A week of diving, a fun photo contest, social media sharing and other activities planned in March to celebrate event; Snyderman joins a list of renowned underwater photographers to have signature rooms at Cayman’s best-known dive resort.
Renowned underwater photographer, film producer, author and speaker Marty Snyderman is the latest underwater photographer to invest in a signature room at Sunset House Dive Resort in Grand Cayman. He will be on Grand Cayman March 20 – 27 to decorate the walls of unit #405 with his stunning undersea photos from across the world. Sunset House and room sponsors Dive Training Magazine and Vivid-Pix, a photo editing software company, are planning a week of activities to celebrate, including a fun photo contest for amateur photographers, a social media photo sharing campaign and a ribbon cutting ceremony to unveil Snyderman’s room at the end of the week. Sunset House General Manager Keith Sahm says it will be a celebratory week with a serious message.
“The idea behind our signature room campaign is to promote the beauty of the ocean as seen through the eyes of professional and passionate underwater photographers to encourage those who see the photos to act to save this fragile marine environment.”
Sahm says it’s also about building a faithful and committed dive community, and that is where the fun comes in. Marty Snyderman, also a great photography teacher, will be on the dive boats offering tips and advice to amateur underwater photographers using today’s convenient digital cameras.
“I love to share my underwater photographic insights and experiences with other shooters, and I enjoy getting to know and spend time with other divers, especially underwater photographers, said Snyderman. “And there is no doubt about it – teaching helps keep me abreast with the state of the art in my profession to be a better photographer. In short, if you let it happen, teaching can be a great teacher.”
Once back at the resort, the Vivid-Pix team will be at Sunset House’s famed My Bar in the evening helping customers get a better picture by offering them software downloads and editing assistance. Vivid-Pix founder Rick Voight says the software is specifically designed for amateur, underwater photographers.
“People always say ‘help me to get a better picture’ and now, we can. Marty helps them take better pictures and we help them fix and enhance those photos, then share them online,” Voight said. “We want people to share this experience with friends who cannot be on Grand Cayman with us; so, we will provide tips and tricks for posting pictures.”
Voight says there will be an amateur photo contest for people on Grand Cayman and another contest for people joining in for the Take a Picture and Share the Fun Photo Contest online at www.facebook.com/vivid-pix-fix. Daily winners will be announced each night at My Bar and the overall winner of the contest will be named the day Marty Snyderman’s signature room is unveiled. Winners will receive either a free enlargement of their best photo to take home, or an enlargement of Humpback Whales by Snyderman.
Sunset House guests won’t have to wait until the end of the week to peek behind the scenes in room #405. Snyderman and Voight are doing the hammer and nail work of putting up the photos on the walls, but visitors will be welcomed.
“We want people to be involved in the process of setting up Marty’s room by stopping in and scoping it out before the official ribbon cutting,” says Keith Sahm. “It’s about being a dive community and sharing this experience in a top destination for underwater photography.”
Marty Snyderman is one of 22 underwater photographers who will have signature rooms at Sunset House by the end of the year. Four have already completed their displays, and those rooms are available for rent: Sunset House Photo Pro Cathy Church, Courtney Platt, Ellen Cuylaerts and Jim Hellemn.
“I feel honored to be asked by Sunset House, considering its long history as an iconic resort in the greater diving and underwater photographic communities, and the accomplishments and reputations of the other photographers involved,” said Snyderman. “I am flattered, and a little nervous about whether or not “my room” will measure up. There are some wonderful photographers involved in this project.”
Many professionals, including Marty Snyderman, consider Cayman a perfect place for underwater photography because of its great visibility, exciting marine life and reefs, and variety of dive sites. Snyderman even says Grand Cayman changed his life.
“I went there for the first time in the mid-1970s, and I’ll never forget the first time I dived the North Wall – it was the first dive of our trip, and we hit it on a typical, yet spectacular, day, and the drop-off was breath taking. There was color everywhere, and the reef was so alive,” he remembers. “At the time all I knew about underwater photography was that I wanted to give it a serious try. And that trip put me over the top. I wanted to share the magic with my camera.”
Learn more about Sunset House at: www.sunsethouse.com
