Live Updates: Canon Collective/Scubapix imaging event at Heron Island
The Canon Collective, along with Scubapix-Nauticam Australia and Heron Island Resort have partnered to offer a unique underwater imaging event at Heron Island, Queensland, Australia. Kicking off on 5 May, the event will offer 25 underwater image makers an opportunity to experience the diving and scenery around the resort and to try out the latest Canon and Nauticam imaging gear.
Wetpixel’s Adam Hanlon is en route to the event and will be reporting from it. Please keep checking back for updates….
Day 1
The Canon Collective, along with Scubapix-Nauticam Australia invited Wetpixel to join and report from their inaugural workshop underwater imaging event at Heron Island Resort on Australia’s Southern Greta Barrier Reef. Wetpixel’s Adam Hanlon went out to join the event.
Adam met up with Scubapix’s Peter Mooney in Brisbane and gained several hundred kilograms of extra weight…baggage that is.
Peter was carrying a whole host of Nauticam equipment for folks to try out during the workshop.
While in Brisbane, it was great to meet up with the owners of the well-known PNG liveaboard, Craig and Kamila de Wit.
We met up with the team from the Canon Collective; Greg Sullavan, Colin Baker and Riley and flew (with over 250kg of baggage) to Gladstone, where we caught the boat for the 2-hour crossing to the island.
Despite getting there eventually around 5 pm, the team immediately started unpacking and setting out the room that had been earmarked for the event.
On Saturday afternoon, 30 image makers from around Australia gathered at the resort, to share ideas, try out new gear, share ideas and socialize with fellow photographers.
Canon has supplied a range of cameras and lenses, along with compact and snorkeling housings, while Nauticam Australia has supplied a range of 5D Mark IV and 7D Mark II housings along with ports and strobes by Inon, Sea&Sea, and Retra.
That did give us a day to play though!
Saturday was spent diving on the reefs around Heron Island.
There are some really vibrant big coral “bommies” or pinnacles, covered in life and with large numbers of fish of every size.
Visibility was around 12-15m and there were pelagic like mantas coming into the cleaning stations.
Once the group had arrived, they attended an induction to the resort and, after dinner an introduction from the Canon team. The attendees then were issues with suitable camera and housings, ready for a full program of events, workshops, and dives tomorrow.
So the plan is to do more diving tomorrow and capture some more imagery of the Southern Barrier Reef. Please check back for tomorrow’s update.