Lembeh-Gulen Critter Shootout

Type: competition
Frequency: biennial (2016, 2018)
Locations: Lembeh Strait, Indonesia (Lembeh Resort) + Gulen, Norway (Gulen Dive Resort) — simultaneous
Founded: Announced January 2014; first held May 2016
Website: uwshootout.com (2018); crittershootout.com (2016)
Tagline: “Two continents, two hemispheres, two climates: ONE WINNER”

Overview

The Lembeh-Gulen Critter Shootout is a simultaneous international underwater macro photography competition held at two locations on opposite sides of the world: the tropical muck-diving destination of Lembeh Strait in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the cold-water fjord environment of Gulen on the Norwegian west coast. Teams of photographers at each resort compete head-to-head in themed rounds over approximately one week, with images decided by public vote. The event was organized as a collaboration between Lembeh Resort and Gulen Dive Resort, with Wetpixel providing editorial coordination and live coverage from both sites (^[1]).

The competition embodies a central question in underwater macro photography: whether the extraordinary tropical biodiversity of Lembeh Strait or the surprisingly rich cold-water critter populations of a Norwegian fjord can produce more compelling imagery. As the Gulen team demonstrated repeatedly, stunning macro subjects exist even in 8-degree-Celsius green water — a finding that challenged assumptions about temperate diving’s photographic potential (^[2]).

Origins and Announcement (2014)

The Lembeh-Gulen Critter Shootout was announced on January 30, 2014, as a collaboration between Lembeh Resort, Gulen Dive Resort, and Wetpixel Associate Editor Alex Mustard. The original announcement described it as “the world’s first dual underwater photography shootout event,” pitting warm water against cold, north against south, critter against critter. The event was initially scheduled for June 1-7, 2015, with bookings to open in April 2014 (^[3]).

The press release emphasized that both Lembeh and Gulen were among the best spots in the world for photographing critters, albeit under radically different conditions. Lembeh Strait was already recognized globally as the premier muck-diving destination, while Gulen Dive Resort had established itself as a leading macro destination among European underwater photographers (^[4]).

The event was ultimately postponed from the original 2015 date to May 2016.

2016: The Inaugural Shootout

Setup and Format

The first Lembeh-Gulen Critter Shootout took place from May 20-28, 2016, re-announced in November 2015. The competition featured 32 contestants split between the two resorts, led by two team captains who were “heavy-weight underwater photographers.” The format consisted of three training days followed by three themed competition days: Nudibranchs, Invertebrates, and Fish (^[5]).

• Overall coordinator: Alex Mustard — co-ordinated both teams and oversaw the judging process (^[6])
• Gulen team captain: Keri Wilk (^[7])
• Lembeh team captain: Tobias Friedrich (^[8])
• Wetpixel editorial on site: Abi Smigel Mullens (Lembeh), Adam Hanlon (Gulen) (^[9])

Images were judged by public vote via the event’s Facebook page, with each round open for 24 hours. Voters could cast one vote per round (^[10], ^[11]).

A notable cross-pollination occurred when Lembeh Resort’s resident marine biologist, Dimpy Jacobs, was trained in drysuit diving by the Gulen team and traveled to Norway to assist contestants there (^[12]).

Competition and Results

Each team had one practice day per category, followed by a competition day where they completed three 60-minute dives and submitted their best images (^[13]).

Round-by-round results:

• Nudibranchs: Team Gulen won (^[14])
• Invertebrates: Team Lembeh won (^[15])
• Fish: Team Lembeh won (^[16])

Overall winner: Team Lembeh, winning two rounds to one. After the first two competition days, the teams were almost tied with Gulen holding a slight lead. The Lembeh team pulled ahead in the final fish round through the public vote (^[17]).

Notable individual placings (Fish category):

1. Greg Sherman (Lembeh)
2. Richard Charlton (Lembeh)
3. Martin Gerard (Lembeh)

(^[18])

Notable participants included: Greg Sherman, Richard Charlton, Martin Gerard, Wayne McWilliams, Debbie Arriaga, Jerry Arriaga (Team Lembeh); Luc Rooman, Atle Ove Martinussen, Ingrid Thea Olberg, Rune Edvin Haldorsen, Johan Bjorklund, Bjornar Nygard, Dag Leslie Hansen (Team Gulen) (^[19]).

Awards ceremonies were held simultaneously at both resorts, with Lembeh participants Debbie and Gerry Arriaga joining via Skype. The Gulen team celebrated “in true Viking style” despite their disappointment (^[20]).

Reception

The event generated a full-frame gallery on Wetpixel showcasing the top images from both resorts. The quality of macro images produced under competition conditions was widely praised, with the editorial noting that the Gulen images were remarkable given they were taken in 8-degree-Celsius green water. A community comment noted: “Unbelievable images! Can we get the equipment/settings with the photos?” The event was described as “the underwater photography event of 2016” in a subsequent Wetpixel article (^[21], ^[22]).

2018: The Rematch

Buildup

The return of the shootout was announced in January 2017, branded as “The Shootout” for its second edition. The event was scheduled for June 15-23, 2018. A key change from 2016: the team captains swapped sides (^[23]).

Team captains were formally announced in April 2017:

• Lembeh team captain: Alex Mustard — who had been overall coordinator in 2016, now taking a direct competitive role (^[24])
• Gulen team captain: Keri Wilk — returning from 2016 where he had captained the Gulen team (^[25])

Keri Wilk was quoted: “If last year’s 3-round nail-biter was any indication of what to expect, we should have another exciting battle on our hands. Last year, Team Gulen showed the world that we could indeed compete with Lembeh. Next year, however, we aim to show that we can WIN!” Alex Mustard responded: “Team Lembeh won the last shootout, so the pressure is on me this time! It’s such a fun event where the team has to all work together to ensure that everyone gets great images to be sure of success” (^[26]).

A call for participants was issued in November 2017, and additional recruitment for Team Gulen continued into March 2018 (^[27], ^[28]).

Format Changes

The 2018 edition featured several improvements over the inaugural event:

• New category: Wide Angle replaced Fish as the third round, making the categories Nudibranchs, Fish and Invertebrates (combined), and Wide Angle (^[29])
• Dedicated website: Voting moved from Facebook to uwshootout.com (^[30])
• Ethical standards: The 2018 Shootout adopted explicit competition rules stating that participants and guides may not touch subjects, and that behaviors, positions, or subjects in locations that do not occur naturally would result in disqualification (^[31])
• 25 participants competed across both locations (^[32])

Competition and Results

Wetpixel again provided live coverage from both locations, with Adam Hanlon in Gulen and Abi Smigel Mullens in Lembeh. At Gulen, organizer Adam Hanlon ran the orientation while resident Guido Schmitz covered diving policy. Team captains gave technical talks at their respective resorts — Keri Wilk presented on creative nudibranch photography techniques in Gulen, while Alex Mustard reviewed images and developed shooting strategies with the Lembeh team (^[33]).

Round-by-round results:

Round 1 — Nudibranchs: Team Lembeh won, sweeping the top three individual places:

1. Neil Rosewarn (UK, Team Lembeh)
2. Liz Wagstrom (USA, Team Lembeh)
3. Kellda Centeno (Philippines, Team Lembeh)

(^[34])

Round 2 — Fish and Invertebrates: Team Lembeh won again, sweeping the podium:

1. Nick More (Team Lembeh)
2. Marteyne van Wel (Team Lembeh)
3. Greg Sherman (Team Lembeh)

(^[35])

Round 3 — Wide Angle: Team Gulen won, with the two teams described as “neck and neck” going into the final round (^[36], ^[37]).

Overall team winner: Team Lembeh, winning by a margin of only 2 votes per image in the overall team rankings. Only 66 votes out of over 4,000 total separated the two teams, making it even closer than 2016 (^[38], ^[39]).

Final individual standings (top 10):

1. Galice Hoarau (Team Gulen)
2. Nick More (Team Lembeh)
3. Kellda Centeno (Team Lembeh)
4. Greg Sherman (Team Lembeh)
5. Dag Leslie Hansen (Team Gulen)
6. Orjan Sandnes (Team Gulen)
7. Taner Atilgan
8. Sven Kahlbrock
9. Kirsty Andrews
10. Marteyne van Wel

(^[40])

Notably, the individual winner Galice Hoarau was from Team Gulen, despite that team losing overall. The full event featured 25 ranked participants (^[41]).

Gulen Dive Resort and the Nudibranch Safari Connection

Gulen Dive Resort’s role in the shootout was closely tied to its annual Nudibranch Safari, an event combining science, photography, and diving that by 2017 was in its eighth year. The safari attracted participants from around the globe and had recorded 82 different nudibranch species, including several new to science. The official list of nudibranch species in Norway totaled 120, making Gulen’s house reef a unique center of species biodiversity (^[42]).

The safari attracted leading nudibranch researchers including Bernard Picton, Dr. Alexander Martynov, Dr. Tatiana Korshunova, and Dr. Torkild Bakken (NTNU). It blended cutting-edge science — including DNA sequencing and taxonomic reclassification — with recreational diving and photography (^[43]).

This scientific pedigree led to a remarkable outcome in February 2018: two new genera and four new species of nudibranchs were formally described and named after the resort and its citizen scientists. The genus Gulenia was named for Gulen Dive Resort. The species Fjordia chriskaugei was named for Christian Skauge, the event organizer. Two additional species were named Gulenia monicae and Gulenia orjani for Monica Bakkeliwas and Orjan Sandnes, both owners of Gulen Dive Resort. Dr. Torkild Bakken stated: “The Gulen Dive Resort and their Nudibranch Safari event have been central to the research we’ve done on slugs in Norway in recent years” (^[44]).

Significance

The Lembeh-Gulen Critter Shootout was significant in the underwater photography world for several reasons:

• First simultaneous international competition: It pioneered the concept of a real-time inter-resort underwater photography contest spanning two hemispheres and two climate zones (^[45])
• Challenging assumptions about temperate diving: The consistently strong performance of Team Gulen demonstrated that cold-water environments like a Norwegian fjord could compete with tropical hotspots for critter diversity and photographic interest. Images taken in 8-degree-Celsius green water rivaled those from the world’s top muck-diving destination (^[46])
• Structured educational component: Each team had practice days with coaching from expert team captains before competition days, providing intensive learning experiences for participants (^[47])
• Public engagement via voting: The public vote format drew over 4,000 voters in 2018 and engaged the broader diving community in the competition (^[48])
• Science-photography nexus: Through Gulen’s Nudibranch Safari connection, the event contributed to genuine scientific discovery, including the naming of new species and genera (^[49])
• Live global coverage: Wetpixel deployed editorial staff to both locations for real-time reporting, with coverage also distributed through social media, Instagram, Twitter, and third-party dive media (^[50])

Key People

• Alex Mustard — founding coordinator (2016); Lembeh team captain (2018)
• Adam Hanlon — Wetpixel editorial coverage from Gulen (2016, 2018); event organizer at Gulen site (2018)
• Abi Smigel Mullens — Wetpixel editorial coverage from Lembeh (2016, 2018)
• Keri Wilk — Gulen team captain (2016, 2018)
• Tobias Friedrich — Lembeh team captain (2016)
• Christian Skauge — Gulen Nudibranch Safari organizer; 2018 shootout participant; had nudibranch species Fjordia chriskaugei named after him
• Orjan Sandnes — Gulen Dive Resort co-owner; 2018 shootout participant (6th place overall); had species Gulenia orjani named after him
• Galice Hoarau — 2018 individual winner (Team Gulen)
• Nick More — 2018 individual runner-up (Team Lembeh)
• Greg Sherman — Top performer across both editions (fish category winner 2016; 4th overall 2018)
• Dimpy Jacobs — Lembeh Resort marine biologist who trained in drysuit diving to assist at Gulen (2016)

Timeline

• 2014-01-30: Lembeh-Gulen Critter Shootout announced by Lembeh Resort, Gulen Dive Resort, and Alex Mustard, originally scheduled for June 2015 (^[51])
• 2015-11-07: Event rescheduled and re-announced for May 20-28, 2016 (^[52])
• 2016-05-20: Inaugural shootout begins with 32 contestants across both resorts (^[53])
• 2016-05-22: First round (Nudibranchs) public voting opens (^[54])
• 2016-05-27: Team Lembeh wins overall, 2 rounds to 1 (^[55])
• 2016-05-27: Awards ceremonies held simultaneously at both resorts (^[56])
• 2017-01-24: Second shootout announced for June 15-23, 2018 (^[57])
• 2017-04-24: Team captains announced — Alex Mustard (Lembeh) and Keri Wilk (Gulen) (^[58])
• 2017-11-22: Call for participants issued; Wide Angle added as third category (^[59])
• 2018-02-11: Two new nudibranch genera and four new species named after Gulen Dive Resort and its citizen scientists (^[60])
• 2018-06-15: Second shootout begins with 25 participants; ethical rules formalized (^[61])
• 2018-06-18: Round 1 (Nudibranchs) results: Team Lembeh sweeps top three (^[62])
• 2018-06-20: Round 2 (Fish and Invertebrates) results: Team Lembeh sweeps again (^[63])
• 2018-06-23: Final results: Team Lembeh wins overall by 2 votes per image; Galice Hoarau (Gulen) takes individual first place; over 4,000 public votes cast (^[64])

References