Fiji's First Underwater Photography Schools has opened in Pacific Harbour
Fiji’s first ever underwater photography school has opened its doors in Pacific harbour, near the capital, Suva. ‘Blue Bubbles photography school’ will hopefully put Fiji firmly on to the global underwater photography map. Alison Smith, author of Blue Bubbles – underwater Fiji’ and renowned photographer is passionately attached to Fiji where she has lived on her sail boat for 12 years and has big ambitions for Fiji’s dive industry.
‘This tiny volcanic dot, slap bang in the middle of the South Pacific has long been known for its sharks and stunning soft coral drift dives. We are blessed as we have lots of the big stuff, and the little stuff in Fiji. However, the remoteness has often meant that imagery of these reefs is lacking with Fiji not really been attracting DSLR photographers in any number – unlike the Red Sea and Indonesia’.
Alison commented. ‘The market for serious photography is growing fast so obviously there are commercial rewards for Fiji, However, the byproduct of the underwater photography school is that I can offer free imagery and campaign photography to Fijian NGOs working in conservation. It has never been more urgent to add as much impact as possible to the message we need to protect and rehabilitate our reefs and fight against the damage climate change is doing. You can’t love something you can’t see.’
The Blue Bubbles photography school will be offering 3 separate courses which can be combined or taken separately over a flexible period of time and will be linked to dive/stay packages offered at resorts in Fiji. ‘Based in world famous Beqa Lagoon. (Pronounced Benga) we have access to ‘the Bistro’ shark feed, a bucket list for many divers.
Here we will face the photographic challenges and rewards of a frenzy of bull sharks, tawny nurse sharks, lemons and the odd tiger. To be able to come away from this amazing place with the best possible images each diver’s camera can take will be a huge draw. ‘The action here, is so intense it is impossible to know where best to focus your camera. However, we can be ready for that fabulous perfect image, only if we have the correct settings for the conditions and the speed of the dive.
Other than the shark speciality course, we will be using the soft coral sites of Beqa Lagoon with workshops in wide angle and creative macro’ said Alison. All of the courses will include post processing techniques such as removing back scatter, tweaking white balance and colour hues. Students will also be able to hire a professional level camera, with strobe set up if they wish to..
‘The photography work shop will have something to offer all divers who wish to improve their ability to capture some of the magic of Fiji’s underwater world from Go Pro’s to semi professional photographers who enjoy working together as part of a group having a beer and sharing images from the day’.
More information contact allyfiji@me.com. or visit Blue Bubbles Fiji
