Yap’s Annual MantaFest Photo School and Contest
Since 2006, MantaFest brings underwater photographers, both amateur and professional, to "my" small island to compete for prizes, attend workshops, take tours of the island, and experience the unique culture of Yap, considered to be among the best preserved in the Pacific region.
Workshops are led by experts in the field providing their knowledge of workflow and editing software. They also offer advice during sessions with local models in settings that include the island’s unique stone money banks and traditional dance performances. Daily underwater shoots provide opportunities to dive with the manta rays, sharks and other creatures that inhabit the surrounding reef and its steep coral walls.
I'll be your personal guide, as the founder of the Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers I'm proud to share my love of Yap and diving with you. A resident of Yap for over 40 years, I'll make sure that your Micronesian dive experience one that you’ll never forget.
I will personally welcome you at the airport upon arrival, give a presentation about how I ended up on Yap, started Yap Divers, discovered all of Yap’s dive sites and how I “pirated” our 120+ years old floating restaurant from Indonesia to Yap. At the end of an exciting dive day and learning from top U/W-photographers, there will be daily get-togethers “to tell stories” as they say on Yap while sipping my award winning home brew.
Hope to welcome you on our beautiful island.
Bill Acker - Founder/Owner Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers