The 2004 Digital Shootout, in Taveuni, Fiji

A few months ago, Berkley White over at Backscatter (a great underwater photo shop in Monterey) invited me to participate as staff in this year's Digital Shootout Fiji. I had heard about the last two Digital Shootout events in great detail from Jim Watt, and was honored to be invited.

I'll not write too much about the event, other that to say that it was a great success. As staff members, we watched the participants' daily photo submissions increase in quality on a daily basis, and the opportunity to spend quality time with staff members and participants alike was fantastic. For many photos of the event, check out the in-depth coverage at Wetpixel.com, which I updated daily from the Garden Island Resort in Taveuni. As a result, I was toiling away in my room while some other folk were outside enjoying kava, but it was worth it. :)

May 15, 2004

I'd like to write a bit about Air Fiji, and why they suck. Well, they don't suck, but they do things a bit strangely. A bus-load of us left the Garden Island Resort early in the morning for the airport in Taveuni. When we arrived at the airport, we were told that some of us were going to be held back until the next flight due to weight limitations of the aircraft. James and I managed to get onboard, along a few others who also had connecting transportation, but after we were airborne, we were told that we were going to make a stop in Savu Savu for "refueling." When we arrived in Savu Savu, we noticed that our luggage was being taken off of the plane. Um... hello? A few more passengers were shuttled onto our flight, and it was then that we saw that their luggage had been put aboard instead of ours. And so, we fought. Actually, Ron and Evert became self-appointed champions of our cause, which was very valiant of them. In the end, everyone's bags ended up on board, except -- that's right -- two bags belonging to me and James Wiseman. The two of us waited for our bags at the Nadi airport for hours because we had been told that our bags would be arriving "in half an hour, by noon or half one, or two thirty." How's that for precision? We decided to leave the airport at 1:30pm because the last ferry to Nananu-i-ra leaves at 4:30pm, and it takes roughly 2-3 hours to drive from Nadi to the dock. Argh. No luggage! But what can you do?

We've noticed that the Fijians we've met have all been very, very nice. But that also means that they are likely to tell you "yes" when the real answer is more complicated.