The
annual competition for the Best Beginners Portfolio for the
DIVER Trophy was staged at the November meeting of the Society.
Entry to the competition, is restricted. Any British underwater
photographer who has never won a first, second or third place
in a National or International underwater photographic competition
is eligible to compete. Moreover, all except winners of previous
Beginners Portfolio competitions may also enter.
This
year there were 28 portfolios entered and a glorious presentation
they made. Each portfolio was projected onto a large screen
using six projectors. The audience present were invited to
vote on their favourite three portfolios in order of preference.
All portfolios were projected three times.
FOURTH
Fourth
place this year went to Hilary Driscoll from Radlett, Herts,
who scored 27 points. Hilary is a BS-AC Advanced Instructor
and a member of the Potters Bar branch of the BSAC. She has
been diving since 1980 and started taking snaps using a Nikonos
on club holidays in 1984. In 1988 she purchased a Sea &
Sea wide-angle lens and went to the Red Sea. Hilary began
taking underwater photographs "seriously two to three
years ago" and has visited the Red Sea, Belize, the Maldives
and Eilat, taking part in Martin Edge's 1994 underwater photography
courses in Eilat in 1994 and Sipadan this year.
Hilary's
portfolio comprised a macro photograph of yellow sunset corals
taken in Eilat using a Nikonos with 1: 1 extension tubes ;
a wide-angle shot of a diver with a torch gazing at brilliant
red soft coral taken at Moses Rock taken with a 14mm lens;
a close-up of an anemone fish;
a macro shot of a hawk fish in a sea fan taken in Sipadan
with 60mm lens on a Nikon 801S in a Subal housing and the
SB25 in a Cullimore housing ; and a close-up shot shoal of
fish taken at Moses Rock and a macro shot of a nudibranch
in Sipadan using the same system.
THIRD
Third
place with 32 points went to Brendan O'Brien from Warrington
in Cheshire. Brendan has been diving since he was 15 years
old. After leaving University he lived in Bermuda. He has
been taking photographs for the last four years, having been
hooked on underwater photography after completing a Nikonos/NAUI
basic course in Bermuda. Brendan's portfolio comprised a wide-angle
shot of a diver over yellow sponges taken in Cayman Brac;
a macro shot of a scrolled cow fish eye taken in Bermuda;
a wide-angle shot of a diver descending from a boat anchored
over yellow sponges in Cayman Brac; a silhouette of an angel
fish under a wreck in Grand Cayman; a close-up shot of a squid
taken in Grand Cayman; and a macro shot of an anemone shrimp
taken in Bermuda. All of Brendan's photographs were taken
with a Nikonos V camera using a 15 mm or 28 mm lens for wide-angle
shots, a Nikonos Close-up kit for close-ups and Nikonos extension
tubes for his macro shot.
SECOND
Second
place with 38 points went to Bob Allen from Welwyn Garden
City, Herts. Bob has been diving since 1969 and is currently
Chairman of Stevenage SAA, a post he has held for 12 years.
He has been taking photographs for about 10 years.
Bob's
portfolio comprised wreck of a tug at Abu Geloa Kabi in the
southern Red Sea; a wide-angle shot of his wife Denise, also
a keen underwater photographer, holding a torch, a wide-angle
shot through the surface of the anchored boat "Stressbreaker"
at sunset at Shab Ali, Hurghada; a close-up of a bat fish
taken at Zarghabad, southern Red Sea; a macro shot of a brittle
star on a white soft coral taken at Sha Ali, Hurghada; a natural
light wide-angle shot of an unknown wreck at Little Gubal,
Hurghada; and a wide-angle shot of red gorgonian sea fan taken
at Pinnacle Rock, Shad Abu Nuhas, Hurghada. All of Bob's photographs
were taken on Fuji Provia with a Nikon F801S in a Subal housing
using a manual fish-eye and 20 mm AF lens for wide-angle shots
and a 60mm AF macro lens for close-ups.
FIRST
This
year's winner with 79 points was Malcolm Hey from Romsey in
Hants. Malcolm "is a diver turned photographer, currently
a member of Bedford Scuba Divers. Malcolm has been diving
for fifteen years and is a BSAC First Class Diver, Advanced
Instructor and former BSAC Area Coach". Having qualified
his interests turned predominately to underwater photography.
He "played around with an Olympus trip in a Birchley
housing during 1987 and 1988 with appalling results"
and then bought a Nikonos V system and a Morris F3 Aquaflash
in 1988. He "used the system on occasional dives but
was disappointed to find that the new system didn't do much
to improve his photography".
Keen
to learn Malcolm "went on a photographic course with
Martin Edge in August 1990 on the MV Maureen out of Salcombe.
Since then he has been on numerous courses lead by Martin
in Poole, Bournemouth and many of Martin's Red Sea holiday/expeditions".
He
travels a good deal and over the last few years has "dived/photographed
in Canada, the Maldives, Red Sea, Philippines, Sipadan, Cozumel,
Grand Cayman and various other Caribbean locations".
Last year he bought a Nikon F801 in a Subal housing and entered
the Beginners Portfolio competition for the first time. He
was just pipped at the post, finishing a very close second.
Malcolm's
portfolio comprised a balanced light shot of a red soft coral
taken on Fuji Velvia in Sipadan; a macro shot of a clam taken
on Kodak Elite in the Gulf of Suez; a diver with a torch on
a reef wall also taken on Kodak Elite at Jackson Reef, Gulf
of Aqaba; a macro shot of a long-nosed hawk fish taken on
Fuji Velvia in Sipadan; a close-up of a clown fish in an anemone
taken on Kodak Elite at Anemone City, Ras Mohammed, Gulf of
Aqaba; and a turtle taken in Sipadan. All of Malcolm's photographs
were taken using a Nikon F801 in a Subal housing and a Nikon
SB24 in a Cullimore housing.
Malcolm
won the DIVER Trophy and a cash prize of £100 kindly
donated by Bernard Eaton, editor of DIVER magazine.
