This year’s DIVE 2017, held at the NEC in Birmingham on 21 and 22 October, promises to be bigger and better than ever before. The DIVER Group have assembled a superb array of guest speakers for the weekend including:

• Scubaverse’s very own Underwater Photography Editors Nick & Caroline Robertson-Brown. As marine biologists and photo-journalists, they will be discussing wide-angle photography and how it can tell a story to the viewer. In The Bigger Picture they share photos of marine-life encounters and discuss the interactions and getting the shots.
• Another marine biologist who applies his knowledge to his photography is seahorse specialist Richard Smith. His topic is How to Capture Reef-Life Au Naturel – nothing to do with nudis, it’s about taking pictures with minimum disruption to the wildlife subjects.
• Revisiting from the USA after making a deep impression at DIVE 2016, underwater forensic investigator and rescue/recovery instructor Andrea Zaferes can be expected to fascinate again with accounts of her varied experiences. Look up her CV – it’s impressive reading!
• Centre Stage billing goes to Britain’s two most illustrious underwater photographers, Alex Mustard and Martin Edge. Appearing together on Saturday, their unmissable presentation is called Unseen Images. You’ll be seeing photos for the first time, with the focus on experimental photography – or, as Alex puts it “how we play with ideas, make steps forward and backward on the way to creating exciting new work”.
• Ever-popular TV presenter Paul Rose. Not an easy man to pin down, because for much of his life he is trotting the globe, you’ll find him discussing his recent expeditions to places like rarely dived Tristan da Cunha and Ascension. Paul will also stay on after his talk Saturday afternoon to present the 20th DIVER Awards, the first time the industry’s most prestigious accolades have been given out at the NEC Dive Show.
• First published in the 1980s, by which time the intrepid Welsh cave-diver had already made a name for himself, Martyn Farr’s book The Darkness Beckons became a cave-diving bible, but it has only now been rewritten for the 21st century. Martyn will discuss the exciting developments in cave-diving that made this update necessary.
• Technical instructor and agent provocateur Mark Powell will be busy organising the TekDeck technical-diving speaker line-up, but takes time out to address the pressing question: Diving Instructors: Can We Do Better? It won’t be the first time Mark has confronted an audience with a controversial question and gone on to provide a full and compelling answer.

And lots, lots more! For the full DIVE 2017 speaker line up and ticket information go to www.diveshows.co.uk.