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International
Photosub events have become increasingly popular, both with
photographers who can pit their skills on an even footing
in real time, and with sponsors, who recognise the publicity
benefits which the unusual nature of the events attract.
The
most recent European event was held in October at the Ten
Bel Hotelparque in Tenerife. It differed from many others
in that it offered both stills and video photographers a chance
to compete. Ten countries were invited to field one photographer
of each discipline with models and assistants as appropriate.
However, the main theme of the competition was marine life,
with no contrivance, so many photographers arrived on their
own.
I
had not dived in the Canaries before and by the end of the
week I had been pleasantly surprised by the variety of the
dive sites, marine life and, not least, by my encounter with
Pilot WhalesI But more about this later.
The
rules of the competition were very precise and the categories
for submission clearly defined at the outset. Both photographers
and video cameramen had five one-hour long dives at preselected
locations, followed by a one and a half hour snorkling session
with Pilot Whales. We were all intrigued to see if the latter
would prove to be as simple as the organisers assured us it
would be. Each photographer was given seven rolls of Fujichrome
100 ASA film to produce up to five slides in each of three
categories A) General views B) Marine Life and C) Pilot Whales.
There were to be no macro photographs. The video cameramen
were required to produce a video 7-10 minutes in duration
with no more than 20% surface footage.
The
diving was organised by Coral Sub Diving, a long established
organisation located within the Ten Bel complex on the beach,
and it could not have been more convenient. The competitors
were split into four small groups, each with its own Zodiac
inflatable. Each group dived each site in rotation so that
not too many competitors were in the water at each site at
the same time. The sites had been chosen for their variety
of marine life and differing topography and all offered excellent
opportunities.
THE
RAYS
Anyone
familiar with Sting Ray City in Grand Cayman would feel at
home on this site. There are literally dozens of Rays, ranging
from small Bat Rays to large Eagle Rays and Sting Rays, plus
one or two very unusual Rays, all of which wait to be fed
- by hand if necessary. Needless to say, this provided excellent
photo graphic potential. The site also boasts a small wreck
and reef system which is home to a variety of fish, octopus
and other invertebrates in a maximum of 20 metres.
LA
CONDOSITA
La
Condosita was a small coaster carrying cement which was wrecked
on Punta de la Rasca, close to the light house, in 1973. Her
bows lie in 8 metres and her stern in 16 metres and she is
surprisingly intact. There are no brassy trinkets to be had,
but the hold, where the cargo can still be found, offers easy
access and the wreck is home to a variety of marine life.
I was able to photograph squirrel fish, sergeant majors, rainbow
wrasse, trumpet fish and octopus. The adjacent reef comprises
some fascinating volcanic rock formations, similar to the
Giants Causeway in Ireland.
SEA
BREAM (PUNTA SAN JUAN)
This
site was perhaps two miles offshore and in deeper, and therefore
clearer, water. The top of the reef is at 20-22 metres with
a drop off to sandy ledges at 35 metres and beyond. The site
was selected for the reliable appearance of a massive shoal
of yellow lined snappers (or sea bream), which showed no fear
of divers. The walls and deep gullies provided excellent backdrops
for this subject, with the sun bursting through on cue. There
are a wide variety of other species on the site, including
several large barracuda and shoals of jack fish.
SQUIRREL
FISH (PUNTA SAN JUAN)
This
site lies approximately half a mile from the sea bream and
is an extension of the same reef system. The area also hosts
its own shoal of these fish, but our visit was to capture
the large shoals of squirrel fish or big eyes which are found
under the many overhangs and in deep gullies which are a feature
of this site. These fish are nocturnal and reluctant to venture
into open water during the day, and therefore can be approached
extremely closely. Depths are again 20-30 metres and the site
offers a variety of other marine life such as nudibranchs,
octopus, rays, shrimp cleaner stations and numerous fish species.
THE
MORAY EELS
Jean
Koller, who owns and runs the diving centre, is fast becoming
a celebrity with visiting divers due to his activities on
this site. The reef system, in depths of 12-20 metres, hosts
a variety of other moray eels which Jean has trained to be
fed by hand and handled by both himself and others. The eels
are very docile and friendly and consequently can be approached
very closely for photography. I saw three species of moray,
the common green/brown eel, a more unusual species which is
black with startlingly white eyes and the exotic tiger moray
with its bright yellow and black markings. The site also features
several large volcanically formed lava arches which provided
good photogenic spots and attracted a variety of fish species
including some large barracuda.
THE
PILOT WHALES
Our
final site lay some three miles offshore from the port of
Los Cristianos in approximately 1000 metres of waterl For
several years it has been known that the area hosted large
family groups or pods of pilot whales as well as dolphins
and other whale species. It is only since May 1990 that small
groups of divers have been able to swim with the whales and
this experience was to be the highlight for all the competitors.
Only snorkelling equipment may be used and specific techniques
have to be adopted to get close to the whales, which I will
describe in detail in a subsequent article. Suffice it to
say that it is a truly awesome and emotional experience, and
all the competitors came away feeling absolutely gob-smackedl
We were also utterly exhausted as the whales can move extremely
fast as soon as they see you are ready to press the shutterl
THE
RESULTS
So
after four days of competition we had four hours to select
our portfolios and edit the video footage. The four members
of the jury then retired for the remainder of the day to choose
the winning images, whilst we struggled to find distraction
as we wafted for the results. The results were as follows:
CATEGORY
A: GENERAL VIEWS
1.
Robert Braunschweig (Switzerland) 2. Lionel Pozzoli (France)
3. Mark Webster (Great Britain)
CATEGORY
B: MARINE LIFE
1. Andreas Koffka (Germany) 2. Rudy Van Geldere (Belgium)
3. Peter Verhoog (Holland)
CATEGORY
C: PILOT WHALES
1. Serge Hanquet (Tenerife) 2. Peter Verhoog (Holland) 3.
Mark Webster (Great Britain)
FIRST
OVERALL (SLIDES):
Peter
Verhoog (Holland)
VIDEO,
CATEGORY A: BEST FILM
1.
Johnny Letellier (Belgium) 2. Michel Vrignaud (France)
VIDEO,
CATEGORY B: BEST SEQUENCE
1. Michel Vrignaud (France) 2. Johnny Letellier (Belgium)
FIRST
OVERALL (VIDEO):
Michel
Vrignaud (France)
On
a closing note I would like to extend a vote of thanks on
behalf of myself and fellow competitors to the organisers
and sponsors of the event, without whom the competition would
have been impossible. They include Jos Audenaerd, the competition
coordinator from Belgium, Hotelparque Ten-Bel, Coral Sub Diving,
Olympus cameras, Thompson Holidays, Scubapro and many others.
The
competition was a great success and ran faultlessly due to
the efforts of the organising team and Coral Sub staff. With
luck the event will become a regular feature of the photosub
calendar.
Reproduced
from in focus 42 (Nov.
1991) with
kind permission of Mark Webster (http://www.photec.co.uk/)
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