Carlos Villoch Blog - It's much better down there... (or was it up there?)

Conferencia en Santander

2009-09-14T17:51:00.001-07:00

El Domingo 13 de Septiembre estuve haciendo una charla con imágenes submarinas de todo el mundo en la II edición de Festival del Mar. La asistencia de 200 personas llenó la sala, lo cual siempre se agradece.

Los grandes veleros que acuden a Santander con motivo del Festival del Mar son un espectáculo y realmente merece la pena pasarse a visitarlos. Gracias a todos los que acudieron a la charla.

Finally, BLUES is open

2009-07-27T17:37:00.000-07:00

Finally ! After months of hard work, BLUES, the biggest exhibition of underwater photography is open to the public.

400 m2, 140 meters of walls, highest quality photographs in large format, 5 computer screens, 42” plasma TV and 3 meters video screen… You have never seen something like this in Underwater Photography. Plus all the antique cameras that show the history of underwater photography.

Only until November 1^st.

You can’t miss it !

Photo Exhibition in Bilbao

2009-07-20T18:46:00.000-07:00

During the last weeks I have been working hard on the next photo exhibition that opens next week (July 27).

Until November 1^st you can visit this exhibit in the Bilbao Marine Museum where you will see not only lots of beautiful underwater photos, but also few images of what is really happening under the oceans nowadays.

There will be cameras showing the history of underwater photography and some films of some of the most awarded film makers in the world.

So do not miss this special event !

See you all in Bilbao

Diving in Spain

2009-07-09T05:25:00.000-07:00

With so much traveling to exotic locations I barely have time to dive in Spain. So this year I made an effort to go to Cabo de Palos, in the Mediterranean and to push some local diving near home. Cabo de Palos was a nice surprise. Lots of Marine Life. I hadn’t been diving the Med for many years and didn’t expect so many big groupers, schools of barracudas and many other fish.

In the north, Atlantic coast, we have had very good diving conditions, with even good visibility which is unusual over here. So I have been doing some diving in the coast near home, where I took this shot.

Back to the Philippines

2009-05-30T03:26:00.001-07:00

I´m back in the Philippines, this time doing a photo seminar in Donsol and Tubbatah.

In Donsol we expect to be able to snorkel with whale sharks and in Tubbataha we will explore the most pristine coral reefs of the Philippines. I´ll show you a photo or two when I am back to the computer

Exposition web ready

2009-05-15T07:49:00.000-07:00

The website for the next photo exposition (28 May – Bilbao) is ready. Take a look at http://www.art.villoch.com and if you are near by feel free to come to the exhibit opening on the evening of May 28

Nueva exposición en Bilbao

2009-05-13T03:44:00.001-07:00

Estoy preparando una nueva exposición en la galería de arte fotográfico www.photogallery20.com. Se trata de una selección de mis imágenes más sutiles y personales. Nueve piezas de 112 x 75 cm en blanco y negro, acabado semi-mate, montadas sobre aluminio Dibond. Disponibles en serie limitada de 8 unidades más dos pruebas de autor por fotografía, a través de la galería Photogallery 20.

Os espero en la inauguración del día 28 de Mayo a partir de las 19:30

Exposición en San Sebastián

2009-04-16T00:51:00.001-07:00

Durante estos días, del 14 al 18 de Abril, estoy realizando una exposición fotográfica en la sala de la Kutxa de la calle Andía en San Sebastián, coincidiendo con la 33ª edición del Ciclo de Cine Submarino de San Sebastián.

Esta es la cobertura del diario vasco:

http://www.diariovasco.com/20090415/cultura/ningun-posado-20090415.html

Los mejores arrecifes del planeta

2009-04-16T00:47:00.001-07:00

Ya estamos de vuelta de un magnífico viaje por Indonesia. He estado impartiendo un seminario de fotografía submarina en un crucero de buceo, recorriendo algunos de los mejores arrecifes que he visto nunca desde Lembeh a Raja Empat pasando por las Molucas. Hemos fotografiado los animales más extraños en Lembeh, descubierto nuevos arrecifes en Molucas y hemos alucinado con el color y cantidad de vida en Raja – la coesta Oeste de Papua.

Podeis ver un breve relato del viaje en http://comunidad.tubuceo.com/_Los-Mejores-Arrecifes-del-Planeta/blog/240131/86514.html

El año que viene repetiremos este alucinante viaje.

New prize in DEEP Indonesia

2009-03-29T01:51:00.000-07:00

During the show DEEP Indonesia I was given the “Honorable Mention” prize in the “Environment and Conservation” category for this photo of a green turtle being open and showing the eggs inside.

The image can be strong for the heart fainted, but it shows the everyday reality in many beaches where turtles go to lay their eggs. Green Turtles are killed to obtain their green fat tissue which is used to make soup. Although this impacting photo may look cruel, it was actually taken during a scientific study in a keen act of mercy. The turtle was very sick and had been sitting on the sand for few days, without being able to move neither towards the sea or to dryer sand to lay eggs. She could bare breathe. Knowing that the animal only had few hours of agony left, the scientist decided to sacrifice her and made a necropsy “in situ” to determine the origin of the sickness.

Exposición en Barcelona

2009-03-15T01:18:00.000-07:00

Del 13 al 15 de Mayo he realizado una exposición de fotos submarinas en el Salón del Submarinismo de Cornellá.

La afluencia de gente ha sorprendido a los expositores y ha habido mucho interés en la imagen subacuática. También se ha roto el mito de que “En España la gente no copra fotos” ya que ha habido bastantes ventas de cuadros. Algún suertudo se ha llevado (comprado quiero decir) una de mis fotos favoritas que tenía reservada para el salón; pero así es la cosa.

Las fotos están impresas con la máxima calidad disponible, un positivado por LEDs y revelado químico (como el tradicional fotográfico). El resultado es impresionante, colores vivos, transiciones suaves, buen rango dinámico. Tras muchas pruebas con diferentes tipos de papeles y consultando opiniones de expertos y profanos en el tema, me decanté por el papel brillante por su viveza. Los sujetos parecen “salirse” de la foto.

Esta es parte de una exposición itinerante que irá por varias ciudades de España, e incluso hasta Hong Kong !

Magic Sea, the book

2009-02-27T04:01:00.001-08:00

A selection of 110 photographs illustrate this pictorial voyage around the world's Oceans. I have carefully chosen his favorites images for this portfolio to share his personal view of the sea.

This book is a glimpse of the magic that have I discovered during my incursions into that fantastic world. Fifteen years and thousands of dives in all six continents are condensed in these pages showing a shy representation of the variety of shapes, colors and textures of light and life below the waves. From a tiny coral polyp forming part of the Great Barrier Reef to a leopard seal in Antarctica, they are all inspiring creatures that live in a delicate balance with their environment.

Available in soft and hard cover

20cm X 25 cm

80 pages

Oh yeah, you can buy it here ;-)

Bronze in the Our World Underwater International Photo & Video Competition

2009-02-27T03:56:00.001-08:00

Last weend took place the Our World Underwater International Photo & Video Competition in Chicago where I won the Bronze prize in the Environment & Conservation Category with this photo of a unfortunate green sea turtle caught in a abandoned fishing net. I took this images while diving the Chikuzen wreck in the British Virgin Islands.

During last years I have been seeing an obvious decay in the coral reefs due to several factors, like overfishing, global warming, dynamite fishing, drifting nets, etc.I have been capturing this situations with my camera to show the negative effects we have over the Ocean and spread the word about environmental issues. I consider this award a recognition for that effort.

Seeing this turtle was a particularly sad experience. Turtles, as reptiles they are, they need to go to the surface to breathe air. So when they are caught in a net the enter in a panic situation and drown. This turtle still had air in its lungs and there was a another turtle swimming around, maybe trying to understand what happened to his friend…

Cold winter

2009-02-12T15:36:00.000-08:00

This winter is being cold, rainy (by the coast) and we have lots of snow in the mountains. There has been some crazy storms in the ocean and they even registered a 26m (80+') wave not far from here. So except for a couple of nice surfing days I have been out of the sea during this time.

But the season is being very good for snowboarding. I have only been able to go a couple of days, but really enjoyed the being in the mountains again.

Facebook

2009-01-11T04:52:00.001-08:00

Now you can keep track of my latest photos and whereabouts directly from Facebook Page.

The link is http://www.facebook.com/pages/Carlos-Villoch/31965437334 , You just have to become a fan to be the first one to know when new photos are added, reports on the latest trips, photo exhibitions and if I finally finish my portfolio book !

And if you know me, we have dived together sometime, met in a remote place, attended one of my photo seminars, crossed emails, bought one of my prints, pull my hair in kindergarden or have done business together you can add me to your contacts. My profile link is http://es-la.facebook.com/people/Carlos-Villoch/585552920

Photo competition in Lanzarote

2008-12-30T16:43:00.000-08:00

From the Philippines I have gone to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands - Spain to participate in a photo competition and to spend few days relaxing in this wonderful island.

The competition went very well. We placed in 2nd position, which was a good result considering we had never dived in this island and we didn't had the chance to check out the dive sites in advance, like the rest of the photographers did some days prior the competition. This was a shout-out or splash-in photo competition, meaning that the photos had to be taken in some particular dive sites under some specific regulations. The competition took place during two days, in which we did two dives per day. We could only take 100 photos per day. At the end of the second dive we had to choose a collection of 6 images, which couldn't be retouched in the computer. The collection must have 2 photos of fauna, 2 creative photos and 2 wide angle photos, one of them with a model and the other one without model. This is one of the creative shots of the collection.

We had a great time catching up with other photographers and after the comp we went diving for fun and took some more photos, this time without the restrictions and pressure of the competition.

From the Philippines

2008-12-09T23:08:00.001-08:00

I am on a one month assignment in the Philippines, a country with 1107 islands in the Indo-Pacific area or South East Asia. I have been diving in many different of these islands and each one has something special. Some are good for “muck diving”, where we look for the most strange critters hiding on sandy slopes or under piers. Others offer the most pristine coral reefs with abundant fish life, from colorful tropical fish to large groupers and sharks. The negative side is that dynamite fishing is still common around some islands, like Cebu. This causes massive coral damage and kills every living being, leaving few fish to photograph. The country is so big that it takes a long time to move from island to island, involving flights, boats and road transfers.

On land I have seen awesome landscapes, like the shallow lagoons formed between the limestone islands of Northern Palawan.

We celebrate 10 years online with free shipping

2008-10-24T06:26:00.001-07:00

Time goes fast. It has been 10 years since MagicSea.com went online to distribute underwater images around the world.

To celebrate we have a special offer in the new gift shop in MagicSea.com FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE .

Use the coupon code '100000masterpieces' during checkout for free shipping on any order, to anywhere in the world for the next week. In case you are so lost that you still do not know where the shop is, here you have some help: http://underwaterart.redbubble.com
You can always access the shop from MagicSea.com or CarlosVilloch.com

Free Shipping coupons expire 23:59 October 30 (GMT), and are only available for our standard shipping option.

2009 Calendar Undersea Wonders

2008-10-10T07:40:00.001-07:00

Finally !!! The 2009 “Undersea Wonders” Calendar is available here : http://www.villoch.com/calendar .

A whole year of underwater images on your wall. I have made a selection of my favorite photos from the last years. From humpback whales and dolphins to sharks and tropical coral reefs.

Order now while they last !

Dolphins and sharks in Roatan

2008-10-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

I am now working in Roatan, one of the Bay Islands of Honduras. There are two things that I really like about this island: Dolphins and Sharks. Both are amazing to be in the water with. This is the 3^rd time I met Mika in the last 5 years, one of the trained dolphins in Roatan. Last time we met in Belize. I find her as cute as always; very friendly too.

I have been spending quite a lot of time with sharks too. They are Caribbean Reef Sharks (Carcharhinus perezi), about 20-25 of them that visit the same area, 70 feet deep. They get quite close and sometimes bump into my camera or hit the strobes with the nose. Their sleek bodies move very elegantly and I could spend hours watching them, but the dive computer only gives me about 40 minutes before going into deco mode and tell me it’s time to go back to the boat.

Soon I´ll post the Bonaire and Roatan photos in MagicSea.com

Diving in Bonaire

2008-09-23T07:05:00.000-07:00

I recently had a photographic assignment in Bonaire, one of the Dutch Antilles. The island seems to have been made thinking of divers. There are about 60 different dive sites that you can access directly from the shore. Even an awesome wreck, the Hilma Hooker, that you can dive as a shore dive. On land there are plenty of interesting things to see, like caves, flamingos, iguanas… and if you want to just relax, Pink Beach (photo) is the place where nobody will find you.

From here I head directly to Roatan.

Carlos wins the European Wildlife Photographer of the Year

2008-07-18T03:06:00.001-07:00

This is good news again. This month I have won the award "European Wildlife Photographer of the Year" in the Waterworld category. Another of my images was awarded with a "highly commended" prize i nthe same category. This contests takes place in Germany and my photos were selected among 7000 images from 24 different countries.
This is a good motivation to keep working hard in getting new images.

2nd Prize to the Best Portfolio in Kuala Lumpur

2008-07-18T03:01:00.001-07:00

Last week I was awarded with the 2^nd prize to the Best Portfolio during the MIDE dive show that takes place in Kuala Lumpur. For this photo contest I chose a selection of photos from tiny gobies to whales and ship wrecks. 2008 is being a great year so far, so keep my fingers crossed for some more !

Diving at home

2008-07-15T18:00:00.001-07:00

Summer is finally here, in the North of Spain and conditions for diving are being great, with calm seas and relatively good visibility. I have been visiting some places where I hadn’t been diving for many years. Another day I´ll explain some differences I’ve noticed during these years. Under the right conditions and at the right time this place has a stunning light that can keep me underwater for more than two hours.

1st prize in photo shoot-out in Canary Islands

2008-06-24T20:39:00.000-07:00

In June I have won the first prize in one of the most prestigious underwater photo shoot-outs in Europe that takes place in Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands. What makes special this event is that only a group of the top European photographers are selected to attend by invitation. Photographers from UK, Germany, Italy, Portugal, France and Spain dived for 2 days trying to capture a collection of 6 images. Working as a team with Maite, she got the prize to the best underwater model. She also got this prize last year and has became the first model to receive this award twice.
This image is available as a 40 x 58 cm glossy mounted print. Contact me for details at photo@magicsea.com

These photos were selected as the best photos of the day by this newspaper:
http://www.20minutos.es/galeria/4880/0/0/fotosub/foto/submarina/

2nd prize in International Underwater Image Festival

2008-05-13T18:14:00.001-07:00

Wow, I like this May !

I have won the 2^nd prize to the Best Collection of photos in the International Underwater Images Festival.

When I get the chance I´ll put the photos. I know, I always say the same thing… but this time I´ll put them, I promise.

Interview in Chinese magazine

2008-05-03T17:31:00.000-07:00

I have made a 13 pages interview for a Chinese diving magazine and I have made the front cover photo (shown here). You can read the interview here http://www.magicsea.com/china/ . In case you are not fluent reading Chinese you should take a quick course and come back when you finish to click this link. OK… I´ll put the English version of the interview when I get the chance.
Update: The English translation is ready in that link, so you can skip the Chinese course now.

1st Prize in the 2008 Scuba Diving Photo contest

2008-05-02T17:24:00.000-07:00

This is a happy entry ! I have won the first prize in the Wide Angle category of the 2008 Scuba Diving photo contest. This is the winning image. It was taken in El Hierro, one of the Canary Islands. I really liked that photo since the moment I took it, it was one of those moments when the stars align and the grouper came few inches away from the camera while my model was posing between the walls that form a spectacular crack in the reef.

Surfing back home

2008-04-29T18:56:00.000-07:00

Hey, that's me on the last photo !

After few weeks travelling in Mexico and California it's nice to be back home and go surfing. Waves were perfect, long and powerful. Water temperature is about 1º warmer than when I left, but it's sunny and feels much warmer than the actual 14ºC.

The guy who runs this site: http://www.olasdevizcaya.com took these photos.

Back from Revillagigedo

2008-04-28T18:20:00.000-07:00

I am back from this wonderful archipelago in the Mexican Pacific. The islands are 220 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas.

The trip was excellent with very good dives where I saw lots of mantas, sharks, whales, etc.

You can read a full trip report here:

http://www.divephotoguide.com/articles/revillagigedo___socorro___enjoying_the_our_world_underwater_prize

And you can see all the photos from the trip directly in this link:

http://www.photography.magicsea.com/revillagigedo/

If you get half the fun viewing the photos than I had taking them I´ll be happy.

Why do I live here?

2007-12-19T19:25:00.000-08:00

You may be reading this blog from the other side of the world. Well, the other side for me, because it is your side for you. You may be wondering why I live at this side of the world, when you live at that other side. Maybe because it’s beautiful? That’s a beautiful beach barely 40 minutes drive from my place. Actually the rocky mountain falling straight to the sea is one of the places where I had my first dives. The rocky cliff in the background is 1000’ (300m) high and, did I say it’s beautiful?. There are many other reasons why I like it here even if there are no coral reefs, water is freezing in the winter and fuel is outrageously expensive. I won’t go through all of them now, but basically it is a beautiful place where I can do fun things in company of good people.

New travel and action photos

2007-12-10T10:31:00.000-08:00

I have added some new travel and topside photos to MagicSea.
You will find a mix of images taken around the world, from Australia to my local beach. There is a bit of everything: paragliding, mountain biking, water sports and some aerial shots too.
You can access the gallery following this link

Underwater Photography course

2007-11-28T04:18:00.001-08:00

Last week I went to Galicia, Northwest Spain, to teach an underwater photography course. The conditions of the sea were perfect, flat calm, which is not common in this part of the world. Weather was sunny, but cold and water temperature was only 13 C. which made the surface interval between dives very cold. However underwater I was pleased to see the amount of nudibranches and other colorful invertebrates that made good subjects for the student photographers.

The lessons started on Friday with a 2 hours lectures. On Saturday we dived in the morning and had a 6 hours lecture in the afternoon. On Sunday the schedule was similar. More information about these courses in http://www.cursosfotosub.com

Looking for Monkfish

2007-11-05T19:31:00.001-08:00

I have been fascinated by Monkfish for a long time. Its out-of this-world look make this fish very special. A monkfish is basically a huge mouth on a huge head and a tiny body. It is a flat fish, very tasteful to eat and not that easy to find.

Few weeks ago a friend sent me an email to tell me that they have recently seen monkfish around a shipwreck which lays 36 meters (120 feet) below the surface, near Machichaco cape, not far from my place. I manage to organize a dive that same day and got my first photos of a monkfish:

Diving in the Gulf of Biscay

2007-11-05T19:04:00.000-08:00

The coast near my home town, Bilbao (Spain), is where I learnt how to SCUBA dive in the early 90's. Before then I spent countless hours free diving and spear fishing the cold and dark waters of this area of the Atlantic Ocean called the Gulf of Biscay.
In the last few years my trips around the world have taken me to some of the most amazing dive destinations in the planet and I haven't had much time to go back and dive in my local waters.
Well, finally this summer I found a beautifull day to dive in Castro and get face to face with some old fishy friends.
This is one of them:

A journey to the wet side of the world

2005-12-01T13:43:00.000-08:00

2/3 of our planet, the blue planet, are covered with water. Through this blog I'll present images of the misterious underwater realm.