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Photosub
Corsica 1997
Les Rendez-Vous de l'Emotion
by
Mark Webster
Reproduced
from in focus 61 (April 1998 (unpublished))
Photo-Sub
events are becoming increasingly popular, especially in the
Mediterranean area where they are seen as the conservationists
alternative to the once dominant spear fishing events. One
of the longest established, now in its seventh year, is "Les
Rendez-vous de l'Emotion" - which was held in Corsica during
October. This event is organised by the FFESSM and Club Atoll
Diving Centre in Bonifacio and sponsored by Scubapro France.
This year's event attracted a total of twenty teams from France,
Belgium, Switzerland and the UK.
The
competition comprises one day of reconnaissance and preparation
followed by one day of competition with the third and final
day reserved for judging and presentations. The photographers
are given two films to expose in six hours from which they
have to present a portfolio of five slides. The theme of the
competition is "Les Rendez-vous de l'Emotion" (literally:
the meeting with emotion) and could be interpreted in any
way the photographer wished. The judging panel included artists,
underwater photographers and diving journalists, so it was
very difficult to guess the type of image they would favour.
The
dive sites are centred on the marine reserve of the Levezzi
islands, which lie in the straits of Bonifacio between Corsica's
southern coast and the north coast of Sardinia. The marine
life in this area is particularly rich and ranks as one of
the top three dive sites in the Mediterranean. The first day
is for reconnaissance and was reasonably calm, but the wind
began to freshen in the evening building overnight to a force
nine gale for the competition day!! The boat ride to the islands
was extremely bumpy but the water amongst the islands were
sheltered and calm, although the visibility had suffered.
However, the participants were no less determined and activity
was periodically frantic as photographers and their models
tried to squeeze in four and five dives in search of the winning
shots.
The
winning slides were as varied as the judging panel and it
was easy to see that everybody_views the emotion experienced
in diving in many diverse ways. The majority of the top placed
slides were close ups due to the weather conditions, more
than a little reminiscent of a BSoUP Splash In day!
Results:
First: Marc
De Batty France
Second: Jean
Raphael Tordoir France
Third:
Mark Webster Great Britain |
