And the winners are...

... pretty much everybody who showed up. Manta Fest 2014 sent photographers home as better photographers with some fancy shootout prizes.

Our two week long photo workshop, contest & dive party covered basic photography fundamentals and advanced topics in seminars with up to 5 dives per day to practice.

The contest Best of Show prize sent Sheila Ott to Indonesia on Dive Damai any week she wants. Other prizes were an Ikelite DS-161 strobe, Mares Icon HD air-integrated dive computer and transmitter as well as a dozen Mares Puck units. Several week-long Manta Ray Bay Resort hotel and dive packages were among the division awards with Pelican cases, Armor gear bags, McNet products and Henderson wetsuits.

This event is a sticky one - once a Manta Fester, always a Manta Fester. Our group was 90% repeat shooters from Japan, U.S., Germany, Canada, Switzerland and Australia.

Pro Presenters were available throughout the event to work with shooters one-on-one with their camera system, shooting skills and post capture production. Each evening Marty Snyderman, David Fleetham, Frank Schneider or Ray Bullion gave a media presentation rich with photography critique, good and bad examples of fundamentals, great stories and good times.

Last week of August. First week of September.

www.mantafest.com

Our summer Kids Sea Camp program with Family Divers pleased the entire age spectrum.

This is where everybody gets what they want. Adults can go on reef dives while non-diving children snorkel with manta rays or go on a cultural excursion, also where parents and diving children get the uncrowded Yap experience of exclusive dive sites.

We can set up this package for individual families all year-round.

Dive site presentations and briefs are available in a facebook photo album.

With over 98 miles of barrier reef and several big channels there's something special to see every day all year. We put together the best 15 diving areas in Yap with site briefings and guide tips.

LITTLE VITO IN CLASS

A teacher asks her class, "If there are five birds sitting on a fence, and you shoot one of them, how many will be left?" She calls on Little Vito. He replies, "None. They will all fly away with the first gunshot." The teacher replies, "The correct answer is four, but I like your thinking."

Then, Little Vito says, "I have a question for YOU. There are three women sitting on a bench having ice cream: One is delicately licking the sides of the triple scoop of ice cream. The second is gobbling down the top and sucking the cone. The third is biting off the top of the ice cream. Which one is married?" The teacher, blushing a great deal, replied, "Well, I suppose the one that's gobbled down the top and sucked the cone." To which Little Vito replied, "The correct answer is 'the one with the wedding ring on', but I like your thinking."

This is the time of year that we wind up the summer events, prepare for the fall season and holidays, which are typically busy for us.

Coming up in this season is the start of manta ray mating then ringing in a new year.

Big animal diving, exotic culture and interesting lifestyles are what you'll find.