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Capturing Critters in Lembeh Underwater Photography Workshop 2024: Event Roundup
The 11th annual Capturing Critters in Lembeh Underwater Photography Workshop has just wrapped at Lembeh Resort in North Sulawesi, Indonesia! What an incredible workshop it was – following the usual format of not just one host Photo Pro but four! Lembeh Resort’s three visiting Photo Pros, Saeed Rashid, Alex Tattersall & Nicolas Remy (plus Lembeh Resort’s in house pro) did an incredible job of keeping participants inspired and striving for their best shots throughout the week.
As usual the Capturing Critters workshop was packed with daily presentations, one-on-one sessions with the pros, incredible dives and critters in the Lembeh Strait.
Photo: Michael Wanke
Lembeh Resort’s inhouse team, including our marine biologist and dive guides also spent time with participants, sharing their wealth of knowledge about the unique marine life and critter behaviour to be found in the Lembeh Strait. Dive Center Manager, Brigitte Gassner, delivered slick organization and coordination of a busy schedule, while the resort team ensured that guests were well looked after and enjoyed phenomenal dining in between dives and presentations.
Critter sightings this year were above and beyond with some of Lembeh’s most iconic critters putting on phenomenal behavioral displays for participants. Some of the most notable stars of the week included blue ring octopus, sargassum frogfish, pygmy seahorses, tiger shrimp, rhinopias, hairy frogfish, hairy octopus, mimic octopus, wunderpus, beautiful soft coral cowries and a host of different nudibranch species.
Photo: Jeffrey Sankoff
During presentations, participants learned from the pros about a number of topics from basic image composition, focus and lighting through to techniques to reduce backscatter and post dive editing in Lightroom.
Capturing Critters in Lembeh 2025
The Capturing Critters Workshop goes from strength to strength each year and the images produced in each annual workshop continue to portray why the Lembeh Strait is a world famous destination for muck divers and underwater photographers. In 2025 Lembeh Resort will be hosting three more world-class Photo Pros: Ron Watkins (USA), Paul Duxfield (UK), and Renee Capozzola (USA). The week-long workshop will once again be packed with incredible diving, Pro presentations, and one-on-one instruction and feedback.
Photo: Patrick Sheehan
The Capturing Critters 2025 workshop will be Lembeh Resort’s 12th annual workshop and takes place from January 11th – 17th 2025. Take a look at what’s in store and contact Lembeh Resort for more information or to make a reservation: reservations@LembehResort.com
A word from the Pros….
QUOTE FROM SAEED RASHID:
The workshop went really well. This is my second time hosting the capturing quitters event – I was here in 2020. I was amazed by how slickly this this really busy workshop is put together and yet again this year. We look at the schedule and it seems really busy but then everything just slots into place. As pros, we host two presentations a day, make three dives and everyone at the end of it has improved their pictures no end.
Lembeh Resort is the most perfect resort to host this type of event. It has enough room not only to accommodate all the all the guests but there is also a vast camera room and fantastic AV facilities for the pro presentations. Lembeh Resort is the ideal place to host the Capturing Critters Workshop.
I really think the participants got a lot out of this. Not only did they have constant access to the three imported pros, that’s myself, Nicholas and Alex, but they also had the in house photo pro here with a fantastic Backscatter Authorised Photo Centre where they had the ability to hire kit ,to try out kit and just get really hands on with not only the diving, but all of the equipment combined with all of our expert knowledge.
Read more about Saeed and view his portfolio here: https://www.focusvisuals.com/
Photo: Saeed Rashid
QUOTE FROM NICOLAS REMY:
During the workshop we had quite a big group with different skill sets. Some participants were beginners and there were some very experienced photographers, but I think everyone got something out of it. Feedback from participants was that having three different photographers, Saeed, Alex and myself, teaching and sharing the way we do things really helped them and it was interesting observing the different ways of working underwater. I have seen the participant photographers steadily improve during the week, meaning that their photos got better and better. I’ve seen a number of their photos that I wish I would have taken myself!
Lembeh Resort is always a great place for hosting this sort of workshop because we have dive guides who have an exposure to photography – most of them are photographers themselves, so they know how to help us find subjects that are well positioned. There’s also a Backscatter Authorised Photo Centre with equipment to rent and I’ve seen quite a few participants taking advantage of this and renting snoots and accessories. The Photo Center does a great job in supporting everyone’s creativity and ability to try new techniques.
Read more about Nicolas and view his portfolio here: https://www.nicolaslenaremy.com/
Photo: Nicolas Remy
QUOTE FROM ALEX TATTERSALL:
The workshop has been brilliant. We’ve had so much fun, so many amazing images and it couldn’t have gone better. Lembeh Resort is ideal for this kind of workshop – it’s a very warm place to be. The schedule was very well put together and we had enough time in the water and enough time in between dives to spend time with the participants. We’ve had amazing experiences with the dive guides who found all the critters you could ever ask for.
One of the other things that I think is very special about this workshop is the fact that there were three of us (pros) teaching me all sides of underwater photography and the complementary angles and approaches that all of us have to underwater photography and each of the participants were able to benefit from different things. We had various different levels from very beginners up to very accomplished photographers. And every I would say that every single one of them took away an awful lot of learning and experience.
It was great to see how participants also benefit from looking at how other people photograph particular subjects and how that inspires them to go down and try that kind of technique. I would say that these are just some of the key things which make this a very special experience for everyone involved, including us.
Read more about Alex and view his portfolio here: https://www.uwvisions.com/
Photo: Alex Tattersall
As National Safe Boating Week approaches, Save the Manatee® Club is urging boaters, and anyone that enjoys Florida’s waterways, to respect and protect the defenseless manatees that inhabit our shared waterways. From May 18 to 24, leading up to Memorial Day Weekend, the campaign aims to raise awareness about recreational boating safety and the importance of safeguarding imperiled manatees during the summer boating season. This week also emphasizes the importance of encouraging boaters to enroll in a boating safety course.
Manatees are semi-migratory marine mammals that are commonly found in shallow estuaries, bays, rivers, canals, and coastal areas throughout Florida and neighboring states. With some manatees venturing as far west as Texas and as far north as Massachusetts, collisions between these gentle giants and watercraft have become distressingly frequent. Boat propellers and high-speed collisions pose significant threats to manatees, often resulting in severe injuries or even death.
Save the Manatee Club is calling on all water enthusiasts to follow essential manatee safety tips to ensure the well-being of the imperiled manatee:
- Obey Speed Zone Signs: Familiarize yourself with and adhere to posted speed limits to prevent collisions with manatees.
- Reduce Glare with Polarized Sunglasses: Wear polarized sunglasses to enhance visibility and spot manatees below the water’s surface.
- Recognize Manatee Signs: Learn to identify signs of manatees in the area, such as swirls or flat spots on the water caused by their movements.
- Respect Manatee Sanctuaries: Keep a safe distance from posted manatee sanctuaries and avoid pursuing or harassing these marine mammals, as it is illegal and can disrupt their natural behaviors.
- Report Distressed Manatees: In Florida, promptly report distressed, injured, tagged, or orphaned manatees to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) at 1-888-404-FWCC (3922). Outside of Florida, report sightings to the appropriate state agency or rescue organization. A list of agencies to contact is available at savethemanatee.org/report.
- Protect Seagrass Beds: Avoid boating over seagrass beds and shallow areas where manatees may be feeding. Stick to deep water channels while remaining vigilant, as manatees also utilize these channels during their travels.
- Dispose of Fishing Line Responsibly: Anglers should properly dispose of or recycle used fishing line to prevent entanglement hazards for manatees.
“Each year, National Safe Boating Week provides an excellent reminder for all of us to be aware that we share our waterways with vulnerable manatees,” emphasized Patrick Rose, Aquatic Biologist and Executive Director of Save the Manatee Club. “With the recent Unusual Mortality Event on Florida’s East Coast claiming an alarming number of manatees’ lives, it is more crucial than ever to prevent preventable deaths caused by watercraft collisions. By following manatee-safe boating guidelines, such as obeying speed zones and remaining vigilant for manatees, everyone on the water can contribute to the protection of these gentle giants.”
Save the Manatee Club offers a range of free materials to help safeguard manatees and raise awareness about manatee-safe boating practices. Shoreline property owners and park or marina managers can order aluminum dock signs to alert others about the presence of manatees in their areas. Boaters and paddlers can request packets containing a safety tips card, a waterproof boat banner, and a decal to display on their vessels, providing the number to report manatees in distress. To view and request these materials, visit savethemanatee.org/resources. Save the Manatee Club will also be hosting a live webinar for National Safe Boating Week on Tuesday, May 21st at 6pm EST. To register, visit savethemanatee.org/register.
Shells of the World: A Natural History by M.G. Harasewych
Shells of the world is a guide to the world of marine, shelled molluscs. And what a varied and interesting world it is. Some of my favourite things to find on a dive are detailed in this book, including disco clams (or Electric File Clams as they are correctly names), the cephalopods, giant clams and sea hares. There are also many on my wish list, top of which is the Nautilus.
Each chapter provides a detailed description of the species, along with beautiful images. You can dive deeper and discover where they live, both with global distribution and the habitat they prefer. Learn about their diet, reproduction and diversity.
Having dipped in and out of this lovely book over the past few weeks, it has inspired me to learn more about this group of animals that we see on most divers, wherever we are in the world. Some of the shells are incredibly intricate and beautiful. I have always agreed with never collecting, or touching, marine life. The description of a certain set of cone shells should be a warning to those that are happy to pick up marine life! One of the cone shells has a local name called the cigarette snail. Why? Because once the venom is in your system from this animal, you only have time to smoke one cigarette before the affects of the venom are fatal!
What the publisher says:
Mollusks are invertebrate animals with a remarkable natural history and a rich fossil record, and their shells are prized for their breathtaking variety and exquisite beauty. Shells of the World provides a wide-ranging look at the incredible diversity of marine mollusks. An informative introduction outlines the lineages covered, followed by a directory section, split into classes, that profiles a broad selection of different taxa to give a sense of their sheer numbers and variety.
- Features hundreds of beautiful color photos, depicting both the live animals and their shells
- Discusses mollusk evolution, anatomy, life cycles, behavior, and ecology
- Describes unique characteristics, distribution, habitat, and size
- Provides valuable insights into the conservation of the world’s marine mollusks
- Ideal for malacologists and shell collectors everywhere
About the Author:
M. G. Harasewych is research zoologist emeritus and former curator in the Department of Invertebrate Zoology at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he is the author (with Fabio Moretzsohn) of The Book of Shells: A Life-Size Guide to Identifying and Classifying Six Hundred Seashells.
Book Details
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Hardcover
Price: £25
ISBN: 9780691248271
Published: 9th April, 2024
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