Browse upcoming and past events organised by The Underwater Club.
If you have an active Club Membership, log-in to access the next monthly webinar, and last webinar recording for free. Not a member yet? Join here.
Alternatively, some of our events are open to non-members, with one-time tickets for sale (click on the event for details).
Jump to our next events:
Or re-watch past events:
- March: Photo Critiques Session.
- Discussion on winning images from UPY, Ocean Art and DPG Masters, with Alex Mustard.
- Rebreathers for Photography, with Nicolas Remy.
- Creative Motion Blurs
- Club Photos Critiques Session (October)
- Selecting Photos for Competitions
- Jordan Diving and In-Person Competitions
- Taking Stunning Photos with an Olympus TG-6
- Low-Visibility Shooting & Editing Tips
- Fireside Chat: Mirrorless vs DSLR cameras
- Snoot Photography
Upcoming events
19th-20th May 2024: Whales Photography with Vanessa Mignon
Meet Vanessa Mignon, our guest speaker for May and one of the worlds’s most experienced and multi-awarded whale photographers. Humpback whales, dwarf minke whales, southern wright wales and sperm whales, Vanessa has photographed them all, and she has guided dozens of underwater image-makers do the same!
Join us for an online event, where Vanessa will share her experience with whales photography, discuss her most memorable encounters and provide precious tips in organising your very own whale trip.
About our guest speaker
Over the last 15 years, Vanessa has been organising and leading small-group wildlife trips all around the world, including numerous whales underwater photography workshops.
One of her main focuses is conservation and she hopes her photography and experience sharing can inspire others and increase people’s awareness of how diverse and beautiful nature is, and how essential it is to protect it. Vanessa regularly donates pictures to support Wildlife organisations in their conservations work, included but not limited to: International Fund for Animal Welfare, Humane Society International, Australian Marine Conservation Society, Whale Dolphin Conservation, etc. She was awarded the 2015 IFAW Animal Action Award – Marine photographer of the year in recognition for her work and efforts to promote conservation and raise awareness. The list of her awards would be too long to publish here, but she notably won categories in the prestigious OGPICOTY (Ocean Geographic Pictures of the Year) in 2023, 2020 and 2011, and received placings in between!
In her down time she also volunteers at a wildlife sanctuary, helping with the care and rehabilitation of australian native animals. To see more of Vanessa’s fantastic images and check her upcoming trips, follow her on Instagram and visit her website.
Topics covered
Join us for 2 hours packed-webinar where Vanessa will share her 15 years of experience photographing gentle underwater giants.
- Which whale species and where to photograph them?
- The stories behind-the-shots: Vanessa will comment some of her most memorable encounters.
- How to photograph whales: equipment and technique.
- Tips in planning your very own whale photography trip.
When is it?
There will be one session on:
- May 19th 2pm in Los Angeles (PDT)
- May 19th 4pm in Dallas (CDT)
- May 19th 5pm Miami time (EDT)
- May 19th 10pm London time (GMT)
- May 19th 11pm Paris time (CEST)
- May 20th at 7am Sydney time (AEST)
The webinar will last for approximately 2 hours, including Q&A time.
How to join this Event?
- Non-Members can buy an entry ticket here.
- Club Members can join for free, by registering through the link below:
Can I watch the recording?
Yes! Buying a Ticket gets you 3 days of recording access (till May 23rd). If you’re a current Club Members, you can watch the recording till 1 year after the Event.
30th April 2024: Cave Underwater Photography & Remote Lighting Masterclass
While we may not all be brave enough to venture inside a flooded cave, we can all learn from the photographic skills which are involved in creating stunning cave diving imagery.
Meet our guest speaker
Sebastien Delautier is one of the few underwater photographers capable of crafting such images. While working in some of the most inhospitable environments on earth, Sebastien’s images not only excel at story telling, while being some of the most artistic cave images out there.
To see more of Sebastien’s photos, follow his Instagram page. and visit his website to browse his latest creations, fine prints available for world-wide delivery.
Topics covered
Join us for a fascinating dive into Sebastien’s work, where he’ll share the stories behind his awe-inspiring images from iconic French cave systems. You will hear about the equipment he uses, his photographic techniques and the extensive planning, team coordination and team effort involved in these underground photoshoots, we’ll touch on editing too.
If the prospect of diving underground isn’t to your liking, this webinar is well worth attending to learn about remote lighting and working with lighting assistants and models underwater.
When is it?
We will start on April 30th at:
- 06am Miami time (EDT)
- 11am London time (GMT)
- 12pm Paris time (CEST)
- 6pm Singapore time (SGT)
- 8pm Sydney time (AEST)
The Masterclass will last for approximately 90 minutes plus Q&A time.
How to join this Event?
- Non-Members can buy an entry ticket here.
- Club Members can join for free, by registering through the link below:
Can I watch the recording if I can’t make it?
Yes! Buying a Ticket gets you 3 days of recording access (till May 3rd). If you’re a current Club Members, you can watch the recording till 1 year after the Event.
Past events
March 13th/14th: Club Meeting – Photos Critiques Session
In March we got together for two Member-only Photo Critiques Sessions!
A constructive image critique goes a long way in helping the author of the photograph improve and find inspiration. It’s also a valuable exercise for the person formulating the critique. Indeed, articulating a constructive feedback requires un-packing visual emotions, and analysing they underlying “why”.
Club Members can re-watch the recording up to 1 year after the event:
February 22nd: Competition Winners Review – with Alex Mustard
In Feb 2024, Dr Alex Mustard and Nicolas Remy co-hosted a discussion on the winning images from 3 of the most prominent underwater photography competitions: UPY, Ocean Art and DPG Masters.
Alex shared valuable insights on the judging process, how it differs across competitions and advice on how this can inform the choices you make, as a competitor. This was followed by a review of the main categories, where the Alex and Nicolas commented on jury choices and their personal favourite images.
The talk was scheduled for 1h30 but ended-up lasting 2h20 (including Q&A with participants)!
Club Members can re-watch the recording up to 1 year after the event:
February 7th/8th: Rebreathers for Photography
It’s no secret that rebreathers have great advantages for underwater photography, with the promise of longer dives and easier marine approach to marine life.
On the other hand, they are costly and add complexity to one’s diving routine, which is why they are typically associated to deep trimix dives or caves explorations.
Yet, pro-shooter Nicolas Remy has been using rebreathers for the past 12 years, exclusively for “shallow” diving: no more than 45 meters in depth (150ft), with most dives shallower than 20m (65ft) and he happily sets up his rebreather for dives as shallow as 3m (10 ft).
Is a rebreather worth the extra trouble if you’re not a deep diver? How does it transform one’s diving routine? How easy is it to travel with a rebreather? How much of a difference does it make – really – in terms of photographic opportunities?
In this interactive webinar, Nicolas answered all these questions based on his personal experience of 1,300 hours diving rebreathers.
Club Members can re-watch the recording up to 1 year after the event:
December 12th: Club Meeting – Photos Critiques Session
Following popular demand by Club Members, our December meeting was another Photos Critiques Session!
A constructive image critique goes a long way in helping the author of the photograph improve and find inspiration. It’s also a valuable exercise for the person formulating the critique. Indeed, articulating a constructive feedback requires un-packing visual emotions, and analysing they underlying “why”.
Club Members can re-watch the recording up to 1 year after the event:
November 22nd/23rd: Creative Motion Blurs Masterclass
Finding a good looking subject is a good start, but you also need a suitable background to make a great underwater photo.
Underwater, we often find the most intriguing subjects surrounded by an unflattering or distracting environments, which sees a growing number of photographers use a snoot, to hide the whole thing into a black background.
In this Masterclass, Nicolas Remy discussed a more creative photographic technique, where you make use of that distracting background, and turn it into an artistic, painting-like piece of art, all in-camera, no AI involved!
- Overview of the ways to create motion blur in underwater photos.
- Zoom on intentional camera movement technique: camera settings, equipment, lighting technique, post-processing, suitable conditions and subject choices.
- Participants’ image review: send up to 3 images* by November 20th, for a live constructive critique.
What we covered:
- Overview of the ways to create motion blur in underwater photos.
- Deep Dive on the Creative Motion Blurs technique: equipment, strobe positioning & movement and suitable subjects, backgrounds, conditions.
- Post-processing
- Variations.
- Participants’ image review: send up to 3 images* by November 20th, for a live constructive critique.
Club Members can re-watch the recording up to 1 year after the event:
October 11th: Club Meeting – Photos Critique Session
A constructive image critique goes a long way in helping the author of the photograph improve and find inspiration. It’s also a valuable exercise for the person formulating the critique. Indeed, articulating a constructive feedback requires un-packing visual emotions, and analysing they underlying “why”.
Formulating useful, actionable feedback takes practice, and this is exactly what we did during our October Club meeting, and all had great fun!
To be continued on the Club Forums…
How to access the recording?
The webinar was recorded, visit this link to re-watch it.
You will need the following passcode:
17 & 18th September: Selecting Photos For Competitions
Are you thinking to enter photo competitions this year?
Now is an ideal time to prepare yourself, as several major Underwater Photography competitions are starting to accept entries, with deadlines ranging from October to early January. World Shootout, Ocean Art and Underwater Photographer of the Year, are just a few of these!
Yes, preparation is essential if you’re looking to have your work celebrated in photography contests, and joining or re-watching this webinar is a great way to increase your chances of winning a prize!
This Event was in two parts:
Part 1: the do’s and don’ts of entering competitions
- What makes a good candidate?
- Understanding the judging process
- Playing the game
- Analysis: wins, near-wins and desperate shots
Part 2: participant’s image reviews
Getting feedback on your photos is a great way to “un-biaise” your competition entries, and what we did during the second part of the Event, discussing photos submitted by participants.
Club Members can re-watch the recording up to 1 year after the event:
22nd August 2023: Diving in Jordan and taking part in a Wreck Shootout (Sydney, Australia)
During this event, Nicolas and Matt gave an overview of Jordan Diving, discussed the key differences between in-person and online photo competitions, and exchanged the perspectives of a photographer and model/lighting assistant.
- Matt Waters is the host of the Scuba GOAT podcast, and founder of Nomadic Scuba, a travel agency focused on private bookings, tours, and pro-led expeditions.
- Nicolas Remy is a pro underwater photographer and founder of The Underwater Club, an online underwater photography school.
How to access the recording:
The webinar was recorded, visit this link to re-watch it.
You will need the following passcode:
26th July 2023: crafting stunning underwater photos with the Olympus TG-6 (online)
Photo credit: Salvatore Gambacurta.
During this event, Salvo shared the expertise he has grown with the TG6, and explained how he makes the most of this small but mighty camera, commenting some of his stunning photographs.
Meet our guest speaker for the July event: Salvatore “Salvo” Gambacurta is a talented Sydney-based underwater photographer who has crafted stunning imagery with an Olympus TG6 camera, receiving awards in major international competitions, such as Ocean Art 2021.
Club Members can re-watch the recording up to 1 year after the event:
29th June 2023: Low-Visibility Shooting & Editing Tips
Over the last 5 years, Nicolas Remy has done most of his photography in waters where visibility ranged from 2 to 6 meters, both with macro and wide-angle lenses, and some of the images he captured in those conditions were widely published and received international photo awards.
During this meeting, we went through:
- Diving skills & equipment
- Photographic equipment
- Photographic technique
- Subject choices
- Editing in Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop
- Q&A and live photo critique
We finished with Q&A session and a live photo critique session.
Club Members can re-watch the recording up to 1 year after the event:
25th May 2023: Fireside chat: Mirrorless vs DSLRs for Underwater Photography
Nicolas was joined by Club Members Bill and Yazid for a panel discussion on the Nikon Z9, and how it compares with the Nikon D850 and D500, for underwater imagery.
Bill Gladstone has been a long-time D850 shooter, but he sees the camera’s limitations, especially in murky conditions, and was keen to find-out how different the experience might be, with a mirrorless camera, with particular interest in the Z8.
Yazid Shaari has upgraded from a D850 to a Z9 over a year ago, and was able to share a long-term view on this camera’s performance underwater.
Nicolas Remy had just completed 5 weeks of testing the Nikon Z9 underwater, including some side-by-side comparison with the Nikon D500, and shared his observations from the field.
The three covered the 11 questions which were sent to Nicolas ahead of the session, and discussed some additional pros & cons, extracted from Nicolas’ review notes.
Club Members can re-watch the recording up to 1 year after the event:
27th April 2023: Masterclass – Snoot Underwater Photography
The agenda was:
- Introduction to underwater snooting
- 6 use-cases for a snoot underwater
- Snooting technique
- Live photo critique
- Q&A
Club Members can re-watch the recording up to 1 year after the event: