Home > News > Coverage Of NYUPS' Event Featuring David Doubilet

Coverage Of NYUPS' Event Featuring David Doubilet

By Matt J. Weiss, March 28, 2008 @ 02:00 AM (EST)

What a way for NYUPS, The New York Photographic Society, to kick off 2008! On Monday, 200 underwater photography enthusiasts from many different countries flocked to the Bleecker St. Theater in downtown Manhattan to hear an awe--inspiring presentation from living legend David Doubilet. NYUPS was founded in 2007 and has hosted such esteemed people in the photography industry as Howard Schatz, Mike McNamara of Popular Digital Photography and many others. Membership is free and open to anyone. The Society holds meetings almost every month. However, this night was truly a special event that will be hard to surpass. The theater jam-packed with a who’s who in underwater photography world. But despite the amazing number of talented people in attendance, all were astonished by the remarkable, decade-spanning portfolio of Mr. Doubilet.

Mike Feld from Ocean Blue Divers, Erin Boyajian and members from Shark Savers were one of the many familiar faces at the event (Hey, who’s that handsome guy in background?)

Mike McNamara was there not only to see David speak, but also to make sure nothing happened to his projector!

After a few words by Wendy and Jason, David took the stage. He started the talk by saying “Tonight is going to be fun, its going to be different.” Both very true, but also understatements. Many of us have seen a lot of David’s work before, and already knew how beautiful it is. In fact, it was not uncommon to hear people whispering “oh, that’s my favorite of his” to their neighbor, after recognizing a certain slide. However, to hear him explain each shot with such passion- not only for the art of underwater photography but also for the subjects themselves, was like seeing these classic images for the first time all over again.

David discussed the methods behind some of his classic shots like his famous over/under image at Stingray City.

But he also discussed a lot of his later assignments, like this image of an underwater model wearing a dress from the Milan collection.

He told stories of photographing underwater images of crocodiles, elephants and hippos in the Okavango Delta, turtle threesomes in Sipadan and great white cage diving in South Africa. He explained how he captured the rare moment seen in many of his famous images
He told us why he liked certain images and why his partner, Jen Hayes, didn’t. He even gave us a history lesson by describing the evolution of what camera he used throughout the years. At the end, he let us pick his brain with questions. Hey, its not everyday you get to ask a legend for advice.

After his inspiring speech ended, Jason presented David with a NYUPS plaque in his honor and with thanks.

Buck of Archipelago Fleet addresses the crowd. Archipelago Fleet is a premier live aboard located in Indonesia and is one of NYUPS’s sponsors, without whom the amazing event would not have been possible

Finally, the party starts. Polina, Wendy and Lorriane take on one of the most import roles of the night—bartenders!

Free drinks and snacks, including cheese, crackers and cake were served throughout the rest of the night as people socialized in the theater

A pair of Davids- Fishman of Fathom’s magazine and Doubilet.

The networking period was a great time to catch up with old friends, make new ones and just talk about all things related to underwater photography. We drank, we ate, we drank a little more and we had an overall great time. However, David Doubilet’s pictures, despite being breath-takingly beautiful, are a stark reminder of the world we are losing. Perhaps there is no better weapon in the war against the ocean’s destruction than David’s camera. It reminds us that as underwater photographers, we are in a unique position to show people a mostly unseen world, and one that is disappearing. So as always, all of us at DPG remind you to ask yourself- “what have you done for the ocean lately?”

Comments

Be the first to add a comment to this article.

You must be logged in to comment.