News

After taking a break in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Digital Shootout returned with a vengeance to the balmy waters of Bonaire in June—and full coverage of the premier event on the underwater imaging calendar is now live.

This time around, 65 guests from around the world joined the staff of 20 for an intense two weeks of awesome dives (courtesy of Divi Flamingo Beach Resort), learning seminars, and inspirational presentations. As usual, participants got to play with the latest and greatest cameras, housings, strobes, lights and accessories, as well as engage in some friendly competition for the chance to score some sweet prizes.

Check out the detailed press release below summarizing the various sections of the online coverage: Shootout Life, Gear Tests, and Contest Results. If you’re keen to reserve your spot for next year’s event in Little Cayman (June 10th–24th, 2023), you can already do that by heading over to the Digital Shootout registration page.
 

PRESS RELEASE

Digital Shootout: The World’s Largest Underwater Imaging Event

Full coverage of the 19th annual Digital Shootout is now live. Held every year in June and sponsored by Backscatter Underwater Video & Photo, the Digital Shootout is the world’s largest and longest running underwater photography and videography learning event.
 

Learning – The Core Mission of the Digital Shootout

This year’s event included over 24 seminars and workshops. Topics included fundamentals of photo and video, creative lighting, split shots, advanced video techniques, video editing techniques, visual storytelling, and more.

With a guest-to-staff ratio of 3:1, the Digital Shootout features more educators and staff than any other underwater photography workshop in the world. Among the teaching staff were Backscatter founder Berkley White, Backscatter CEO Jim Decker, Adobe Certified Expert Erin Quigley, Brazilian Emmy award-winning filmmaker Cristian Dimitrius, and others.
 

Seminars and education sessions are always a main draw of the Digital Shootout
 

Diving the Largest Fleet of Cutting Edge Cameras on Earth

No other underwater imaging event in the world has the amount of demo gear that is showcased each year at the Digital Shootout. Demonstration camera systems were on offer from Nauticam, Isotta and Backscatter, along with strobes, lights, and more to give guests the tools needed to produce top-quality underwater images. Pegasus Thruster even brought their tank-mounted DPVs for participants to zip around the reef.
 

See Sample Content from These Latest Cameras

Click an icon below or visit the Gear Tests page to see sample content and reviews from over 24 cameras, lenses, and more:
 

The demo gear and staff of the 2022 Digital Shootout
 

A Day In The Life at the Digital Shootout

Experience the diving, the learning, and the camaraderie shared by this amazing group of passionate image-makers by checking out the Shootout Life section of the site:
 

Day In The Life at the Digital Shootout 2022 by Joel Penner
 

We Even Had a Contest with Sweet Prizes – See the Results

While this is primarily a learning event, there is an imaging contest at the end of the two weeks. Though there might be some serious people putting in a lot of work, the atmosphere is friendly and supportive, with many past winners and advanced shooters giving advice to others.

This year’s highest honor, the Jim Watt award, was presented to 2021 Boston Sea Rovers intern Russell Laman. This year the Digital Shootout timing aligned to give guests the option to wait in the dark and try to capture a bioluminescent magical light show courtesy of tiny shrimp called Ostracods. The judges were unanimous that Russell Laman's image captured the magic moment and received two thumbs up from the spirit of Jim Watt.

See the complete contest results and all photo and video submissions on the Contest Results page:
 

Jim Watt Best of Show Award – Russell Laman
 

Join Us Next Year in Little Cayman

The Digital Shootout will be held next year in Little Cayman from June 10–24, 2023.

Registration for the event is open at: https://www.thedigitalshootout.com/registration/

Join the Digital Shootout in Little Cayman from June 10–24, 2023