"This is the front of the camera. And this is . . . " begins the first lecture of the Cathy Church Underwater Photography course. This is a multilevel course in that total beginners in underwater photography and near professionals can both benefit from Cathy's instruction. We had 15 people in our class, two of whom were beginners and one or two of whom were advanced amateurs. All ended up producing good to exceptional pictures by the end of the eight days. The average person seemed to shoot about 20-25 rolls of film.
The Cathy Church Underwater Photography class takes place on Grand Cayman with accommodations available through Sunset House which is just south of George Town. Sunset House has acceptable accommodations with a nice pool/hot-tub, a well situated bar for watching the sunset from the west side of Grand Cayman, and an OK but somewhat expensive restaurant. If you have enough energy there is an excellent shore night dive available which allows additional photo and diving opportunities. Tanks are provided for this and other dives free of charge as part of the course package.
Each day of the Cathy Church class begins as early as 6:30 AM when the classroom opens. Individuals are dealt with on a first come first served basis. Each person retrieves the film taken the preceding day and sits down with Cathy for a critique. Cathy covers exposure, composition, focus, etc. This takes about 10-15 minutes. After this the camera is set up for that day's operation be it wide angle natural light, macro, or wide angle strobe. Every afternoon there is a lecture which normally finishes by 6:00 PM. There are three optional group dinners which were fun and cost about $30 US if you choose to attend.
Devil's Grotto Each dive is an extended dive at shallow depth with multiple tanks and rolls of film being shot. All you have to do is come up, hand up your camera for a film change, and get new air, water, food or ask questions. Cathy and a photo instructor are in the water helping you find subjects and even providing critters for you of your choosing. Both Cathy and the photo instructor model for you if you desire. Cathy and Mark are very adept photo models and in some cases Cathy even looks at her reflection in your lens to position herself accordingly.
The dives provide different kinds of photo opportunities including wrecks, wide angle scenics, macro, stingray encounters, etc. Although a few wall dives are included, most dives are extended dives at 30-35 feet with bottom time approaching three hours. All tanks and boat charges are included as part of the package.
Stingray City It is probable that Cathy will reduce her teaching time after the 1996 season as she also conducts diving trips to exotic locations. Some of these trips have mini photo courses while others simply allow asking Cathy questions. Participation in these trips requires a telephone conversation with Cathy to insure that individuals are compatible with the trip objectives. Although not all trip participants are underwater photographers the vast majority are. Camera equipment varies from Nikonos V to Nikonos RS to various housed cameras. My class included three Nikonos RS, one Sea and Sea, and the remainder Nikonos V cameras. (I brought my Nikonos equipment and left my housed camera home). This was the third of three classes offered in 1995; all classes had a waiting list as do most of Cathy's trips.
Equipment is available for rent or purchase and lenses and framers are provided free of charge for the class. For example I was asked to "audition" a new Sea and Sea 12 mm lens. (if you care, it is comparable to a 15 mm Nikonos but cheaper) One person rented all equipment and Cathy provided loaners for 20 mm and 15 mm lenses.
Schools of Fish
All in all this was a fun week with excellent instruction and pretty good diving.
Grand Cayman fish are accustomed to divers and are very friendly. In the case
of yellow tailed snappers (dreaded YTS) even too friendly.