Over the years we have had clients send us photos of our logowear (Dive Aventuras hats, shorts, and T-shirts) being worn in some incredible destinations. A few years ago, my brother-in-law Steve sent me a photo of himself standing on the Great Wall of China proudly wearing his Dive Aventuras hat. Not long ago, Mike Engiles, one of our clients from Virginia, told us that he was on the Galapagos Aggressor and there was another guest on the boat wearing the same Dive Aventuras T-shirt! Then he traveled to Honduras and saw yet another! Last week my neighbor was in Costa Rica and sent me this cool photo of herself standing in front of the Arenal Volcano (complete with smoke coming out of the volcano) with her Dive Aventuras hat. Wow, we really get around!
So here's the challenge...send us your best photo of Dive Aventuras logowear worn in unusual or exotic destinations and we'll send the winner one of our new Dive Aventuras windbreakers! Email the images (no larger than 600x480pixels) to me at Karen@diveaventuras.com. Deadline is May 1st.
Mike, Debbie and myself spent last weekend in the "Windy (and cold) City" of Chicago at the Our World Underwater consumer dive show. The show and film festival opened up Friday evening to a healthy crowd from Chicago and surrounding midwest cities. The expo itself filled the Stephens Convention Center with dive goodies, underwater photography & video equipment, and the "kid in a candy store" excitement that generally exists at a dive show. Dive gear, travel destinations, artisit, training agencies, and all types of retail merchandise packed the aisles. Workshops and seminars were also popular among attendees. The legendary Stan Waterman was the emcee for the Friday night film festival, and Annie Crawley was the emcee for the film festival Saturday night. Also presented were the winners of the Wetpixel & DivePhotoGuide International Photo and Video Competitions. Out of 1100 entries, yours truly scored and Honorable Mention among the 29 winners. Check out all the wining photos at www.underwatercompetition.com/owu2008-winners.php.
The Dive Aventuras booth was quite busy, sometimes so much so that folks were standing in line to talk with us. It was great to meet so many divers and promote our little piece of paradise but certainly, one of the highlights was seeing some of our favorite clients who live closeby like John Graham and Nick Kaufman who stopped by the booth to say hello.
If you live in the Northeast U.S. and are interested in attending a consumer dive show, we will also be attending the Beneath the Sea show at the Meadowlands in NJ March 28th-30th. Check out their website at www.beneaththesea.org for all the event and ticket information.
Karen
Debbie, Mike, and myself at the
Dive Aventuras booth
Mike makes new friends
at the show
John Graham gets into the
"Mexico state of mind" at the booth
Nick Kaufman chats with Nils (holding
down the shop in Mexico) from the
show floor
Today on the first morning dive, the Class One went out with dive masters Carlos and Pedro (yes Pedro is back from Egypt) and eight very lucky divers who spotted a whale shark before getting in the water. Everybody scrambled for their snorkeling gear and got up close and personal with the biggest species of fish on earth. Our instructor Martin, on the Stingray with 4 divers, was also lucky and got to experience this unusual sighting. Now THAT'S the way to start the morning!
Last month, Dive Aventuras had the opportunity to host three celebrities from the diving industry. Ty Sawyer (editor) and Jeff Mondale (territory manager) of Sport Diver magazine were escorting professional photographer Amos Nachoum on a photo assignment through the Riviera Maya. Nils guided the threesome on a dive in Taj Mahal cenote and the following day Nils and Karen took the journalists on a reef dive to Las Islas. The trip was underwritten by the Quintana Roo Secretary of Tourism represented by Erika Hernandez.
Now, after two weeks in Isla Mujers diving and shooting the Sailfish run, Amos Nachoum has returned to Dive Aventuras with his girlfriend Helen who will be completing her PADI Open Water certification with us. Visit Amos's website (www.biganimals.com) for some incredible images and watch for the upcoming issue of Sport Diver magazine featuring the Riviera Maya.
Left to right, Nils Van der Haar, Jeff Mondale,
Erika Hernandez, Amos Nachoum, and Ty Sawyer
This year we received 58 entries for the annual photo competition and the winners are in. It was a tough decision and the judges debated for quite some time before making their final choices. Congratulations to all our winners! See their winning photos below.
Start planning now for next years competition. The categories for the 2008 competition are as follows:
Macro, Reef Life, Cenotes, Most Unusual Underwater Critter, and Topside.
Best in Show / 6 dive pkg
Photographer: John Graham
Octopus on Night Dive
Diver Down / 4 dive pkg
Photographer: Tom Moffatt
Andi and the Turtle
Reef Life / 4 dive pkg
Photographer: Ed Charters
Juvenile Trunkfish
The Lighter Side / 4 dive pkg
Photographer: Tom Moffatt
Andi and the Remora: "Just Relax "
Topside / 4 dive pkg
Photographer: Stacy Peyton
Fire Dancer
Topside Honorable Mention / 2 dive pkg Photographer: Charles Kauric
(The Judges couldn't resist this charming shot of Charles' wife teaching their 4 year old granddaughter to snorkel)
