Kittiwake's 9-year Retrospective

I just returned from shooting a couple of days on Grand Cayman, in celebration of the one year anniversary of the Kittiwake being sunk as an artificial reef off Seven Mile Beach. Here's what she looks like today, a vignette of what she's become after a year in the sea.



But, getting any artificial reef to this point involves a long and arduous process that involves considerable money, commitment, and almost superhuman persistence. Here is a visual chronology of the Kittiwake, from her time being cleaned of contaminants in a Virginia shipyard, to final preparations and sinking at the predetermined wreck site on Grand Cayman, and finally some images of her now one year later.

In the Yard:






On Grand Cayman on day of sinking, January 5, 2011:












Celebrating her first year as a dive attraction that hosted 20,000 divers, well exceeding projections for success:

Digital Master Class with Stephen Frink

Digital Master Class June 9-16, 2012 Now Open for Enrollment

Our photo course in Key Largo in June is one of the highlights of my year. I choose early June because it is the very best time of year to dive Key Largo. The seas are typically warm and calm, and the water clarity likely to be as good as it gets here ... 60-80 feet, sometimes better. We charter a private boat with Ocean Divers and choose the best sites for whatever optic we have in play at the moment. This year the dates are June 9-16, complete details at http://waterhousetours.com/instruction#6.

In addition to putting the very best Key Largo dive opportunities on our side, including the most abundant marine life anywhere in the Western Hemisphere, we have a stellar instruction staff. We are privileged to have Photoshop Hall of Fame and Canon Explorer of Light Eddie Tapp to weigh in on all things Photoshop, and Frazier Nivens to teach a module in underwater video with digital SLR cameras; both joining me in instruction. Class limited to 14 pax.

To gain better insight into the structure of this week, please see http://alertdiver.com/Immerse_Yourself_in_...raphy_Education, by one of last summer's seminar participants, Tim Grollimund.

For reservations or further information, please contact Barbara@stephenfrink.com or phone 800-445-3737.

Cars as Art at Ocean Reef

Here are some visual vignettes of some of the gorgeous and significant automobiles shown at Ocean Reef's Vintage Weekend 2011.

Shark Shootout 2011

I've just returned from leading the Shark Shootout 2011 at Stuart Cove's Dive Bahamas. After a several year hiatus, interrupted for no good reason other than other projects getting in the way, it was really fun to be back off the southwest end of New Providence Island with close friends Stuart and Michelle Cove.

It was interesting to note how much more evolved the shark interaction opportunities are now. We worked on the 200-foot shipwreck Ray of Hope, but created feeding stations at both bow and stern of the vessel so we could spread out the group and offer better access to the action and the definitive "bite" shot. We had sharks on reefs, from inside and outside of a shark cage, and along the reef and shipwreck in the more distant and wilderness setting of Shark Wall. The fewest number of sharks we ever had was maybe 8 out at shark wall, but in the heart of it all (Ray of Hope/Bahama Mama/Shark Cage) there must have been 4 dozen sharks spread out between two or three separate shark wranglers.

Until someone is truly immersed in Shark Shootout they'll never understand how different (and clearly better) the shark interaction provided here is as compared to a traditional group shark encounter. For photographers it is all about proximity to shark action, and that's what Shark Shootout provides better than any other event.