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Fotosub
87 - CMAS World Championships
by
Peter Rowlands
Reproduced
from in focus 23
(August 1987)
Having
had a gap of nearly 8 years since the First World Championships
of Underwater Photograph - Fotosub'87 came as a pleasant piece
of news for such events provide a rare opportunity to mingle
with some of the world's best and to see how they operate
and the results they produce.
Fourteen
countries were represented - Spain, Italy, Great Britain,
Germany, Switzerland, France, Holland, Ireland, Portugal,
America. Yugoslavia, Hong Kong, Norway and Belgium. An obviously
strong European bias but nevertheless a good cross-section
of talent.
Overseen
by CMAS, Fotosub'87 was organised by Fedas, the Spanish Diving
Organisation, and they chose the waters around Cadaques for
the venue of the championships. Cadaques is a picturesque
small town on the Mediterranean coast with its prominent church
overlooking the red tile roofs of the traditional Spanish
homes, It is hard to imagine that just a few kilometres to
the south there is candy floss, Watneys Red Barrel and Package
Paradises. Protected by hills on all sides, Cadaques really
is a picture.
With
June being a comparatively quiet month, the locals were pleased
to see boxes and boxes of camera equipment arriving from all
directions. The majority of the assembled throng were brought
in and ferried around by bus and eventually distributed into
a couple of hotels. The rest made their own way there starting
to arrive two or three days before the event to check out
the water and the conditions.
A
steady wind kept die sea ruffled most of the time and the
visibility underwater was no more than UK south coast on a
good day i.e. around 40 foot but first impressions were of
mild surprise at the seemingly barren underwater scenery which
has unusually colourful and fascinating marine life. Octopus
were seen on most dives as were some perfect tompot blennies,
a host of fan worms, colourful coral at depth and so on. No
shoals of fish or large grouper though which is not surprising
as spearfishing is still a highly regarded and practiced sport.
Getting
26 underwater photographers and their assistants into one
place on time proved a difficult task and most timings ran
about an hour late but after a while you got used to that
because it was so conistent. Changes of plan were not bellowed
on a megaphone but, miraculuosly, were passed by word of mouth
from one group to another. This gave a strange feel to the
event until the main meeting when the entrants were firmly
reminded of the reason they were there. This first get together
was to explain the rules and air any problems.
Each
entrant is given two rolls of 36 exposure film either 100
or 200 asa. They have two days diving from a Zodiac inflatable
powered by Evinrude outboards. Two tanks of air are allowed
each day but if there is a model and an assistant, they were
allowed a bottle each per day. The entrants must all dive
within a certain zone representing about two miles of coastline.
Each day consisted of 4 hours photography from about 9arn
to I pm.The resulting films would be driven to Barcelona about
2 hours south for processing. The entrants then have to choose
5 slides to enter as a portfolio of work. No more guidelines
that that were given. No categories whatsoever.
With
such a brief, the entrants were all wondering just which type
of shots would win the day. Should they dress up models for
brightness, keep shots totally natural or import man made
props to catch the eye. The dilema was evident especially
as the previous British winning team had relied so heavily
on artificial props and ideas and had incurred the displeasure
of a wide and influential range of underwater photographers.
Had their memories faded? Had underwater photographic ideas
passed that point Iong ago or is that still the required formula?
It
was an impressive sight seeing about 30 inflatables up on
the beach with a gaggle of underwater photographers preparing
themselves. Video cameras with sound crews appeared to give
an added importance and several press photographers from the
continent were interviewing entrants and shooting stills.
A quick walk around the boats revealed that the majority were
using cameras in housings rather than a Nikonos. Their reasons
being that composition and focus are vital to them and they
must be able to control both accurately. Lenses varied little
100 mm macro surfaced but that was rare. Flashguns from all
manufacturers were in evidence as well as several DIY housings.
The
atmosphere was very like the early days of BSoUP when the
meetings were less about lectures and more about talking with
others, exchanging techniques and encouraging innovation.
No cloak and dagger pointless deviousness here thank you.
Here's a group of underwater photographers who are confident
enough to explain their techniques rather than hold back the
hints in fear of highly unlikely comercial pirating.The spirit
was good and the humour flowed from nationality to nationality
despite our seperate languages.
The
first day saw a blustery wind produce a lumpy chop which made
the journey in the inflatables a bouncy affair. Having had
the previous day to recce the area, most entrants went to
their chosen spots and worked away. The sun hardly ever broke
through. Nearly all the photographers would be praying for
the sun to give them that added sparkle which would lift their
portfolio above the rest. They had to decide how many frames
to shoot. Too many and the conditions could be perfect tommorrow,
too few and the weather may worsen. Its a dilema with the
clock ticking away. 4 hours sounds a lot but you would be
in the water at least three of those four trying to achieve
at least 5 different and original shots. Some would rely on
a marine animal to perform in which case luck could give you
the shots in 10 seconds or maybe10 minutes. Others would have
to arrange props and liase with models while some would limit
their time further still by deciding to go deeper for special
marine growths.
The
feeling at the end of the first day was generally one of discontent.
No one felt confident enough to say they had had a successful
day. They had all hoped for much better.
The
second day dawned much calmer with a thin cloud layer which
hovered infuriatingly. The calmer sea and warmer temperatures
were lifting the entrants' hopes for a better day. Once again,
they returned to their locations to take their last opportunity
to capture their winners. Some decided to reshoot their shots
from yesterday and so risk running out of both time and film
while others settled for what they had and went onto images
new.
By
I p.m. they were all back with broader faces holding back
happy smiles for the animals had performed, the sun had come
out just right and the visibility was a little better
The
atmosphere was one of relieved excitement. The hard work was
over with the results to look forward to. Once the films had
been returned and the 5 slides marked for submission, there
was little else to do but relax and soak in the atmosphere
and the red wine.
The
results were announced after a grand dinner at an impressive
local hotel which is located in an idyllic location a few
miles out of town. The team winners were revealed as Italy
with Spain second and Great Britain third. Italy had shot
an entry which balanced artificial props with natural and
man and animal. They used their ideas to create a feeling
of clearer water and so achieve more impact.
In
the individual category, Kurt Amsler of Switzerland was a
clear winner with a professional entry combining models, props
and marine life, Italy's Pierfranco Dilenge was second and
Peter Scoones was third.
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