Organized in 1959, the Desert Dolphins Scuba Club is one of the oldest scuba diving clubs in the United States. While the club's mission has always focused on education, in the early years, many club members engaged in underwater hunting and spearfishing activities. As those early years of club activities passed, the mindset of members has changed dramatically. Thankfully!
Interestingly, members began to see changes in the marine ecosystem in areas where they were regularly diving and hunting. Numbers of large fish were rapidly diminishing. Members realized they were negatively impacting the ocean ecosystem they loved. They were literally removing the large, mature fish needed to keep the ecosystem healthy. This realization resulted in a shift from underwater hunting activities to underwater photography. Technological advancements in underwater camera systems and ultimately underwater video systems made shifting from underwater hunting to photography and videography readily accessible to members.
Today, significant numbers of club members engage the pursuit of underwater images and videos with a wide variety of camera systems. The club offers activities and educational support for photographers and videographers of all ability and experience levels.
One of the most anticipated yearly activities for members is the club's Photography & Video Contest. The contest is open to club members of all ability levels and member participation in judging contest entry activities is strongly encouraged.
Links to these activities are provided. Please take some time to click on links to learn about the photography and videography activities we support.
Plan ahead to be part of the 2025 Photo Contest. Most likely, there are will be 3 categories (Collages, Marine Behaviors, and Montages); all members will have the chance to vote!
2025 Contest Entry Form coming soon. LINKs here will be updated for 2025
How to enter photos for the 2024 contest