Join us for our amatuer photo competition where the emphasis on all inclusive fun. The Photo Rally will run from Thursday 24th to Sunday 27th October 2013.
Jewel Anemone by Joe Hyland
Our annual photo competition grows year on year, as more divers discover the thrill of capturing underwater images. Perhaps it appeals to our hunter-gatherer origins, as we do not take anything from the water our beautiful images serve as our trophies!
On location
The photos won’t be the only trophies though, as we have prizes from our sponsors including SUUNTO , O’Three, Renvyle House Hotel, Maol Reidh Hotel and more..
September and October are our favourite months for diving as the water is warm & clear, there is little chance of a plankton bloom and the marine life is abundant. Summer 2013 was the warmest we have experienced here, both above and below water, with water temperatures peaking at 21 Celcius during the heat waves and holding steady at 16 Degrees Celcius ever since. This year as part of our 21 Years in the West celebration we are running the competion onsite at Scubadive West in the form of a Photo Rally. It will also be a great opportunity to celebrate Irish diving at it’s finest.
The competition is free to enter. All photos must be taken here on our house reef or out on our boat dives during the Photo Rally, so we have come up with some very special diving packages for competing photographers. Unlimited shore diving and air fills from Thursday 24th until the competition closes on Sunday 27th, and one boat dive for the all inclusive price of just €40! Additional boat dives at the usual price of €35. We also have our special offer of 4 boat dives and 3 air fills for just €130.
Photo by Sarah Tallon
Basic aims of the Photo Rally
To encourage people to get out diving during the month of October, take underwater photographs, meet like minded divers and have fun!
The event is not competitive in the context of total time spent underwater or number of photographs taken. Prizes are awarded for the best photographs, as determined by our independent judging panel.
Safety is of paramount importance, and all of the usual safety guidlines will be observed throughout the competition.
The categories are
Best Wide Angle Photograph
Best Macro Photograph
Best Novel Photo, (examples would be a ‘half and half’ photo taken at the surface, a photo of a rarely seen fish, or an underwater photo using props)
Sea Hare by Martin Kiely
Nudibranch with egg rosettes by Maja Stankovski
Monkfish by Darragh Norton
Julia T by Cillian Gray
Lumpsucker
The event will take place during the local festival ‘Sea Week’ and there will be plenty of other activities in and around Letterfrack in the evenings with talks, guided walks and music in the pubs celebrating all things maritime.
Sea Week 2013
The Rules
Be careful & do enjoy yourself – it’s about having fun.
All rules & regulations as relevant to safe SCUBA diving practices apply to all participants at all times.
Registration for the event will be available from Thursday 12th September via our dedicated competitions website www.competitionssdw.com
and participants can register anytime up until 10am on Sunday 27th October.
The minimum certification level is PADI Open Water Diver / CFT 1* (or equivalent) with recent cold water diving experience.
Participants must be at least 18 years or older to enter. The Judges decision is final.
In the context of Scuba diving, i.e. depth, bottom time etc. the event is strictly not competitive.
Full list of rules are available on our competition site
You may upload your photos from Thursday 24th, via our complimentary Wi-fi on site here, and offsite via any Internet connection (e.g. from your hotel/ hostel).You can change your submitted photos as often as you like during the photo rally. The photos that are uploaded to your registration at the close of the competition (1pm on Sunday) will be taken as your entry.
The closing time for entry is 1pm on Sunday 27th 2013 – late entries will not be accepted, as judging will commence at 1pm.!
An award presentation will be held at 4pm on Sunday.
As the photo rally will be taking place on the October Bank Holiday Weekend there should be no need to hurry away, why not stay overnight in Letterfrack or Tully Cross and enjoy the vibrant schedule of activities and atmosphere of Sea Week.
It promises to be a great event and we hope that you will join us!
Watch our blog and facebook page for regular updates.
Call us at +353 (0)9543922
Good Diving!
From the team at Scubadive West.