The inaugural GO Diving Show ANZ, taking place at the Sydney Showground on 28-29 September – and with completely FREE admission – has been described as a must for underwater photographers, whether you are just starting out on your journey, or are a seasoned ‘snapper'.
A host of world-renowned underwater photographers and educators will be gracing the Photo Stage, and the winners of the prestigious Underwater Awards Australasia 2024 competition will be presented on the Saturday afternoon. Below are just a few of those on stage over the weekend:
Nigel Marsh
Nigel Marsh, whose Unique Aussie Marine Life features in Scuba Diver Australia and New Zealand are firm reader favourites, will be on the Photo Stage at the GO Diving Show ANZ in September.
Nigel is a freelance underwater photographer and photojournalist based in Brisbane. His work has been published in numerous magazines, newspapers and books, both in Australia and overseas.
He has dived extensively around Australia, especially the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea, and his travels have taken him throughout Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean. His underwater photographs have also won a number of international photographic competitions.
Nigel’s passion for diving and the marine environment evolved from an early age while snorkelling the beaches off his hometown of Sydney, Australia. Learning to scuba dive in 1983 served to increase his interest in marine life, and he was soon sharing his experiences with others, presenting slide shows and writing articles for magazines – his first article was published in 1983.
Nigel has since produced thousands of articles for diving, travel and inflight magazines around the world, focusing on his favourite subjects – fishes, diving, sharks, shipwrecks, marine life and travel.
Nigel has also co-authored two diving guide books with Neville Coleman, Dive Sites of the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea (New Holland 1996) and Diving Australia (Periplus Editions 1997). He has also self-published a book – HMAS Brisbane Queensland Coral Warship (Nigel Marsh Photography 2011).
Over the last ten years Nigel has been busy working on a series of children’s books on marine-related subjects (A to Z of Sharks & Rays, Exploring Shipwrecks, Crabs & Crustaceans, Weird and Wacky Fish) and a series of dive guides and marine life books (Coral Wonderland, Muck Diving, Underwater Australia, Diving With Sharks, Close Encounters With Marine Life) for New Holland Publishers.
Brett Lobwein
Award-winning underwater photographer Brett Lobwein will be showcasing his wonderful imagery on the Photo Stage at the inaugural GO Diving Show ANZ in September.
Brett is a passionate and environmentally-minded photographer based in Sydney, who having grown up on the waterways of the Port Hacking River in the southern suburbs of the city, saw his love of scuba diving really taking shape in the early 2000s while working in a local dive shop.
By 2010, he had started to take a keen interest in underwater photography and purchased his first DSLR housing.
From his first trip to swim with the humpback whales in Tonga, he was completely hooked.
His passion for photography is rivaled only by his wanderlust for exotic travel.
Whether shooting silky sharks in Cuba’s Gardens of the Queen, penguins in Antarctica, polar bears in the Arctic, orcas in Norway or seals in Narooma, Brett is always sure to represent marine life in their natural element, without demonising or sensationalising an animal to gain attention to an image for the wrong reasons.
Aligned with his love for the ocean and its inhabitants, Brett is also a strong advocate of protecting our oceans and environment by raising awareness around excessive use and demand for single-use plastics.
Brett is a proud Sony Digital Imaging Advocate, Ambassador for Isotta Underwater Housings, Member of the Explorers Club, Member of the Ocean Artist Society, and former associate/resident photographer at Ocean Geographic.
Brett also is the owner of UW Images, a distributor of underwater photography equipment.
His images have won numerous international photography awards and have been published worldwide.
Don Silcock
Scuba Diver Australia and New Zealand’s Senior Travel Editor Don Silcock will be taking to the Photo Stage at the inaugural GO Diving Show ANZ in September to talk about his fascination with big animals.
Don is an Australian underwater photographer and photojournalist based on the island of Bali in Indonesia, and he joined the Scuba Diver ANZ team as the Senior Travel Editor in 2020.
Originally from the UK, Don started diving in the early 1980s while living and working in Bahrain, in the Persian Gulf, and went on to become a BSAC Advanced Instructor and Diving Officer.
He moved to Australia in 1991 with his young family, where he developed his enduring passions for underwater photography and dive travel.
Don has dived extensively in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia over the last 25 years and believes the two countries have the best tropical diving in the world. Scuba Diver ANZ recently published the 13th article in a series on diving PNG, and the next issue will have the 5th in a similar series Don is writing on diving Indonesia.
About 15 years ago, Don caught what he describes as the ‘big animal bug’ when he went to South Australia for the first time to photograph great white sharks and last year, he made his 15th trip there…
In between, he has photographed and written about tiger, great hammerhead, and oceanic whitetip sharks in the Bahamas; oceanic mantas, blue sharks, whale sharks, American crocodiles, and striped marlin in Mexico; southern right whales in Argentina, southern humpback whales in Tonga, and sperm whales in the Azores.
During the pandemic, Don got into technical diving and recently completed his TDI Extended Range certification to quality him to 55m in preparation for dedicated tech trips to photograph the wrecks in the Solomon Islands and Bikini Atoll, which will feature in upcoming issues of Scuba Diver ANZ.
Mike Scotland
Dive Log Australasia Editor and underwater photographer Mike Scotland will be focusing on marine biology ‘in the wild’ on the Photo Stage at the inaugural GO Diving Show ANZ in September.
Mike started diving in 1976 and successfully gained his PADI instructor rating in 1982. As well as teaching more than 1,000 divers. Mike has done 7,000 dives and won awards for his U/W photos.
His two main passions are underwater photography and marine biology. He writes about the celebration of marine life combined with adventure diving. Mike published his book, Marine Biology in the Wild as a service to divers who want to learn more about the sea. It features postcard standard photos with in-depth research. Currently, he is writing a series on the biology of fish and sharks, which he will include in a new book next year.
Marine Biology in the Wild
The best way to ignite your passion for diving is to learn more about the wonderful marine life we encounter. During his stint on the Photo Stage, Mike will reveal many incredible insights he has observed over 48 years of active diving that will motivate you to dive.
Mike is a professional educator and one of Australia’s most-published U/W photographers. This talk will be supported by his most excellent photos gathered from more than 100 expeditions to the Great Barrier Reef and the Pacific.
Talia Greis
Self-taught, internationally acclaimed underwater photographer Talia Greis will be on the Photo Stage at the GO Diving Show ANZ talking about abstract underwater imagery.
Born and raised in the coastal city regions of the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, her appreciation for ocean life exploded while diving Ningaloo Reef, WA.
“Understanding the rich diversity and abundance of our country’s underwater world flipped a switch that made it essential for me to take a camera below the surface as soon as possible,” she said.
“Not only to be able reproduce some of the fine moments nature has to offer, but also to be able to completely understand for myself, the true colours and complexities of what I had been witness to”.
Always one to capture a moment as it unfolds, Talia realised that her role in diving had changed, and in present days finds it impossible to dive without peering through the lens.
Talia has gone on to win Ocean Art 2019 Compact Division, Emerging Photographer of the Year 2023 for Ocean Geographic, Head On Photo Festival, Landscape Category 2023, Northern Beaches Underwater Photo Competition 2023, and Underwater Photographer of the Year (UPY) for the Macro Category in 2024.
Abstract Underwater Photography
Talia will be talking about abstract underwater photography – giving a brief introduction into why she loves experimenting with it as a Sydney diver, and discussing the several different methods and techniques she uses to delve into the craft.
She will be giving some examples of shots she has taken using different techniques, and discussing settings and equipment requirements to execute it.
Nicolas Remy
French-Australian underwater photographer Nicolas Remy, who is now based in Sydney, will be taking to the Photo Stage at the GO Diving Show ANZ in September.
Nicolas’ images have received over 40 international awards, including category winners in the prestigious Ocean Photography Awards, Ocean Art, DPG Masters, Ocean Geographic Pictures of The Year and World Nature Photography Awards.
His photographs have been featured in mainstream media such as the BBC, CNN, Forbes, as well as top dive media and photography media.
He is the founder of The Underwater Club, an online photography school and community, that currently counts members in 12 countries. Club Members have access to self-paced courses, support forums, and monthly webinars, where Nicolas and other renowned photographers teach photography Masterclasses.
Driven by his passion for teaching photography, Nicolas is a seasoned public speaker. Besides the monthly webinars for The Underwater Club, he is regularly invited to speak in dive shows, underwater photography societies and scuba clubs.
An accomplished photo-journalist, Nicolas has authored dozens of articles published in international dive media. He is a Field Editor for DivePhotoGuide.com, and a regular contributor of Plongez! Magazine (France) and Scuba Diver Magazine (UK and Australia/New Zealand), where he writes about marine life, travel, photographic technique and equipment.
Nicolas collaborates with diving equipment and photography brands for product testing and field-reviews. He is known for the detailed, insightful write-ups which he has authored, working with brands like Nauticam, Mares, Nikon Australia and Retra UWT, to name a few.
Nicolas is a Nauticam ambassador. He currently shoots with a Nikon Z9 in a Nauticam NA-Z9 housing and his favorite optics are the Nauticam EMWL system and the Nauticam FCP-1, though he also uses the WWL-C when size and weight are of the essence.
Rebreathers form another essential part of Nicolas’ dive kit: he has spent over 1,300 hours taking photos while diving either a rEvo CCR or Mares Horizon SCR, staying down for three to four hour long dives. Nicolas is passionate about these machines, which he sees taking a growing space in the diving industry.
The GO Diving Show ANZ
This annual event, taking place this year on 28-29 September at the Sydney Showground at the Olympic Park, is aimed at showcasing the very best of our underwater world to everyone from raw novices who are either contemplating getting into diving, or have completed their entry-level courses, to advanced divers, right through to technical divers and veteran CCR divers.
There are an array of stages – the Main Stage, the Photo Stage, the Australia/New Zealand Stage, the Inspiration Stage and the Tech Stage – that will play host to dozens of speakers from around the world, as well as a host of interactive features to suit young and old, from VR diving experiences, trydives, a demonstration pool, mermaids, and much more.
Surrounding the stages and features will be a broad range of exhibitors, from tourist boards and tour operators to resorts, liveaboards, training agencies, retailers, manufacturers, and conservation organisations.
The 2024 GO Diving Show UK, now in its fifth year, attracted more than 10,000 attendees over the weekend, and spanned an area of 10,000 sq m of exhibition space, and the Australia and New Zealand variant aspires to reaching this level in coming years.
Entry to the inaugural GO Diving Show ANZ is completely free – register here to get your tickets for what is undoubtedly the diving event of 2024 in Australia. There is plenty of parking on-site and the venue is easy to get to with plenty of transport options, so get the dates in your diary now and prepare for an epic weekend celebrating all forms of diving.
