Course Guests Try Out My New Studio in Shipley, Yorkshire!

So today was the first day of opening the doors of my new studio in sunny Shipley in Yorkshire to welcome Colin Bannerman and his Olympus MJU 850 with his nano strobe from Lincolnshire. The sun was indeed out, not that it mattered too much as the pool is now below the studio, making everything lovely and easy. The kettle was on when Colin arrived, lots of time was spent reviewing his past photo memories, playing with settings before tucking into a homemade lunch! I have really missed making these the past 2 months whilst being on the road between homes :)

It was then time to meet the pool below. Phew, it was like walking into the warmest sauna you can imagine. The air temperature was a balmy tropical 37 degrees and the water temp was at least 32. No need for wetsuits at all here!

Colin had a fabulous time practicing with his camera. He came asking for advice about an upgrade as he wasn't getting great results using the camera's "auto" mode, but a few tweaks of the settings and he was soon taking beautiful, punchy, sharp photographs full of colour. The beauty of this location is that the pool on Sunday afternoon is there completely for guests, no danger of getting cold and lots of things to practice on including our resident crocodile called "Snappy!" Don't worry, he's not real!

The day was finished reviewing all the photographs and then it was time for cupcakes before Colin headed back to sunny Lincolnshire.

A really wonderful start to my new home base and can't wait to welcome Sue and her husband next Sunday for more of the same! :)

Just shows that simple waterproof cameras such as this one can take some really cracking shots!

Birthday Celebrations!

It's my birthday and it really has been a really special few months which has seen me absolutely flat out and covering more miles than ever before to help compact camera users take beautiful underwater photographs. So it seemed only fair to enhance the personal touch and attention to detail that my underwater photography courses are famous for. Welcome Thomas, the world's first ever photobus. Originally known as "Dubby" he has travelled all the way from Southern California to help you take your skills to perfection at any dive site in the UK. Just click on the Photobus box lower down the page and see his spec! I'm really looking forward to meeting you all with him and sharing some specially baked cookies just for you :)

First UK Dive - Capenwray

The sunshine has arrived, so it was off to Capenwray with Robin Hood Watersports to dip my toe into UK waters and brave 9 degrees! It definitely took me a while to get used my new "ice cream head" but once I was in, it was amazing. I was surrounded by a huge school of trout zooming in front of me, and it was really great to see so many wonderful things underwater to photograph. Alex and Carl played models and I nearly passed out laughing when I met Shergar underwater, just in time for the Grand National!

A new course has been announced for the weekend of 28th and 29th May, the 28th has already sold out and there are just four spots for the 29th, so if you are interested, just let me know!

Really looking forward to spending more time up north .....

London Dive Show, Excel 2011

So it was all nerves for the London Dive Show as I picked up my Diver Award for Best Publication of the Year on the Friday night. I really was so scared at turning up! It was definitely one of the most amazing things that has happened and it was even more fabulous to share the moment with so many lovely colleagues and guests who visited me at the show. Thank you to everyone who came along to visit me and attended my talks. I'm even more exciting about helping you with your underwater photography than ever before.

Back to Raja Ampat with Papua Diving

And so it was back to the place that I had fallen in love with and back to Raja Ampat in early March to do some preparation work for the London Dive Show, this time staying at a beautiful peaceful paradise island called Kri. I was lucky enough to be with Max Ammer, the pioneer of diving in Raja Ampat and he told me lots of incredible stories of this area.

The team were friendly and extremely helpful, there was even a British dive guide, Ross Pooley who is growing corals at Kri Eco Resort with the hope of helping the locals to grow their own and make an income, protecting the local reefs at the same time.

The dive sites of Sardines and Blue Magic completely blew me away with the quantities of fish that almost clouded the sunlight. It was macro heaven too with gorgeous pygmy seahorses being seen in Blue Magic also.

The beauty of Kri Island is that the endemic Epaulette Shark can be seen just off the pier, as well as a friendly resident turtle. Mandarin fish are on the jetty at Sorido Bay, making it the perfect place for a night dive.

If you are thinking of planning a trip to Raja Ampat, I definitely recommend a stay at this resort to take in the numerous wonderful dive sites that it offers.

Underwater Photography trip to Raja Ampat, Indonesia with Worldwide Dive and Sail

What an amazing trip with 4 lovely guests from New York, DivePhotoGuide's Mr. Turtle, the cutest puppy called Max for 10 days of adventure with Pygmy SeaHorses, over 15 Wobblegong Sharks, Blacktip Reef Sharks and Magical Manta Rays! Worldwide Dive and Sail's Mandarin Siren proved to be a beautiful personal vessel taking just six people to experience the magic that Raja Ampat offers and the crew went over and beyond to offer a superb, personal service.

Special dive sites visited included the breathtaking area of Misool, the area of Dampier Strait to experience Cape Kri and the area of Miskon, as well as Citrus Ridge which blew me away! Night-dives included experiences with a Blue-Ringed Octopus and the range of both macro and wide-angle subjects were amazing. With so many species of fish and invertebrates and many of them unidentified still, it was extremely difficult to know exactly where to point a camera. One of my cameras in fact, passed out on Day Two at the shock of seeing so much marine life there to photograph!

Raja Ampat is definitely a top and well-deserved hot-spot for underwater photographers and I simply can't wait to get back there to capture more underwater magic.

So many thanks again to Worldwide Dive and Sail and all the crew for the most amazing time. Can't wait to see you all again!

Where on Earth Has the Time Gone Too!

Hello everyone,

If you are still reading my blog, thank you so much! I am so sorry that I haven't posted for so long, I honestly don't know where the past few months has gone too, well almost half a year in fact! So much has been happening that I am going to post the key events in the next few days to give you all an idea as to what I have been up too! Book signing, giving talks for clubs, grabbing a hot new venue to teach underwater photography in Leeds and my dream came true to go to DEMA, America's largest trade show for divers, and was so proud to be on DivePhotoGuide's stand along with Wetpixel. A huge thank you to all of them for making me feel so welcome. Photos and guest news coming very, very soon.