Home > News > Eilat Epson Red Sea Competition 2009: Day 3

Eilat Epson Red Sea Competition 2009: Day 3

By Matt J. Weiss, November 14, 2009 @ 12:32 AM (EST)

By Keri Wilk

DAY 3 (November 11)

Photographers that have been scouting locations and subjects for their winning shots the past couple of days, frantically attempted to create their conceived visions today. Failure to do so comes with some amount of panic and anxiety, since tomorrow is the last day of the competition. If a subject you planned to shoot has moved, your housing/strobe malfunctions, or your model has abandoned you to take part in the day’s happy hour instead of the night dive you hoped to do, then you’ll surely be biting your nails tomorrow! Having spoken with a number of competitors regarding how many ‘keepers’ they’ve gotten, I have to say… the situation looks grim – not a soul in the crowd responded with absolute confidence. However, they say ‘you are your own worst critic’, so I suspect the observed lack of confidence is generally over exaggerated.

Noam Kortler after his first dive of the day

I received some interesting news today from the competition organizer, Pilo. He explained that the Epson Red Sea competition is not only a tool to highlight the beautiful marine life of Eilat, or to put Eilat on the map – it now can also claim to be a source of education and encouragement to future generations. The category named “Children of Epson Red Sea”, advertised strictly in Israel, called for local children to participate in a mini shoot-out, snorkeling and shooting with disposable cameras over a weekend. Not expecting much of a response, Pilo was pleasantly surprised by how many actually turned up – 30 children between 7-14 years old.

Pilo speaks to the crowd

David Pilosof

Regardless of the competition being two thirds finished, the official opening ceremony took place today at the underwater observatory which is a few minutes down the street from the dive center. All who participated in this ceremony were rewarded with delicious culinary treats, booze of all sorts, and a few kinds words from Pilo and the sponsors of the event.

Drinks and snacks at the Underwater Observatory

The crowd was large, but there were a few obvious faces missing… no doubt because they were doing night dives. How someone could pass up an all-you-can-eat pastry buffet is beyond me – but I think I made up for their lack of presence by eating their fair share.

Osku schmoozing a group of women – what else is new?

Feeling pretty dissatisfied about the shots I took today (with the exception of the one below), I’ll have to do some brainstorming tonight, in preparation for the last day of shooting, tomorrow. Some shots from today:

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