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Photocourse with Alex Tattersall in November 2010
Dr Alex Tattersall is an award winning underwater photographer and the founder of UnderWaterVisions/Nauticam UK. He began diving in the early 1990s in Venezuela and Australia becoming instantly addicted to the wonders of the marine environment. He picked up his first camera in Taiwan in 1999 and has since gone on to win a number of underwater photography awards including the coveted ‘Best of Show’ in the British Society of Underwater Photographers print competition.
This workshop is designed both for novice and moderately experienced UW photographers and, alongside the exploration of ‘technical’ areas of photography such as exposures, compositions, and camera settings, will impart how a greater understanding and sensitivity to the behaviour of marine life can enable anyone to take award winning photos. You do not need the latest, most expensive equipment to get photos that you are truly happy with. This course will also give you the opportunity to try some of the latest photo post-processing software to get the best final results from the shots you take.
Date: 19th - 26th November 2010
Tour: Sea & Shore Tour -Sharks Bay Umbi Diving Village
5 Nights Landbased with 2 Nights Liveaboard
Work Shop Structure
Alex recognises that although you are keen to improve your underwater photos, you are also on holiday so the format of teaching is very informal. Every day will begin with a brief presentation of a theme in underwater photography which is designed to promote discussion among the group. You will then receive briefings for the days diving including some of the highlights of each dive-site and ways in which you can exploit the opportunities found on each submersion to their maximum.
Alex will be on-hand throughout the day to offer individual advice about any aspects of your photography and we will finish each day with a discussion and constructive criticism of a selection of shots from each course participant. The week will finish with a light-hearted competition (sponsored by UnderWaterVisions) with some fabulous underwater photography equipment prizes to be won
For more information please contact our agent Oonas Divers: info@oonasdivers.com |
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Picture of the Month
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Yellow Goatfish taken by Ken Sullivan in April 2010 at Jackson Reef!
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Clean Up Day 2009
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Sharks Bay Umbi Diving Village together with 3 local dive centres came together to get involved in the reef and beach clean-up. Over 30 staff and guests had a fun and rewarding day collecting 12 large bags of rubbish from the reef including several old tractor tyres.
Representatives from the CDWS and the National Parks of Egypt thanked the divers for all their hard work which was rewarded at the end of the day with a fantastic cake made by our favourite chef; Osama from Freedom VIII!
We plan to have our next Sharks Bay clean-up in February in readiness for the next season.
Special thanks go to all participating dive centres: Sharks Bay Umbi Dive Centre, Colona Divers, Sinai Scuba and The Wave.
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Newsletter published
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We published our first newsletter issue. It was sent by email to clients and associates beginning of June. Please send us your pictures and publications of your stay in Sharks Bay and may be you will see it in the next issue.
Click here to see the online version
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May 2009: Mantas in Sharks Bay
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The Manta season started and excited divers, snorkellers and sun bathers alike in Sharks Bay.
Our client David Beere took these pictures this morning, 14 May 2009, while snorkelling in the bay. Thanks, David. |
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Guitar Shark in the bay
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On 19 September 2008 our house-reef hosted a Guitar Shark (Rhynchobatus djiddensis).
Despite our name sharks are not that often passing by. Actually the guitar shark is officially not rated as a shark but as a ray.
It had been planned to be a shallow and easy dive, which turned out to be full of excitement for our guest Simon and his dive guide Mohamed. |
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Stork rescued
Adel rescued a stork which was about to drown in the open sea.
The storks are on migration from Eastern Europe to Africa crossing the Sinai during August and early September.
Approximately 500,000 storks are supposedly about to fly across the region, many of them resting for a night in the Sinai. Once they reach the Sinai they are exhausted and dehydrated of the long journey.
Adel took the White Stork out of the water, giving him water to drink and with this energy boost he continued his journey.
Thanks, Adel
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Support needed for Sinai schools
We are asking all divers and visitors to Sharm to bring with them on holiday educational material and equipment to donate to local government schools in the area. This new project was kick-started by our UK agent Oonas Divers, with a donation of ₤500 worth of equipment.
At the moment we are in close contact with two local government schools. Despite the obvious commitment shown by the teachers at both schools it is glaringly obvious that their determination is undermined by the lack of facilities and equipment. The first schools to benefit from the project are the Rowayset School, a predominantly Bedouin school in a town about 5 kilometres inland from Sharks Bay, and the Fayrouz School which is situated between Naama Bay and Sharm el Maya (Old Sharm).
Teachers at the schools told us that there are many things that it would be useful for holidaymakers to bring out. The list is probably topped by English language books for foreigners followed by sports equipment and educational computer games. Other useful items include decent quality drawing paper, crayons, water colours and other arts and craft equipment.
We have agreed that the dive centre can act as the central collection point for all the donated equipment and we will ensure that the equipment is transported to the head teachers at the respective schools.
 The project is part of a wider development that aims to bring dive centres in the area into closer contact with their local communities. Already we and another well-known local dive centre, Ocean College, have begun a twinning project with the school in Rowayset. We offered free Discover Scuba Diving places last term and the first of these sessions was completed in June. Competitions were held in the schools to choose the lucky participants and the underwater video company Focus kindly made some great videos of the day which have been donated to the participants. Both dive centres have made a commitment to continue these sessions every term.
The staff at Sharks Bay are a friendly mixture of local Bedouins, Egyptians of both Islamic and Christian Coptic extraction and of Europeans mainly from the UK. The complex itself dates back to 1982 when Umbarak, a well-known local Bedouin - born and bred on the shores of the Red Sea - started to run diving trips from the bay.
As Sharm develops more and more of these cooperation’s are planned. They can only make the Sinai a more pleasant place in which to live.
Anyone visiting Sharm are being asked to bring the requested equipment and books and to drop them off at Sharks Bay Umbi Diving Village, Sharm el Sheikh, 7kms north of Naama Bay.
For further information about the project please contact us on:
info@sharksbay.com
25th Anniversary Celebrations
In the early 1980s Umbarak, the owner of Sharks Bay started his business with just 6 tanks, a portable compressor and a fishing boat with no license. 25 year on the business has grown to include 5 daily and safari boats and a hotel built into the cliff with 3 different types of accommodation and around 100 employees.
To celebrate his success Umbarak decided to throw the biggest party the beach has ever seen with around 700 guests who travelled from all parts of the world to come and join in the celebrations. A team of chefs arranged a fabulous barbeque on the beach whilst music was provided by a Bedouin Band from El Tor, Hesham Abu Mouatek the famous Jordanian Band as well as ‘On the Rocks’ a local group from Sharm. Further entertainment was provided by 2 Belly Dancers, a Darawish dancer and a couple of Strong Men.
The bands finally packed up at went home at 5am the following morning although a couple of die-hard party goers were still found dancing on the beach 2 hours later.
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