In cooperation with Taucher.Net, Boot Düsseldorf’s Underwater Pixel World is developing very promisingly. Under this title, an exhibition on underwater photography and filmmaking was premiered last year in Hall 4. The idea caught on and is now bearing fruit. “At boot 2012, the Underwater Pixel World is being staged with more exhibitors, a broader range of products and in a much more attractive setting. It is occupying an area of 2,500 square metres right by the new, spacious and bright entrance area to Hall 4. Along with the exhibitors’ presentations, there will be a separate area with a stage for lectures, seminar rooms and workshop zones.
Some of my works will also be presented there and I will be at the Boot Show from Wednesday 25 to Sunday 29. During these days I will do some lectures in the afternoon and presenting my upcoming photo trips
This year there will be a café lounge, that gives visitors an opportunity to relax and chat after their tour of the show.
If you come to the Boot stop by, Iit will be a pleasure to meet you there and have a chat or just to say hello!
Boot Düsseldorf (21 to 29 January 2012)
TPOTY (Travel Photographer of the Year 2011)
I’m happy to announce that the international Jury of TPOTY (Travel Photographer of the Year) competition 2011 has chosen :
- my images of Diving under the Ice as Winner in the category Spirit of Adventure Portfolio ;
- my image of Beluga whale and Diver as Winner in the category Spirit of Adventure Best Single Image;
- my split image of Fresh water spring with Fishes as Commended in the category Wild Moments.
This photo contest is run by photographers for photographers and the Jury is composed by international world famous professional photographers and leading photography experts. For this reason I’m proudly honoured to have been selected as winner in two different categories.
The winning images from this year’s awards will be exhibited at the Royal Geographical Society’s Kensington gallery during July and August, in the lead up to and during the 2012 London Olympic Games.
The Society gallery is situated close to Hyde Park on the newly pedestrian Exhibition Road, adjacent the Science, Royal Victoria & Albert Hall, and Natural History Museums.
http://www.tpoty.com/winners/2011
Check the column “Photo Expeditions” of my web-site ; you’ll find something unusual and truly special.
Maldives photo courses ( 6 November to 11 December 2011)
From November 6 to December 11 I was in Maldives on board MY Mariana helding photo courses.
Since December 2005, MY Mariana sails the atolls of the Maldives. For many years in the Maldives, Joerg Aebi is the responsible and guide on board. He knows the diving places like nobody else and guarantees every dive is an incomparable experience. The trips generally depend on the desires of the divers, which usually include large fish such as observations of whale sharks, manta and shark. The coloured soft corals of the Thilas and the macro critters are a special feature: they are the focus of the stay. Rattana –Joerg’s partner– is enthusiastic about diving and has accepted the challenge of working on the Mariana. Besides the diving, she often is also in the kitchen, cooking some Asian specialities. She pampers guests with massages. (This should not be missed).
During the 5 weeks on board we did several trips : first we sailed Nord Male, Gaafaru, Lhaviyani, Noonu ; the third week we stayed in the Ari Atoll and the last two weeks we sailed south to Felidhoo, Vattaru, South Ari Atoll and back to Male. During the cruise I taught few photo courses of different levels. The beginner photographers learned the bases of the photography: aperture, shutter speed, exposure, ISO and the best mix. The advanced photographers learned different techniques: best use of natural light, split images and long exposures. Everybody could practise in the water during the different dives we did and watched the results aboard. We went through the workflow and did some postproduction of the images.
I would like to take the chance to thank Scubasub, Manta Reisen, MY Mariana and Mares who help me in support the all trip.
We already renew our meeting for the next year, keep reading the blog and check my website to be updated about the upcoming photo courses, workshops and photo expeditions.
ITALIAN GEOGRAPHIC 2011
I’m please to let you know that I have been choosen –together with 25 other photographers– to participate in this important photography exhibition. For over 120 years, National Geographic tells us “the world and all around” by cooperating with some of the best photographers in the world.
For 13 years, National Geographic Italy undertook extensive research work to find photographers and stories up to this mark. Even with limited resources often, in recent years the Italian magazine has produced hundreds of services related mainly to Italy, relying on the capabilities of some of the most serious and reliable professional photographers on the domestic market. Sometimes, the risks were taken, assigning work to perfect strangers who, in many cases, have demonstrated their clear vision “the cutting edge” that characterizes the photographers for National Geographic. In other cases, NG has involved proven professionals with great experience.
This exhibition brings together images of 26 of these photographers. All photographs were taken from services performed for National Geographic Italy. This unpublished exposure designed and built for the 2° Italian Festival offers shots of some of the most representative photographers who publish in National Geographic Italy, selected by Marco Pinna. The criterion by which photos were chosen is based more on the artistic quality of the image, composition and emotional impact, than on its journalistic value. The intent is to give life to a collection of images that makes the most of the qualities and characteristics of individual photographers, because this show is dedicated to them, and is a tribute to their art.
THE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Angelo Antolino, Marco Ansaloni, Franco Banfi, Maurizio Biancarelli, Monika Bulaj, Marco Bulgarelli, Giancarlo Ceraudo, Claudio Cricca, Stefano Dal Pozzolo, Massimo Di Nonno, Nanni Fontana, Andrea Frazzetta, Alessandro Gandolfi, Fabrizio Giraldi, Emiliano Mancuso, Marisa Montibeller, Alberto Novelli, Diego Orlando, Paolo Petrignani, Alexey Pivovarov, Antonio Politano, Sandro Santioli, Francesco Schiavone, Georg Tappeiner, Stefano Torrione, Stefano Unterthiner.
12 November – 4 December 2011
Palazzo Marliani Cicogna – P.zza Vittorio Emanule II – Busto Arsizio (Va)
Opening hours: from Tuesday to Saturday: 15-19 / Sunday 10-12 / 16-19 –Monday closed
Entry Free
Live interview on radio RSI RETE UNO
RSI – RETE UNO – Tuesday 25 October 2011
live from 10.00 to 11.00 AM
- Franco ed Elena Caresani in front of RSI RETE UNO logo.
The interview can be heard – L’intervista può essere ascoltata:
http://reteuno.rsi.ch/home/networks/reteuno/camaleonte/2011/10/18/franco-banfi.html#Audio
Great White sharks from Guadalupe
Few weeks ago I’ve been in Guadalupe, an island located 280km west of the coast of Baja California. It is nice biological paradise, declared a Special Biosphere Reserve, which emerges from the depths of ocean, from about 4.000mt of water column.
Guadalupe is known worldwide as a first choice destination for anglers’ enthusiasts. It gained a good reputation because of the large quantity of yellow-fin and blue-fin tunas and other pelagic cruising nearby.
It is also the world’s best place to see and dive safely with great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias. The waters surrounding the Mexican island offer exceptional visibility, often exceeding 30 meters, and this makes the difference when we are in the water, trying to have the most from our cameras. Obviously this kind of experience does not happen for chance or good luck , but it is organized until the smallest detail, focusing particularly on the safety of divers and operators, and also the safety and health of the animals.
I trusted of the experience and professionalism of the crew of the Solmar V. For this uncommon underwater experience, I chose the operator who has earned the best reputation: no-one diver neither one shark has ever suffered any damage during their expeditions. Since 2001 they have organized these trips, which have always been successful, ensuring at their guests the best and safest underwater observation of white sharks.
I departed from San Diego –where I met other 12 people and we formed our group- and quickly we crossed the Mexican border and were driven to the port of Ensenada, where Solmar V and its friendly crew were waiting for us. Once the customs formalities were cleared, we set out to the island, where we arrived the next morning.
I repeatedly dived for several hours each days and I have seen great white shark every time. One, two, three sharks at a time, sometimes even 5-6, swam close to the two cages placed at the stern of the boat and to the submerged cage situated at depth of 10 meters, offering a unique show and giving us spectacular photo opportunities.
Massa Lubrense photo course & workshop ( 16 to 24 July 2011)
From July 16 to 24, I was in Massa Lubrense, a small village close to the Amalfi Coast. I held a photo course and a photo workshop, at Sergio Riccardo’s DiveResidence. It is a residence of 10 apartments, located near the harbour of Marina della Lobra, a quaint fishing village.
During the early days, I taught the UW Photography course. I explained the basic rules of photography : aperture, shutter speed, exposure, ISO and the best mix. Then I talk about the use of the underwater strobe in different situations, the bases of the composition and how to work in post-production with the different software. At the end of the course, we watched the images taken from the participants and discussed about the results and how to improve their personal skills.
From July 21, the Workshop took place. The participants were all keen photographers, well-equipped with underwater housings and with good photographic’s bases. They attended the workshop to learn more about the photographic techniques in different conditions.
All participants dived in the Marine Protected Area of Punta Campanella to practice the teachings got during the theory’s lessons. The various bottoms and walls of the area are interesting for both the macro and the wide-angle photography.
At the end of the days I explained how digital photography has changed the way to photograph and how to take advantage. The second day I spoke about composition : how to shoot attractive images even when the subject of the image is simple or common, how to shoot in a way more attractive than hundreds of striking images, photographed in the wrong way.
The photography is a form of art, and the rules tend to suppress the creativity. By learning few tricks and hints helps to improve our images.
The workshop was a success and we already renew our meeting for the next year, always in July. If you are interested, don’t hesitate to book your place to be sure to get it.
Ocean Views Photo Contest 2011: Winners
Nature’s Best Photography Magazine has announced the winners of the 2011 Ocean Views Photography Contest. Among more than 5,000 images received for the competition, the jury has chosen to award the overall winner at one of my images, showing a beluga whale. I took this image last year in White Sea, Karelia region, Russia. A second picture of two Longnose hawkfish inside a seafan was highly honored.
The winning images are displayed in the Nature’s Best Photography Ocean Views 2011 Awards gallery that has been published in the Spring/Summer print edition. Additionally, the selected images may also appear in the Spring issue of Alert Divers magazine.
“When it comes to taking pictures in cold temperatures under the ice, many factors must be considered: light, clarity of the water, lens choice, strobes, ISO. I decided for a fast ISO, to get some natural light in the frame, and the fisheye lens, considering the size of the subject and the particles in the water. I used two strobes with long arms to capture the playful creature.”
Scuba diver and beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas). Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II; 15mm f/2.8 fisheye lens; 1/125 sec at f/5.6; ISO 200; 2 x strobes at half power.
Sudan 30 April to May 8
I recently returned from a wonderful cruise aboard the schooner San Marco, a marvellous wooden Turkish caique wonderfully fitted to meet divers’ needs.
I always thought that Sudan is a mythical place : crystal clear water, colourful corals, schools of odd fishes, sharks patrolling the blue along the drop-off and roaming grey reef and white-tips sharks close to the shallow plateau.
Far away from the crowded Egyptian waters, I found thousands and thousands kilometres of wild coasts : dive sites have remained beautifully pristine and divers are able to explore them in practical solitude.
We sailed along the classic central route and dived the wreckship of Umbria, voluntarily sank in 1940 by its brave captain ; Sanganeb reef where we can admire the huge lighthouse, pointing the reddish sky like a finger which raises from the barrier reef itself ; the rests of the underwater village Conshelf II, built in 1963 by the team of Jacques Yves Cousteau ; and the legendary reef of Sha’ab Rumi, where we even got the chance to swim with a pod of spinner dolphins.
But what will remain always in my mind it is a school of more than 20 bumphead parrotfish, madly in love, unconcerned by our presence, swimming close to the plateau of Sha’ab Rumi south point, at a distance that I can even touch their rough skin
My sincere thanks at all the crew of the San Marco : they are friendly, polite and professional.
A warm thanks again to Capt. Moi and to Cisco, our guide and guardian-angel.
More info: Albatros Top Boat
Maldives photo workshop ( 9 to 17 April 2011)
Albatros Top Boat.
