Visions in the Sea

Type: Conference / competition / workshop series
Frequency: Annual (autumn, typically October or November)
Location: London, UK (King’s College London); Manchester, UK (2009); various UK coastal locations (2010 Summer Series)
Founded: 1997
Organizers: Ocean Optics (Steve Warren, Mark Koekemoer); Frogfish Photography / Orca Divers (Nick and Caroline Robertson-Brown, from 2009)

Overview

Visions in the Sea is an annual underwater photography conference founded in 1997 by Ocean Optics, a London-based underwater camera retailer run by Steve Warren, and Colin Doeg, co-founder of the British Society of Underwater Photographers (BSoUP). The concept was to bring the world’s top underwater photographers to a British audience so that skills could be shared and attendees could learn from leading experts (^[1]).

The event became the premier gathering for European underwater photographers, distinguished from festivals like Antibes by its conference-style format emphasizing technique talks, workshops, and one-on-one “teach-ins” rather than purely portfolio showcases. Typical attendance ranged from 100 to 150 people, with ticket prices around 95 GBP for a two-day event (^[2]). The conference featured 45-minute talks by major speakers, 15-minute travel briefings, image clinics, and social events including a Saturday evening presentation and the “Visions Dinner” (^[3]).

From 2009, the event expanded beyond London to include an international underwater photography competition and, in 2010, a UK-wide “Summer Series” of weekend workshops.

History

1997 — Founded

Founded by Ocean Optics and Colin Doeg as a UK-based underwater photography conference. Colin Doeg was co-creator of BSoUP, the British Society of Underwater Photographers (^[4]). The event was described as “without parallel in the United Kingdom” nine years later.

2003 — Seventh Annual Conference

Held October 25-26 in London. Organized by Steve Warren and the Ocean Optics crew. Moderated by Colin Doeg, who at 76 years of age led BSoUP and was also president of YUP (Young Underwater Photographers). Tickets were priced at 99 GBP for the two-day event, with an extra charge for a special evening event (^[5]).

Speakers and presentations:

• Amos Nachoum — Big animal photography; showed benchmark images from extreme locations worldwide
• Tony White — Special speaker for “An Evening with Tony White” (Saturday evening event)
• David Doubilet — Surprise guest, signing his newest book
• Alex Mustard — Digital imaging underwater; gave an overview of the state of digital photography
• Espen Rekdal — Photography from Norway and supermacro from Wakatobi
• Martin Edge — Supermacro photography techniques
• Gordon MacSkimming — Traveling Western Australia
• Paul Naylor — “Adventures in Photographing UK Fish,” techniques from his latest book
• Arthur Hunking — Using land-based photography classes to improve underwater photography
• Charles Hood — Challenges producing his first book, “100 Best Dives in Cornwall”
• Paul Kay — “Composing like a Pro,” a talk on composition
• Elgar Hay — Live-aboard and shore-based diving in the Maldives
• Simon Christopher (Scubazoo) — Marine conservation and the Scubazoo team
• Simon Brown — Trials of becoming a professional photographer
• John Collins — Using semi-closed rebreathers
• Pete Atkinson — “Adventures in Life,” 18 years living on a yacht in the South Pacific
• Leigh Bishop — Deep sea wreck photography at depths greater than 120 meters
• Roy Cash — Photography opportunities in the Philippines

A tribute to the late Colin Bateman was presented; his wife Lorraine produced “Out of the Blue,” a book of his photographs with proceeds going to the Scuba Trust.

The 2003 Visions in the Sea Award was presented to Alex Mustard and the members of YUP for outstanding contributions to underwater photography (^[6], ^[7]).

Eric Cheng attended and wrote the event report for Wetpixel, noting that he met Peter Ladell, a custom housing maker who built ports and equipment for many Visions attendees, including a rotating flash bracket designed with Espen Rekdal (^[8]).

2004 — Eighth Annual Conference

Held October 23 in London. Presented by Ocean Optics. The content was described as “wholly digital” for the first time (^[9], ^[10]).

Alex Mustard spoke for a full hour with a talk entitled “Digital Thinking,” covering available light filtration, “Nemo” lighting, telephoto shooting, and techniques for harnessing digital post-processing. He also discussed Magic Filters and shooting to digital camera strengths (^[11]).

2005 — Ninth Annual Conference

Held Saturday, October 22 at the Franklin Wilkins Building, King’s College London, 150 Stamford Street, London SE1 9NN (^[12]).

Full programme:

• Jason Isley (ScubaZoo) — Shooting big animals
• Charles Hood — RAW versus JPEG, triggering “the Big Debate”
• John Collins — Photoshop plug-ins to make your life easier
• Dave Barnes (British Antarctic Survey) — “One giant leap for polar marine ecologists,” 15 years of Antarctic diving and photography
• Image clinics — One-on-one reviews, maximum ten images per delegate
• Phoebe Rudomino-Dusiacka — Challenges of photographing film stars in the big tank at Pinewood Studios
• Peter Rowlands (UwP Magazine) — “How to take extra-ordinary images with ordinary cameras,” showing work from an Olympus C40
• Martin Edge — “Taking pictures with punch by learning how to break the rules,” focusing on composition
• Alex Mustard — “Controlling light with filters and the secrets of the Magic Filter”
• Evening event: Tom Peschak — “Currents of Contrast,” presenting his new book about marine wildlife on both coasts of Southern Africa

The delegates’ dinner was held at the Spaghetti House restaurant, 30 St Martins Lane, London WC2 (^[13], ^[14]).

2006 — Tenth Anniversary Conference

Held November 4-5, 2006 at King’s College London. The tenth anniversary was the biggest Visions yet, returning to a two-day format with an international cast of speakers from Australia, the United States, Mauritius, Greece, Italy, and Ireland (^[15]).

For the first time, equipment displays were expanded beyond Ocean Optics to include gear from Cameras Underwater, Undersea Cameras, and PR Productions. BSoUP manned a stand throughout the show. Tickets cost 95 GBP for two days and 65 GBP for one day (^[16]).

Saturday speakers:

• Constantinos Petrinos — Author of “Realm of the Pygmy Seahorse,” known for stunning behavioural images
• Amos Nachoum — “Techniques for Incredible Images”
• Charles Hood — “Shooting and Selling for Profit”
• Andrea and Antonella Ferrari — “The Magic of Macro”; co-authors of “Reef Life” and multiple dive guides
• Martin Edge — “Working a Photo Idea”
• Peter Rowlands — “Au Natural: a Breakthrough in Available Light Photography”
• Pete Atkinson — “Progress or Photobabble”
• Evening event: Amos Nachoum — “Confronting the Giants of the Ocean”

Sunday speakers:

• Michael Aw — “A Retrospective”; over 20,000 images published in National Geographic and other leading publications
• Gerald Rambert — “Successful Underwater Photography with Compact Cameras”; professional photographer from Mauritius
• Anne-Marie Kitchen-Wheeler — “Freediving Techniques to Improve Your Underwater Photography”
• John Collins — “Opportunities and Techniques in Cool Waters”
• Jean-Philippe Trenque — “Digital Workflow”
• Alex Mustard — “Mastering the Fisheye,” including his new macro-fisheye technique; his sixth consecutive year speaking at Visions
• Peter Scoones — “A One Person Show by the Godfather of Underwater Cameramen”

(^[17], ^[18])

2007 — Eleventh Annual Conference

Held October 20-21 in central London. Confirmed speakers included Tom Peschak (South Africa), Tony White (UK/South Africa), Constantinos Petrinos (Greece), Frederic Buyle (France), and Wetpixel’s James Wiseman (USA), who gave one of his technical talks on digital underwater photography. The event was described as “a great chance for UK and European based underwater photographers” to meet Wiseman (^[19]).

2009 — Manchester Expansion

Held November 7-8, 2009, at the City Inn, Manchester Aquatics Centre, and the Palace Hotel in Manchester, England. This was a significant departure from the London-only format, co-organized by Frogfish Photography (Nick and Caroline Robertson-Brown) and Ocean Optics (Steve Warren and Mark Koekemoer), with the entire event held in aid of the Shark Trust (^[20]).

Speakers: Cathy Church, Paul “Duxy” Duxfield, Martin Edge, Charlie Hood, Maria Munn, Alex Mustard, Jukka Nurminen, Mark Koekemoer, Peter Scoones, and a representative of the Shark Trust (^[21]).

New features for 2009:

• In-water tuition: Sunday afternoon at the Manchester Aquatics Centre, a 5-metre deep pool transformed with reef, wreck, and marine life for participants to practice photography with expert coaching
• International Underwater Photography Competition: Categories included Best in Show, Suunto British Open (images from British mainland waters only), and Mares Young Photographer of the Year. Total prize value exceeded 9,000 GBP. Best in Show won a Worldwide Dive and Sail live-aboard trip. Competition was judged by the guest speakers (^[22])
• Gala Dinner: Saturday evening, coinciding with the 5th anniversary of Orca Divers, featuring an auction of prints from world-renowned underwater photographers
• Public exhibition: Free, open to the public, with stands from Ocean Optics, Frogfish Photography, BSoUP, NUPG (Northern Underwater Photography Group), and the Shark Trust
• Schools outreach: On Friday November 6, the Shark Trust and organizers visited local schools for an education day about sharks and their habitat

Sponsors: African Space, Cameras Underwater, Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, DiveQuest, Emperor Divers, Frogfish Photography (^[23]).

Competition results: Rene Kral won Best in Show with a whale shark image, judged by Martin Edge. Thomas (forum user “Autopsea”) won both the Open Wide Angle and Macro categories. Steve Williams was selected for the Amateur Elasmobranch category. Alex Mustard and Cathy Church judged several categories (^[24], ^[25]).

2010 — Summer Series

In 2010, Visions in the Sea expanded into a UK-wide “Summer Series” of six weekend workshops designed to get underwater photographers into British waters. Each weekend featured at least one resident professional photographer, evening lectures, one-on-one photo reviews, two dives per day, and social dinners. The series was organized by Frogfish Photography and sponsored by Frogfish Photography, Mares, and Fourth Element (^[26]).

Weekend schedule:

• May 8-9: Wrecks of Capernwray with Charlie Hood (30 GBP, sponsored by Fourth Element, dive guides by Orca Divers)
• June 24-25: Farne Islands seals with Paul “Duxy” Duxfield (RIB diving with Farne Island Divers, sponsored by Cameras Underwater)
• July 3-4: Cornish coastline with Charlie Hood, including basking shark encounters — the group spent 5 hours in the water with 4 sharks of approximately 5 metres each, plus a dolphin pod encounter
• August: Jurassic Coast shore diving
• September 4-5: Partnership with NUPG for their Summer Splash-In competition in Anglesey, North Wales
• October 23-24: Brighton Pier with Maria Munn, author of “Underwater Photography for Compact Camera Users,” tailored for compact camera users

(^[27], ^[28], ^[29])

Competition winner: Doug Robertson was announced as the champion of the Visions in the Sea Summer Series competition for his basking shark photograph taken off the Cornish coastline in June. The prize was awarded at the Dive Show at the NEC in October. Tom Tyler placed second with a macro shot of a spider crab from the Menai Strait (^[30]).

The Visions in the Sea Award

The Visions in the Sea Award recognized outstanding contributions to underwater photography. In 2003, it was presented to Alex Mustard and the members of YUP (Young Underwater Photographers). Ocean Optics produced a DVD featuring YUP members and their collective achievements for the presentation (^[31]).

Key Figures

• Steve Warren — Founder and primary organizer through Ocean Optics; ran the event from its 1997 inception
• Mark Koekemoer — Co-organizer at Ocean Optics; also served as a competition judge in 2009
• Colin Doeg — Co-founder; moderated the conference; BSoUP co-creator and YUP president
• Alex Mustard — Most frequent speaker; attended all ten of the first decade’s conferences and spoke at six consecutively (2001-2006); wrote multiple Wetpixel reports on the event
• Nick and Caroline Robertson-Brown (Frogfish Photography / Orca Divers) — Co-organizers from 2009, expanded the event to Manchester and created the Summer Series
• Martin Edge — Regular speaker and competition judge

Legacy

Visions in the Sea was unique in the northern hemisphere as a dedicated underwater photography conference, combining world-class presentations with practical technique instruction. It served as the primary gathering point for the UK and European underwater photography community, helping bridge the gap between British photographers working in challenging cold-water conditions and the broader international scene. The event’s emphasis on in-person image clinics, teach-ins, and social interaction fostered a close-knit community that extended to online forums like Wetpixel (^[32], ^[33]).

References