As photographers, we are so fortunate to have found the underwater world. As a very wise crustacean once said to a little mermaid:

Bonaire is a diver's paradise… it even says so on the license plates! It's a fitting location for a Digital Shootout with its wide range of ocean subjects, from the tiniest blenny to the Salt Pier and the Hilma Hooker wreck. The variety of marine life ensures that a macro lens or wide-angle lens will never be without a subject. Couple this with the outstanding dive operation at the Divi Flamingo, and you've got yourself one memorable dive holiday!

No other underwater imaging workshop is like The Digital Shootout, where budding underwater photographers converge for a high-energy week of diving, learning photographic skills and FUN! Many participants choose to extend their Shootout experience by arriving a week early for Warm-Up Week. It's the perfect time to settle into a new camera system, get your gills wet and your buoyancy dialed or just play hooky a bit longer from the office! Informal class sessions in the evening covering shooting techniques and editing tips are the amuse bouche to the Shootout week's back-to-school schedule.

With 60 international participants (Maldives, Israel, Austria, France, The Caymans, Bonaire, St. Croix, Mexico, Canada and the U.S.) and top pros from the diving and underwater imaging industries, the 4-1 guest to staff ratio meant much one-on-one and small group time to learn new techniques and tips. Yes, it's vacation, but it's also a high-octane good time with a scuba tank and camera!

Check out our GEAR TESTS section for reviews on some of the latest cameras and accessories, with in-water tests and comparisons.

In our SHOOTOUT LIFE section, you'll get a sense of what the Shootout is all about, and why guests return year-after-year.

The Digital Shootout is really a learning event, where the industry's top pros share their knowledge with our guests, so they can take their underwater imaging to-the-next-level. Maybe the event should be called, Underwater Photography Potluck instead! There IS a friendly competition at the end of the week, where the most compelling and engaging stills and videos are rewarded with awesome prizes. View the contest images in our CONTEST RESULTS section to see the incredible marine life of Bonaire, and how it was captured behind many lenses.

We hope you'll JOIN US in 2018 at Coco View Resort in Roatan for another world's best learning event for underwater image makers.