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Winner of the Portfolio/slides competition of
Underwater Photographer of the Year 2001 Competition,
DIVE SIGHTS 2001
OCEAN98 Resident Underwater Photographer |
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Dos Winkel, underwater and wildlife photographer
His love of nature was inspired by his parents. Living in a small village on the sea, with sand dunes in front of his house, Dos knew the Latin and Dutch names of many local plants and shells by the age of ten. He started photography soon after.
"Nature itself is intrinsically art and to me, photography is an art. The challenge of nature photography is in beautifully capturing unique moments in time. Not easy. One's best picture is never taken; only at the end of a career can one say, 'this is my best picture'."
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"A photographic artist seeks technical accuracy - sharp, well-lit images.
Mastering the combination of equipment and light, the composition becomes of prime importance.
Just "in focus" and "good light" does not make a perfect picture.
Composition is the art!"
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"One can learn a lot from other photographers, but it is most important to develop your own style and way of looking at nature. This does take time and practice. When I find a good subject, I take a lot of pictures and experiment with the light. There is always that one picture that turns out best!"
| Dos Winkel started under water photography in 1983. During a course he was giving (He is an orthopaedic physical therapist) on the Caribbean island of Aruba, Dos was irresistebly drawn to the magnificence of the coral reefs and their inhabitants; He was "lost" forever…!
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"The island of Bonaire, located not far from Aruba, was said to be an under water paradise. So we set out for Bonaire and fell in love with this island that has so much to offer, under water as well as top site. In the years that followed I visited the most exotic diving spots in the world, only to return time after time to Bonaire. The result was inevitable; we bought land and built a house looking out over the turquoise and azure-blue sea."
"Among the many destinations that I visited, Papua New Guinea, the Galapagos Islands and the temperate waters of South Australia, are my favourites.
| " I took under water pictures in the rain forest of French Guyana, in the mangrove forests of Bonaire, in the strong currents of Lembeh Strait of North Sulawesi and in the Komodo Archipelago in Indonesia.
Recently I photographed the incredible Leafy Sea Dragons (right)
of Kangaroo Island (South Australia) and the rare Australian Sea Lions."
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Dos Winkel won many awards in national and international photography contests.
His work is published in Europe, the USA, Australia and Asia. He made dozens of post cards, calendars and books. Dos is (Co) author/photographer of:
Watercolours Bonaire, ISBN 90-389-0366-9
Islandcolours Bonaire, ISCB 99904-0-248-5
Naturecolours Curacao, ISBN 90-389-0797-4
The Nature of Saba, ISBN 99904-0-222-1
| Currently he is working on two new books, one about Bonaire and the other book will feature "his very best".
Dos works exclusively with Nikon equipment and Subal housings for his Nikon F5 and Nikon N 90 X camera's. Under water he uses two strobes. Fuji is his favourite film: Velvia, Provia and Sensia.
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E-mail Dos Winkel:
  
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