DAY IN THE LIFE VIDEO

Backscatter Underwater Video & Photo again hosted the largest annual gathering of underwater photographers in the USA. The Monterey Shootout is a four-day weekend of diving, educational seminars, celebration, and a chance to win over $40,000 in prizes even with the simplest of underwater cameras. This year, 172 participants brought their friends and families to share the fun and see what amazing images can be made in a tight 36-hour window of contest diving and a full four days of fun. We were blessed with pancake flat Monterey Bay and again the Breakwater produced the most award winning videos and photos. For 30+ years divers have gathered to this event in Monterey to photograph invasions of jellies and kelp inhabitants, but this year went to the birds with diving cormorants stealing the spotlight. Frisky sea lions were everywhere and the classic fringeheads and nudibranchs continued to win top honors in the macro category, yet our feathery friends the cormorants were the spectacle underwater.


ANOTHER GREAT PARTY!

Hanging out on the beach, parking lot, and boats with like-minded divers gives us cold-water enthusiasts a real sense of community. After two days of diving, over 200 people gathered back to the Backscatter mother ship for a night of celebration and drinks stiff enough to heat up the most waterlogged diver. This is the most welcoming and enthusiastic group of underwater photographers in the USA!


$40,000 IN PRIZES FROM OUR AMAZING SPONSORS

The Monterey Shootout is primarily a social and educational event, but the serious level of prizes is what drives us all to envision photographs weeks in advance and feel the motivation from competition nipping at our heels. Thus, it's with great thanks that we honor the generous support of all of our great sponsors. Thank you sponsors for motivating our cold-water image-makers to new personal bests!

	Backscatter $1000 Gift Certificate Jon Anderson Annual Service for Housing (up to $500) Joyce Wong Gift Certificate $500 Nathan Coy $250 Gift Certificate $250 2x Stephen Pacetti & Sam Lavorato

Little Cayman Beach Resort 7-night Vacation Package for one, includes standard accommodations, 17 dives, meals, transfers & one full day of one-on-one photo coaching with photo pro $3,107 Maxwel Hohn	Ikelite DS161 strobes $950 x2 Drew Wilson & Anne De Souza Gift certificate $500 Ross Bronzan Gamma Light $99 3x Darrin Hoffman, Elahnah Smith & Richard Hui	Salaya Beach Houses 5 Nights + Transfers + Full Board + 10 Dives Good for 1 person Single Supplement in a one Bedroom Apartment $2,300 Alex Seys	Siladen Resort & Spa 5 nights garden view villa including all meals, 10 air dives and round trip transfers for one person from Reef & Rainforest $2,190 Ian Markham
Lembeh Resort / Critters @ Lembeh & Murex Bangka 5 Nights at Lembeh Resort + 3 Nights at Murex Bangka - includes 20 boat dives, meals & snacks, transfers + critique session with photo pro @ Lembeh Resort from Reef & Rainforest $2,153 Tyler Schiffman	Paradise Taveuni Fiji 3 Nights accommodation for 1 + 1 day 2 tank boat dive (provided by Reef & Rainforest) from Reef & Rainforest $2,000 Mike Costa	Aquatica GH5 Housing $1,799 Joe Platko	Crystal Blue Resort 7 Nights Full accommodations / 6 days x3 dives/day Food & fees included $1,624 Heather Reiff
Dive into Lembeh 7 nights, 6 days of diving including all meals, Nitrox and airport transfers for one person from Reef & Rainforest $1,400 Valerie Saidman	Amun Ini Beach Resort & Spa in Philippines Bohol Island 4 night trip for one person twin or double share including breakfast, 4 dives, marine park fees and round-trip transport from Tagbilaran airport to resort. Does not include estimated airfare of $1,000+, cannot be used during peak season. Upgrade to single for a fee. Must be used by 8/30/20. $1,300 Andy Charal	Light & Motion Sola Video Pro 12,000 Underwater Video Light $1,300 Desmond Ho Sola 2500 Flood Light $300 Ryan Boerema	Volivoli Beach Resort 3 nights deluxe ocean view accommodation, 2 days of diving for one person $1,100 Sara Wilson
Aqualung Legend LX regulator & Octo $1,024 Brian Herold	Under Exposures Gift Certificate $1,000 Brad Brown	Sea Explorers Philippines 4 night trip for one person to Pura Vida Beach & Dive Resort in Dauin including accommodations for 1 person twin or double share, breakfast, 4 dives and round-trip transfer from Dumaguete airport to resort. Does not include estimated airfare of $1,000+, cannot be used during peak season. Upgrade to single available for a fee. Must be used by 8/28/20 $800 Stefanie Flax	Olympus TG-6 Camera & Housing $750 Tomas Grim
Xit404 Tripod Bracket & twist clamp legs $750 Carra O'Neal	Kraken Hydra 5000S+ Underwater Video, Dive, Focus and Fluorescence Light $699 Weiwei Gao	Sea & Sea YS-D2J Strobe $689 x2 Megan Pitcavage & Andrew McCurdy	Nauticam SMC-1 67mm Super Macro Converter Lens $550 x2 Susan Brown & Tiare Boyes Carbon Fiber Float Arm Set of 4 $520 x2 Patrick Webster & Michael Ross
GoAskErin 3 Hour Lightroom Session $450 Tom O'Leary	Isotta GoPro HERO5/6/7 Housing $410 Tommy Dolan	ThinkTank Airport International V3.0 Rolling Camera Bag $400 Tyler Koblasa Mirrorless Mover 30i Carry-On Case $70 Jennifer Hopper	Bamboo Reef Aqua Lung i300 Computer Console Black/Blue from Bamboo Reef $400 Keith Rootsaert
Kraken Hydra 2500 WRU Underwater Video & Fluorescence Light Macro Edition $399 1 Mackenzie Massey	Channel Islands Dive Adventures Two Day Trip $390 Jason Knight One Day Trip $190 Brandon Swift	CineBags CB Revolution Camera Backpack $238 Garrett Henderson CB70 Square Grouper - Underwater Housing Carrier Bag $151 2x Kate Vylet & Mark Krag	Oakland A's vs. Texas Rangers Tickets & parking for (4) Sep 20th game from UPS + Palemento a Dopo $75 give certificate (Oakland, CA) $231 1 Richard Dante
TUSA Paragon Mask Black $200 2x Alison Smith & Matthias Lebo	Monterey Bay Diving Free Regulator & BCD Service $200 Genevieve Whitman Free Hydro $50 Dionna House	Pelican 1557 Air Case $175 Jamie Leslie	Monterey Bay Aquarium Admission & Tour Package for 2 $129 Deanne King
Bradley Photographic Print Services 16x20 print from your favorite image $128 2x Evan Cooley & Joan Teng	Shearwater Goodie Bag $100 2 Ken Butler & Stephanie Wilson	Pacific Housing Repair Gift Certificate $100 1 Daniel Hess	Prawno $25 Gift Certificate 2x Hunter Godfrey & Sarah Wagner

COMMENTS FROM THE PHOTO JUDGES

This year's photo judges included Chuck Davis, Berkley White, Sterling Zumbrunn, and Becca Boring. The photo judges were presented with over 600 underwater photographs to select their favorites within 4 hours. The rule in the photo judging room was "would I put this image on my wall?". Most judges preferred a great wide angle scene, but appreciated a snoot lit macro photo. If you want to compete, get a snoot for macro and learn to use ambient light as your primary light for wide images. Many of the best wide angle images didn't use strobe and the photographer became a hunter of natural light in less than 10 feet of water. Shallow water produces the most dramatic light, more subject options, and you can even stay longer.

COMMENTS FROM THE VIDEO JUDGES

In the video judging room, our judges Carl Miller, Jim Decker, and Rusty Sanoian had a similar challenge to watch 78 videos in a brief window. As with previous years, the judges had a difficult time giving weight to story telling vs. image quality. The judges were happy to see great story telling efforts, but great stories suffered from poor image quality. This years best of show went to a video that told a story with stunning images without saying a word. While a crudely shot video can tell a story and go viral, our judges decided that viral type videos can go stale over time. High quality imagery with a dash of story will win the day and become something you want to watch over and over years later. The judges recommend to tell a story, but spend more time on the quality of your B roll footage. If you're A roll is just so so, your're B roll should be amazing.


CHUCK TRIBOLET BEST OF SHOW AWARD

Chuck was a brilliant engineer by day and the de facto mayor of diving Monterey via small boats by weekend. He introduced many of us to early GPS systems, ocean weather sleuthing, and helped pioneer diving in Monterey. He was a major advocate of marine conservation and facilitated the judging of the Monterey Shootout and California Beach Photo Competition for over 20 years. Long live Chuck!

WINNERS - Advanced WIDE ANGLE TRADITIONAL

1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place Honorable Mention 1

WINNERS - Advanced WIDE ANGLE UNRESTRICTED

1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place Honorable Mention 1

WINNERS - Advanced MACRO Traditional

1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place Honorable Mention 1 Honorable Mention 2

WINNERS - Advanced MACRO Unrestricted

1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place

WINNERS - INTERMEDIATE WIDE ANGLE TRADITIONAL

1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place Honorable Mention 1

WINNERS - INTERMEDIATE WIDE ANGLE UNRESTRICTED

1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place Honorable Mention 1 Honorable Mention 2

WINNERS - INTERMEDIATE MACRO Traditional

1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place Honorable Mention 1

WINNERS - Intermediate MACRO Unrestricted

1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place Honorable Mention 1

WINNERS - BeginneR WIDE ANGLE TRADITIONAL

1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place Honorable Mention 1 Honorable Mention 2

WINNERS - BEGINNER WIDE ANGLE UNRESTRICTED

1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place Honorable Mention 1 Honorable Mention 2

WINNERS - BEGINNER MACRO TRADITIONAL

1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place Honorable Mention 1 Honorable Mention 2

WINNERS - BEGINNER MACRO UNRESTRICTED

1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place Honorable Mention 1

VIDEO WINNERS - MONTAGE
1st Place - Maxwel Hohn	2nd Place - Brad Brown	3rd Place - Weiwei Gao
Honorable Mention - Alex Seys	Honorable Mention - Keith Rootsaert	Honorable Mention - Patrick Webster
VIDEO WINNERS - SNAPSHOT WIDE ANGLE
1st Place - Tyler Schiffman	2nd Place - Maxwel_Hohn	3rd Place - Andy Charal
HM - Brad Brown	HM - Jon Anderson	HM - Mike Costa
VIDEO WINNERS - SNAPSHOT MACRO
1st Place - Alex Seys	2nd Place - Susan Brown	3rd Place - Leon Burda
HM - Brad Brown	HM - Nathan Coy	HM - Andy Charal
NON-WINNING, BUT AWESOME VIDEOS
Andy Charal	Brandon Garcia	Chris Kitting
Douglas VanBossuyt	Heather Reiff	Hunter Godfrey
Ian Markham	Jake McConnell	John Cast
Keith Rootsaert	Luke Kilpatrick	Matthias Lebo
Mikael Gustafson	Mike Costa	Nanette Como
Richard Dante	Susan Brown
All 2019 Photo Entries

SEMINAR PRESENTERS & JUDGES

Berkley White Berkley White is the founder of Backscatter Underwater Video & Photo which has grown to be the largest underwater photographic equipment supplier is the USA. Since 1994, Backscatter helped develop a community of local cold water divers and has now spent years supporting a thriving tribe of international artists, film makers, and first time shooters from its locations in Monterey, California and Derry, New Hampshire in the USA. For more about Backscatter or articles on equipment and techniques, please see: http://www.backscatter.com Berkley's images and technical articles are regularly published in international magazines and he regularly serves a photographic judge or technical editor on publications. He is also a major promoter for educational events designed for both industry and consumer users such as the Digital Shootout and the DEMA Imaging Center. To learn more about his intensive educational events, please see: http://www.thedigitalshootout.com. Berkley runs a limited schedule of exotic photo safaris each year. From the warm diverse waters of Indonesia to the cold adventure of Alaska, Berkley's shared adventures are always scheduled to be at the best time with the best local knowledge for image makers. For a complete schedule of events, please see his travel company: http://www.underexposures.com. Jim Decker As the CEO of Backscatter, Jim is one of the top experts in the world on underwater photo and video equipment and shooting technique. From SLRs to compacts and handycams to broadcast video, Jim has shot video and photo systems from all the major underwater manufacturers and has been a consultant on many of the designs seen in the water today. Jim has also consulted with many professional photographers, production companies, resorts, and magazines including Mythbusters, Discovery Channel, Sport Diver Magazine, Scuba Diving Magazine, Into The Drink, National Geographic, Freshwaters Illustrated, and many more. Scott Campbell Out of reach and out of sight for many, the underwater world comes alive through the ethereal black and white images of world class freediver Scott Campbell. Campbell's breath hold skills allow him to approach marine subjects differently than photographers that rely on SCUBA. All of Scott's work is captured on a breath of air, commonly called Freediving. Scott spent 5 years competing on the US Freediving Team and set numerous records for depth and duration. He has held his breath for over seven and a half minutes and can dive to 200 feet. These skills, coupled with his photography background, produce work that is unique to the blue water environment. Sterling Zumbrunn As a passionate technologist, I dive into more gadgets and apps than you can imagine. I currently work as Senior Product Manager for SmartThings, leading integrations of video cameras, locks, lights and more onto one of the world's leading smart home platforms. I am an image maker of the natural world. My main focus has been underwater photography, through which I've been fortunate enough to travel the world's oceans. I've always been obsessed with aerial photography, recently applying that passion towards aerial photography of the San Francisco Bay Area. Conservation is one my passions, and I strive to use my work to inspire others and lead to changes in behavior. Carl Miller Though born in England, filmmaker Carl Miller has spent most of his life in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. Believing that motion picture films can harbor magnificent influence toward creating positive change, Carl obtained a degree in film production at San Diego State University. With degree in hand, he returned to the Bay Area to work for George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic. There, he "cut his teeth" in the industry for 20 years on more than 30 major motion pictures, and quickly grew into a position as a Visual Effects Director of Photography. Carl was awarded for Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Motion Picture, by the Visual Effects Society, for PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: Dead Man's Chest. Concurrently, he independently created a 90 minute video about Scuba diving in Monterey, and sold thousands of copies.Carl was the Creative & Director for the $1/2 million DLP Cinema trailer, "Birth of an Image," which opened theaters all over the world. With an ongoing desire to tell cinematic stories, Carl began his personal dramatic filmmaking career with the motion picture RETALIATION, which has played at prestigious film festivals. He was involved as the Cinematographer to reshoot about 50% of George Lucas' latest film RED TAILS. Carl continues working in cinema as a Producer / Director / Cinematographer / and Writer. Mike Bartick Mike was raised in sunny Southern California just a short distance from the shores of the Pacific Ocean. An avid diver and marine wildlife enthusiast, he turned to photography to capture and share some of his diving experiences with others. His first underwater camera was borrowed from a buddy to take on one of the frequent family trips to Hawaii. Needless to say he has never returned that camera and from that trip forward he was hooked. His obsession for photographing critters has taken him all over the world and while he admits to loving the warm waters of the tropics his first love will always be the frigid California waters. Mike's work is featured in magazines, text books, calendars and more and can be found worldwide. He is a small animal expert that frequently leads groups of photographers into Asia to seek out that special critter. Jason Bradley Jason Bradley has a unique set of skills. He specializes in nature and wildlife photography both underwater and above; he's the owner and operator of Bradley Photographic Print Services—a fine art print lab; he leads photographic expeditions around the world, he is the author of the book Creative Workflow in Lightroom, published by Focal Press, and is a blogger for Outdoor Photographer Magazine. Visit Jason's site to see more of his work, to learn about fine art printing, and find info on his upcoming workshops and expeditions. Matt Ferraro Matt Ferraro has been the lead cinematographer for the Cousteaus for the last 15 years. From the tannin brown waters of the Amazon to the crystal blue below Arctic ice, Matt has documented stunning wildlife behavior and the Cousteau team in every corner of the Earth. Matt's camera experience is as diverse as his travels. Matt cut his teeth on 35mm motion picture film, progressed through all professional video formats and is an expert with the latest digital cinema cameras such as the 6K Red Dragon. Matt's long list of credits includes the award winning 11 hour seven-episode PBS series Ocean Adventures and the record breaking Mission 31. As a deep tech and closed circuit rebreather diver, Matt documented the rarely visited wreck of the USS Monitor, was the part of the first team in 19 years to touch down on Cordell Bank and was one of the first to record the twilight reefs of the Northwester Hawaiian Islands. Russ Sanoian Russ Sanoian is the product manager at Backscatter and a freelance underwater and nature videographer based in Monterey, California. Russ has extensive use with most of the current manufacturers video and still housings being offered in todays market. Russ has been diving closed circuit rebreathers and underwater scooters for the last 10 years and entered the industry as a lead technical sales person with Light & Motion. Russ joined Backscatter as product manager where he constantly evaluates the latest camera technology and blends imaging techniques with the art of technical diving. Russ is well known in the diving industry as a great educator and mentor of new photographers and technical divers and is always available for imaging and technical support. Russ's film credits include PBS expeditions to the Andrea Doria, CBC "The Nature of Things", DPTV "Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes", BBC "Life" series and "Million Dollar Otters", Local Television shows and several projects in the cenotes of Mexico and freshwater caves in Florida. Chuck Davis From the freezing climes of Antarctica and Greenland to the heat and humidity of the Amazon, Chuck Davis has worked as a specialist in marine and underwater photography and cinematography. His motion picture filming credits include work on several IMAX films, including RING OF FIRE (underwater lava scenes), WHALES, THE GREATEST PLACES, AMAZING JOURNEYS, SEARCH FOR THE GREAT SHARKS, and two Academy Award-nominated IMAX films, ALASKA: SPIRIT OF THE WILD and THE LIVING SEA(underwater/marine scenes of Monterey Bay).