TENERIFE – LOS GIGANTES – VOLCANIC LANDSCAPES AND MARINE LIFE

This one-week underwater photo and video workshop takes you to the heart of the Canary Islands, along the wild volcanic coast of western Tenerife. While Tenerife may not immediately come to mind when thinking of underwater photography or filming, prepare to discover a destination that will both surprise and captivate you. Tenerife is teeming with life. Its rich waters host an exceptional level of marine biodiversity. Far from the common clichés often associated with the Atlantic, visibility here regularly exceeds 25 meters, offering truly favorable conditions for underwater imaging.

We have chosen Los Gigantes, a small marina nestled at the foot of towering volcanic cliffs once called “The Devil’s Wall,” as the base for this workshop. This choice is driven as much by the raw beauty of its underwater landscapes as by its logistical advantages. Protected from mass tourism, we have access to 17 dive sites, all just a few minutes away by boat, with the guarantee of being the only dive group on each site. This rare exclusivity allows for ideal conditions to film or photograph marine life.

Only a 4 to 5 hour flight from mainland Europe, Tenerife offers a complete change of scenery without crossing hemispheres. Dominated by Mount Teide — the third highest volcano in the world — the island is in constant contrast between rock and sea. With a favorable climate that allows diving almost year-round (except in January and February), Tenerife is an outstanding playground for underwater photographers and videographers.

How do you capture high-quality underwater images in the particular conditions of the Atlantic? In Tenerife, the waters are clear but colder, the light is strong and often directional, and currents may vary depending on the site. All of these factors have been carefully considered to develop a method and organization based on very specific standards — our own: a small group exclusively dedicated to underwater photography and video, full flexibility in choosing dive times and sites according to light, swell, or marine activity, long dives (over 60 minutes), and, most importantly, no other dive groups on our sites. All boat trips are fully privatized and depart directly from the marina at Los Gigantes. On site, we have a dedicated rinsing station for our photo and video equipment, as well as a fully private preparation area. Each day alternates between field dives, personalized feedback sessions, and depending on the workshop, post-production training or marine life knowledge sessions.

After thoroughly exploring the island across seasons, we’ve identified mid-spring as the optimal time for this workshop. Tourist activity is low, sea conditions are more stable than often expected, and visibility ranges between 20 and 25 meters. The goal is twofold: to allow you to capture the very best that Tenerife has to offer, while providing optimal conditions for developing your eye, your technique, and your sense of underwater timing. The choice of this period is no coincidence: in mid-May, when the water is still cool (21–22°C), conditions are particularly favorable for exceptional encounters. You may encounter angel sharks camouflaged in the sand, butterfly rays gliding just above the bottom, cuttlefish in full courtship display, or tiger moray eels emerging from the rock crevices, with, always in the background, large schools of grunts and barracudas.

The advantage in Los Gigantes is our full flexibility to organize each outing day by day, adapting to the signals the ocean gives us. Because here, as always, nature remains our best guide.

A Surreal Cinematic Landscape

Located in the eastern Atlantic, off the coast of Morocco, Tenerife’s volcanic seabed creates an underwater landscape reminiscent of the Galapagos. Here, there are no colorful coral gardens, but rather raw, black rock shaping a striking mineral scenery somewhere between science fiction and geological poetry. Basalt columns, massive arches, tunnels, and caverns, Los Gigantes is a stone amphitheater, both austere and majestic, perfectly designed for underwater imagery, born from the meeting of fire and water.

This is far from the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean or the Caribbean. Light doesn’t flood the scene; it filters between the rock faces, carving out the contours, revealing the volumes of this volcanic architecture. The strong contrasts present a real challenge for underwater photography and videography: you must learn to work with the shadows, anticipate changes in light intensity, and find the right angle. And this is precisely why this workshop will help you take your skills to the next level.

FROM RARE OR ENDANGERED SPECIES TO THE MOST ICONIC MARINE LIFE OF TENERIFE