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Sony winter shootout

The 2010 Sony Winter Shootout will be taking place from the 22nd to the 24th of July 2010. This year, the event will be hosted by the Durban Undersea Club (DUC) in Durban.
The Sony Winter Shootout has grown in statue over the past five years, and is now a popular and anticipated event on the South African diving event calendar.

The Shooting Area:

The designated shooting area for the Winter Shootout has, in previous years, been limited to Aliwal Shoal. This year, entrants will be able to dive on anyone of the available reefs and wrecks between Umhlanga Rocks and Aliwal Shoal.

The dive sites in this shooting area are all easily accessible, and have a variety of accommodation options ranging from camping to hotels. This, together with the array of non diving activities on offer in and around Durban and the KZN South Coast, allows entrants to include the family when entering the competition.

Winter in KZN is traditionally characterised by warm, clear days with no wind and calm oceans, making May to July the best time of the year to dive Durban and South Coast.
The area South of the Tugela River to Umkomaas, has an array of rivers, sewage outlets and, in the case of Durban, a very busy port with a dredger - all responsible for dumping large amounts of sediment into the water. However, in Winter, the lack of rain, wind and swell in KZN allow for visibility to be on average 15m to 20m.
Whereas the aspect of back scatter and “clean green” water are prevalent when diving off any of the dive sites in the allocated shooting zone, the opportunity to photograph wrecks, sharks, caves and whales, gives the photographer endless opportunities in terms of subject matter. The timing of the competition also coincides with the Sardine Run, which if it presents itself this year, can defiantly add a new dimension to the competition as well as an incentive to be in the ocean during this time!

Images
Top: 2009 Overall winner Anthony Grote
Left: 2009 Difficult 1st Andrew Kemp
Right: 2009 Advanced 1st Anthony Grote

Judging Format:

The Winter Shootout does not follow the standard competition format as followed by many international photographic competitions. The competition is designed to reward good photographs, rather than test ones photo editing abilities. A photographer is encouraged to take more time in planning and capturing the photo, as apposed to the approach of taking as many photos as possible and altering the shot to produce a satisfactory photo.

Categories differentiate competitors by their experience:
Novice / Beginner: less than one year underwater photography experience and NO external lighting.
Intermediate: less than 5 years underwater photographic experience.
Advanced: any photographer that that has more that five years underwater photographic experience.

The Rare and Difficult categories look to acknowledge photographs taken of subjects that are not common to the specific area, as well as photographs that are technically difficult to capture. Only the judges can copy your entry into the Rare or Difficult categories, based on their combined knowledge of what is really rare in the area, as well as what is a difficult shot to capture. All entries, from novice to advanced are taken into account for the Overall winners in these categories.

Shells is a new category that was introduced in 2009. This category has two sub categories that enable competitors to take photos of shells above or below the water.

Images
Left: 2009 Rare 1st Anthony Kemp
Right: 2009 Novice 1st Jenni Slabert

What’s new this Year:

The extension of the diving area to Umhlanga has opened up an array of photographic opportunities for competitors. Dive sites like NO.1, Caves , Blood Reef , T Barge, Fontao and Coopers are all unique reef systems that host subjects from Great Whites to Harlequin Shrimps!

The Durban Undersea Club is perfectly situated on the beach in front of Vetches’ Pier in Durban. Competitors will be able to enjoy a meal at the highly acclaimed restaurant, as well as enjoy drinks at the picturesque bar overlooking the sea. Other facilities include: Nitrox and air fills, secure parking, beach access as well as close proximity to Ushaka Marine World.

For more information on the club, as well as the Durban Dive Sites, visit www.duc.co.za

Photographic competitions in South Africa serve a major role in show casing our countries reef systems and the amazing animals that inhabit them. The images produced from the competition expose the diversity of the life in our oceans and emphasise the need to preserve them. The Winter Shootout aims to promote conservation, but at the same time differentiate itself as a photographic event that is for all levels of underwater photographers with the focus on having fun!

Prizes, details on operators and accommodation are being updated weekly on the webpage

www.wintershootout.co.za