I would like to announce Digital Madness 2011.
This is my popular UW photo workshop based at Ocean Frontiers at the East End of Grand Cayman. The event, which will take place in January 2011, is now open for reservations. The event usually attracts a good number of Wetpixel members.
The dates for January 2011 are:
Week 1: 15-22 January 2011 - FULL
Week 2: 22-29 January 2011 - FULL
I run two weeks of this event, meaning I can limit the group size to 12 photographers. The theme is lighting, with a focus on wide angle photography. The title is “Understanding, capturing and controlling both strobe and available light underwater”.
Each week is limited to just 12 photographers and we will be shooting Grand Cayman’s dramatic walls, the East End’s atmospheric caverns, fishy shallow reefs, at Stingray City, the newly sunk (ex-USS) Kittiwake wreck and much more. All subjects have unique opportunities and their own technical challenges. The workshop covers both classic and creative techniques.
The workshop always includes the traditional dawn stingray shoot, with the group now granted special photographic permissions, to shoot to the spectacular stingray schooling behaviour. We will also aim for encounters with Cayman’s larger creatures such as turtles, tarpon and reef sharks. And finally, although this is a wide angle themed workshop, we will do a couple of long, shallow critter dives.
You can get an idea of the variety of subject matter from looking at my galleries of photos, taken during the 2010 and 2009 workshop weeks.
For those who have done other workshops with me, should note that the Cayman one is a little different. The Cayman Workshop has a focus on really perfecting lighting. We go back to basic principles and looking at the nature of light sources underwater, and how we different types of light must be controlled and can be exploited in different ways to create stunning underwater images. Wide angle subjects provides opportunities for both balanced light (reef scenics), challenging mixed lighting environments (caves) and available light photography (stingrays, including black and white). The Cayman workshop includes a pool session at the beginning of the week, where I can work with everyone 1:1 to improve strobe positioning for wide angle photography and get everyone maximising their productivity on the reefs. Post processing is discussed, particularly in the group image review sessions, but it is not the main focus of the workshop.
Paul Colley, who came on the workshop this year, wrote this report.
The workshop is aimed mainly at SLR photographers, who have done at least a couple of dive trips as underwater photographers. I also believe that great underwater photos don’t happen by chance. We have to work for them. The Cayman workshop is a busy week, we have a laugh too, but we dive a lot and discuss our photography in detail. If at any point you want to skip a dive or a lecture that is no problem. It is your holiday. But I see my role as giving you as much help as I can during the week.
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Package Price: US Dollars: $2,175.00 per person based on double occupancy in a one-bedroom oceanfront condominium. Alternative room rates based on occupancy are available and single supplement is $625.00. If you would like to share a two-bedroom two-bathroom oceanfront condominium the rate would be $2,405.00 per person double occupancy.
The package (excludes flights but) covers for 7 nights accommodation at the luxurious Compass Point Resort, the workshop, diving (usually 19 dives), social evenings, rental car, high speed Wi-Fi. Cayman is a great destination, with lots of stuff to do above the sea, and it is very common that many workshop participants come down with diving or non-diving partners.
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Finally, you can see a gallery of topside images from Week 1 of the 2010 workshop here. They are taken by Predrag Vuckovic (www.extreme-photographer.com), which is why they are rather good!
Post below, or email me for more info. For reservations please contact the resort/dive centre directly by emailing: lesley@oceanfrontiers.com
or calling toll free (North America only):0800 348 6096 or web:
I hope I will see some of you there!
Alex
