PHOTOGRAPHERS AND VIDEOGRAPHERS
The first time we met Amar Guillen in Egypt, in Safaga. With patience and pedagogy, he led a photo workshop with amateur photographers presenting all technical levels. It has been the beginning of a beautiful story of liveaboards on the Nemo and on the Ghani, in the Strait of Gubal as well as in the south of Egypt, at Saint John Reef, Zabargad and Rocky Island. Isabelle, his wife, has a constant charisma in addition to her expertise in photography as she works for a charity. Thanks to her deep convictions in humanity, as well as her incredible tenacity, orphanages and dispensaries have been built in the deepest parts of Africa.
Isabelle and Amar Guillen continue their travels, following the animal migrations and sea currents, to share the art of photography to those who wish to learn how to capture fleeting and unique moments.
They are the art of stopping time for a fraction of a second to capture its quintessence, and they can express emotions and bear witness to them. To transmit their knowledge even better, Zaza and Amar publish books such as "The Secrets of Underwater Photography", "Underwater Photography: Expert Guide", "Underwater Photography for Beginners". I thank them for their unfailing friendship through time!
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online photo gallery
Henri Eskenazi is a child of the south, living in Marseilles, a stone's throw from the Calanques, lulled by the song of the cicadas, the backwash of the sea and the breath of a light Mistral. At a very young age, he practices water sports such as windsurfing, being part of the French team, and competing in the World Championships. Then he found himself in Reunion Island where, following a parachute jump, an injury forced him to do rehabilitation at sea. It has been the beginning of a great adventure with scuba diving, land, and underwater photography. Life then gets carried away with reports for specialized magazines and the publication of several books.
Fascinated by diving travel, he writes in particular, "Diving without borders", a reference in this field. He took part in several French Championships, Competitions and Festivals in Marseille, Antibes, Corsica, Toulon, Montpellier, Strasbourg. He chairs many national and international juries in Malta, Istanbul, Monaco, as well as in the Czech Republic, Martinique, and Indonesia. Nevertheless, it is not the spirit of competition that interests him in the field of underwater photography but rather the discovery and scientific approach of animals.
He teaches as an underwater photography instructor at the French Federation of Underwater Studies and Sports (FFESSM). He also collaborates with much general media as well as specialized diving media. As a freelance photographer, he provides photographs to the image banks of tour operators, travel agencies, and diving centers. Henri also offers his photos live on his website and via photo libraries such as Wallis and Sygma-Corbis. Practicing underwater photography for about 40 years, he has taken almost 1.000.000 pictures during his travels in 140 different countries.
Currently, he spends his time between trips, exhibitions, and conferences.
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online photo gallery
Luc Penin was a computer science teacher at the University of Lille III. He made his first dive in 1980. Since then, he tries to transmit his knowledge to his entourage. Then, he decides to dive more on his own, by taking underwater trips and by taking another look at the environment. This period brings him a lot of questions about life. He still feels the desire to preserve and bring home memories of his underwater adventures. He travels the seas alone, or with his wife, Tizette, or with his family with his two children.
Luc Penin likes to capture the moment through photography. He shares with others his passion for photographic technique and art. He became a photo instructor at the French Federation of Underwater Studies and Sports. In 1999, he won the gold medal at the French underwater photography championship.
Concerning photographic equipment, after having used a Nikon F70 for a few years, Luc went digital with a D70 and then a D90. His favorite lenses are the fish-eye and the 60mm macro, to which he often adds a doubler to reach the 2/1 ratio. These are, therefore, extreme lenses. He often uses two flashes and a headlight to light up.
Patrick is now part of the Cousteau generation that dreams of expeditions to faraway shores aboard the Calypso. Being a city-dweller by obligation, it took a long time before he was able to perform a baptism in a swimming pool in 2003. This event rekindled all his childhood dreams. And scuba diving quickly became the object of his travels as well as sustained training and technical level passages, including CMAS level 3. Already a fan of terrestrial photography, it was therefore natural that he turned to underwater photography. He then shares his passions with the woman of his life who is also his diving buddy. From then on, they travel all over the seas of the globe.
Passionate by nature, Patrick explores photo techniques and puts into practice his acquisitions in the field. Very quickly, he participates in competitions and photo contests. Then, Patrick becomes an organizer of underwater photo exhibitions as well as a trainer in this discipline within the French diving federation (FFESSM) to pass on his experience and exchange with other enthusiasts. He also participates as an editor in the magazines Aquamonde and Octopus.
Always in search of the perfect timing and the ideal angle that will produce a unique photo. Patrick is also a fulfilled man when he only puts his head underwater, even without a camera in his hands, to make a beautiful descent into the Blue. With new projects in mind, he hopes to continue surveying the planet, from the poles to the tropics, to make all those who are not lucky enough to know the underwater world dream. He has just published the wonderful book "20,000 encounters under the sea".
Thank you for your trust and your friendship Patrick!
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photo gallery
Guillaume Nouyrigat discovered diving by chance on a distant Saturday in August. Strolling on a beach near Le Lavandou, in the Var, someone called him to offer him a scuba diving baptism. As soon as his head was underwater, he fell in love at first sight. Illico presto, he began a level 1 training and then started a series of repeated trips. Some 20 years later and 2300 dives later, he continues to be amazed by each beautiful encounter with an animal, underwater. This passion has taken him to almost every sea.
Nevertheless, the triangle made up of the Philippines, Indonesia, and Palau, remains his favorite destination.
His most beautiful dive? Impossible to enumerate the range of emotions and extract just one from this list, he says. Perhaps it was his first dive on the Thistlegorm, in 1999, during a cruise in the Red Sea? Yet more recently, there was also that face-to-face encounter in Mozambique with a large bulldog shark. This experience reminded him that men are only guests underwater and must always remain humble in the face of nature!
When preparing a diving trip, Guillaume still feels like a kid in a candy store!
Isabelle Drouet has been a diver since the early 80s. She is passionate about underwater photography. She started with a compact camera and then with an SLR allowing her to specialize in macro-photography, such as sea slugs. Her photos, which are very oriented on nudibranchs and flatworms, will enable us to fully appreciate the colors and shapes of these particular creatures. Each of her new dives in the different seas of the globe becomes a real treasure hunt.
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online photo gallery
Patrick Louisy is a scientist who specialized in the study of fish and an expert in aquariology. He is also an excellent underwater photographer. His work and activities have a precise objective: to enable the broadest possible dissemination of knowledge about aquatic life to the widest possible audience. In this spirit of sharing, he created the Peau-Bleue association, of which he is now the scientific director. Many divers know him for his excellent specialized articles in the diving press and his books, including the "Guide to the identification of marine fishes: Europe and the Mediterranean". This book has become an excellent reference in his field.
Patrick has also undertaken to open up access to scientific studies to amateur divers through the "Bio Underwater Trips". Our tireless scientist participates in study programs such as the Hippo-ATLAS and Hippo-THAU projects, which teach us more about the seahorses of our coasts.
Discover the website of
the association Peau-Bleue
Vincent Maran is passionate about marine biology. From as far back in his life, he has always liked to put his head underwater to discover marine life. Vincent was a member of the Lille University Diving Club and then of the Lyon Sport Métropole. He is now National Biology Instructor at the French Federation of Underwater Studies and Sports (FFESSM).
He is also a biology graduate and an editor of articles in various journals. Regularly, he organizes organic diving and underwater photography courses in France and tropical seas. He is the co-author of the book "20 000 rencontres". He is the initiator of the remarkable reference website DORIS of the FFESSM, where you can consult illustrated factsheets about underwater life. Now, Vice-President of the Commission Nationale Environnement et Biologie Subaquatiques (CNEBS), he invites all divers interested in the organic subject to join the CREBS for more diving pleasure!
Vincent uses the Nikon D 90 in an Aquatica housing with SB 800 flash in a Sealux housing for his shots. He also uses an INON Z 240 flash.
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DORIS
Sean first dived into Lake Geneva by gathering around him practitioners who became his friends and who followed him to the Maldives. There, he spent 16 years on boats, jointly specializing in underwater video. Sean dives out of passion as well as to please those who accompany him. So he is always looking for the best underwater experience for his followers.
From a scuba diving instructor, he has become a guide as well as those found in Tanzania and Kenya. Thus, he "tracks" hammerhead sharks in Rasdhoo, whale sharks in Ari, manta rays on the Manta Point... He cross-references all the data he has come to know since he has been living in the Maldives.
The adventure continued as he met Gerard Besse and Sandrine Kolau during a liveaboard on his boat: he decided to join forces with Dune Egypt to become Dune Maldives. A beginning of an unfailing friendship made up of powerful moments between passionate divers. Also, in memory of this, Sean is pleased to participate in his way to this new challenge, DivingAway...
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS AND ARTISTS
After complete training as a designer and a specialization in interior architecture, Christelle quickly associated her profession with the sea, her first passion.
For she "fell into it when she was little", as the saying goes! Christelle has kept her childlike eyes through her various professional experiences. In the beautiful region of Marseilles, at the foot of the chalky creeks, the underwater world that she surveys every weekend helps her keep a fresh view of the world in general.
The DivingAway platform is a significant project whose primary objective is to develop links between sea lovers. Thanks to a technology based on intuitive ergonomics backed by graphics, it allows them to meet each other, making it easier for the web user to understand. She has put the best of herself, with a cocktail of imagination, and humor through her drawings and design.
Malvina is a visual artist who is a pioneer in a rare artistic discipline: she paints during her dives, equipped with a self-contained diving suit. She is also a muralist, illustrator, and performer.
She has created frescoes on large areas of 200 m² for Océanopolis to represent "The Secrets of the Red Sea". The Asterix Park has provided her with a 200 m² surface area for the benefit of a circus. She created the Méliès wall over 1000 m², in one of the districts of Montreuil in Paris. As Malvina also enjoys drawing, she has produced audio-visual illustrations for institutions. She also did a fresco for the company Dune, on the diving boat Muadib.
More recently, she created the event with a participatory performance called "The Tail of the Whale" to pay tribute to the world of the sea.
Discover the artwork
The Tail of the Whale
TRANSLATORS
Holder of a research master's degree in English studies, freelance teacher and translator, she speaks and writes English fluently. Initially qualified as a literary translator, she became very interested in the various English applications to broaden her mastery in different fields (marketing, advertising, journalism, academic register). She thus acquires an ever more complete and authentic knowledge of the language she is passionate about.
She joined the DivingAway project to make the content of the site accessible to English speakers and to offer an English version that is informative, complete, and idiomatic.
Holder of a research master's degree in English studies, freelance teacher Yet gifted with aquaticity from the very first hour, Lisa came to diving only later. Love, at first sight, was instantaneous when she discovered the underwater world! After her first level of scuba diving, she left France to settle in Egypt to practice the fabulous job of scuba diving instructor in the Red Sea. Then, her journey continues in England and then in Crete, where she lives now and continues to dive.
As a freelance translator, she has participated in DivingAway, bringing together her two passions: literature and the underwater world.
Being French, but also Mexican by adoption, Elodie has been living in Mexico for almost 10 years. She is trilingual with written and spoken French, English, and Spanish.
She began scuba diving 15 years ago when she made her first bubbles in the waters of La Ciotat.
Amazed by this new world that was opening up to her, she quickly knew that it was going to become her passion and that her story with scuba diving would not end there. Three years went by, during which she traveled a lot, followed technical training in diving. Finally, in 2010, she decided that her passion would become her job!
Successively she became a scuba diving instructor, videographer, underwater photographer, then manager of a diving center. She finally joined the DivingAway team to share her passion for this incredible underwater world before leaving for new sea adventures...
INFORMATICIANS
A well-known international group, the IT branch of the SPIE Group, offers its services in the field of content creation as well as website hosting.