MantaFest Winners Announced

Published 8 years agoon October 9, 2018

The 11th Annual MantaFest Photo & Video Workshop

Congratulations to the 2018 MantaFest image contest winners!

MantaFest is an international photography & video workshop with an image contest, created by Hall of Fame dive pioneer, Bill Acker, and hosted by Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers. Divers from around the world learn photography and video from a panel of today’s leading underwater professionals in classroom workshops and one-on-one training sessions during the two-week event.

MantaFest was created to be a platform where underwater photographers and videographers learn with professionals, for all levels and experience and all types of cameras.

“I really wanted to make a platform for any-level photographer to work on, improve and grow their skills while diving Yap, next year I want a division created for first-time underwater shooters and have the demo camera systems here to use, it’s all about improving our guest’s photos.” – Bill Acker, CEO & Founder, Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers.

Best of Class: DSLR, Dan Norton, USA, Canon

The event schedule has room for up to 4 dives per day with daily classroom workshops, happy hour with the presenters, one-on-one training appointments and evening media presentations – special photo excursions include island cultural sites with traditionally dressed Yapese models and a “Sunset shark splits” photo shoot.

Best of Class: Compact, Lee Shinwoong, Korea, Sony

Over $20,000 in prizes are awarded for images in either behavior, macro, big animals, reef scenic or people, island & culture categories for dSLR/Mirrorless and compact cameras with a best-submission video prize. Generous sponsors such as Dive Damai, Siren Fleet, Master Liveaboards, Chuuk Odyssey, Aqua Nautic Elba, Manta Ray Bay Resort, Mares, Ikelite, Diver Design Jewelry, Light & Motion, Henderson Wetsuits, Pelican and Armor Bags provide MantaFest an exciting ending at the awards night.

To see all of the 2018 photo submissions and winning images, check out: www.mantaray.com/blog

The next MantaFest event is – August 24th – September 8th, 2019.

Nick and Caroline Robertson-Brown

Nick and Caroline (Frogfish Photography) are a married couple of conservation driven underwater photo-journalists and authors. Both have honours degrees from Manchester University, in Environmental Biology and Biology respectively, with Nick being a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, a former high school science teacher with a DipEd in Teaching Studies. Caroline has an MSc in Animal Behaviour specializing in Caribbean Ecology. They are multiple award-winning photographers and along with 4 published books, feature regularly in the diving, wildlife and international press They are the Underwater Photography and Deputy Editors at Scubaverse and Dive Travel Adventures. Winners of the Caribbean Tourism Organization Photo-journalist of the Year for a feature on Shark Diving in The Bahamas, and they have been placed in every year they have entered. Nick and Caroline regularly use their free time to visit schools, both in the UK and on their travels, to discuss the important issues of marine conservation, sharks and plastic pollution. They are ambassadors for Sharks4Kids and founders of SeaStraw. They are Dive Ambassadors for The Islands of The Bahamas and are supported by Mares, Paralenz, Nauticam and Olympus. To find out more visit www.frogfishphotography.com