Scubashooters net e mag issue n9 november 2015

ISSUE

N째 9 N O v 2015

MEDITERRANEAN TRUMPET FISH Unforgettable show

by Francesco Turano

PORTFOLIO Alex Tattersall

ISOTTA HOUSING FOR NIKON D7100 Review

THE MAGIC OF ANDENES

by S. Riccardo

INTERVIEW Damir Zurub

ISLA DE COCO & COSTARICA

by R. Livornese

DEEP VISIONS Scubashooters UWP Awards

ICON HD BLACK EDITION

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Dear Scubashooters, We’re leaving in a globalized world more than ever and we will get even more in the near future. In such a globalized economy of a globalized world we have always thought that a good partnership is the only way to make our brand strong and visible and is the only way to bring you new inspirations, new opportunities and new ideas.

As you can see from our homepage, we feature many partners, technical partners, manufacturers, resorts, diving centers... World leaders in their respective niche. This month I would like to focus on two of them: DRT show and UWphotographyguide. com . These are two amazing organizations, being able to build an immense audience both on the internet and in the real world; both of them did see scubashooters. net as a partner to strengthen their position inside the UW photography world which is as I always refer to it, the richest niche inside the diving industry. UWphotographyguide.com is the leading UWphotography resource online, there is no other place on the internet where you can find fresh news, reviews, events and all possible things related to UW photos, DRT show is the leading diving expo organization in Asia, making events happen in Hong Kong, Philippines, China and many more in the future.

As i said, here at Scubashooters.net we strongly believe in partnership and alliances, always trying to improve, always trying to bring you the best service.

So stay connected for more and help us spreading the voice.

Marino Palla Owner & Founder Scubashooters Network

Cover image “Dad”

By: Alex Tatterstall

C O N T E N T S 3

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EDITORIAL

By Marino Palla

ISLA DEL COCO - COSTARICA 2015

By Raffaele Livornese

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INTERVIEW : DAMIR ZURUB

By Damir Zurub

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RED IS THE NEW BLACK

by Davide Lombroso

PORTFOLIO

By Alex Tatterstall

DEEP VISION UWP AWARDS 2015 Rules, prizes, categories

WINTER IN NORWAY The magic of Andenes

By Sergio Riccardo

MEDITERRANEAN TRUMPET FISH Unusual show in the blue

by Francesco Turano

TIOMAN ISLAND DIVING

By Isabella Lee

Editor: FABIO STRAZZI Verein Scubashooters, 8952 Schlieren - Switzerland

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OCEANICWORLDWIDE.COM/EU

We’ve turned conformity on its side... again.

A daringly unique design and proof that innovative thinking results in superior solutions.

I N N O VAT I O N F I R S T

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ISLA DEL COCO - COSTARICA 2015 Words and pictures : Raffaele Livornese April 2015: Finally, after months of waiting, the time has come to make the TOP journey we were longing for.

We left Italy, via Madrid and Miami, and arrived in San JosĂŠ. The next day, from the

port of Punta Arenas, on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, we boarded the Okeanos Aggressor, a boat 36 meters long, capable of 10 cabins for 20 guests in addition to the crew.

Exquisitely greeted by the captain, his deputy and the crew, after a welcome aperitif and a crew and boat introduction, we finally left towards the Isla Del Coco.

During the 36 hours sailing needed to cover the 300 nautical miles, we met the other guests. Surprisingly, on board there’s a group of seven Italians including us, while the others come from various Countries, including the US, Canada, France , Switzerland, Mexico, and even Israel.

All the necessary preparations for diving made, and our cameras assembled, we boarded the Zodiacs to reach the precise dive spot. A final check, and down in the water.

The water temperature is excessively hot: 31 degrees on the surface, 27 degrees below the thermocline. We encounter the first fishes. Nothing unseen: snappers, sweetlips, and more. At the bottom, we see some white tip shark, resting. What is missing compared to our previous trips, are colors.

The sea fans, typical of tropical waters, are totally absent, while sponges mostly cover the seabed, with an amazing similarity to the Mediterranean.

The presence of some species very similar to the Mediterranean’s, such as the Eunicella cavolinii sea fan and the Muraena helena moray eel, identical for look and pattern, make me think of our sea.

In the afternoon, we effect our second dive. This time our goal is looking for the famous schools of hammerhead sharks‌

TRAVELS

Expectations about the holiday grew during the crossing, since one of our Italian fellow travelers is a regular visitor of Cocos (this will be his fourth cruise, the last in 2011), and showed us videos and photos of his previous trips.

Isla Del Coco, considered one of the best diving destinations in the world for encounters with hammerhead sharks and other pelagic fish such as manta rays, whale, gray, tiger and Galapagos sharks, is now just a few sailing hours away.

In the morning, we finally arrive in the bay where we will anchor and carry out our check dive.

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the briefing, suggesting the best places for spotting the sharks. Our plan is 35 meters deep and 20 minutes maximum bottom time before returning slowly to the surface, to avoid excessive nitrogen saturation.

We swim in the blue, keeping the wall at sight distance, trying to find some hammerhead even at a striking distance, but nothing. White tip sharks, stingrays and other reef inhabitants, but our friends hammerheads never show. The first 2/3 days go by this way: diving chasing the walls of hammerheads. However, the only walls we see are the naked ones of the seabed.

Fortunately, we have fun during night dives, where in a few meters depth we find dozens of white tip sharks and large jack-fishes hunting along the reef, with a little help from our torches that illuminate the holes where fishes hide in the dark. The white tip sharks dash on small fishes fleeing, disturbed by our torches, and dozens are competing for the intended prey. On the sandy bottom, pufferfishes continue peacefully to sleep since they are toxic for predators. However, if scared, they run away anyway.

Day 5: today our guides lead us on a site already visited, hoping for better luck of making special encounters.

At last, we see a beautiful pair of large Galapagos sharks, more than 4 meters in length and a gaudy set of teeth capable of hurting really bad. Finally, we had twenty minutes of beautiful emotions, with the two sharks passing a short distance above our heads several times.

Burst with adrenaline and hope, in the afternoon we try again to have even more special encounters during the second dive. Unfortunately, we go back to the boredom of the previous days.

14 In the following days, we return to the same old routine, except for some sightings of a few hammerheads in the distant blue. Many snappers, jacks, sweetlips, butterfly, stingrays ... even some trumpet fish pairing with small groupers, but pelagic fish is very absent.

On the last day, we see a small group of eagle rays passing quickly in front of us, without even allowing us some good shot.

Well, that is: thousands of kilometers, dozens of hours travel to reach one of the best diving destinations in the world‌ to be disappointed, more than to feel cheated, by the organizers and the guides.

They insisted to tell us that we would have seen dozens rather than schools of hammerhead sharks until, the last days, they finally revealed the mystery about the absence of sharks.

Reasons would be two: the first one is the NiĂąo, the infamous tropical typhoon that is causing climate problems to half the world; the second is the humankind, which continues to damage marine life with illegal fishing, even in protected areas, not to mention the damage caused to the seabed by their giant nets.

The hope is that in the near future, climate changes and re-establishment of the rules would allow the repopulation of one of the most beautiful and unspoiled diving locations, so that it will be possible again to dive surrounded by abundant pelagic fish.

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DAMIR ZURUB

Words and Pictures

Damir Zurub

FESTIVAL & CONTEST

Interview :

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1. Name: DAMIR ZURUB 2. Age: 39 3. Birth Place: Zagreb, Croatia 4. Occupation: Scuba Instructor, UW Photographer 5. Let us know about your career in sports.

From 2010 when I started with UW photography until now I have won 68 medals and awards in different competitions and festivals. Besides scuba diving I am also an speleologist and have been the official cameraman in four international speleo-diving expeditions.

I work with National Geographic Croatia, the diving magazine Scubalife and the magazine Croatian Traveller, and from the beginning of 2015 I am member of the Mares photo UW photographer team.

I am captain of the Croatian national team in UW photography since 2014.

When I first attended the CMAS European championship on the Azores, I took the 3rd place in the category Ambient with model. In this year’s world championship in the Netherlands I finished 1st in the category Macro, 2nd in the category Close-up with theme, 3rd in the category Ambient with model and was the overall winner and therefore World champion in UW photography.

6. Why, How and when did you start in underwater photography?

I started with UW photography only in 2010 when I got an underwater housing for my lit-

tle compact Fuji camera. The same year I took a course in UW photography and entered my first UW competition. My love for photography became bigger and bigger and I could not imagine myself entering the sea without my camera. After that I bought a Canon G12 and with it I entered many competitions and won many prizes, all until the end of 2012 when I bought a SLR camera, the Nikon D7000 and became a professional.

7. How did you prepare yourself for the 15th CMAS World Championship?

For the championship I prepared first in Egypt on a liveaboard and then here in Croatia at the Adriatic sea and in rivers. We came to the Netherlands a week before the competition and did a mini training session in the waters in front of Zeeland.

8. Which was the most challenging part of the competition? And the part that you liked most?

First I have to say that we entered the competition without any expectations regarding big results. Our goal was that at least one of our photographs enters the TOP 10 of the world championship. We had most hopes for the ambient photograph with model, which we like to photograph most. The biggest challenge was that this was my first

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world championship and almost all of the best teams gathered in one place. The best of all was the organization of the world championship and the new friendships we made with other UW photographers. From the first day on we could feel the great atmosphere and the companionship was accompanied by lots of laughter and jokes.

9. What kind of pictures do you like to take most (for example: wide angle, macro, any lens, technics )? Why? I like the ambient photography with model the best, this is what I like most. Besides that I like taking photographs of wrecks of sunken ships with all their history, stories, tragedies‌ 10. What challenges you most in uwphotography?

The greatest challenge in UW photography is to explore new unexplored places I visit with my team of speleologists, when we dive in rivers under the ground and explore paces where no one has ever been before.

11. Best diving site? Why? There are great places like Egypt, Thailand, the Bahamas, Bali, but of all these places I always return to Egypt , where I have been already 15 times. The Rea Sea with its numerous rich coral reefs is one of the most favorite destinations for divers from Europe.

12. One place that you recommend people to dive in Croatia.

The island of Vis and the island of Lastovo with all its surrounding islets are definitely the best places and are the paradise for divers in Croatia. Once you have been there,

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you will definitely return and enjoy the rich waters these islands have to offer.

13. As the world champion, which tip or advise could you offer to beginners in underwater photography?

My advice is very simple. Be yourself, enjoy it and be prepared to learn from others. My life is UW photography and diving, and the underwater world is my second home.

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Sail Fish Expedition

We travel to Cancun,Mexico to experience one of the most intense an During the months of January through March, winter storms in the no attracting massive shoals of sardines with schools of sailfish in pursui The battle between sailfish and sardines plays out again and again as sential to create extended encounters and capturing dramatic images That is what we do best! The Sailfish expedition will be done on snork SCUBA gear makes following the bait balls much more difficult. Often the surface. Many other large pelagic species can be seen sometimes

- Cancun - Mexico

nd exhilarating encounters found anywhere in the ocean, the Sailfish hunt. orthern Gulf of Mexico drive nutrient-rich waters south over the shallow continental shelf, it. bands of sailfish savage the wary baitfish. Understanding the dynamics of a bait-ball is ess of these magnificent fish in action. kel, which allows us the best encounters with these fast moving fish. we will encounter static (non moving) bait balls, which typically stay close to the divers and s and it is possible to jump in with manta rays, sharks and schooling golden rays

Location: Cancun Dates : Feb 19 - Feb 25 - 2016 Price : $ 2090,00 p/p in a shared double occupancy Included:

5 days Sailfish of free diving and snorkel NO SCUBA Lunch, snacks, drinks onboard 6 nights accommodations on CANCUN (Lagoon front hotel for easy boat access), light breakfast Transfers to/from Cancun International Airport

NOT Included: Airfare Dinner Alcoholic drinks Crew tips

EXTENSION Bull Shark & Cenotes

3 nigts in Cancun B&B double room 1 days diving whit bull sharks 1 days 2 diving a day in the cenotes Transfera a/r from Hotel to Playa del Carmen for bull shark and the Cenotes

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RED IS THE NEW BLACK THE HOUSING Isotecnic designed and built his housing dedicated to Nikon D7100 maniacally, to lodge the camera perfectly and safely.

The ergonomic shape provides excellent handling characteristics, thus maintaining a fairly compact and handy size, without any major problems underwater.

The case, with its distinctive Isotecnic red color, is entirely built of anodized aluminum.

All the buttons and / or ring nuts are completely brought out to allow the use of all the Nikon D7100 functions.

A blocking tray allows the positioning of the camera that, once housed, is perfectly steady and safe.

The back door, entirely detached from the body, is easy and swift to close with no efforts by the user, thanks to the pins placed on the upper side of the housing and to the helicoidally closing knob on the lower side.

The handles are adjustable and ergonomically designed to allow everyone a comfortable use of the housing.

Thanks to their position, both the shutter and the autofocus blocking button can be used with your thumb and forefinger without major problems.

The rear window allows a broad view of the camera’s display.

The upper M8 threaded pin, useful either for a possible flashlight or for accessories, does not affect the use of the housing, and the two lower M6 pins are useful.

Knobs in the back and front facilitate changing aperture and shutter speed, and any manual focus or zooming on dedicated lenses.

Like most housings also ‘the red’ has buoyancy problems, depending on the porthole used, problem easily solved through “homemade” floating devices to place under the case.

Personally, I am very confident of all closures, porthole and back, perfectly safe thanks to the double sealing O-rings duly positioned inside proper slots.

I find very useful to be able to change the lens without removing the camera body, thanks to the large nozzle and the outside quick release command.

Connection of the flashes either may take place through the two sync bushings (TTL manageable internally through micro switches), or through the optical fiber connections, positioned symmetrically on the top of the housing.

A highly visible red LED indicates moisture inside the case, thanks to a circuit powered by a battery easily replaceable.

An external viewfinder can easily substitute the already good standard ocular.

Portholes are an essential element for underwater housings and Isotecnic obviously offers a wide range of portholes and adapter rings, to meet every need.

The images’ quality depends, of course, on the quality of the lens used but the glass used to build the portholes plays an important role.

Isotecnic does not betray even in this case, using high quality and precision materials for the construction of its portholes, dedicated to each type of lens.

Inserting the porthole appears to be intuitive and easy, due to the markers and the bayonet mount. Portholes from the largest manufacturers of underwater housings are adaptable to Isotecnic housings thanks to special adapters.

TECHNIQUE

WORDS AND PICTURES: Davide Lombroso

44 PERSONAL REMARKS I am an underwater photographer since many years and gladly confirm that the Nikon D7100 Isotecnic housing I use is a mix of quality, reliability and manageability that allows me to dive in peace of mind.

Even in the most extreme temperatures conditions, the response of my faithful has always been up to the task.

The weight of 2.6kg without porthole is significant, especially for air travels, however, in line with other competitors’ housings built with the same material.

Thanks to a self-made floating device under the case that allowed me to neutralize the weight underwater, using the housing is easier even with one hand.

Sore point the price, due of course to the high quality of the product, but in line with competitors.

As all underwater photographers know, despite safety and accuracy with which modern housings are built, a key part of their duration depends on the personal care and maintenance we dedicate them after each dive.

We can be proud of this product entirely Made in Italy, but its point of strength is the always-friendly availability of Elisa, Egidio and Andrea, owners, designers and builders of “the red”.

For further technical details, please visit www.isotecnic.it

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PORTFOLIO

Alex Tatterstall

PORTFOLIO

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Alex Tattersall is a relative newcomer to the world of underwater photography making his photographic achievements during this short time ‘in the industry’ all the more impressive.

He learned to dive in 2001 in Venezuela and worked as a dive master on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia for one year.

It was not until 2006 after some 500+ dives that he first picked up an underwater camera whilst living in Taiwan.

His infectious passion was instant and he went on to set up an underwater photographic retail outlet in Taiwan.

During this period he travelled extensively in South East Asia and picked up a number of photographic prizes for his underwater life portraiture.

Returning to the UK in 2009, he went on to set up a photographic outlet, Underwater Visions Ltd. and is responsible for the innovative Nauticam product range in the UK, France and Ireland.

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The philosophy behind this business venture is quite simply to be able to share his passion for underwater photography.

He has much experience in leading photo trips and prides himself on promoting a relaxed, non-competitive and creative environment for all in order to learn through maximum hands-on underwater photographic opportunities and the sharing of ideas and experiences between the group whilst not under the water.

Through his principals of creativity and simplicity in underwater photography, a workshop with him will allow you to learn many insights into the thought and technique behind the award-winning photos for which Alex is becoming increasingly well-known.

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y b d e r o s n o p S

Categories

Wide Angle Macro Wide Angle compact Macro compact Black & White Arts

Special Plus categories

Behaviour

sponsored by Oceanic/Lavacore

Snoot Shots

sponsored by Inon

Special Award of the Jury & Best Youth Shot

Upload your files from 25th September 2015 to 3rd December 2015

www.scubashooters.net

Dear scubashooters, we can assure you this has been an amazing year, here at scubashooters.net.

It’s never enough to remember everybody that this incredible project began just two years ago.

It all started on facebook, creating a small group and then a fan page; just few months later we were online with our flagship website and our initial setup was completed.

Very soon we started our worldwide reknown monthly contest and after just one year a new star was born, scubashooters’ e-mag.

Today we are proud to introduce you our latest creature: scubashooters’

Deep Visions UWP Awards.

We were gifted by building up some good experience organizing our beloved and successful monthly contest and after 18 editions of it we had enough to build a totally different level contest.

We are confident that ”Deep Visions“ will further enhance and expand our network possibilities setting us onto the next level.

It took many months of fine tuning but we now have a fully developed

and dedicated proprietary software just to handle our contest on-line, from photo uploading and showing to the judging engine; everything

has been thought out of the box and fine tuned to give the end user an amazing experience.

We wanted to start big but we were a little uncertain, after all there are many contests nowadays, big and very well known.

We started to understand we were on the right track after we saw the sponsors response to our invitation to contribute to the prizes pane; we have been able to gather such an amount of beautiful prizes that our pane will be among the ten richest panes in the world, enabling us to offer 5 categories and two trophys for a total of 7 possibilities to win amazing prizes, ranging from full board holidays to scubadiving gear and UWphoto gear.

We will offer DSLR Macro and wide angle, Compact Macro and Wide angle, Black and white and then the two trophys. Why 2 trophys? Because they will be single brand sponsored contests inside the contest.

I’m very very proud to present you the Inon trophy and the Oceanic/Hollis trophy. Inon Head office from Japan and Oceanic/Hollis Europe will offer six amazing prizes for the two trophys. “Deep visions” is about to come into this world under a good star, and having so many important prizes and two worldwide leaders like Inon and Oceanic/Hollis trusting us is a very very important endorsement for our contest and for us.

So, what are you waiting for?

Drop any doubt and join the competition now!

Participants The contest is open for individuals at the age of 18 or above. Any skill level is welcome. Members of the Jury and the staff of the contest are not allowed to participate.

Duration The upload starts on 28th September 2015.

All entries must have been uploaded and paid latest on 3rd December 2015 at 23:59 (CET/MEZ)

Categories 1 Wide Angle 2 Macro 3 Wide Angle compact 4 Macro compact 5 Black & White Arts

Special categories: 6 Behaviour

sponsored by Oceanic / Lavacore

7 Snoot Shots sponsored by Inon Additionally a “Special Award of the Jury” and the “Best Youth Shot” is selected among all entries.

Please make sure that you enter your birthday during registration process.

In category 1, 2 all cameras with interchangeable lens (DSLR or mirrorless) are allowed.

In 3 and 4 only compact cams are allowed.

In 5, 6, and 7 any camera types are allowed.

5 Black & White: Black & White only, no Sepia or other monochrome colors.

6 Behaviour: Has to show a special behaviour of marine live. Swimming, hiding, sleeping or just resting is not considered to be a special behaviour. Examples are: Mating, laying eggs, breeding, hunting, feeding, fighting, 7 Snooted Shots: Allowed are shots with bundled light from snoots or very focused torches. The snoot effect has to be clearly visible.

a b u c S

n o t e C l s t a u R n ules n A s r e t shoo

Every picture may only be submitted into one category. The pictures must have been taken underwater. Over/Under shots are allowed. No aquarium or pool shots are allowed.

File submission To participate to the contest you must register at Scubashooters.net. Every participant can upload an unlimited amount of pictures to each category. A picture may only be submitted to one category.

Pictures must be submitted electronically via our platform at www.scubashooters.net/contest.php.

Digital and film (scanned slides) pictures are allowed.

No text, watermarks, frames or borders are allowed.

All pictures must be uploaded as jpg, in sRGB, highest quality setting and with a minimum of 1800px longest side and max 5 MB. Winning pictures must be delivered with at least 3300px longest side.

Entry Fee The entry fee is calculated as follows: 10$ 1 picture 20$ 3 pictures 30$ 5 pictures 40$ 8 pictures 50$ 12 pictures Thereafter 4$ each picture

Conservation and content rules Conservation rules are strictly to be followed. Our underwater world should never be harmed just for taking a picture. Entries that are showing following signs will be disqualified:

• • • • •

Photographers visibly damaging the environment (e.g. gear dragging or kicking up sand) Animals with signs of stress (e.g. puffed puffers, inking octopus) Animals moved to an unnatural environment or risky location Marine life being touched (e.g. coral polyps, seahorse tails) Divers exhibiting poor buoyancy control

Entries to any category may not contain profanity, nudity, pornographic images, violent images, anti-competition messages or any other illegal material.

The pictures must have been taken underwater while diving. Over/under shots are allowed, but aquarium or above water shots are not.

Post Processing

Minor adjustments are allowed. This includes global adjustments to white balance, exposure, contrast, sharpening, color and noise reduction as well as local burning or dodging. Cleaning is permitted, including the removal of backscatter, dust and scratches. Reasonable cropping is allowed.

Composition (adding, removing or moving objects) is not allowed.

HDR ,Stacking, Panoramas and other techniques involving more than one picture are not allowed. Double Exposure pictures are allowed as long as they are made on location, meaning in the camera and the output of the camera is one file.

Picture which have been placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd in a major contest before 31st August 2015 are not eligible to enter the contest. Major contests are annual or monthly contests in which the picture has won a prize worth more than 300$.

Copyright The photographers retain all copyrights to their images. They certify, that the entries are their own work and they own all rights including a model/property release, if appropriate.

Scubashooters retain a non-exclusive worldwide licence to publish the contest entries in any format for publication of the results (including a press release), advertising the contest or for use at any contest related event or publication. A proper photo credit is always placed.

a b u S c

l Contest Rules a u n n A

s r e t o o h s

Every participant grants that they own every applicable right on the picture, including being able to provide a property or model release.

Judging A panel of selected judges will be announced soon.

The decisions of the Jury are final in all aspects of the competition and may not be challenged.

There will be no correspondence about the competition.

Privacy Any payment information is kept safe and confidential.

By entering the contest you agree that the provided information about you and your picture may be passed to sponsors and media. You may be contacted by our sponsors for communication regarding the contest or promotional offers.

Liability Scubashooters cannot be held responsible for any damages nor for the availability of the contest platform.

Categor y: Macro Reflex FIRST PRIZE 6 days fullboard plus dive package for one person

by DABIRAHE ( Lembeh )

SECOND PRIZE 10 dives/5 meals on boat package

by SHEIKH COAST THIRD PRIZE Flashlight Darklight pro by COLTRISUB

Categor y: Wide Angle Reflex FIRST PRIZE 7 days Liveaboard for one person on Flying Fish ( Maldives )

by BLUE SPACE TOUR OPERATOR

SECOND PRIZE 2 sets arms and clamps by SML-SUB THIRD PRIZE One wrist diving computer

by SPORTISSIMO MILANO

Categor y: Macro Compact FIRST PRIZE 4 days and 3 nights in B&B for 2 persons at THE MENJANGAN

SECOND PRIZE kit single flash NAUTICAM 200

by FOTOSUB SHOP THIRD PRIZE One weekend DIVE&WINE for one person

Categor y: Wide Angle Compact FIRST PRIZE BCD OJ by COLTRISUB

SECOND PRIZE 10 dives/5 meals on boat package by SHEICK COAST THIRD PRIZE 10 dives package by BINTANG DIVERS

Categor y: Black & White FIRST PRIZE EASYDIVE revolution 4000 lamp

SECOND PRIZE 2 nights b&b and 4 dives by CENTROSUB CAMPI FLEGREI THIRD PRIZE 2 nights b&b and 2 dives by HAYBOLS (Anilao)

CATEGORY

Theme: “Snoot” Special added judge : Fabio Iardino 1st prize: strobe Inon Z240 type 4 2nd prize: strobe Inon S-2000 3rd prize: LED flashlight Inon LF800-N

CATEGORY Theme: “Behavior�

Special added judge: Beth Watson 1st prize: Dive computer Oceanic Atom 3 2nd prize: regulator Delta 4.2 and first stage FDX 10 3rd prize: Extreme Shirt Lavacore

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WINTER IN NORWAY

THE MAGIC OF ANDENES

TRAVELS

Words and Pictures Sergio Riccardo

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Usually the word we all love, diving, always gives us the idea of sea, sun, tropical temperatures and nobody would think to go in the middle of winter to Norway to enter the water with killer whales and humpback whales.

The journey is very difficult because, once you reach Oslo, it takes another two flights, with few frequencies, to get to Andenes, a small town on the tip of a fjord in the middle of the North Sea. In January, the sunlight is very little, about 5 hours, and the sun rises just a few degrees above the horizon.

Nevertheless, I assure you that, except for the very cold and the dark that still creates a very special atmosphere, the emotions that you can experience in a trip of this kind are endless, both in the water and in the fantastic landscapes culminating with the opportunity of watching the amazing spectacle of the Northern Lights.

The trip needs to be very well organized and nothing should be left to chance.

The apartments where to stay are very few and hotels and practically non-existent. You land at an airport having a small room where collecting your luggage and just one employee.

From there, you calmly exit to the square serving also as a small parking lot.

I traveled with Divingtour, which deals with a bit out-of-the-ordinary travels and organized everything meticulously.

From the fishermen’s houses where to stay, called Rurb, to the tours on huge Zodiacs or, if you are lucky, on a good covered and heated boat, to go around the Cape of Andenes to witness the spectacle performed by hundreds of killer whales passing between mid-December and mid-February gorging on herring, waiting to migrate north during the warmer season.

What’s more, there are also humpback whales, a species slightly different from those we see in many other parts of the world.

This one has side fins completely white, while others have only the lower part of the side fins white. This allows you to pinpoint them from a distance, even with poor visibility.

For excursions, you can wear the classic Artic suit to assist from the surface to the show of these giants, or a dry suit for trying the meeting by snorkeling. Scuba diving is unfortunately prohibited.

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I guarantee, however, that freediving gives high levels of adrenaline. Swimming around, you can watch the orcas closely enough because they are very curious animals and come close to see what kind of animals you are.

Unfortunately, they never stop enough to let you take some nice shot.

However, the excitement I felt when the captain allowed me to dive, in the middle of the sea to an area 200 meters deep and crossed by a canyon of up to 600, was indescribable.

Herrings pass inside this channel and groups of killer whales dive up to those depths for driving them out and bringing to the surface, where the usual slaughter happens allowing both birds from above and killer and humpback whales from under to eat as much fish as possible.

When killer whales eat, it is quite easy to succeed seeing them because they are usually very fast, but slow down their march while feeding.

We stand still in the middle of the sea, with waves always quite high and a temperature of maximum 4 / 5 degrees Celsius.

As soon as something comes close to our lenses, we shoot pictures, hoping to bring home something acceptable. The extreme conditions and wearing a dry suit without weights do not help at all, but we have fun like children and maybe this frenzy makes us unaware of the temperature.

After about 15 minutes, we go back in the boat and move to another school to dive again, and again for about 3 hours. On the way back, frost and especially fatigue bite, but as soon as we take off our clothes at the facility hosting us, they serve warm bread and soups to help us resume sensitivity in our hands.

In the afternoon - I remember you that night comes at about 3 PM - you can go for a walk or a drive around.

You can have a look to the typical wooden houses with Norwegian cod hanging off, the spectacular lighting effects created by the sun on the frozen lakes or to the snow-covered mountains, with their trees also covered in snow waiting for the night, when the light disappears and the expectation for the Northern Lights comes.

This event can give emotions beyond words: a completely starry sky colored with all shades of green and, in the luckiest cases, of red, creating a slow but steady motion.

We stayed there for eight days, which may seem like a lot, but the adverse weather conditions during the period require a certain number of days to get into the water at least 3 or 4 times.

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Entering into this water was what the most exciting I have ever tried in my long diving career.

You look around amongst at least 3 meters high waves, which make difficult to see the orcas, until a fin shows up in front of you.

Adrenaline grows: they look at us from just under the water, seem like smiling, and disappear all of a sudden. Then, with their image still in our eyes, we begin to look for other orcas.

Often, other groups come: some passing very close, maybe swimming on the surface of the water as dolphins usually do, other swimming a few meters below the surface. Nevertheless, they all are of infinite elegance, and mostly unexpected, we sense this puff, different from everyone else, much more powerful and with an acrid smell of rotting fish.

I turn and see two whales, not very large - around 10 meters - and coming straight towards me. Then they slightly correct direction and I see them passing close, no more than four meters away.

Even with cloudy water, I can see them very well. I have my heart in my throat: I can see the pure white fins standing out in the foggy blue-green water.

It has been only a quick passage, but the show is one that you will remember all your life. During our three outings, we always saw lots of orcas and many whales, but we would never have hoped a meeting that close.

Here in Norway shops close between 4 PM and 6 PM. Later, only two supermarkets let you shop up to 10 PM. Prices are quite high - compared to our standards - but still better than in restaurants.

There are two restaurants and a pizzeria, and the day specials are whale or reindeer fillet in mushroom sauce.

Therefore, my suggestion is grocery shopping and home cooking. Moreover, dinnertime is early.

After dinner, the evening program consists in waiting for the Northern Lights and then, almost frozen to death, to go to bed by 10 PM. Bearing the images of the giants of the sea in your eyes.

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MEDITERRANEAN TRUMPET FISH UNUSUAL SHOW IN THE BLUE Words and Pictures: Francesco Turano

EVOLUTIONARY EDUCATION

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It has been more than thirty years since I started photographing the Mediterranean. It was 1983 and the Strait of Messina, the sea on whose shores I always lived, gave me the opportunity to learn about the biodiversity of the Mare Nostrum in a special way and thorough. Seized upon this great opportunity with the right awareness, I photographed and photographed enough to become, through time, quite expert in marine biology and ethology.

And, among all the forms of life I photographed, one still keeps me in-

volved more in the shooting and careful observation.

They are small fishes accustomed to live at great depths, hardly accessible to divers.

Nevertheless, in the Strait of Messina environmental conditions and ecosystems powered by the currents enable them to live also at modest depths, where it is easy to observe them while diving! I am talking about the spiny trumpet fish, or longspine snipefish (Macrorhamphosus scolopax), belonging to the family of macroramphosinae. Small and curious, with an elongated snout ahead, a little like seahorses, ending with a small mouth opening, they feed on small prey and often swim upside down. With a pink complexion on the back, fading on the sides tending to gray, they have a first dorsal fin with a protruding and sharp second ray, whose inner edge is serrated.

A real spine, damnation of the fishermen who regularly wound themselves while cleaning up the nets where, sometimes, these fish stumble.

Although the animal can rarely reach 18 cm in length, the specimens usually encountered are long on average between 6 and 8 cm. Their habit is to live in shoals of several individuals, sometimes really a lot. I will try to make the idea of what happens when you dive and then, at some point, you find yourself in front of a school of spiny trumpet fish.

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The show is unique.

Suddenly they appear like ghosts, perfectly merged with the surrounding environment, small and frenetic. At the beginning, you catch a glimpse of them only because betrayed by their cheerful swimming.

Once detected, you stop and hope they do not escape.

Yes, because the longspine snipefish are not always open to the approach. On sandy and muddy bottoms, where they usually move, they seek a reference: a small wreck, a rock, an abandoned net.

This makes them feel safer and allows you to attempt a more lasting contact. If you are in the presence of a school stationing near these sort of oasis in the sand, you will have much more chance to remain together with these fish, at least for a while.

During daylight hours, we will have a magnificent view of the school in motion, shifting continuously left and right, up and down, without respite, stopping occasionally for a few moments of hesitation. Studying the movements of these fish let us understand how to photograph them, paying attention to the angle of our flash due to their liveries highly reflective.

By night, the spiny trumpetfish’s behavior is completely different: they form small groups stopping near the bottom or sometimes they are also scattered, as confused, quite annoyed by the light beam messing

up the environment hidden in the dark. Approaching an individual fish photographing the details while moving is a patient work, which takes time and concentration.

Photographically, it will be more convenient to concentrate on pictures of larger groups during the day, using of course a wide-angle lens to the minimum shooting distance while at night it will be more logical to use a macro lens and take pictures of the single fish up close, in the details, possibly trying to get close-ups.

Photographic research, as always, invites us to the study of the species and the analysis of its behavior, thus becoming an instrument of knowledge. In the Mediterranean, this research is sometimes complicated, both for the difficult shooting conditions and for the harsh climate, which in winter forces to operate in the cold and in the dark! Nevertheless, the rewards for those who can observe with passion are remarkable.

That of the spiny trumpet fish is a unique situation, typical of the Strait since it is not easy to bump into these fish in other places.

During night dives, instead, I was lucky: very few times, I was present during the mating of the longspine snipefish.

The dives characterized by this important event were no more than two or three. I almost seemed to understand that there are some win

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ter nights where these fish go wild and mate.

The mating magical night is just unforgettable, and the only evidence I have is a single photograph, unique because I was able to freeze the moment only once, seizing upon one of the few seconds available when the two fish join.

Out of the blue, two individuals in the context of a small group get close and cling to each other with the back of their body, near the anal fins. The mating takes a few seconds and soon after, detaching, the fish shake and emit simultaneously one a small curled cord of eggs, and the other the semen to fertilize them.

Very similar to the co-genus scolopax, Macroramphosus gracilis or snipefish, unlike the first has a more slender body and compressed at the sides, with large and circular eye.

The beak-shaped snout is quite pointy, with a small-incised mouth facing upwards.

The second spiny ray of the dorsal fin does not exceed the caudal peduncle and has a slightly serrated edge facing down. The tail is truncate with a slightly hollow margin.

The color of the back is golden rose to become silver on the belly.

Not more than 3 cm in length, exceptionally reaches 5 cm, so its size is well below the spiny trumpetfish, with which it shares the habitat typically pelagic and the depth.

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The snipefish also feeds on small planktonic animals and seems to be present only in the Strait of Messina. Encountering this fish underwater is very rare: I seldom have but have no picture of it. I always thought a lot about this, but I never understood why it is so hard to see the snipefish underwater, while it is easier to encounter its beached corpses.

Therefore, I assume that probably is because of the depth at which they usually stay.

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TIOMAN ISLAND DIVING Words and Pictures by Isabella Lee

Tioman Dive Site Map: Courtesy of MV White Manta This article is fondly dedicated to MV White Manta with my utmost gratitude.

TRAVELS

112 Geography Tioman Island (Pulau Tioman in Malay language) is an island located at 32 km off the eastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia in the state of Pahang in South China Sea and is about 20 km long and 12 km wide. Its closest mainland port is Mersing, located at approximately 32 km. Its coordinates are 2 degree 49’ N, 104 degree 11’E. It has six main villages ( kampungs, in Malay); Kampung Genting, Kampung Asah and Kampung Mukut in the south, Kampung Tekek and Kampung Salang on the north and Kampung Juara on the east of the island. The largest and most populous is Kampung Tekek in the northern part.

The number of villagers is now some 2,650, most of whom were originally fishermen from Pahang or Johor. Rubber and coconut are the main crops planted on the flat coastal area.

Today, most of the island is covered by tropical rainforest dating from the last Ice Age, with hilly topography, inland forest and small flat land areas along the coast. Walking over the island through the jungle is a popular activity for visitors. Pulau Tioman is underlaid by volcanic plutonic and contact metamorphic rocks.

The volcanic rocks occur mainly on the eastern, northern and southern parts of the island.

The highest peak is Gunung Pajang , towering over the jungle at 1038 m and it can be seen as far as from Mersing. Part of the island coastal area is made up of rocky, sandy beaches.

Several river systems coming from the hilly, forested area represent the main supply of fresh water to the villagers. These rivers include Sungai Mentawak, Sungai Keliling, Sungai Nipah, Sungai Paya, Sungai Lalang and Sungai Ayer Besar. Some plant species, especially the ferns, resemble those found in Kinabalu Park in Sabah.

Rare species of Raflesia are also found on this island. Small patches of mangrove swamp forests are also found on the western part of the island. The lush and densely forested

island is sparsely inhabited and the whole island is surrounded by beautiful beaches and coral reefs, which attracts many scuba divers and tourists in season. Apart from its diverse marine life, the inland rainforest area was classified as Pulau Tioman Wildlife Reserve in 1972 to protect its flora and fauna. However, a large part of the original reserve was sacrificed for agricultural and touristic development in 1984; the remaining area is approximately 8,296 ha (20,500 acres).

It is assumed that Tioman was only separated from the mainland 10,000 years ago, before which much of South East Asia was dry land with sea levels about 300 feet lower than current depths. There are 138 species of birds recorded on the island, the most common of which is the hill myna. Two species of swiftlets ( the black-nest and grey-rumped ) are the most popular ones on the island for in the past, villagers collected the nests of these birds from caves on the island for sale.

Twenty-five species of snakes are recorded officially, including the reticulated python, grass green whip snake, common black cobra and variable reed snakes. Apart from this diversity, the island has several unique species of mammals, freshwater fish & plants, such as catfish, rodents, crabs, stick insects and butterflies.

There are several protected species of mammals on the island, including the binturong, long-tailed macaque, slow loris, black giant squirrel, red giant flying squirrel, mouse deer, brush-tailed porcupine and common palm civet, from a total of 45 species of mammals and 138 species of birds, including the majestic frigatebird.

Moreover, Tioman has species that are endemic to it shores. The Tioman walking catfish Clarias Batu can be found during rainforest walks. Kajang slender litter frog is only known

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from Mount Kajang. It is the sea that attracts the most visitors, scuba divers in particular, who come to enjoy warm, clear water. The reefs surrounding Tioman and the neighboring islands, which radio carbon dating shows are almost 6,000 years old, have many varieties of coral and tropical reef fish, as well as larger pelagic animals such as turtles, sharks and rays. The rare giant clam was also found here.

The marine area around Tioman Island and eight other nearby islands have been declared as marine parks and marine reserves. There are many dive shops, small restaurants, beach bars, burger carts and rustic chalets & hotels all over the island for divers & tourists. Tioman island does not allow buildings to have more than 3 stories. The District Office of Rompin is responsible for the management and development of the island. The island also has duty-free status currently.

Brief History An ancient native legend states that the island is really the body of a powerful and beautiful dragon, Sri Gumom, who made the gods angry when she made the journey to visit her sister, Gunung Linga, whom they had forbidden her to see. During her flight the gods turned Sri Gumom into a boulder and she fell from the sky, landing in the ocean to become the island of Tioman.

It is from Sri Gumom that the island gets it wild beauty, and its uneven surface. Twin mountains, looking like dragon’s horns, do seem to suggest the outline of a dragon’s body. Tioman has been used for thousands of years by fishermen as an important navigation point and a stopover to collect fresh water and wood.

The famous twin peaks in the South, known as “Donkey Ears” were always a reassuring sign for sailors to know that they were on the right track to the southern tip of Malaysia, know today as Singapore. This fact was mentioned by the great Malay writer, Munshi Abdullah in his book on his journey to Kelantan with Stamford Raffles in the early 19th century.

This island was a settlement for Malay fishermen several hundred years ago.

Long time ago, it played a host role to Chinese, Arab and European trading ships and as a result, porcelain remains from Ming Dynasty can be found on the beach around the island.

Tioman was taken over by the Chinese during the Song Dynasty and was fought over briefly by European nations looking to strengthen their trading power during the 1800’s. For a time Tioman also be

116 came a dangerous area, taken over by pirates in the early 19th Century who were known for kidnapping and murder. Ships avoided the area for many years until it was taken over by the British in the late 1800’s. More recently, the British & the Japanese fought battles around the Island during World War II, in consequences of which, the island is surrounded by war remains such as HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales which are unfortunately in process of being destroyed by illegal metal salvaging activities using dynamites & explosives. Beautiful beaches of Tioman Island were depicted and immortalized as an ultimate paradise, in the famous 1958 musical, “South Pacific” as “Bali Hai”.

In the 1970s, Time magazine selected Tioman as one of the 10 most beautiful islands in the world.

According to another legend, Tioman Island is the resting place of a beautiful dragon princess; Whilst flying to visit her prince in Singapore, this beautiful maiden stopped to seek solace in the crystal-clear waters of the South China Sea. Enraptured by the charms of the place, she decided to discontinue her journey. By taking the form of an island, she pledged to offer shelter and comfort to passing travelers.

Tioman Diving Overview Tioman’s main diving attractions are small, uninhabited rock outcrops, scattered all around the Main Island (Pulau Tioman), such as Pulau Renggis, Pulau Chebeh, Pulau Labas, Pulau Jahat etc. and a few sunken pinnacles between those islands, such as Magicienne Rock and Tiger Reef. There is a good variety of hard and soft coral. Most of the coral is in good shape and the reef is shallow and ac-

cessible by divers of all levels. Tioman Island is also a popular diving destination for underwater photographers because its soft coral gardens are diverse and vividly colorful. With all kinds of beautiful sea fans and twirling yellow fish, it’s a paradise for wide-angle photography enthusiasts like myself. There are also some deep, interesting wrecks to explore, such as KM Sipadan and Sawadee on top of many nameless Thai fishing trawlers scattered all around the island.

Diving season is between March and October. The months of April, May and October often give the best visibility (sometimes, 30-40 m ) with a variety of schooling yellow snappers & big pelagic animals like turtles, reef sharks and eagle rays. Most dive shops are closed between November and February due to strong wind and heavy rain. Tioman can be reached by ferries, operating daily from Mersing, a small fishing town on the eastern coast of Malay Peninsular, located about 130 km north from Johor Bahru and Singapore, but the best way to dive Tioman Island is by different live aboard operations, departing from Singapore. Currently, 4 live aboard companies are offering weekend dive trips from Singapore to Tioman in season; MV White Manta, MV DiveRace Class E, MV The Ark and MV Andaman Triton (the old MV White Manta). MV White Manta is my personal favorite for its clean and comfortable cabins, efficient & professional dive crew and impeccable diving & sailing safety measures.

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Photo by Giacomo Marchione Winner of March 2015

Interview with

Scubashooters Scubashooters专访 Scubashooters is a community made up by tens of thousands of professional and amateur photographers from all over the world, but with a great passion in common: the underwater photography.

In this interview EZDIVE talked with Marino, founder of Scubashooters, about the stories behind running a successful group.

Scubashooters是一个由来自全球成千上万名专业和业余摄影师所组 成的社群，而让每个成员都热血沸腾的共同点就是——水下摄影。 EZDIVE在这次访谈中，访问了Scubashooters的创办人Marino， 请他谈谈经营一个成功团队的背后有哪些故事。 Marino

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Text Marino Palla

Q: What is the story behind Scubashooters?

Scubashooters的背后蕴含着什么样的故事？

Q: When did the Scubashooters Facebook group come into being?

Scubashooters的脸书社团于何时成立？

Marino: The Scubashooters was conceived on August 2012 as a receptacle to gather ideas and act as an interaction point between underwater photographers and scientists.

Marino: 2012年8月，Scubashooters网站的构想诞生， 这将是一个能包罗各种创意的网站，也是水下摄影师与科学 家之间互动的桥梁。

Marino: I underestimated the time needed to develop a fully functional website, so in the interim I decided to build the community using all the social media tools available. Facebook had to play a primary role of course, and I started gathering people in the Facebook group. A couple of months later I created our Facebook fan page where I started to showcase stunning underwater photos from our members. I remember how excited I was when the page reached 1,000 views, and now we have 300,000!

Marino: 我明白要架构一个功能完备的网站需要时间， 因此，在过渡时期，我决定利用所有可使用的社交媒体工具 来建立社群。当然，脸书是很重要的角色，我开始在脸书社

Scubashooters Facebook fan page (脸书粉丝页): go to www.facebook.com/groups/scubashooters website (网站): www.scubashooters.net

团中集结会员。几个月后，我成立我们自己的脸书粉丝专页， 我也开始在这个网页里张贴一些会员所拍摄的绝美水中摄 影作品。我记得，当浏览人数达到1,000时，我是多么的开 心。而现在，我们网页的浏览量已经高达300,000了！

Photo by Andrey Shpatak Winner of Jan-Feb 2015

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Photo by Adriano Morettin Winner of November 2014

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Dream it. Plan it. Dive it

Photo by Cédric Péneau Winner of July 2015

Q: How do you position the Facebook group and the website? What is difference?

定增长中，它是社群中的核心，所有的创意都在此汇集，并且

你如何界定脸书社团与网站？它们有什么不同？

传递到网络上。脸书非常适合分享、聊天，还有搜集意见。不

Marino: Our Facebook group is growing at a constant pace with 15,000 members. It is the heart of the community, where all ideas are gathered and relayed to the network. Facebook is great for sharing, chatting, and gathering ideas, but photos posted on Facebook have limited exposure as they are replaced by other new posts that come along. And if a photographer doesn’t put his watermark on each photo, there might be a chance that the photo is “borrowed” and that’s why we always encourage members use the website www. scubashooters.net .

过，上传相片到脸书，会有曝光时效性的限制，一旦有其它新

Marino: 我们的脸书社团拥有15,000名会员且仍在持续稳

相片上传，之前的相片就会被取代。另外，如果摄影师没有在 每张相片中加上水印，相片就很有可能被“借用”，这也是我 们总是鼓励会员使用网站www.scubashooters.net的原因。 上传至我们网站的相片都会经过我们的水印处理，保 护摄影师的版权，并且重要的是，网站的所有照片都是可追 溯、可还原的。另外，网站内对几乎所有的项目都进行了分 门别类，可以按照摄影师、物种的位置、相机、拍照设定等 等进行查询。

Photos on our website are protected by our watermark; ensuring the copyright of the photographer and above all, the images are always traceable and recoverable. Also on the website almost everything is categorized and searchable by photographer, genus location, camera, shoot settings and so on.

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Q: How do you manage the network? 你如何经营这整个网络？

Q: What sets you apart from other photography groups? 让你们从众多的摄影社群中脱颖而出的原因是什么？

Marino: Launched on February 2013, I managed the website, the Facebook group, the Facebook fan page, and the other social networks solo. Very soon I discovered that it was not possible to run the network on my own efforts with the steady growth in viewership and members. Thankfully, by that time I had established good relations with some of the members, particularly Henry Jager from Switzerland, Fabio Strazzi from Italy, Beth Watson from the USA and Alan Lo from Hong Kong. Now they are my admin team and run the network with the same passion and dedication for underwater photography.

Soon we realized even this was not enough, and decided to expand the team to include other big names in underwater photography with Yorko Summer and Marco Chang from Taiwan, Zul Ng from Singapore, Matt Krumins and Tony Strazzari from Australia, Sol Alcazar from the Philippines, Isabella Maffei, Mauro Mainardi , Walter Bassi and Raffaele Livornese from Italy, Eric Goh from Malaysia , Stefan Follows from Thailand, Kisang Lee from South Korea and Oktay Calisir from the UK. With an international team of like-minded individuals coming together to bring different cultural perspectives to our network, our engagement activities became vital to the success of scubashooters.net.

Marino: 2013年2月，我开始着手经营网站、脸书社团、 脸书粉丝专页，以及其它社群网站，全都一手包办。很快地， 我发现光靠我自己的努力，是不可能经营好这一整个点阅率 与会员人数均稳定增长的网络。幸好，那时候我已经和一些 会员建立起很好的关系，尤其是瑞士的Henry Jager、意大 利的Fabio Strazzi、美国的Beth Watson，还有香港的Alan Lo。现在，他们全都是我的管理员，秉持着同样的热忱经营 着这个网络，并且致力于水中摄影。

Marino: We are multi-platform, so any photographer joining scubashooters.net will benefit from access on many levels. There’s also an e-magazine and a monthly photo contest. All free-of-charge! In future we might add premium paid services to enhance our facilities and capabilities.

Marino: 我们是多元的平台，因此，任何一位加入 scubashooters.net的摄影师都可以拥有多种浏览权限。同 时还有电子杂志和每月一次的摄影比赛。完全免费！未来， 我们或许会增加付费增值服务以提升我们的设备与功能。

Q: Tell us more about the photo contest? 可否告诉我们更多关于摄影比赛的事情？

Marino: Each month we decide a theme and off we go! The contest showcases two “mini” contests: Nudi of the Week and Pic of the Day. There are no enrolment fees, yet attractive prizes are given away by our sponsors.

The contest is automated for easy submission and incorporates a voting mechanism as one of the criteria for scoring points.

The contest was Fabio Strazzi’s idea and it turned out to be a great success as pictures quickly go viral. Henry Jager is the president of the jury, and other members include: Davide Lopresti from Italy, Roland Bach from Spain, Jeffrey De Guzman from the Philippines, Isabella Maffei from Italy and Ivana Orlovic from Croatia. They are all unbelievably talented underwater photographers and you can find their amazing portfolios on scubashooters. net.

Marino: 每个月我们会选定一个主题并发布。上传的 相片可参加两个“迷你”奖项的角逐：“本周海蛞蝓之星 （Nudi of the Week）”以及“每日最佳图片（Pic of the

不久我们意识到，即便如此还是不足以应付现况，于是

Day）”。不需缴交会员费，丰富的奖品由我们的赞助商所提

决定扩编团队，延揽水中摄影界的其他知名人士，包括台湾

供。这项竞赛通过轻松的上传就能参与，还采用投票机制作

的Yorko Summer和Marco Chang、新加坡的Zul Ng、澳洲

为评分标准之一。

的Matt Krumins和Tony Strazzari、菲律宾的Sol Alcazar、 意大利的Isabella Maffei、Mauro Mainardi、Walter Bassi和

摄影竞赛是Fabio Strazzi提出的想法，结果活动非常成

Raffaele Livornese、马来西亚的Eric Goh、泰国的Stefan

功，相片很快地被大量点阅。Henry Jager是主审，其他评审

Follows、韩国的Kisang Lee以及英国的Oktay Calisir。

委员则包括：意大利的Davide Lopresti、西班牙的Roland Bach、菲律宾的Jeffrey De Guzman、意大利的Isabella

48

志同道合的伙伴们共同组成的这个跨国团队，为我们

Maffei，以及克罗地亚共和国的Ivana Orlovic。他们全都是

的网络带来不同的文化观念，而我们参与的活动，也成了

才华横溢的水下摄影师，你可以在scubashooters.net的网

scubashooters.net成功的关键。

站上看到他们无与伦比的作品集。

Dream it. Plan it. Dive it

Photo by Christian Vizl Winner of May 2013

EZDIVE

49

w

rvie

Inte

访谈

人物

Photo by Jose Miro Winner of October 2014

Q: What made you decide to start an e-magazine? 决定发行电子杂志的动机为何？

Marino: When you run such a complex network, it is natural to reach a point where you realize that you are missing an ingredient that glues it all together. So after a little brainstorming, we decided that content curation is king and the way to go to maintain our member’s interests.

Photo by Isabella Lee Winner of May 2015

Marino: 当你经营如此复杂的网络，很自然的会面临一 个临界点，然后你会领悟到你缺少一样将所有信息结合在一 起的元素。所以，经过片刻的头脑风暴，我们认为内容策展 才是王道，也是让会员继续保持关注的不二法门。

Q: How do you envision the future of Scubashooters? 对于Scubashooter的未来，你有什么展望？

Marino: I can see a future where our networks are integrated on a multi-platform level. We go with the flow and ready to grab what the market will offer and give people what they want: quality, options, knowledge, inspiration, a community and an up-to-date platform for interaction.

Marino: 我可以预见我们的网络将整合成一个多元的平 台。我们会顺应潮流并抓住市场，去提供一个满足用户所想 要的：有质量、可选择、具知识、启发灵感、可社交且能实时 更新的互动平台。

50

Dream it. Plan it. Dive it

Do you want Join our to discover the contests and mysteries of the get the chance to Oceans? win many prizes like the trip of your dreams Photo by Jim Chen

Read now

The new monthly web magazine for everyone who love the sea and photography

Free downloadable on www.scubashooters.net

Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Scubashooters

全球第一双语潜水杂志

MESMERIZING MALAPASCUA Finding threshers 情迷马拉帕斯卡 追寻长尾鲨

BEST OF INDONESIA Komodo to Lembeh

ISLA MUJERES

印尼精华

Sleeping Sharks

科莫多至蓝碧

SERENE SIPALAY

女人岛

Off the beaten track

沉睡之鲨

宁静锡帕莱

不走寻常路

2015: ISSUE 5

VOLUME

56

singapore S$7.80 • malaysia M$16 • taiwan NT$190 • hong kong HK$46 • china RMB$40 • philippines P170 • thailand Bht200 • indonesia Rp55,000 • brunei B$7 • australia A$8.00 new zealand NZ$8.50 • png K$6.90 • maldives US$6.50 • saudi arabia SR$25 • guam US$5.50 • kuwait Dinar1.50 • mauritius Rup90 • japan Y630

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

Our products are all MITQ (MADE IN ITALY TOTAL QUALITY) and allow an OPTIMAL BUOYANCY during video and photography.

Our LIGHT ARMS are made with a preanodized 6060 aluminum alloy blue tube (Ø22 mm) and have two preanodized 6026 aluminum alloy SML-pearl-grey spheres (Ø 25 mm) at the ends (9 different lengths are available).

Our BLOCKING SYSTEM (CLAMP) is composed by two preanodized aluminium alloy 6026 pearl grey SML butterfly clamps, a button-head stainless steel screw and an aluminum alloy 6026 anodized blue wing nut.

Thanks to the clutches mounted inside the clamps, tightening is smooth for adjustments but at the same time sturdy and rigid for operation.

Our ACTION CAM BRACKET is made of AISI 316 stainless steel (3 mm thick and with black Delrin inserts).

It consists of two laser-cut plates and a pair of folding handles with blocking mechanism. The coupling of the two plates is via a M8 dowel acting as a guide. In the rear part the handle has an additional 1/4 UNC thread for extra applications (eg. Gorilla POD or similar), an extendible guide plate and a small base for bi-adhesive connections.

An anodized aluminum stick simplifies macro recording allowing to force the minimum recording distance from the subject. The handles terminate with preanodized 6026 aluminum alloy SML-pearl-grey spheres (Ă˜ 25 mm), thus allowing for the maximum flexibility for lights and additional parts to be connected to the base. The system can be offered with Lock-line terminations instead.

Our SCUBA VIDEO LIGHT Led C-95, electronically realized in cooperation with Elbatech Srl, is made by an 6026 SML pearl-grey anodized aluminum alloy body (Ø 60 mm) (milled from full aluminum bar), with a ring-bezel rear cover in black Delrin (Ø 70 mm) and with a 8-mm thick front polycarbonate glass. Its weight out of the water is 750 g, in the water 270 g.

LIGHT FEATURES: - High intensity LED diode: CREE LED array CXA1304, 900 lumen, 5000°K - Viewing Angle: from 85° to 140° - CRI: 90 to 95 - Battery: Li-Ion rechargeable battery pack, 14.8V 2000 mAh (dedicated battery charger IMAX B6AC included) - Burn Time: 120 minutes @ 100% - Hydrostatic test: 120 minutes @ 9 bar - Electronics: custom-made power-led driver (Elbatech Srl, Marciana (LI), Italy) Our scuba light model 170/30 N is offered a beautiful blue briefcase containing: - 1 scuba led video light model C-95 - 1 battery charger IMAX B6AC - 1 black Delrin dedicated holder terminating with an anodized aluminium SML pearl-grey sphere (Ø 25 mm) About MECHANICS please refer to SML-SUB www.sml-sub.it e-mail: info@sml-sub.it About ELECTRONICS please refer to ELBATECH srl www.elbatech.com e-mail: info@elbatech.com

www.sml-sub.it

N O LL II M M I IT T N O

visit us online: www.hollis.com/eu www.facebook.com/HollisGear