Faced with the task of selecting three photos to represent underwater Britain , Kirsty Andrews aims for mass appeal
KIRSTYANDREWS
You must choose wisely
Faced with the task of selecting three photos to represent underwater Britain , Kirsty Andrews aims for mass appeal
If you had just three pictures to demonstrate how brilliant British diving is , which pictures would you choose ? This was the dilemma that faced me this month , as it does approximately this time every year when my club ’ s ‘ Best of British ’ photo competition rolls around . I ’ m quite competitive about it , it ’ s fair to say , as essentially , persuading others that British seas are brilliant is somewhat of a personal mission for me – you might have noticed if you ’ ve read a few of these columns . Of course , it does depend on your audience . To my mind , there ’ s nothing better than an ‘ ugly ’ fish ; the more anthropomorphic character I can project on to its features the better . Anglerfish , lumpsucker or clingfish : so hard to choose the cutest . However , I found myself talking to a non-diver the other day ( out of my comfort zone there ) and , viewing some of my favourite pics , she pronounced that they “ gave her the ick ” … more of a point-andlaugh than an admire-in-wonder . So , back to the drawing board , somewhat sheepishly . Or , maligned wolf-fishly , if you will .
Of course , brilliant British diving involves good times with our buddies , so maybe a selfie with the dive team would do it . Except in this case , there is an element of artistry required , and I always seem to have a fin out of place or bubbles in front of my face . Also , those stage bottles and ramrod-straight techie diver attitudes sported by some of my buddies just aren ’ t visually pleasing . Well , not to me anyway : as I say , know your audience .
I like to capture the ‘ spirit of adventure ’: that ’ s definitely a piece of the puzzle in what makes British seas great . So maybe I ’ ll allow a diver into the collection if they ’ re venturing around an awe-inspiring wreck , preferably with fish on it , looking like the world ’ s greatest underwater explorer . I ’ m at somewhat of an advantage against the more intrepid club members here as it ’ s difficult to communicate with pictures alone that their wreck is 65m deep , many miles offshore and involved two hours of decompression on the way up , whereas mine is the good old Persier in Bigbury Bay . Still , it looks cool though .
Also , colour is important . If I had a pound for every time I ’ ve heard “ aren ’ t British seas just brown and empty ”, well , I ’ d have much shinier dive gear and a camera that operated itself . They ’ re not ! Well , they have been recently thanks to the local sewage pollution alerts I received – thanks , rain and water companies – but they ’ re not always . I like to surprise the naysayers with a burst of colour – maybe a stunning offshore reef scene or some beauty in the details of a sponge or coral .
Time to complete the set , and it ’ s got to be a crowd pleaser . I will admit that it is difficult to resist the charm of a grey seal portrait . Reminding viewers of Fido back home , seals are a safe bet to woo the public . Other superstars of British diving could be a cheeky tompot blenny , a beautiful blue shark , a dazzling squid , cuttlefish or octopus – nope , seal it is . For the win . Did I choose correctly ? �
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