Best of the Maldives: Underwater Video – LUX Maldives

LUX Maldives Underwater Festival

Did you miss out on an Oscar again this year? Want to refine your filming technique with some world class mentoring to improve your chances with the Academy next year? Then, sign up for LUX* MaldivesUnderwater Festival 15-21 April 2013.

“An intense ensemble of water activities stretched over one week of lighter learning for keen divers, photography fanatics and water enthusiastic or just simply curious guests in search of a holiday with a difference. With a strong focus on underwater photography, the festival’s attendees have the opportunity to join training sessions with the experts throughout the week!”

Now we’re talking something a bit closer to my professional expertise – filming diving. Though my filming is more above water than under. My company, Piero, brought to the London 2012 Olympics the now infamous ‘Splashometer’ to the BBC and NBC coverage of the ‘Diving’ competition. Though I have done a bit of more conventional diving film here. Look out Spielberg!

Best of the Maldives: Photographer – Irufushi

Iru Fushi - Tania Sorokina

Cascades are a classic ‘Kodak moment’, but frankly everywhere you turn in the Maldives is postcard-perfect scenery. Lori’s Christmas gift to me last year was Canon SLR camera primarily to get better pictures on my Maldives visits. While I still mostly get lost in anything beyond ‘Auto’ settings (despite the patient and helpful tutoring by John Esslinger), it has helped immensely.

For admirers who want to capture the perfect pictures of such a perfect setting, Hilton Iru Fushi has enlisted a resident professional photographer on its staff…

“Hilton Maldives Iru Fushi Resort & Spa has appointed a resident photographer to ensure guests leave with beautiful holiday photos befitting their paradise island escape. As the resort’s dedicated photographer, Tanya Sorokina will capture guests special holiday moments, offering private photography sessions from one hour to a whole day, with from 60 images. of professionally edited images, available from $250 plus taxes.”

Iru Fushi photo shoot

Best of Maldives Online – Photography

Dreaming of the Maldives

The startling natural beauty of the Maldives has inspired legions of photographers professional and amateur alike. A design choice of MaldivesComplete was to have the iconic imagery of the blues and whites filling the browser page as the background so that visitors would sort of feel immersed in this distinctive locale while you conducted your investigation.

If your holiday snaps don’t quite capture the breathtaking beauty you recall from your visit, then a whole range of online sites offer piles to choose from. In the public sites, like Flickr and Facebook, you can find some truly marvellous images. But if you want a sure fire collection of some of the most dazzling pictures ever captured, the top Maldives photo site has to be ‘Dreaming of Maldives’. Sakis, the photographer behind it, is offering a special deal of free 2010 calendar when you buy his photo book. I bought these recently and they are truly gorgeous (and the pictures in the calendar are different to those in the book).