X-Ray Mag #5

Down the stairs to the friendly photo shop at Sunset House Hotel, a dive resort on Grand Cayman Island, one enters the world of the colourful and inimitable Cathy Church, a legend in underwater photography and an inspiring teacher to many a diver who found his or her way to her popular week-long super courses. At the tender age of 60, Church is still excited about her craft and looks forward to many more years of helping divers take better shots underwater.

Situated in the sparkling Caribbean Sea, the three Cayman Islands, known as Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, lie some 250 km south of Cuba and about 300 km west of Jamaica.

Geographically speaking, they form part of the Cayman Ridge which extends westwards from Cuba over towards the Bay of Honduras. The Cayman Trench, which goes down to a maximum depth of 7686 meters, separates the islands from Jamaica.

Since the introduction of Scuba diving in the mid 1950s, one of the most hotly debated subjects in the world of technical diving is that regarding the best type of gear configuration. Over the years, many experienced divers, instructors, and training agencies, have all claimed that their method and style of kit configuration is the best.

Since the introduction of Scuba diving in the mid 1950s, one of the most hotly debated subjects in the world of technical diving is that regarding the best type of gear configuration. Over the years, many experienced divers, instructors, and training agencies, have all claimed that their method and style of kit configuration is the best.

After a two-hour car ride and an hour boat travel, I finally reached my destination—Cabilao, an island paradise located near Cebu, Philippines.Before coming here, I had read exciting accounts about Cabilao Island, particularly about the stargazers and pygmy seahorses that reside in its surrounding waters. On this trip, I was determined to see these critters, at the same time discover other things that Cabilao had to offer.

In the past few years underwater photography has been transformed by new technologies and new ideas. It’s not only the equipment and techniques that have changed. The way we store and view our photographs has also been revolutionized. This has made underwater photography more popular than ever.

Hydrothermal vents are places in the Earth’s crust where very hot water arises from vents in the cold, deep-sea floor. This hot, mineral-laden water is a rich environment for the development of an exotic marine life, previously unknown before the discovery of hydrothermal vents. This marine life uses a quite different chemistry from other animal life, be it marine life in the upper sea levels, or terrestrial life. Thus, hydrothermal vents are not only very interesting geologically speaking, but even more so from the biological point of view.

A move to the remote northern Scottish province of Orkney sparked a love of the sea, fishing and diving for the increasingly known metals artist, Sam MacDonald.

It is only four hours by plane from Moscow to Abakan, capital of Khakassia. The above-freezing temperatures, sunshine and the absence of snowdrifts contradict the traditional idea regarding the severe climate of Central Siberia. Together with the Novokuznetsk cave diver’s team, we drove up through the foothills of Kuznetsk Alatau and the picturesque valley of the Small Sya river to the mining town of Tuim.

The surrounding forest-covered, beautiful mountain ranges are inspiring, and there are caves with painted rock pictures and many untouched historical monuments everywhere. The first settlements of Homo sapiens appeared here about 34 000 years ago. Ours divers’ base is in the old village called Small Sya.

It is only four hours by plane from Moscow to Abakan, capital of Khakassia. The above-freezing temperatures, sunshine and the absence of snowdrifts contradict the traditional idea regarding the severe climate of Central Siberia. Together with the Novokuznetsk cave diver’s team, we drove up through the foothills of Kuznetsk Alatau and the picturesque valley of the Small Sya river to the mining town of Tuim.

The surrounding forest-covered, beautiful mountain ranges are inspiring, and there are caves with painted rock pictures and many untouched historical monuments everywhere. The first settlements of Homo sapiens appeared here about 34 000 years ago. Ours divers’ base is in the old village called Small Sya.

Utila is the smallest of the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras, where divers go in search of whalesharks, but find much more. Being the Executive Director of The Manta Network, a global conservation organization, I was very interested in the local efforts to protect whalesharks. Patric Douglas, Director of SharkDiver.com, invited us to stay in Utila and write about his dive group’s whaleshark experiences.

Now laying 25 miles off Malin Head, time stands still for this very impressive war machine. Rammed and sunk by HMS Roxburgh, all lives were lost on board the U-89. Crawling with life, the U-89 is now patrolled by large cod, pollock and, of course, conger. Its 60 meters boasts life everywhere.

Now laying 25 miles off Malin Head, time stands still for this very impressive war machine. Rammed and sunk by HMS Roxburgh, all lives were lost on board the U-89. Crawling with life, the U-89 is now patrolled by large cod, pollock and, of course, conger. Its 60 meters boasts life everywhere.

The port of Narvik in north Norway was established around the export of iron-ore from Sweden. This was due to the very good harbour and its ice-free conditions. At the outbreak of World War II, Narvik was a strategically important harbour, and during the first few days of the war a very intense battle was fought out here between German, Norwegian and British naval forces.

The port of Narvik in north Norway was established around the export of iron-ore from Sweden. This was due to the very good harbour and its ice-free conditions. At the outbreak of World War II, Narvik was a strategically important harbour, and during the first few days of the war a very intense battle was fought out here between German, Norwegian and British naval forces.