Noam Kortler
Started his professional career in 1996 as a scuba diving instructor in Eilat, Israel which is located on beach of the Red Sea. In June 2004 Noam started "Nemo Divers" a small Padi certified dive center with the vision of providing the most professional service in order to give his customers the best underwater experiences. Throughout this time Noam "toyed" with underwater photography but only in 2000, after getting his first professional camera Noam has been capturing the amazing beauty of the underwater world in a professional manner and slowly gained experience and recognition. From 2003 Noam has been taking part of worldwide underwater photography competitions. The first breakthrough came in 2006 as he won the first prizes in two international competitions. In 2007 Noam won an award in the Antibes Festival which is the most prestigious underwater photography event in the world.
In 2008 Noam was "Highly Commended" in the "Underwater World" category in the "BBC Wild Life Photographer Of The Year" Due to his success Noam decided to share his wonderful photographs that were taken around the world. "Treasures of the Sea" was the first ever photography exhibition that was placed completely underwater in the open sea where visitors had to gear up with snorkeling or scuba diving equipment and dive in to enjoy the show. The exhibition was such a hit that it was repeated in 2008. The exhibition was also showing on dry land.
Competitions and Prizes :
3/2005 - 3rd place in the Israeli "Divers" website for the photo of the year competition.
1/2006 - 3rd place in "Wetpixel" website for the "Photo of the Week" in the category - "Divers"
3/2006 - 1st place in the "Macro Traditional" category in the "Our World Underwater" photo competition in Chicago USA.
4/2006 - 1st place in the "Best Portfolio" in the "Shoot Out" category in the SanDisk Redsea photo competition.
7/2006 - 1st and 2nd places in the "Wetpixel" website for the "Photo of the Week" in the category - "Divers"
2/2007 - 1st place in the "Macro Traditional" category in the "Our World Underwater" photo competition in Chicago USA.
4/2007 - 1st place in the "Man and The Sea" category and "Honorable Mention" in the "Majesty of the Oceans" category in the "Under the Blue" festival in California USA.
7/2007 - 1st and 2nd places in the "Wetpixel" website for the "Photo of the Week" in the category - "Seahorses"
10/2007 - 3rd place in the "Best Portfolio" category in the Antibes Festival in France
11/2007 - 1st place in the "Best Portfolio" in the "Images of the World" category in the SanDisk Redsea competition.
3/2008 - 3rd place in the "Wide Angle Traditional" category and "Honorable Mention" in the "Wide Angle Traditional" category in the "Our World Underwater" photo competition in Chicago USA.
3/2008 - "Honorable Mention" in the "Divers" category in the "Deep Indonesia" photo competition.
4/2008 - 1st place in the "Wetpixel" website for the "Photo of the Week" in the category - "Frogfish".
5/2008 1st place in the "Photographer of the Month" for the Israeli dive magazine "YAM"
7/2008 - 1st and 2nd places in the "Wetpixel" website for the "Photo of the Week" in the category - "Parrotfish".
10/2008 - 1st place in the "Israeli Photographer of the Year 2008" by "YAM" magazine and "IDIVE" website.
10/2008 - "Highly Commended" in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008 in the "Underwater world" category.
11/2008 - 1st place in the "Best Portfolio" in the "Shoot Out" category and 1st place in the "Fish of the Year" category in the "Epson Redsea competition.
2.2009 - 1st place in the "Enviornment and Conservation" category and "Honorable Mention" in the "Macro Traditional" category in the "Our World Underwater" photo competition in Chicago USA
Exhibitions :
10/2007 - "Treasures of The Sea" the 1st underwater exhibition. 40 images were displayed underwater for the first time in the world in the coral beach of Eilat Israel
2/2008 - "Treasures of The Sea" was displayed in "Stage Center"(Merkaz Habna") in Ganne Tiqwa Israel. The first time that photos were displayed in fish tanks with real fish around them.
10/2008 - "Treasures of The Sea II" .The 2nd underwater exhibition. 42 images were displayed underwater for the second time in the coral beach of Eilat Israel.
2/2009 - "Treasures of the Sea" was displayed in the "Kon-Tiki" museum in Oslo Norway
9/2010 - "Treasures of The Sea" the 4th underwater exhibition. 40 images were displayed underwater for the fourth time in the coral beach of Eilat Israel.
This year the exhibition turned into an underwater festival inviting other artists, photo competition and treasure hunt trivia
10/2011 - "Treasures of The Sea" the 5th underwater exhibition. 40 images were displayed underwater for the fourth time in the coral beach of Eilat Israel.
This is the second year the exhibition turned into an underwater festival inviting other artists. this year Underwater photographer and Photoshope expert Tony Malmqvist and Underwater photographer Arye Bunis were guest of honor.
Equipment :Camera - Nikon D2X
Lenses :
Tokina 10-17mm f/3.5-f/4.5 fisheye zoom
Nikkor 60mm f/2.8
Nikkor 105mm VR f/2.8
Nikkor zoom 18-70mm f/3.5
Housing : Seacam
Strobes : 2 X Ikelite DS161
