Would you like to participate in a fun and friendly shootout between Lembeh and our arch nemesis, Anilao?!

Well in December 2020 you can! Join us between 8 to 15 December 2020 to duel it out with our friends and peers from Solitude Lembeh & Anilao, and Aiyanar Beach Resort. We have blocked out the resort from 4th – 15th to allow participants to take an extra couple of days beforehand to get acclimated to the time zone, practise and get some tips from the staff, Simon and Serge.

https://wetpixel.com/articles/major-announcement-lembeh-vs-anilao-shootout-in-december-2020

At the time of inception, we were hearing heavyweight names being thrown around for who should captain the teams for the Lembeh-Anilao Shootout… However we wanted someone who represents what NAD stands for, so we immediately thought of our old manager Serge. Those of you that have dived with Serge before know that he has a no-nonsense approach to photography, but also has a keen knowledge of various techniques that might help you to win.

The other plus for Serge is his fluency in local dialects from his 7 years in the Lembeh Strait, because, well to be honest the other half of his job is not just inspiring the photographers – it’s inspiring the diveguides and getting the best out of them. One should also remember that the Captain also has to ensure that wildlife is not harassed, and with Serge coming from the dive operations side of the industry he has a keen eye for an unnatural photograph which will prevent the participants from wasting a submission on a shot that doesn’t quite look right.

Simon will help Serge out with presentations and general tips for those of you who want to try something different during the shootout, Simon and Serge have always argued when they jointly judge a photo competition, so he will provide a balance to what Serge thinks is a good photograph! Simon has won various competitions in his younger years and has also been on various judging panels for underwater photography competitions over the years.

The proposed format is the following, we may tweak it a litle bit as time passes but the basic concept will remain the same:

If you’d like to join contact us via the contact form in the top right corner.

We are making addition rules to complement our usual environmental house diving rules for teh duration of the Lembeh – Anilao Shootout.

• Be Kind to the Environment.
• No full gloves (fingerless subject to management discretion).
• Share Ideas and Subjects.
• Be nice to your diveguides.

The winning images will be a combination of luck, timing and skill. They will not be created by cheating to balance an animal on an unnatural background.  Likewise we usually say take 5 pictures of a rare animal and then pass the subject to your buddy.

We appreciate this is a competition, so you might need a few more attempts than this, but the key here is to be ‘professional’ and have your camera set up properly before arriving at the subject, make minimal impact on the subject and then let someone else have a go.

We will run a warning system for obnoxious behaviour. 1 warning for the first time this behaviour is witnessed, if we see it again then we will present you with a refund for the unused portion of your stay and you will be dropped off at the dock!