News
Manta Fest Photo Festival 2018, Yap, Micronesia
Manta Fest Photography Workshops & Photo/Video Contest
August 25th to September 9th
Every year Manta Ray Bay Resort and Yap Divers hosts an all-levels, two-week long photo and video workshop, media party and image contest with $20,000 in prizes – www.mantafest.com.
Several of today’s top underwater professionals host daily workshops, which are available to participants for one-to-one training throughout the week in English and German. Advanced photo workshops include topics such as pictorial design, shooting split images, shooting sharks & big animals, as well as models and modelling – plus, days of editing and post-capture tips and tricks using Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.
Workshops
Advanced underwater photography workshops, private session video training, drone flying lessons, Lightroom & Photoshop beginner to advanced and a challenging photography shoot makes up the official educational program. Each day there is “Happy Hour with the Presenters” at the Crow’s Nest open air bar where guests can bring their camera, laptop, housing or images and talk one-to-one with the pro’s about anything photo/video related. Private appointments can be made for training with your camera system as well as post-capture.
The Nightlife
Each evening the Crow’s Nest bar hosts a media presentation by one of the presenting professionals of their work. A high-definition media projector and outdoor big screen shows some of the day’s top shots and how they were captured. Engaging slideshows show everything from models to manatees.
The Contest
Prizes are given for Photo and Video submissions. Guests can participate with any type of underwater camera system in dSLR / mirror-less or non dSLR (compact) divisions with the chance to win the same prizes. Categories are Big Animals, Macro, Reef Scenic, Behavior as well as People, Island & Culture. Prizes and awards are presented for Best of Show, 1st, 2nd & 3rd place in each category, as well as honorable mentions. Each participant goes home with a sponsor gift bag.
Previous event prizes include a 16-day liveaboard trip through Indonesia with Dive Damai (worth $10,000), Palau Siren Cruise, Chuuk Odyssey 7-day, Mares complete gear sets with Abyss regulator, Henderson wetsuits, Pelican gear, Armor dive equipment and Ikelite gift certificates.
Diving
Every day guests dive with the professionals at exclusive dive sites with no bottom time limits on custom photo dive plans. Guests can choose a boat with the presenter/dive site combination of their choice, affording participants the opportunity to be in the water and work on the skills or techniques acquired in the workshops or one-to-one training with the presenters.
There are daily big animal, macro and outer reef dive plans, as well as specialty dives such as mating mandarinfish and shark feed diving. You can dive up to five times per day.
For more information click here.
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 3
Today we are diving one of the outer reefs from an inflatable. As we reach the bottom, a reef octopus eases its way into the cover of a small crack in the coral while displaying it’s incredible ability to change colour. They are arguably one of the most charismatic of reef dwellers and it is always exciting for me to simply hover and watch. I would have spent longer and waited for it to come and investigate me, but as dive time is limited we wanted to move on and find a turtle.
The waters around Somabay are well protected and hold a rich variety of marine life. The reef edges are thriving colonies of coral and shoaling fish, while nearer the sea bed plenty of wildlife is still to be found.
Then we located the turtles. They are very used to divers and so show little concern when slowly approached. In fact occasionally one will come over to see what you are doing. There is always huge excitement when diving with a turtle. The shear thrill of sharing a moment with another species.
What a fantastic way to finish a wonderful few days diving and I would like to thank SOMABAY, ORCA DIVING and THE BREAKERS for making my stay such a good one.
I had a great time, with diving everyday either on the house reef or on one of the offshore reefs by inflatable or larger day boat. Orca diving provided high quality equipment and facilities while the staff were all very friendly and welcoming. The Breakers was right on the coast with nice rooms, good food and once again friendly staff making the whole trip a real pleasure.
Soma Bay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds.
As well as scuba diving, Somabay caters for many other sports and activities, and so is perfect for families as well as individuals and/or groups. And of course there is always time to lay peacefully on the beach under the Egyptian sun.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 2
Day three of my trip to Somabay and we were spending the day on the Lady Christina and diving on the wreck of the Salem Express.
Diving wrecks for me is always one of mixed emotions. The excitement of diving a wreck is more than often tempered by the thought of loss of life when she sank. The Salem Express was a passenger ship and a roll-on/roll-off ferry travelling from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt. Most passengers were of poor class travelling home from their holidays while around 150 people were returning home from their pilgrimage to Mecca.
The ship struck a reef and sank within 20 minutes. Passengers were trapped below deck and the ship was filled with fear and panic.
The wreck area is strewn with personal belongings from the crew and passengers such as a transistor radio and a flat iron for clothes. A diver at sometime has put them in a prominent place to be seen.
Tragically only one life boat was launched while the others went down with the ship. More than 600 men, women and children lost their lives here.
It’s a stark reminder that the sea can be unforgiving and so when we dive on such wrecks we should do so with humble regard.
Returning to the surface, shoals of fish are gathered under our boat and seem to be welcoming us back into the light.
Back at the Breakers I sat in the dining area with a beer and a very good meal while my thoughts still remained with the day’s dive on the Salem Express.
Check in for part 3 tomorrow for Jeff’s last day of diving with Somabay on the off-shore reefs looking for turtles.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
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