Tag Archive for 'Julian Rocks'

Byron Shootout – The Winners

Published on May 31, 2011 in Underwater Photo Shoot-Outs. Closed Tags: , , .

Here they are, the winning photos and videos from this year’s event.  A big congratulations to everyone who picked up a prize.

Best Competition Photo

1st Place Best Competition Photo Matt Shepherd

 

2nd Place Best Competition Photo John Lawson

 

Best dSLR Macro Photo

1st Place Best dSLR Macro Matti Ovaska

 

2nd Place Best dSLR Macro Matt Shepherd

 

Best dSLR Wide Angle Photo

1st Place Best dSLR Wide angle Matt Ovaska

 

2nd Place Best dSLR Wide angle Lynton Burger

 

Best Compact Photo

1st Place Best Compact John Higgins

 

2nd Place Best Compact Photo Judy Burton

 

Best dSLR Portfolio

1st Place Christine Hamilton

2nd Place Matt Shepherd

Best Compact Portfolio

1st Place Brian Pool

2nd Place Gary Grant

 

Best Video

Best Video 1st Place – Wayne Dyer

Best Video 2nd Place – Ben Murray

Byron Shootout – The Results

Published on June 9, 2010 in Underwater Photo Shoot-Outs. Closed Tags: , , .
Best Wide Angle - 1st Place Michael Gallagher

Here they are, the winners of the Byron Bay Photo Shootout 2010.  A big congrats to all those that picked up a prize, and a very big thank you to all those that made it to Byron for the competition.  It was a great week and we can’t wait to see you there again next year.

Best Video – 1st Place Kieren Curry

Best Video – 2nd Place Wayne Dyer

Byron Bay Shootout – The Finale

Published on June 2, 2010 in In the field updates and Underwater Photo Shoot-Outs. Closed Tags: , .
The winners of the Byron Bay Underwater Shootout 2010

The weather gods abandoned us a day early at the Byron Bay Underwater Shootout, leaving conditions that made underwater photography quite hard, to the point that Sundive’s afternoon boats had to be cancelled.  We didn’t hear any complaints from divers though, as everyone agreed that we’d had some great diving during the week.

After a few hectic hours of competitors finalising their photos and videos, Sundive hosted a BBQ on Saturday night at the shop, giving staff and competitors a chance to unwind and mingle now that the competition had ended.  We were served up some amazing food and a large number of beers.  Of course most of the talk revolved around the week’s diving and the photos and videos produced from it, but if there’s one thing I can say about underwater photographers and filmmakers it’s that they’re a friendly, uncompetitive bunch when put together.

Sunday saw what was for most of us, a first chance to sleep in all week, followed by the Byron bay Shootout 2010 Finale.  We all moved in on the Buddha Bar, a beautiful old building redone to make quite a fancy bar, where we had a final chance to talk with other divers before the formalities started.

John Natoli, co organiser of the event, hosted the afternoon, along with a talk from documentary filmmakers David Hannan and Dave Warth.  As the awards were announced, we were shown some of the amazing photos and videos taken throughout the week by contestants.  Big winners of the day were Kieren Curry for Best Video, Jim Dodd for Best Compact Photo, Matt Shepherd for Best Portfolio, and Christine Hamilton for Best SLR Photo.  However these were only a few of the winners, and a big congratulations goes out to all that picked up a prize (I will detail these in the next post).

A big thank you must go to all the divers who travelled from around Australia and even around the world to join us in Byron Bay, and to all the staff at Sundive who organised this amazing event and make it possible.

As we wrap up on the Byron Bay Shootout 2010, we are all eagerly awaiting 2011’s shootout.  If you weren’t able to make it this year, keep an eye out for details on next year’s competition, it’s a week you won’t want to miss.

Byron Bay Shootout – Days 6 & 7

Published on May 28, 2010 in Demo gear, In the field updates and Underwater Photo Shoot-Outs. Closed Tags: , , , .
Ornate ghost pipfish have been fairly elusive during the week

As we move into the last few days of the competition, we’ve had a number of new competitors from around the country join us here at the Byron Bay UW Shootout.  The last few days have generally leant to better macro photography conditions, however the wide angle opportunities around the Cod Hole have still been abundant with large schools of fish hanging around on most dives.  Sundive have been running up to 8 boats a day, giving photographers ample opportunities to work on their entries.

Weird and wonderful small creatures have been spotted during the week, including ghost pipe fish, devil scorpion fish, mantis, marble and bumble bee shrimp, porcelain crabs, cuttlefish, and a huge range of nudis, giving photographers a massive range of subjects.  Some dives have involved divers moving not more than 10m from the boat, and still having a huge range to shoot.

Aquatica and Nauticam demo housing have been going out with new and old photographers alike, and we’re offering a prize  for the best photo taken with one of our demo housings.

One of the biggest highlights of the week has been the showing of the documentary The End Of The Line.  This highly acclaimed film opened the eyes of many of us, and one I would highly recommend.

We’ve only one day left of shooting for the competition, then photographers and videographers will be hectically finalising their entries for the 5pm deadline.  Could be a big day!

Byron Bay Shootout – Day 5

Published on May 26, 2010 in Demo gear, In the field updates and Underwater Photo Shoot-Outs. Closed Tags: , , , .
Matt Shepherd's photo of the day

Macro and mid range zoom lenses were the choice for most shooters today at the Byron Bay Shootout.  The water had clouded up a touch, giving most photographers the excuse they needed to start concentrating on the macro category.  The results we’ve seen thus far have been great, meaning this will be one more hard category for the judges to pick a winner.

Another section not to forget about is the categories for the compact cameras.  With about 1/3 of our shooters using compacts, often equipped with strobes and wet lenses, we’ve got high expectations of what these guys and girls can produce.

The atmosphere in between dives around Sundive has been great too, with loads of smiles on diver’s faces, and non-stop camera talk.  The Scubapix showroom has also been a popular place to play around with the latest toys.  Tonight’s State Of Origin game may well create a rivalry between some of the divers however (go NSW!).

As I sign off watching the sun set over the bay, I can only hope the following few days of the comp continue to provide these great conditions we’ve been experiencing.

- Ryan.

Byron Bay Shootout – Day 4

Published on May 25, 2010 in Demo gear, In the field updates and Underwater Photo Shoot-Outs. Closed Tags: , .
A friendly leopard

Julian Rocks really turned on the good conditions for us today, with viz over 20m, and large marine life everywhere.  Not bad seeing most of us turned up with macro lenses due to the dark and rainy conditions early in the morning.  We quickly changed to wide angle setups though, and the sun even came out for most of the day.

Once we were under, we were greeted by countless eagle rays, leopard sharks and shovel nosed rays.  Not bad seeing the last few days had been feeling like winter had kicked in.

For those of you still contemplating joining us at the Byron Bay Shootout, I’d recommend making the trip.  In between the great conditions, and the $15k worth of prizes up for grabs, you can’t lose!

Byron Bay Shootout – Day 3

Published on May 24, 2010 in Demo gear, In the field updates and Underwater Photo Shoot-Outs. 1 Comment Tags: , .
One of the locals - a grey nurse shark

Another fine day at the Byron Bay Shootout today.  A few grey nurses were seen, as well as turtles, eagle and pygmy manta rays.  We’ve seen plenty of smiles as competitors have come back from their dives.  Looks like the competition may be heating up!

With the clear water most SLR shooters have been opting to shoot wide angle, which should make it a popular and hard to judge category.

Byron Bay Shootout – Day 2

Published on May 23, 2010 in Demo gear, In the field updates and Underwater Photo Shoot-Outs. Closed Tags: , , , , .
Videographer Wayne with his Gates system

The clouds came over Byron today, but the water also cleared up a touch more, giving competitors in the Byron Bay Shootout the chance to dive in some good vis and with some amazing fish life.  Turtles, eagle rays, schools of jewfish and carpets of wobbegongs were just some of the life that greeted divers as they slipped under the calm waters around Julian Rocks.

Demo housings from Aquatica and Nauticam and lights from Light and Motion have been in the water on every dive, with contestants bringing back some great shots.  It’s still early in the week, so if you’re in the area, feel free to book on a dive and take some of our gear for a spin.

Ryan.

Byron Bay Shootout – Day 1

Published on May 22, 2010 in Demo gear, In the field updates and Underwater Photo Shoot-Outs. Closed Tags: , , , , , , .
Wayne and Matt getting redy for the first day

Hello from sunny Byron Bay!  The team from Scubapix are down here for Sundive’s Byron Bay Shootout 2010.  Underwater photographers from around the country have once again converged on Byron in Northern NSW to compete for over $15,000 in prizes.  The turnout thus far has been excellent, with many more photographers arriving during the next week.

Reports from the divers that have been out today have been excellent (this photographer’s yet to get wet, fingers crossed for tomorrow!), with tonnes of marine life around.  For those of you that haven’t ever dived the Byron area, the main sites are around Julian Rocks, a rocky island about a km off the coast, that is home to a huge variety of creatures, from the big (manta and bull rays, leopard and grey nurse sharks, etc), to the small (invertebrates such as crabs and shrimp, ghost pipe fish, etc), and everything in between.  Huge schools of fish can be seen  hanging around the Cod Hole, a giant swim through that’s also home to, you guessed it, a number of large potato cod and even the occasional Queensland grouper.

Myself and Peter are on site for the week of the shootout, with a number of housings from Nauticam and Aquatica and lights from Light and Motion for contestants to take for demo dives.  We have a range of new gear on display too, including the new Light and Motion Stingray G2 housing and Zen ports.  However, the hottest product of the day is the brand new Light and Motion Sola 600 light.  This is the first time one’s been seen in Australia, and the response has been great.  Perfect for either an aiming light for your SLR or a self contained video light, and in an unbelievably small package.

If you’re in the Byron area, be sure to drop by Sundive to say hi and check out the latest gear.  I’ll be posting some photos of what they get up to during the week, as well as daily updates for those of you that can’t make it this year.

Ryan.