Photo / Video News & Reviews
Alexey Zaytsev releases book for underwater photographers using the Olympus TG-6

“Underwater Pictures With Olympus TG-6. Manual and Practical Guide for Best Underwater Settings”
At first glance, the Olympus TG-Series may seem simple, compact cameras for beginners. But it is not! In skilled hands, these cameras can take great photos. Alexey Zaitsev, an experienced underwater photographer, and professional journalist have worked for several diving magazines in Russia. For many years he photographed only with “serious” photographic equipment, film, and digital SLR cameras of Nikon company.
Five years ago, he accidentally tried to take photos with the Olympus TG-4 camera. He was very surprised by this small camera’s capabilities and started using it as a second camera in all his expeditions. Then there was the TG-5, and the relationship between the photographer and the camera became even more reliable and closer. With the Olympus TG-6, he never leaves the camera and takes it on all his dives. His extensive experience in underwater photography has helped him to master the TG’s controls perfectly. As it turns out, to get the best possible picture quality and manage it effectively underwater, you have to give up automatic presets. It works very well, and it is not a wrong solution if you are a novice photographer. But you will achieve the best result if you control the camera yourself.
Alexey wanted to share his experience of shooting with TG cameras and wrote the book “Underwater Pictures With Olympus TG-6. Manual and Practical Guide for Best Underwater Settings” for this purpose. It is the perfect underwater picture manual for anyone who wants to learn how to use the Olympus TG‑6 camera to capture unique underwater pictures and videos. With nearly 100 color images and pictures of scuba divers, this book provides clear, step-by-step lessons to get you out there with your Olympus TG‑6 camera to document your dives and your underwater adventures. This underwater photography masterclass covers everything you need to know about using your Olympus TG‑6 camera. All underwater photos in this book, Alexey took in the waters of the Seychelles.
The book teaches you:
- all unique Olympus TG‑6 settings specifically for underwater photography;
- how to assemble a working kit using this camera;
- “secret” recipes for all underwater situations and shooting genres: macro and super macro, wide-angle, strobe and video light shooting, and video shooting.
The book “Underwater Pictures With Olympus TG-6: Manual аnd Practical Guide for Best Underwater Settings ” will be useful not only to scuba divers but also to those who dive underwater without scuba gear: snorkeling enthusiasts, underwater hunters, and freedivers. Though written specifically for the Olympus TG‑6 underwater camera, these tips and settings also apply to the Olympus TG-5 camera. The author, Alexey Zaytsev, is an ambassador for Olympus and a professional underwater photographer. He has extensive experience with Olympus cameras TG‑4, TG‑5, TG‑6, as well as mirrorless cameras in the OM-D series.
You can get this ebook for free with Amazon Kindle Unlimited: https://amzn.to/3dGhOLp
News
Ocean Art 2020 Winners Announced!

Ocean Art Contest Announces the Best Underwater Photos of the Year
The prestigious Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition, organized by the Underwater Photography Guide, has announced the best underwater photos this year with its 2020 winners. Despite global travel restrictions and the challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, the 9th annual competition attracted an extremely high caliber of photos from oceans around the world. Underwater explorers captured photos locally, in select destinations currently open to travel, or revisited their archives to bring us some eye-catching photography. This unique assortment of photos could not have been possible without the help of our generous sponsors who have all had to navigate a changing travel and dive industry. Many of these same sponsors helped the Ocean Art competition raise money earlier in this year to raise money to donate to the WHO and CDC in their fight against Covid-19. These photos showcase the perseverance of underwater artistry amidst the adversity of the times.
- “The Day of the Tentacles” Best of Show & Wide Angle Winner – Gaetano Dario Gargiulo
- “Seahorse” Macro Winner – Galice Hoarau
- “Mating Crabs” Marine Life Behaviour Winner – Steven Kovacs
- “Anglerfish” Portrait Winner – Galice Hoarau
- “Cathedral of Kelp” Coldwater Winner – Jon Anderson
- “Quarantine” Nudibranch Winner – Wen Chou Wu
- Acanthonus Armatus” Blackwater Winner – Steven Kovacs
- “French Reviera Corona Mask” Underwater Conservation Winner – Christophe Chellapermal
- “Crocosmile” Underwater Art Winner – Jenny Stock
- “Giant Frogfish” Compact Wide Angle WInner – Enrico Somogyi
- “5 Baby Seahorses” Compact Macro Winner – PT Hirschfield
- “Coral Spawning” Compact Behaviour Winner – Chia Chi Chang
All the winning photos can be seen at the Underwater Photography Guide at https://www.uwphotographyguide.com/ocean-art-contest-winners-2020
The Best of Show is a once-in-a-lifetime moment of an octopus taking a selfie with the photographer and his curious family in the background. The photo was captured by photographer Gaetano Dario Gargiulo close to his home in the tide pools of Kamay Botany Bay National Park, New South Wales, Australia. Other extraordinary winners include astonishing scenes of animal behavior, images that bring hope for the next generation of sea creatures, displays of ingenious photographic technique, and conservation scenes that reflect on not just the need to conserve our planet, but our species as well. The judges evaluated thousands of entries from 80 countries before selecting the final set of images as Ocean Art winners.
Ocean Art 2020 judges included prestigious underwater photographers Tony Wu, Mark Strickland, and Marty Snyderman.
Over $45,000 in prizes have be awarded, making the Ocean Art prize value among the highest in the world.
Ocean Art prizes are provided by some of the world’s top scuba diving resorts, liveaboard dive yachts, and underwater photo gear manufacturers. Grand prizes include a choice of 7 or 8 nights for two aboard the Coralia Liveaboard in Raja Ampat or Komodo, a 7 night liveaboard trip on the M.V. Bilikili in the Solomon Islands, a 7-night dive package with Villa Markisa, a 7 night dive package at Siladen Resort & Spa in Bunaken, a 12 night Passport to Paradise with Murex Dive Resorts and Lembeh Resort to three different Indonesian destinations, a 5-night dive vacation with AquaMarine Diving Bali & Ramayana Candidasa, a 7-night dive vacation at Atlantis Philippines Dive Resorts, and a variety of gift certificates from Bluewater Photo and Bluewater Travel. Premium travel prizes are provided by Volivoli Beach Resort (Fiji), Crystal Blue Dive Resort (Philippines), and Solitude Liveaboards & Resorts (Philippines and Indonesia). Premium gear prizes are provided by Sea & Sea and Ikelite. 12 different categories ensure a competitive contest for all levels and disciplines of underwater photography.
The photographic ingenuity from competitors is getting better every year – making judging very difficult and demonstrating that the winning images are some of the best in the world. Bluewater Photo and Bluewater Travel owner and Underwater Photography Guide publisher, Scott Gietler commented, “The Ocean Art team was thrilled to see that so many photographers were able to get out, dive, and immerse themselves in photography this year. The Best of Show was especially impressive. My only concern is that the octopus should get its share of the prize, as it did assist in taking the shot!”
For more information, please visit http://www.uwphotographyguide.com
Gear Reviews
Gear Review: SeaLife SportDiver housing for iPhone (Watch Video)

In a video shot exclusively for Scubaverse.com, Jeff Goodman reviews the SeaLife SportDiver housing for Apple’s iPhone, used with the Sea Dragon 2500 Light.
For more information about Sealife Underwater Cameras visit the website by clicking here
- Competitions3 months ago
WIN one of the NEW Momentum M20 Dive Watches!!!
- Competitions2 months ago
WIN a Northern Diver NDB5 Holdall Bag!!!
- Gear News3 months ago
Breaking News: Garmin Descent Mk2 & Mk2i Launch & Review (Watch Video)
- Competitions2 months ago
WIN a Fourth Element Arctic Hoodie!!!
- Competitions1 month ago
WIN a PADI eLearning Course – 5 courses up for grabs!!!
- Gear News3 months ago
Momentum announce new M20 series of watches
- Gear Reviews2 months ago
Equipment Review: NEW Garmin Descent Mk2i Dive Computer (Watch Video)
- Dive Training Blogs3 months ago
Deptherapy returns to its Roots – Part 7