On the second Monday of each month the Northern Underwater Photography Group meet for a curry at the Gurkha Grill, followed by a meeting from 8-10pm to discuss all things underwater photography.

This month those attending were treated to a talk from Josef Litt about the Galapagos Islands. Josef has recently published a book on the islands and so had been invited to speak to the group, focusing on the diving and underwater photography. Each month there is also a competition for members and this month the theme was Fish Face(s).

Josef kicked off the meeting and started by talking about the geography, history and creation of the marine reserve in the Galapagos. He moved on to discuss the best ways to dive the islands, with liveaboard options for Wolf and Darwin Islands, whilst also suggesting an island snorkelling tour to get some of the more unusual and rewarding shots.

His marine life images often made the audience gasp, with outstanding photos of whalesharks, eagle rays, schooling hammerhead sharks, marine iguanas, Mola mola, sealions, penguins, turtles and birds. Josef also discussed the underwater photography conditions, with cool water, plenty of current and what he describes as low visibility, although when pushed, said it was 10-15m – which is pretty good in our books!

Josef’s talk was full of essential information and packed with funny anecdotes and was one of the most enjoyable we have been to. He clearly has a wealth of knowledge about these islands and a love of them too. His book is beautiful and we look forward to reviewing it for Scubaverse later in the month.

The Fish Face competition saw a drop in the usual number of entries, perhaps due to many members being away on Easter holidays. The winner was a gorgeous and funny portrait of a UK shanny by Elaine White. Nick Robertson-Brown took second place with his gaping Basking Shark shot from Cornwall. It was great to see UK species featuring so highly. The compact winner was Keith Major with his image of a scorpionfish in the Red Sea.

The next event for the NUPG is the Spring Warm-Up at Capernwray on the 28th April. This will be an informal meet up for any underwater photographers that would like to attend, take some photos and discuss how to improve as the UK season gets into full swing.

For more information about the Northern Underwater Photography Group please click here.