Wrapping up the first week of Manta Fest was an evening on the Crow’s Nest bar with the presenters commenting on participants photos from the day’s diving… and of course the smoking presentation of some of their shots of Yap and latest work. These guys are putting on workshops, evening presentations and taking appointments over breakfast to teach histograms and post capture production. Whatever question you have about a photography topic is either covered in the workshops or the answer is available at the bar, at the dock or on the boats, in English and German. The availability of the presenting pro’s and one-on-one guidance is a big deal at Manta Fest… the small dive groups and open air bar parts are nice Yap attributes that make becoming a better photographer more fun. Everyone is bringing home solid shots of great subjects and interesting behavior. We’ve got mantas strafing divers, shark mouths strafing camera domes, nudi’s doing whatever nudi’s do and fish action coming off the dock three times a day. David has been testing some MKIII video in Mi’l Channel, Frank has been on a big animal safari everyday and Marty is pulling select target missions at Yap Caverns with cleaning Antheas – all of their work is shown in the workshops and in the nightly media presentations. Things get a little more full from here on out with 16 arrivals from Palau tonight. This  year we’ve added night and Mandarin fish categories giving each division participant five opportunities to win something. The tides are lining up with the boat schedule so we’re going to be getting better and better water as the week progresses, we should see Vertigo on a max-visibility morning and be diving long drifts into Mi’l from the blue. Everyday there’s a big animal boat, a macro boat and a reef boat leaving the dock with floors full of cameras and a bunch of smiling MFer’s. Next up, participant images, for those who want to play.