The highlight event for underwater photographers from Israel and the world over, Epson Red Sea competition and film festival, will be held this year for the fourth time in Eilat  this week. The final round of the year-long online underwater photography competition are being held in Eilat on the Red Sea during 10 - 15 November, 2008. 

France, the UK and Ireland, Italy, Denmark, Holland and Belgium, Sweden, Russia, Spain, Germany, the USA, and Israel have been running an online competition in which one photographer is chosen each month as ‘photographer of the month'.  During September one finalist was chosen by each country from amongst its monthly winners to be its ‘photographer of the year'.  These lucky winners, one from each country, received flights, accommodation at the Isrotel Red Sea (formerly Ambassador) Hotel, and diving during the Epson Red Sea 2008 competition finals being held in Eilat.

During the preceding months, both amateur and professional photographers could enter and compete by sending their photos to the competition website.  Photographs were featured online and judging was done based on voting by registered websurfers visiting the site to view the entries together with five international judges who each chose their own favoured photographer.

Names and photos of the eleven finalists can been seen at the competition's official website at www.eilatredsea.com by clicking on 'more' under the 'mirror mirror on the wall' article.  Eilat can boast one of its own in the finalists: Noam Kortler won the Israeli spot.

This year’s competition has an additional angle to those of the usual macro and wide angle themes usually seen.  A novel category was introduced this year in which each participant must make up a modelling ‘book’ for a given fish, photographed in the fish’s natural surroundings.  While they don’t have to worry about hair and makeup for their allotted subject, what they do need to do is submit five photos that best demonstrate their choice’s natural beauty, its moods, daily activities and behaviours, antics, feeding, hunting or foraging, flight or flight, whatever the photographer thinks are the five finest shots of his/her model. 

1st prize, donated by Epson, is $10,000 for the best 5 images, along with a 3 week diving vacation for two in Papua New Guinea including flights and hotel from the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority.  There are numerous additional prizes in various categories including ones for amateurs, donated by entities ranging from various government bodies to diving or tourism businesses.  Prizes totalling $80,000 await the diving photographers expected to arrive from all over Israel and from abroad, as well as diving tour packages all over the world.   

The competition will be accompanied by events, workshops, and parties involving lots of beer.   One of the event's guests and a member of the judging panel is the renowned Austrian underwater photographer, Kurt Amsler, who will also be offering a workshop on underwater photography for festival participants.  More about the competition, prizes, and previous years’ competitions can be seen on the official website at www.eilatredsea.com.