Underwater photographers come together

Cathy Church in action underwater
Photo: Herb Rafael

Tuesday,  October 4, 2005

With the Skin Diver Film Festival to be held on Thursday and Friday, 13 & 14 October at the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach resort, residents and visitors alike will have the opportunity to see some world-class underwater photography.

Featuring the work of Steven Frink, Ernie Brooks II, Geri Murphy, Lawson Wood, Guy Harvey and a local presentation by Cathy Church, the event’ promises to be captivating.

Stephen Frink is the world’s most frequently published underwater photographer with editorial work appearing in SCUBA DIVING magazine, for which he is Director of Photography and writes a monthly column on underwater photo trends and techniques. 

Ernest Brooks II is a noted professional photographer, educator and ambassador to the industry who has won international acclaim for underwater photography and audio/visual presentation. 

As a working professional, he has contributed to numerous magazines and organizations. 

Geri Murphy Tzimoulis, one of the world’s most published female underwater photojournalists, has an impressive record of more than 1,000 published articles, photos and books and over 200 cover shots gracing such magazines as: Skin Diver, Sport Diver, Aquarium, Texas Flyer, Sub Aqua, and Photographic.

Geri named Stingray City in Grand Cayman and was the first to publicize it.

Lawson Wood has written more than 30 historical and diving guides including the successful Cayman Islands Dive Guide and Diving the Caribbean. He is a founding member of the Marine Conservation Society and founder of the St. Abbs & Eyemouth Marine Nature Reserve in Scotland. 

He made photographic history by becoming a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and Fellow of the British Institute of Professional Photographers solely for underwater photography. “Shipwrecks of the Cayman Islands” by Lawson Wood reveals the extraordinary underwater world of the Cayman Islands.

Guy Harvey is a unique blend of artist, scientist, diver, angler, adventurer and family man. Inspired at an early age by the sea around him, his constant curiosity about the sea and its occupants keep Guy busily experimenting with new ways to recreate his subject.

As an avid scuba diver and skilled underwater photographer, Guy was the first to interact with most species of free swimming billfish. As a conservationist, Guy has advocated catch and release for billfish and other game fish throughout the world. 

Wayne Hasson began his diving career in 1967. In 1984, he founded Aggressor Fleet with the introduction of the Cayman Aggressor.

He went on to further develop the first luxury live aboard concept building an entire fleet of twelve franchise vessel operations worldwide. 

His main focus is teaching scuba diving to youth and shooting underwater still and video footage for various media companies. Wayne was the project manger from start to finish for the procurement and sinking of the Russian Destroyer “Capt. Keith Tibbets” in Cayman Brac. Wayne is a resident of the Cayman Islands but lives in Naples Florida with his wife and children who presently attend school there.

Cathy Church, the nights’ Master of Ceremonies, has been photographing the beautiful underwater world since 1967. She has a Masters degree in Marine Biology, and is recognized as one of the world’s foremost teachers and authors on underwater photography. She received the NOGI award for the arts (a national U.S. award) in 1987, the DEMA “Reaching Out Award” in 2000 and was inducted into the Woman Divers Hall of Fame in 2000. She is on the founding board of governors of the newly established International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame to be housed in the Cayman Islands.

Cathy is the artist who shot the award winning Cayman Islands underwater poster “Wonderland,” and has done extensive work for such clients as Kodak, Nikon, Dolphin Cruise Lines, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands. Guests will also have an opportunity to meet the photographers as well as enjoy their work.

The event is organized by the Cayman Islands Tourism association and sponsored by Sport Diver Magazine, Scuba Diving Magazine, Divers Alert Network (DAN) and Cayman Airways.

The Film Festival follows on the heels of the Induction Ceremony of the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame, which will be held on Wednesday, 12 October also at the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort.

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