Monterey Shootout and Film Festival Wrap Up

The annual Monterey Shootout, sponsored by Backscatter and Northern California Underwater Photography Society (NCUPS), has announced the results of the contest, which wrapped up last weekend.

This year’s competition was a huge success, attracting over 70 registrants who flocked to the Monterey Bay area for the 36-hour shootout. Rough seas and inconsistent visibility did not discourage the wide range of photographers –from beginning enthusiast to cutting-edge shooters- from creating some amazing images.

First place finishers in the advanced category included Sami Laine for wide-angle unrestricted, Mark Crag in macro traditional, Chuck Tribolet in macro unrestricted, and Jeff Honda in wide-angle restricted. Joe Platko, Derek Emmett, Lanette Otvos and Angelina Galindo all took home first place awards in the intermediate category.  You can see all the winners on Shootout's homepage.

The Monterey Underwater Film Festival also was also met tremendous reception, drawing in an impressive 800 attendees. The theme for this year’s festival was “Giants from the Deep” and featured exciting films and images from Eric Cheng, Chuck Davis, Stephen Frink and Rick Rosenthal, and Backscatter’s Berkley White. 

“We've received hundreds of positive comments from the Monterey community and many have expressed a new interest in diving,” according to the Monterey Shootout webpage.

Underwater photography education also took center stage at the shootout- Stephen Frink presented a seminar titled “The Art of Light” and Eric Cheng delivered his ever-popular “Top Ten Tips for Underwater Photography.” Cheng also fell victim to a particular ingenious prank captured on video!

For more information on the shootout, or for a complete list of this year's winners, please visit the Monterey Shootout website.