NAD Photo Workshop 2022 with Doug Sloss
We recently hosted our 9th Annual NAD Photo Workshop 2022 with Doug Sloss at NAD Lembeh Resort. This was our long awaited return as we originally scheduled this one in 2020! We were joined by many repeat guests who have enjoyed our workshops over the years. This year we hosted a mixed group from the USA, Australia, France, and Italy. We also offered a “Photo Fun Week” before the workshop began, this allowed everyone to settle into diving after some time away. Arriving early is a great way to meet fellow attendees, work out any issues with gear, and of course enjoy more of the diving that Lembeh Strait offers.
How Was the Diving?
One of the most eagerly anticipated questions was “what would the diving be like?” After more than 2 years of minimal diving in the area we were looking forward to see what the critters were up to. One of the first things we noted was how quiet Lembeh was during our stay. There were very few boats around which made our trip one of the best ever. Needless to say, the critter encounters during our time were off the charts. Along with all of the normal sightings such as pygmy seahorse, frogfish, seahorses, lemon gobies etc the “bucket list” critters were also in abundance. Rhinopias, hairy frogfish, blue ring octopus (including mating pairs!), wonderpus, mimics, and pretty much every other weird thing you can think of was in attendance. To top it off, the water was a pleasant 27C and we had very pleasant weather throughout the week.
NAD Photo Workshop 2022
After a few days of fun, we got down to business once all of the participants were in attendance. As per usual, the NAD Lembeh guides presented everyone with an incredible variety of underwater life to shoot. With a maximum of 2 guests to each guide, everyone gets plenty of time to concentrate on their photography. Of course the instructors are also on hand underwater with slate in hand. As they don’t dive with cameras, they are always helping the participants underwater get the most from their opportunities. And what a collection of photographs our participants produced!
One of the best things about conducting a photo workshop in Lembeh is the opportunity to work on your skills. The relatively shallow depths, minimal amount of current and plentiful subjects is a perfect combination. We also like to return to sites after a few days in order to try new techniques on subjects that have already been shot. Subjects such as frogfish tend not to move around much and are easy to find again. This allows everyone multiple turns to photograph much sought after subjects.
2023 Photo Workshop Announcement Soon
The last night of the workshop is always a fun time. NAD organizes a wonderful BBQ dinner for everyone with a lot of tasty food. We follow this with a social get together while watching a slideshow of the week. Everyone submitted their favourite images of the week and we popped them up on the big screen along with a bunch of great “behind the scenes” style photos. It was certainly sad to say goodbye to everyone after such a great event. However, we hope to see everyone again in 2023. We have booked the dates at NAD for 22-29 July 2023. This will be the dates for the start, basically a 7 night/17 dive package. We will also be hosting a Photo Fun Week before the main event for those who would like to extend. We will be creating a page with the full information and pricing soon.
For those interested in our other diving trips in 2023 we still have space on our Banda Sea liveaboard trip from 17-28th October 2022 on the beautiful Samambaia. Please contact us today if you would like more information about this trip.
Please enjoy a small gallery of the stunning images taken by our guests.
