At Ikelite we find diving to be irresistible! The adventure of it provides us with experiences that can't be found anywhere else on earth. It is what inspires us to create and it is what allows us to stay tuned in to our customers, industry, and friends. Sharing these experiences is one of the best parts of scuba diving. And what better way to share than through photos? As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Recently we held the very first Ikelite Photo School at the Wakatobi Dive Resort in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. Here I had the pleasure of meeting fellow divers and underwater photo enthusiasts who use our equipment. We were not only able to dive the beautiful reefs of the area but also connect with our customer base and help them get the best photos possible.

Every day we dove the magnificent variety of sites, taking endless amounts of shots and every night we would talk about the days events as we went over the photos. Each day's passing meant one day closer to leaving but it also meant one step closer to being a better underwater photographer. It was a bittersweet feeling of knowing it was coming to and end yet accomplishing something that allowed each of us to leave with more than just the memories. Something to be proud of.

I'd like to personally thank all of the Ikelite Photo "students" as well as the extremely hospitable staff of the Wakatobi Dive resort. If you every get the chance to visit, I strongly recommend it.

Click Here to visit Wakatobi Dive Resort.

Dives of a Lifetime!.. The pristine reefs of Wakatobi in Indonesia hosted the Ikelite School of Underwater Photography for two weeks in July. Experienced photographers and beginners joined 5 of us from the Ikelite School to share images and advance their skills, while filling up film cards with the biodiversity that makes this region famous.

Highlights of the trip were definitely the images that people were producing. Several new photographers came home with images any professional would be proud to share. [Editor's note: Look for future spotlights of some of these on the site.]

I used the Canon 50D, and a Tokina 10-17mm with 2 Ikelite DS-161 Strobes, always set on TTL, for macro I used the Canon 100mm and experimented with some super-macro, (I find the 60mm macro easier to use)..

More fun with cameras! Adding a device called an Intervalometer (around US$99) to your DSLR and setting it to take an image every 30 seconds or so at sunset (or sunrise). It's called Timelapse Photography - look out for it in TV shows and movies and you'll start to see it everywhere! Simply import all the images into iMovie (120 images per hour x 30 second Interval x 2 hours = 240 images) and adjust the timing to play 10 frames per second.

Now you have an 24 second timelapse movie shot with your still camera! That means you can shoot, for example, while you are at the Jetty Bar, having dinner, or even sleeping! For the stars, be prepared to leave your shutter open for 20-30 seconds, open the wide lens up all the way, and set your ISO to 1600.

Click here to see dates for upcoming Ikelite Photo School events. We can't wait to dive with you!

Dive Pacific's cover image is by Ofir Yudilevich (Philippines) taken at Mactan Island, Cebu, Philippines, using a Canon G11 with Ikelite housing and a DS51 single strobe. This was the Novice Category winning image in Dive Pacific magazine's Shades of Colour Photographic Competition.

View Shades of Colour in the Online Magazine.
Competition entry is free at www.DiveNewZealand.com.