Red Sea Diving

Photo Workshop

Join Maria for a fabulous week in Nuweiba, where you can really hone those underwater photographic skills to perfection.  

Suitable for divers with compact cameras, the course will focus on developing guests skills who are at beginner & advanced photographic levels.  Short, daily presentations will be given as well as coaching between dives and underwater.  The art of mastering Photoshop to enhance photographs based on Jack & Sue Drafahl’s famous “Photoshop for Underwater Photographers” book will also be covered. 

Whether beginner or advanced this really is the most spectacular location to practice both wide angle and macro photography on the beautiful house reef in front of the hotel. Dawn dives and night dives are an absolute must for gorgeous shots of Nuweiba's beautiful pier as well as its' resident lionfish.  You can also hire a camel or two for split-level shots as well as taking a day out to go to the spectacular dive sites of nearby Dahab.

Personal dives, presentations, photoshop evenings as well as a good old round of Championship Crazy Golf for an Ocean Visions Trophy are just a taste of what to expect at Emperor Diver's friendly and professional Dive Centre in Nuweiba.  The Dive Centre Team have a very good relationship with Maria and a warm welcome and the personal touch are guaranteed for a fantastic week of diving.

Success from previous workshop's have been amazing, David Kittos won January’s Photo of the Month in Sport Diver with a photograph taken on the workshop and Maria has scooped a bronze medal in Underwater Photography’s competition against 12,500 entries with a picture taken of the pier.  David said that it was the best underwater photographic workshop that he had been on as he found the combination of shore diving and repetitive diving of the different sites perfect for really understanding and getting to grips with his camera. Have a peek at a special Nuweiba Gallery on Maria's website to give you an idea of the photographic opportunities that await you.

Maria looks forward to seeing you there for some fantastic shooting!

Total Cost

Price based on 2 sharing a twin bedded room

Price includes:

- Flights with Monarch Airlines from Gatwick (including inflight meals and a 20 kgs baggage allowance plus an extra 5 kgs for scuba diving equipment)

- Transfers

- 7 nights accommodation on an All-Inclusive Basis at the 4L+ Hilton Nuweiba Coral Resort

- Six day dive package with Emperor Divers ( two dives per day, including tank, weights & air - night dives and dawn dives are extra).  

- All taxes & surcharges

Single room supplement:

£15 per person, per night

What's not included:

- Nitrox 32% is available at 5 euros a fill

Please note: There is a 3% charge for bookings with credit cards. There are no extra charges for debit cards or cheques. For a payment of £22-50 per sector divers can purchase another 13kg on top of their normal luggage allowance for the round trip. Thereafter, normal excess charges will apply. Payment can be made at the airport in the day of departure or pre-book directly with the airline and save £5.
Contact Monarch Airlines: 0871 225 2555

Online: www.flymonarch.com

E-mail: customer.services@monarch-airlines.com

How to book

For further information or to book please contact Dan Lion on 020 8418 2570 or e-mail diving@longwoodholidays.co.uk or Maria on 07957 621915 or e-mail maria@oceanvisions.co.uk

About Maria

Maria has been travelling the world taking underwater photographs with a compact camera for over 8 years and has developed tailor-made courses for Canon, Fuji, Sony, Nikon and Olympus brands. She launched the first PADI Digital Underwater Photo Speciality three years ago, is the first person to launch specialised underwater photography courses for beginners with compacts in the UK and has been featured in over 12 magazines. Her courses have been featured in both Diver last year and in this month’s (February 2009) Sport Diver Magazine. Her guests are now going on to win their own competitions with two being featured in Sport Diver and two with BSAC last year.  She has just won a Bronze Medal for her success with a photograph taken in Nuweiba with Emperor Divers and is running a special photo workshop to share all her secrets to help guests take award-winning pictures with their compacts. Daily presentations are given as well as extra coaching both above and beneath the water. Photoshop lectures are also included in the week’s workshop with guests being shown how to perfect their pictures after the day’s shooting. 

What's involved

These workshops are unique in that they are very much a hands-on learning environment at a fun and friendly pace giving great results fast to complete beginners as well as improving more advanced guests photographs. It will comprise of daily short informal discussions during the week on different topics of underwater photography for digital compact cameras to show guests how to understand their compact camera and how to get the best of it underwater.  The aim of the week is to give guests different dive experiences in a small group to ensure that each guest benefits from the week and has opportunities for private hands-on tuition both above and underwater to ensure that everyone progresses with their skills and comes home with photographs to be proud of.  

Each guest needs to notify Maria of their different camera and specific requirements from the week to ensure that the course is tailor-made to their kind of camera.  There will be informal short Photoshop presentations to show guests how to digitally manipulate their own underwater photographs and turn them into their very own works of art.  Guests’ very own slideshows will take place in the evenings from the day’s events and all photographs will be judged at the end of the week with different prizes to be won, including special certificates to be given out to each guest.

Subjects covered in depth

- Camera Care & Maintenance – Looking After Your Kit

- The Importance of Buoyancy Control Underwater

- When to Use Automatic ‘Fish” Mode

- Use of Different Film Speeds/ISO for Different Circumstances

- The Meaning of White Balance and How to Benefit from It Underwater

- Macro/Close Up Photography using the Built-In Camera Flash

- Metering Modes

- What Makes a Great Underwater Photograph?

- The Use of Different Lenses for Different Effects Underwater

- Introduction and Use of Flashguns for Different Lighting Techniques

- Two Short Presentations on Photoshop to Enhance Your Underwater Images

Course comments

See examples of Maria and her students work at the top of the page.