“Aphrodite” – The Cyprus Experience Competition

Today was the first day of the “Aphrodite” Cyprus Experience, an international underwater photography event first held in Larnaka, Cyprus. The winners of the competition, who will be announced on June 6th, will get the chance to come back home with some valuable prizes, including cash prizes (which sum up to 17,000 Euro), unique dive trips to dreamy destinations, expensive underwater photography equipment, diving gear and more.

The event consists of three main photography categories. The first is Wreck Photography, mainly focusing on the worldwide famous “Zenovia” wreck. The second is Fashion and Nudity, a category announced in memory of Mike Portelly, in which creative underwater photographers will be making use of Cyprus underwater bedrocks and crystal clear water as a photo studio. Last but not least is the video clip category, which consists of 90 seconds edited underwater videos. All images and videos will be taken during the three days of the competition this week, which leaves us, competitors, with quite a challenging schedule!

Today was basically the registration day, in which images submitted to the competition could not yet be taken. However, since most participants have never visited the Zenobia before and also wanted to feel that they are efficiently making use of their time, we joined an introduction dive at the wreck. Surprisingly, most of the photographers arrived to this dive without any photography equipment, probably taking advantage of their last opportunity within the next few days to view the underwater scenery through their own eyes and not through the lens. As someone who cannot recall an entrance to the water without carrying at least two camera systems along, I must admit it was nice looking at a fish without desperately trying to white balance it.

As for the Zenobia wreck, it was simply an amazing dive and I am so glad we are going back there tomorrow (and the day after, and the day after…). No matter how many wrecks you have previously visited, you could not feel indifferent when touring around the 172 meters of this ship. Trucks, cars, boats, machinery, corals and countless fish are only some of the attractions you find on this wreck. Needless to say that one dive was hardly enough to satisfy our curiosity, but something tells me that by the end of this week, most of the photographers will be able to draw such an accurate map of this wreck and its surroundings, despite its humongous size.

One of the interesting photographers I met today was Derek Heasley from Ireland. Up until recently, Derek owned a Canon 400D camera with an Ikelite underwater system, but just a short while before taking off to Cyprus, he decided to replace his camera with a Canon 5D Mark II. When we found out that today, the first day of the competition, was basically Derek’s first dive with his new underwater camera system, we could not help but worship his courage and self confidence. Derek intends to submit images to almost all competition categories, including underwater fashion photographs of his beautiful friend from Switzerland, Caroline, and also an edited underwater video for the Cyprus Video Clip award (after all, he now owns a camera with HD video capability!). He feels that after successfully coping with the challenge of photographing in Ireland dive sites, which consist of such difficult light conditions, he is more than ready to take a winning shot of the Zenobia in Cyprus’s clear water and sunny weather. When I asked Derek if he had planned anything ahead for the competition, he glanced at me with a smile and said: “Have I planned anything ahead? Sure I have. I plan to win!”

• Our World Underwater 2010 Announces the Winners
• Beneath the Sea 2010 Announces the Winners
• Epson Red Sea 2008 Competition Webcast
• Final call for Celebrate the Sea 2008 Competition