A full account of the eleventh Digital Shootout, held this year on Little Cayman at the Little Cayman Beach Resort, has been posted online. A group of 80 participants and staff attended the shootout, with seminars and workshops run by Berkley White, Sterling Zumbrunn, Erin Quigley and Mary Lynn Price. The shootout also hosts an imaging competition and this year’s grand prize winner was Mark Devillier. Other prize winners included Jeff Honda, Philip Seys, Anthony Santos, Jeff Lemelin, Mark Devillier, Lureen Ferretti and Michael Maes.

The Digital Shootout, in its 11th year, is an annual, week-long event of underwater imaging workshops for the underwater photographer, presented by Backscatter. This year, the Shootout was held on Little Cayman at the Little Cayman Beach Resort, where a group of 80 participants and staff dived the Bloody Bay Marine Park each morning, attended afternoon seminars and nightly underwater imaging shows.

Berkley White, renowned underwater photographer and owner of Backscatter Underwater Video & Photo in Monterey CA, shared his photo and video techniques and tips. The attendees also gained a greater understanding of organizing and post processing their photos by using Lightroom and Photoshop, taught by Sterling Zumbrunn and Erin Quigley. Video editing instructor, Mary Lynn Price, shared her best tips for underwater video story-telling, and how to share your video creations.

Additionally, the guests were able to demo the latest underwater camera housings and accessories from manufacturers such as Aquatica, Nauticam, Light & Motion, Pegasus Thruster and Canon USA just to name a few. Over a ton of demo gear was shipped to Little Cayman specifically for this event. During this time, many of the staff were assigned to test prototypes and new gear in the marketplace, reporting their findings to the respective manufacturers. Detailed gear tests can be found here on the Digital Shootout site.

While The Digital Shootout is primarily a learning event, there is a friendly, optional contest at the end of the week, where the best images taken during the event are bestowed some fantastic prizes, totaling over $35,000. This year’s Jim Watt Award was presented to Mark Devillier from Lumberton, Texas. Jeff Honda, from Carmel Valley, CA won first place in the video competition. Other first place photo winners include: Philip Seys, Anthony Santos, Jeff Lemelin, Mark Devillier, Lureen Ferretti and Michael Maes. The complete contest results for the 2012 Digital Shootout are now online.

Registration is now open for the 2013 Digital Shootout in Bonaire, at the Divi Flamingo Dive Resort. For more information about next year’s underwater imaging workshop, please visit the 2013 event’s website.

The Digital Shootout is organized by Under Exposures, a travel company specializing in dive photography. Founded by Dan Baldocchi and Berkley White, they have been leading photo expeditions for over fifteen years. If youʼd like more information about The Digital Shootout, please contact Dan Baldocchi at 773-564-9579 or via email.