Blackwater diving is underway in Yap. Thank you David Fleetham for contributing these takes and being on our first blackwater explorations. These initial expedition dives were conducted off of Yap's East coast several miles offshore in thousands of feet of water. Yap is unique in that it sits on the rim of the Marianas Trench,...

Manta Ray Research cont... the Yap manta ray ID database just grew by two. These photos help unveil the lives of these mysterious animals and have guided local conservation and protective regulation development with Yap's manta ray and shark sanctuary laws. Marine animal ID database records the location, time and a status report of the...

MantaFest 2023 - www.MantaFest.com BEST OF SHOW: Sheila Ott overall winning photo was "squid cannibalism" of a pelagic diamond head squid eating another one of it's own species. Shot at night over 1 mile offshore on a blackwater dive at 35ft. Grand Prize:10-day Dive Damai Liveaboard Trip plus a Mares USB Keychain and an Akona...

We are underway with the 11th Annual MantaFest photography and video festival. Bill, his entire crew and this year's panel of presenting photographers; Ray Bullion (USA), David Fleetham (Canada), Frank Schneider (Germany), Tim Rock (Guam), Brad Holland (USA) and Andy Schumacher (Germany) will be hosting two weeks of photography and video training as well as...

Summer season in Yap includes our annual Photo/Video workshop event, MantaFest where the resort is bustles all day with diving, good times and photo/video training. Our daily workshop schedule is being tuned up and we thought we'd share some of highlights. Frank Schneider - Mixing sunlight and strobes the easy way - Model & people...

Ikelite is sponsoring demo camera systems at this year's MantaFest photo & video workshops - Aug 24th - Sept 8th you can dive Yap with an Olympus TG-5 in an Ikelite housing. This system is highly respected for it's performance in shooting macro subjects with Olympus' microscope mode. During all of the dive days at...

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Best of Show - Jim Decker Best in Class dSLR - Dan Norton Best in Class Compact - Lee Shinwoong

Big Animals First Place - Jim Decker Second Place - Dan Norton Third Place - Chris Forbes Honorable Mention - Chris Forbes Reef Scenic First Place - Ken Sutherland Second Place - Chris Forbes Third Place - Chris Forbes Honorable Mention - Jim Decker Macro First Place - Jim Decker Second Place - Jim Decker...

Big Animals First Place - Ann Donahue Second Place - Lee Shinwoong Third Place - Lee Shinwoong Honorable Mention - Ann Donahue Behavior First Place - Julie Nefczyk Second Place - Ann Donahue Third Place - Ann Donahue Honorable Mention - Jimwoong Kim People, Island & Culture First Place - Diana Bullion Second Place -...

The crew is getting spun up on a digital upgrade to your dive briefings. Assisted by 3D mapping technology and Ocean Maps ap, our guests are getting an enhanced orientation to their dive plan. OP Acker is spearheading this improvement and working with the crew on familiarizing with the new waterproof hardware. These tablets will...