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For
Photographers, a highlight of the recent London International
Dive Show was a display of eye-catching pictures by some of
the world's best underwater specialists.
The
entries and personal details of the photographers were organised
by BSoUP chairman Brian Pitkin on behalf of Diver magazine
and the prints were processed by BPD Photec, Warrington, Cheshire.
01925 821281 (E9 for a 15"x10" Cibachrome). The
exhibition was very well received and our thanks go to Brian
for his excellent work.
The
photographers were: Kurt Arnsler, Jeremy Stafford- Deitsch,
Martin Edge, Charles Hood, Jack Jackson, Les Kemp, Frederic
Di Meglio, Linda Pitkin, Mike Portelly, Lionel Pozzoli, Peter
Rowlands, Mark Webster, Warren Williams, Kevin Cullimore,
David Nardini and Lawson Wood.
Kurt
Amsler
By
the age of ten, Swiss-born Kurt Arnsler was already certain
he wanted to be a photographer like his father. He took his
first underwater pictures with his fathers Leica, which he
waterproofed in the inner tube from a football!
Subsequently
his work has won him over 100 prizes and countless international
honours. His pictures reflect his interest in conservation
and the preservation of marine species which are facing extinction.
Jeremy
Stafford-Deitsch
Renowned
as a shark expert, Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch is interested in
all marine subjects and ecosystems. For him the challenge
of underwater photography is in managing to compose a picture
despite the innumerable difficulties that conspire to thwart
you.
Sharks,
he says, present obvious difficulties but it is rarely appreciated
just how difficult it is to actually find one and get close
to it let alone take a satisfactory picture.
Martin
Edge
After
many successful years taking pictures underwater, Martin Edge
now concentrates on passing on his skills and experience to
others keen to photograph the world beneath the waves.
His
underwater photographic courses and expeditions are particularly
popular with beginners and more experienced photographers.
Indeed, many of todays' most talented photographers have benefited
from his courses and are now winning many of the competitions
and trophies which bear his name from the 1980s, when he first
began diving with a camera.
Charles
Hood
Charles
Hood began taking underwater photographs in 1979 with a 110
Weathermatic camera. The results inspired him to take his
hobby further.
Having
taken many photographs of coral reefs and their inhabitants
around the world, he is now concentrating on the more uncommon
animals and/or finding different angles to take the more familiar
subjects.
Jack
Jackson
Explorer,
mountaineer, diver, photographer and author Jack Jackson has
photographed the remoter areas of the world since 1962.
Originally
an industrial chemist, he found the call of adventure too
strong. So he gave up that career for a life of expeditions,
lecturing and photography. He has made more than 150 expeditions
and journeys in the deserts, mountains, rainforests and seas
of the world.
Les
Kemp
Even
as a youth, Les Kemp was fascinated by diving. Within two
years of joining a dive club he took up underwater photography
so he could show other people the world which fascinated him
so much.
Since
then he has gone on the win many awards for his pictures and
to represent Britain in the CMAS world championships and other
international events. His pictures and articles are published
in many magazines, holiday brochures and other literature.
He is particularly well-known for his audiovisual shows.
Frederic
Di Meglio
One
of France's top underwater photographers, Frederic Di Meglio
is a surgeon specialising in hyperbaric and diving medicine.
He
has been taking pictures in the sea since 1984 and has twice
won the CMAS world championships. He has been the French underwater
photographic champion on five occasions.
Linda
Pitkin
In
16 years of diving, Linda Pitkin has visited many tropical
locations but also enjoys the colder waters of the British
Isles, Norway and Canada. Her first book, The Living Sea -
a Photographic Record, was published last year and he is now
working on another about northem seas.
She
has won many awards and commendations in international and
national competitions and her work has been published in a
wide range of books and magazines.
Mike
Portelly
Four
months before the international film festival at Brighton
in 1976, Mike Portelly didnt own a camera let alone know how
to use it. Yet, hanks to help from BSoUP members, especially
Peter Scoones, he went on to buy an underwater camera, go
to Kenya and return with pictures which won him the award
for the best beginner.
He
went on to win first prize at the CMAS world championships
as well as many other awards. Always an innovative and creative
photographer, he into directing and filming TV commercials.
Notable examples are the recent Cheltenham & Gloucester
advert in which a small boy beats hard hat divers to a temple
of treasures.
Lionel
Pozzoli
Lionel
Pozzoli is one of the world's top underwater photographers.
He started taking pictures in 1984 and almost immediately
started to win awards at prestigious contests like those staged
by the Underwater Photographic Society in the US and the Antibes
Festival in France.
In
1992 he took over the organisation of the CMAS world championships
and was the general co-ordinator for the events held in Cuba
in 1992 and South Korea two years later.
Peter
Rowlands
Peter
Rowlands started diving in 1970 and almost immediately became
enthused with taking pictures underwater. Soon his pictures
were winning awards and he was named British Underwater Photographer
of the Year in 1987.
He
became actively involved in BSoUP, becoming its secretary,
chairman and president as well as producing its first newsletter.
Mark
Webster
While
working as a commercial diver in the oil industry, Mark Webster
took his first pictures in the harsh conditions of the North
Sea. That interest has developed into a passion. Now most
of his photography is concentrated on photojournalism and
competitions. He has twice represented the UK at the CMAS
world championships. For the past five years he has hosted
regular liveaboard workshops and courses in the Red Sea.
Warren
Williams
A
perfectionist, Warren Williams can produce an award winning
picture from a rock pool as easily as during a dive on a coral
reef. He also has the advantage that he can make his own camera
housings and the special accessories necessary to give him
an edge over other photographers.
A
former British Underwater Photographer of the Year, he has
won the same title on three occasions at the Irish Underwater
Councils film festival as well as numerous medals, trophies
and other honours in national and international competitions.
Lawson
Wood
Lawson
Woods first dive was in 1965 when he wans only 11. Now he
is a registered freelance cameraman with the BBC and organises
regular photographic workshops to an international level.
He is also renowned for his audio visual shows.
Particularly
active in Scottish diving and marine conservation, he established
the Barefoots marine reserve in Eyemouth in 1976. He is the
first person ever to become a Fellow of both the Royal Photographic
Society and the British Institute of Professional Photographers
solely for underwater photography.
Kevin
Cullimore
Kevin
began diving when he was 16 but his interest in underwater
photography started long before that when he saw the first
television programmes by Jacques Cousteau and also the Sea
Hunt series.
He
dived for the sheer fun of the sport for a couple of years
before building his first underwater housing for a cheap camera.
Little
did he realise where this would lead but he was soon graduating
from one camera to another, improving the design of his housings
and learning from those early experimental Perspex boxes.
Kevin joined BSoUP during this period and became enthralled
with the design and construction of housings and other equipment.
He
says: 'It was, for me, one of the most enjoyable periods of
my diving career and, in some ways, it is a shame most people
buy off-the-shelf these days.'
Over
the years, his photographic interests have changed. Now most
of the pictures he takes are for commercial purposes - magazines,
picture libraries or specific clients. Much of his work in
the UK is devoted to freshwater photography, which he particularly
enjoys but he also finds the Red Sea particularly productive.
David
Nardini
David
Nardini is one of the leading pioneers in the use of digital
imaging for underwater photography. His
interest started when he was playing water polo. He thought
it would be fun to take some shots from below the surface
so he housed a Kodak Instamatic in an inner tube with a small
piece of glass to act as a port.
He
found the results impressive, considering the technology involved,
and was inspired to begin diving and start taking more pictures
underwater. During his time at university he invested in a
Nikonos II, bulb flash and a Sekonic light meter. Soon afterwards
he joined Ocean Optics and started to appreciated the full
potential of underwater photography.
At
the same time he joined the Society and came into contact
with leading photographers whose work he has admired over
the years.
'BSoUP
has been a constant source of information for me and provides
a forum for the exchange of ideas,' he declares. Now, as a
computer consultant and underwater photographer, his work
takes him overseas and allows him to dive in many attractive
locations.
His
preferred format is wide-angle. He mainly uses a Nikonos or
a housed Nikon. Most of his pictures are taken in the first
ten metres of water, unless he is after a specific subject
which can only be found deeper.
He
tends to prefer warmer waters where clarity is guaranteed
but finds the most exciting photographs seem to occur 'where
the waters are a touch murky'.
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