject and helps highlighting it from the background.

At the same time draws the profile of the subject itself.

For simplicity, we either should place this light at approximately 45째 from behind, left or right the subject. We could also place our contrast light straight behind or above the subject, but avoiding framing the light through the lenses.

During the process of creating our mental lights scheme, we should remember that each light source produces a shadow on the other side; we might use this shadow to make our picture tridimensional, or to highlight the subject.

In addition to the flash, we can use the sunlight as a light source: for example, when we use the surface as background.

Background with shadows created by wavelets

TECHNIQUE

BACKGROUND: We can both use the light to illuminate the background or use a backlit one.

To illuminate our background, we can either use our strobe or take advantage of the sunlight.

In macro photography, using ambient light to enlighten the background is more difficult, since we should use long shutter speed jeopardizing sharpness. The strobe, on the other hand, allows choosing faster shutter speed.

To the contrary, in wide-angle photography, taking advantage of the sunlight to illuminate the background and using ambient light is usually part of the light scheme.

Background light may be more rather than less powerful than the main light, but not as much as powerful: if this is the case, our picture will look flat.

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Smoother background with fewer shadows

A single light source placed at 45° allowed drawing the shadows that created the illusion of the third dimension.

The main light illuminated the face and the left side of the animal, on the left of the picture, while the contrast light from behind, a bit stronger, allowed drawing the nudibranch’s outline, highlighting the subject from the background.

The main light illuminated the front of the animal and set exposure, while contrast light coming from the left and from behind allowed highlighting the subject, notwithstanding of the same color as the background

Using two strobes placed one in front of the other, with the subject in the middle, allows illuminating the subject from both sides, leaving the background illuminated next to nothing. If one of our flashes is slightly less powerful than the other, we could create some light shade allowing us giving three-dimensionality to the subject

Snoot can be the sole source of light, but also part of a lights scheme. In this photo, a light placed on the left partially lit the background while the main light, with snoot, from the right illuminated the fish face, creating a blade of light

SHEIKH COAST DIVING CENTER OUR STRENGHTS We are the only in Sharm to have the private landing, then starting directly from inside the hotel, 10 meters from the diving center.

The largest fleet of boats, 8 owned and 4 in annual rent.

For photographers we have created in a separate room 20 spacious lockers where you can use the sleeve, the flash and everything else.

A comfortable table where to mount the equipment and another table where you can leave charging batteries.

Imagine, you wake up, eat breakfast, go to the diving, take your equipment and jump on the boat.

Upon returning do just the opposite, but in place of breakfast awaits a frozen beer at the bar of the diving instead of a minibus that should bring you with all the equipment up to your hotel.

www.sheikhcoast.com

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DO NOT THINK LIGHTLY ABOUT USING A SURFACE MARKER BUOY This is going to be the last blog of this journey, which has abruptly come to an end and it has to be written. The last couple of months have been extraordinary. So many amazing things we’ve seen.

Without this last blog, the story wil just not be complete. Second reason why this blog needs to be written is because for me it’s a hard and emotional story (BE AWARE!). At the moment I live by the day. I don’t want to talk about what happened or what is still to come. Not yet. I only want to talk about the bits and pieces that I can handle at that moment. This blog will be the exeption.

The third reason why this blog has to be written, is because there are lessons to be learned by other divers. I hope that when you are finished reading you feel the importance of using a surface marker buoy during your safety stop. EVERY TIME AND IN EVERY PLACE!! We share the water with boats and everyone makes a mistake now and then: either you get lost or drift off or boats accidently enter a diving area.

You can get angry about that, but this will not help you in case you get overrun. Prevention!

Let not happen to you, what just happened to me.

But let me start by telling how special Eke is. He got me out of the water, feared for my live, hold pressure on my wounds, realizing it could have well be him. He never left my side, coping with his own emotions, continuesly translating Spanish into Dutch and vice versa, organizing and coordinating so many things, kept everyone back home well informed, and so much more. I would have been nowhere without him.

Eke, I love you dearly.

It’s Thursday, May 9th. The ingredients of the day are: a dive site at the Galápagos Islands about 1,5 hours off shore, one boat (ours), four crew members of which two are dive guides and besides us, seven other divers.

At 50 minutes into the dive, Eke points out a turtle to me. Wouw!

I look for the guide to see if we

DAN EUROPE

have time to stay with the turtle for a short moment, but I see he’s busy handsignaling with the other two divers in our group. One of them is low on air and as previously agreed will end the dive. The diveguide accompanies the buddyteam away from the rocks so they can safely start their ascent. He then joints us again to look for the turtle at around 12 meters depht. The whole dive has been shallow, so we still have enough air. Unfortunately we quickly run out of time, because we agreed not to dive longer than one hour. No rejoining the turtle. At 57 minutes into the dive the diveguide gives us the signal to start our ascent and our safetystop: always a harsh reality at the end of any dive. But this ascent is different. A fourth member joints us: a curious fish. He follows us closely until we reach a depth of five meters. At this depht we, divers, have to wait three minutes before returning to the surface. The fish, curious and brave as can be, stays with us and swims from diver to diver keeping less than have a meter distance. When the three minutes are up a wave the fish goodbye and slowly go up to the surface. The fish is still there at three meters.

And also at two!! So funny! What does this fish want? Eke stays a brief moment longer at two meters to say his goodbyes. I make it to the surface.

The following takes place in less then a second: When I get my head above the surface I see the right side of the bow right before my face. The boat is moving and distance is less than a meter. The captain could never have seen me. All alarmbells ring. I cannot get away. I’m going to be overrun. In a split second I realise that I have to avoid the bow to run right into my face. I try to turn over my left shoulder and get the divetank between myself and the boat and perhaps a bit of depth. This does not work. I feel a light sucktion and the fast rotating motor blades grasp my left leg and release it again. The boat has passed.

Right behind me Eke surfaces, unaware of what just happened. I lift my leg out of the water but it’s gone. Where my knee should have been, I see a lumb. I lost my leg. I don’t feel pain and don’t feel panic. I start to scream as loud as I can. Everybody must know immedialy something is realy wrong. Eke sees my injury and blows air into my bcd and drops our weights. Within second the boat is in the right position to lift me on board. I feel how people get hold of me and how they unbuckle my diving equipment. I surender; it’s all up to my rescuers now. I get lifted on board and laid down on a soft bench and to much of my surprice, my leg follows as well. First I think Eke has found my leg, but then I realise I can wiggle all five of my toes. My leg is still attached! I still have my leg!

And I can move my toes! Hope!! I need oxygen right away! I need to breath so much oxygen, that enough will reach my foot an toes so they get a chance to be saved.

On board Jen (AU) and Lynzi (GB) move super fast. Within thirty secondes they turn a weightbelt into a tourniquette and place this thight around my leg.

The second one is about to be ready.

Jen is standing on my righthand side and is managing the scene in a more than perfect way. She has complete overview, delegates tasks and talks to me. Above me I see Ekes face. I hear him say that he loves me and that I should try to remain calm. His eyes and his trembling voice tell me that this is something he can hardly do himself.

My mind is extremely clear. Never before had I have to ask myself the que-

116 stion if I was going to live. My head stays clear, I do not feel any lost of concious, I understand the bleeding is under control and I can still wiggle my toes. Yes, I will survive this. I tell Eke and Jen that all will be fine in the end. This I believe. Why is there still no oxygen?

A short discussion wether to wait for the other four divers is ended when they surface. They are in the boat within no-time and we leave full speed for the main island, still one and halve hours away. Several persons support my leg and they place towels around my knee. Finally there is the emergency oxygen and when I tell them I get cold, they imediately cover me in more towels. I feel no pain and I feel completely calm and fully awake. Today I will not die.

I hear lots of radio communication with shore. The captain slightly changes direction. We’re not heading for the harbour anymore, but directly for the airport. I have to be transported to mainland hospital, about 1.000 km away, as soon as possible. Medical assistance on the airport is ready to receive me en some people from the diveshop are on their way to our hotel to collect all our personal belongings and bring them to us at the airport. Still fifty more minutes by boat, they tell me. I still see Ekes face right above me. He seems calm again. He tells me how great I’m doing. I still fully focused. I going to survive this.

When we reach shore, we have to wait a couple of minutes, because the ambulance has parked in a different spot. People board with a stretcher, which they place under me. Than they lift me. My leg is not in stable position anymore and rolls from left to right. This hurts badly, especially my knee. The ambulande brings us a couple of hundred meters to the first aid post of the airport. The doctor gives me iv fluids, emergency oxygen and the first pain medication. Under my leg they put two alumnium bins, to stable my leg. When I get cold, they cut me out of my wet wetsuits and replace it for towels and blankets. I hear fierce discussions about where I should be brought next. Persons in charge decide that I must be transported to the mainland immediately. I’m very lucky that the last commercial flight is delayed by quite a bit, so there is enough time to handle all procedures and formalities and get me on that flight. I asked one of the dive guides to stay close to me all the time, because he’s fluent in Spanish and in English language. He has been of such a great value in helping with all conversations with both rescuers and the autorities.

I don’t know exactly how long I’ve been laying here, but all of sudden we’re moving. We’re going! An ambulance takes me to the airplane, the bins remain under my leg to give support. They carefully carry me up the stairs of the plane, but one of the bins gives way. When someone on my righthand side lowers

the stretcher a tiny bit, my knee moves in that direction. Pain!! I scream and for a short moment they put me down on the floor of the already fully boarded airplane. I manage to explain which movement they have to avoid, to exempt me from agonizing pain. They lift me again and carefully put me on the last row of seats (stil including two metal bins). Once the doctor who accompanies me on the flight has declared that I won’t die during the flight, we take off. Eke is sitting backwards on a seat directly in front of me and keeps the bins and my knee in position. Next to him the face of a friendly hostess appears. She is going to take care of my during the whole flight. She immediately gives me emergency oxygen. I look at my hands and see that they are covered in blood. Then I notice the blood on all the seats and stow tables. I’m still very concious and I still can wiggle my toes.

I’m going to stay alive and we’re now on our way to a very modern privat hospital, and a excelent orthopedic surgeon. Within one and halve hours we arrive in Guayaquil and from there the ride to the hospital takes five minutes by ambulance. The doctors there take a short while to decide on which actions to take. In the meanwhile I go through the process of making extremely painfull x-rays. I get everyones attention by calling to them: “Look! I can move my toes. please save my leg!”

It is 10 pm. I say goodbye to Eke. Finally the moment of liberation is there. I get to breath anestatic gass. When I feel I’m drifting away, I wave to the aneastasiologist.

Today is Thursday May 23th. Tonight will be the sixteenth and also the very last night in this hospital. Tomorrow we’ll fly home!!! This whole day I have no control over my emotions. Tears of happiness: tomorrow we’ll fly home.

I’ve had multiple surgeries. On the day of the accident, Thursday, they cleaned the wounds and put bandage around them. On Friday morning they did the same. This needed to be done first to prevent infections. On Monday they fixed all fractures and closed the wounds. I have three fractures: just above my knee, my knee itself and my ankle. I also have deep cuts and damage to my muscles.

The surgeon told my he can’t believe that, seen the with damage to my leg, my artery and my nerves were still in tact. He used 21 bolts and two plates to put my leg together again. He promisses me that within a couple of months I will fully recover and that I will keep all of my legs functionallity.

He’s a bit more pessimistic about my knee. Some bone fragments are missing and my kneecap doesn’t have a smooth surface anymore because of that. This will cause erosion over time and this is why I’ll probably have to have my knee replaced in a dozen years or so.

Recovery right after the sugeries went with ups and very painfull downs. All the personal support messages that I got from Holland as well as from Ecuador gave me a lot of strength. I thank you a lot! Even more support I got from Eke. There have only been few that he was not directly at my side.

There is a large couch next to my bed. This is where Eke has lived during the past two weeks. He took care of me, translated as much as possible for me, tried millions of times to get the nurses into action modus, continiously kept contact with the emergency desk of the insurance company, held almost daily meetings with the financial department of the hospital about the payment of the fast growing bills, kept everyone back at home well informed, but more than all... helped me through all hard and painfull moments, day and night. I know how hard this has been for you. I would have been nowhere without you. I love you.

Tomorrow we fly home. At 7 pm there will be a direct flight from Guayaquil to Amsterdam. We’ll fly business class. At Amsterdam Schiphol Airport an ambulance will take me directly to the hospital in Amsterdam. We’re already in contact with a excelent surgeon of this hospital. They know I’m coming. I think I’ll only stay in this hospital for a couple of days, so the medical team can decide on plan for the near future. I’ll need a lot of support in the upcomming months.

This is where our dream journey ends, but we’ll soon be back for sure. We still have to do many more dives here, but only with a surface marker bouy. This is not only applicable for us, but also for all other divers all over the world. This is going to be my mission. This is where I want to put my story at use.

Now it’s time to let my emotions run free again: TOMORROW WE’LL GO HOME!!!

Words:

Nathalie Bock

“You come as a guest but leave as a friend”

With our friendly, personal and professional approach come and enjoy warm Bedouin hospitality in a relaxed setting with stunning views of Tiran island.

Sharks Bay Umbi is a picturesque bay with everything on site – its own private jetty, dive centre, boats, restaurant, Bedouin cafe and 3 types of accommodation -

making it the perfect resort for your next holiday.

Unique in the area, Sharks Bay Umbi manages to retain a friendly village feel whilst still being only ten minutes from the bright lights of Sharm El Sheikh. Sharm residents describe the bay as having the feel of how Sharm used to be before the arrival of large scale tourism.

Accommodation Sharks Bay Umbi offers traditional Bedouin style and hospitality alongside modern facilities.

We have three types of accommodation to fit every budget: Bedouin Village Rooms, Beach Cabins and View Huts.

Contacts info@sharksbay.com www.sharksbay.com

25% off Accommodation

10% off Liveaboards

20% off Daily diving

10% off PADI and SSI courses

(bed and breakfast)

10% off UW Photography Workshop hosted by RICO BESSERDICH from 23rd – 30th May 2015

Free Nitrox to qualified divers Free airport transfers for hotel guests

Discounts apply for all bookings made before the end of 2015 - T&Cs apply To redeem these very special offers please quote ‘CLICK2015’ at the time of booking

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3째 INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF UW PHOTOGRAPY - KIKINDA - SERBIA

1째 overall: MASSIMO GIORGETTA

MACRO CATEGORY

2째 overall: FABIO STRAZZI

FESTIVAL & CONTEST

3째 overall: ADI DRNDA

FISH CATEGORY

ENVIRONMENT CATEGORY

CREATIVITY CATEGORY

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LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

DISCOVERING THE MAGIC OF NATURE

Words and Pictures

Alberto Carati

NOT ONLY UWP

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I was born in 1949 in Milan, where I resided until 1996. Then, for business reasons, I moved to Martinengo, situated in the Bergamo province.

During the early ’70, I become fond of the mountains: at the beginning, I learned skiing and then I moved towards ski mountaineering and climbing.

After a time off from skiing and climbing, during 1988 I attended my first scuba diving courses, obtaining my PADI Open Water and Advanced licenses, while I obtained rescue diver and Nitrox licenses in 2004 and 2006 respectively.

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Talking about photography, I started using my father’s cameras when I was ten years old. As an easy consequence, when I turned 18 I asked as my birthday present an Olympus OM-1: my first reflex camera. It kept me company up to the end of the nineties, when I decided to sell all my photographic equipment and take a break.

I always took pictures to accompany my trips, or to portray many different subject, but I never paid much attention about technique. Moreover, until the early nineties, I rarely took the camera with me since I was spending my time climbing the crags or skiing During a diving trip in 2004, I bought a Canon compact camera that I used both over and under water.

At the end of this trip, I understood that my passion about photography was reviving, but I waited until 2006 to take the plunge and buy a reflex Canon 400d, together with a couple of lenses: from that moment, my passion hotly exploded.

Then, I tried to improve and steal some secret by reading, studying and participating in various internet portals and forums about photography.

The crucial moment came in 2010, when I decided to retire.

Since then, photography takes up an increasing amount of my time, due to my chance of going out just for photographing even on weekdays.

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Today, I perform underwater photography during scuba diving trips only, whereas I became keen on naturalistic and macro photography, genres to which I dedicate most of my time. Nevertheless, I am a free spirit and restless, therefore I am getting into other genres.

Since 2012, my wife joined my passion, so that we could dedicate much of our time to this activity, which represents an important part of our lives.

We collected all our pictures to our website:

www.lucecolori.com Please visit us and enjoy!

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WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT WITH TOP ONE DIVING & DAN

Less than one month at the World Record Attempt for the longest scuba dive in salt water, scheduled for June 4th, 2015, in Hurghada (Egypt) during the First International Red Festival.

Small step back: Cpt. Walaa Hafez, 35 years old, will attempt the World Record for the longest saltwater scuba dive. He will remain underwater more than 52 hours. The first hour he will stay at a depth greater than 10 meters, then at a depth from 5 and 7 meters and he cannot have any contact with the water surface.

He will have a lot of people involved in the event, but let us talk of his Italian Staff: the Top One Diving. Eight people involved in technical and logistics part and also as trainers in the Cpt. Walaa Hafez training. During the first training phase were made thermal testing: the recordman has been subjected, progressively, to increase the duration of the diving, alternating light and heavy undersuit to evaluate changes in body temperature. All this has been possible thanks also to Fourth Elements brand for the undersuit and to URSUIT for the Dry Suit (handmade for Walaa with each comfort only for this event) to get to Cpt Walaa the maximum comfort in the record’s day.

The record dive site is not yet decided but an underwater platform has been manufactured. All in steel, 12 Sqm, ab. 7 tons weight, it is necessary to avoid the sand suspension that might disturb the video shooting. There will be cameras, photo cameras, underwater lights, that will ensure continuously shooting for the entire duration of the record, as required by the regulations of the Guinness World Record.

As it is not possible to have any contact with the surface, the tanks will be hanged to the platform and many safety and emergency procedures have been tested for cylinders changing and/or end air.

DAN EUROPE Here the Eight Top One Diving Staff : Davide Bastiani, Event Manager: Padi IDC Staff Instructor, Padi TecRec Instructor, EFR Instructor, DAN Instructor, Dan Research Specialist Andrea Covelli, Event Manager: Padi IDC Staff Instructor, Padi TecRec Instructor, EFR Instructor, DAN Instructor, Dan Research Specialist Vito Covelli, Event Coordinator: Padi Assistant Instructor, EFR Instructor, DAN Technician Cristina Benvenuti, Assistant Event Coordinator: Padi Master Scuba Diver Instructor, EFR Instructor, Dan Research Technician Marcello Gatani, Support Diver: Padi IDC Staff Instructor, EFR Instructor, Dan Research Technician Federica Ippoliti, Support Diver: Padi O.W.S. Instructor, EFR Instructor, Dan Research Technician Marco Nicotera, Support Diver: Padi Divemaster, Dan Research Technician Marco Gianni, Support Diver: Doctor Osteopath and Physioterapist Top One Diving will keep you posted: stay tuned and Enjoy your Dive!! www.toponediving.it – www.walaahafez.com -

N O LL II M M I IT T N O

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