DUC Shootout Judges
Allen Walker
Judge Convener
I fell in love with underwater photography because of its essence, difficulty and pure rawness, which allows the photographer the freedom to paint his canvas and create fine art that tells a story. Underwater photography is most probably the truest form of wildlife photography that any photographer can experience. The underwater photographer is extremely limited by equipment and fully exposed to nature and its elements in every conceivable way, no hides, 4×4’s, barriers etc. Just imagine walking around a game reserve amongst lions, leopard, wild dogs, elephant, buffalo and rhino with the normal non threatening buck, bush pigs etc. around you. Only a raw nervous energy that heightens your senses, stirs your emotions and enhances your creativity. You have the freedom to photograph these awesome animals, and of course, totally rely on the fact that they are not planning to eat you, well that is UWP and why I find this genre of photography most appealing. The studio is a moving, changing and a all encompassing live canvas. It has texture and substance that can be touched and felt, very unlike air. The medium constantly changing and it has many limitations e.g. time, movement, density, light etc. making it a very demanding, yet stimulating to work in, taking it to the next level is a constant goal and I love the challenge to “get the shot”! I try my best to highlight the beauty of the ocean and the need for its conservation by using the skills I have – photography, to show the animals that people fear and kill in a different light, to create beauty, to create compassion and more importantly to show human interaction with these magnificent animals so that there is a sense of connection by the viewer. Essentially, I am a photographer with a passion and I take any and every moment I can to do any kind of photography given the opportunity.
Michel Lonfat
Judge
The need to be in the water …. The desire to share my passion … The envy to educate people about the beauty and richness of our oceans, lakes and rivers …. ” Born in Sierre, a small town in the middle of the Swiss Alps in December 1968, I have lived all his youth abroad, My father was working for an International Oil Company.
I had the chance to experience scuba diving in Papua New Guinea in 1985 where I achieved my first Scuba Diving Certification. From this experience on, all my holidays were based on the sport I loved to practice only at sea. It was only in 1995 that I discovered scuba diving in our cold waters in Switzerland, participating in a course for the obtention of a new Diving Certification in the Lake of Geneva … and it was for me the “Spark” – the beginning of a real Passion. Since then, I dive regularly, exploring lakes, rivers and seas all around the world with my wife Caroline – fortunately – sharing also my passion.
I discovered Underwater Photography almost by accident, during a visit to the Maldives and it is for a cruise in Thailand in 2003 that I bought my first camera with an underwater housing. From this experience, the passion of Underwater Photography has accompanied me in all his dives.
Currently my main purpose is to show people my Passion, My Work and above all my Desire is to cultivate a greater awareness of the surprising beauty and riches of the underwater world there is in lakes and rivers. My favorite subject in Freshwater is : the Pike Fish
ACHIEVEMENTS
Golden Diver 2014 Theme Series at the “Festival Mondial de l’Image sous-marine of Marseille”
2008/9 World Champion by underwaterphotography.com.
Co-director of Festisub – the Swiss international underwater festival
President of Festisub’s photo contest since 2010.
3 TIPS FOR COMPETITORS
Always be happy!
Never touch – just take pictures!
And tell the world how important our oceans are!
Markus Roth
Judge
Born in September 1976, Markus Roth’s passion for photography reaches all the way back to his childhood. The son of the well-known sports photographer Hans-Alfred Roth has learned in his early childhood how fascinating it is to captivate special moments on film or memory chip. He has been addicted to the underwater world since 2004. Thus, next to his wife, Judith; his camera has been his constant companion. Apart from local waters, the main international dive sites Markus Roth has visited so far are the Maldives, Negros in the Philippines, Lembeh Strait, Bangka and Bunaken in North Sulawesi, Weda Bay in East Halmahera, Ambon, Saparua on the Malukku Islands, the Jewels of Indonesia, Cenderawasih Bay, Triton Bay, Manokwari & Raja Ampat in West Papua. He really likes extraordinary remote places like Cenderawasih Bay, Triton Bay or Weda Bay.
Being the first diver at a reef has become an obsession for him. His pictures and articles have been published in magazines and newspapers world wide. Just to name a few: TAUCHEN, UNTERWASSER, EZ-Dive Magazine, Asian Diver, Diver, Sport Diving (Australia), Dive Pacific, DIVE THE WORLD, Buddy Potapeni, Niugini Blue, Divemaster, Wielki Blekit, Natures Playground, The Dive Site, Silent World and Geolino.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Besides being published worldwide, I have been a speaker at BOOT Show Düsseldorf for 8 years, diving Resort & Travel Expo Hong Kong and ADEX Singapore.
3 TIPS FOR COMPETITORS
Be different. F.E. shoot wide-angle on a typical Muck dive
No image is worth harming an animal or its habitat.
Stay focused, but never be rugged.
Sirachai (SHIN) Arunrugstichai
Judge
Sirachai (Shin) Arunrugstichai is a photojournalist, with specialization in marine conservation issues.
Originally trained as a marine biologist, he first picked up camera to document coral reef biodiversity, while working in the field with several conservation organisations in Thailand.
After realizing the potential impact of photography for conservation, he later shifted his focus from scientific research to photojournalism, working on assignment for several international organizations such as IUCN, Oxfam, Greenpeace and National Geographic (Thai Edition).
ACHIEVEMENTS
Working on assignment for several international organizations such as IUCN, Oxfam, Greenpeace and National Geographic (Thai Edition)
3 TIPS FOR COMPETITORS
Once you believe that you got the shot, it usually is not the best you can do. Just keep on trying to push it further.
It is when the different layers of elements align together in the frame, which gives good narrative to your photos.
For me, pre-visualising the shot, sketch them up and spend the whole day working on yield me the best result. Most of the time, it will be different from your plan in real situation, but at least you would have some ideas to work on instead of coming up with something while everything pass by.
David Salvatori
Judge
David Salvatori started underwater photography in 2008. His main interest today is around nature photography and conservation issues, to which he devotes his travels around the world.
As an amateur, he spends all of his time off planning photographic expeditions to raise awareness on some of the most endangered species of the planet. He also loves writing articles on his trips, collaborating with well-known underwater magazines around the world.
During these first 12 years of underwater activity, he has achieved many recognitions and awards in some of the most important international underwater photography and nature photography competitions.
In 2015 he published his first photographic book, “Reflections from the Past”, a physical and personal journey to tell a story about his life experience with water.
More on
www.ilmaresonoio.com
Theresa Guise
Judge
Theresa Guise is an award-winning photographer who uses her images to promote conservation of our planet and the animals within. The marriage of marine biology and photography started in 2006 when Theresa learned scuba diving and underwater photography. Armed with just a point and shoot camera, she set out to document what she saw underwater. Since then, this passion has taken her world-wide to experience different microenvironments beneath the sea, which parallel her study of cancer microenvironments as a physician-scientist. She has co-authored diving articles on Fiji, Cuba, Galapagos, Maldives and other topics with Peter de Maagt in Diver UK, Duiken, Onderwater Sport and Duikenbeld. Her photographs have appeared in The Guardian, National Geographic, Cosmopolitan, Daily Express, Scuba Diving, Live Science, RealClear, SeaUnseen, Yahoo News, MSN News, Caters News and Earth Touch; including cover images for Nature Medicine, Diver UK and Onderwater Sport. Theresa has won awards in Underwater Photographer of the Year, Ocean Geographic, Deep Indonesia, Lens Beyond Ocean and United Nations World Ocean Day international competitions and was the featured Photographer of the week in Dive Photoguide as well as Onderwater Sport. She presents lectures on shark conservation, underwater imaging and uses underwater imagery in her scientific presentations and publications. Dr. Guise is an endocrinologist and professor at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center where she provides health care to cancer patients with bone disease and directs a research laboratory to study how cancer grows in bone. Her research interests in the bone microenvironment parallel her study of different microenvironments in the ocean.
Some of her images can be viewed online:
http://www.divephotoguide.com/underwater-photography-special-features/article/underwater-photographer-week-theresa-guise
https://www.instagram.com/theresaguise/
Gordon Hiles
Judge
Born in Pietermaritzburg; went to school in Cape Town; lived in Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town.
Worked at SABC TV 1973 -1994; freelancer thereafter. Began free-diving/spearfishing as young teenager in the mid 60s in Cape Town.
Scuba diving course 1984. Currently hold DM and Inspiration re-breather certification.
ACHIEVEMENTS
6 years in TV & Film Industry as DoP and Film Producer
35 years working as an Underwater DoP/Cinematographer
Clients: National Geographic, Discovery Channel, BBC Bristol, Smithsonian Institute
Activity: Began filming underwater with sharks in Gansbaai in 1984; filmed several underwater commercials and feature films; highlight in 2005 – filming of the Dave Shaw Boesmansgat body recovery attempt.
3 TIPS FOR COMPETITORS
Ensure steady camerawork.
Pay attention to framing, focus and composition (apply the ‘Rule of Thirds’).
Always keep the WOW! factor in mind.>
Charles Maxwell
Judge
I started diving in 1968 and soon afterwards bought my first Nikonos stills camera and a box of single use flash bulbs. In those days underwater movies were shot on film that was both expensive and came with many challenges. Many years later I ventured into the world of underwater video. By then I was a qualified professional diver and had very little time for sport diving. My newly acquired underwater video camera was soon put to use for my first commercial filming job for a then new TV program called Carte Blanche. The job was to film the Green Point sewage pipeline, near Cape Town, that had been damaged in a storm. From diving in raw sewage things could only get better
ACHIEVEMENTS
I have worked for many TV production companies and specialized in filming sharks and the Natal Sardine Run in the early days. I was honored to receive an Emmy in 2000 for my footage of a frantic sardine baitball used in the BBC’s Blue Planet.
3 TIPS FOR COMPETITORS
Variation of shots. Think like an editor and change angles, frame, camera movement etc.. Keep camera steady unless the story calls for unsteady, jerky shots (e.g. an action re-enactment). I have seen footage where each clip is beautifully filmed but all the clips are too similar.
Tell a story with an introduction, main story and conclusion. Naturally it need not be shot in that order. I have been on a number of shoots where the climatic shot (aka the Killer Shot) is achieved early in the allotted days but is used at the end of the production.
Broadcast professional cameras are bulky but very stable in the water. Small Go-Pro type cameras have come a long way and offer great quality when shot in raw but the shots are often too unstable. Try building a simple stabilising rig for small cameras.
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