Eduard Admetlla | |
|---|---|
 Eduard Admetlla in 2011 | |
| Born | Eduard Admetlla i Lázaro 10 January 1924 (1924-01-10) |
| Died | 8 October 2019 (aged 95) Barcelona |
Eduard Admetlla i Lázaro (10 January 1924 – 8 October 2019)[1] was a Spanishscuba diving pioneer, underwater cameraman and photographer, designer of underwater camera housings, designer of aself-contained underwater breathing apparatus (scuba), tester of scuba diving gear for theNemrod trade mark, writer, director of TV series, explorer and broadcaster.[2][3]
Admetlla was born in Barcelona (Spain) on 10 January 1924. In 1948 at the age of 24, he started scuba diving. Initially he was an underwater fisherman and became a member of the Asociación de Pesca Submarina de Barcelona (APS) in Barcelona. He soon abandoned this activity as he came to the conclusion that being armed was not the way to go underwater.[4][2] In 1954 he became a founding member of the Centro de Recuperación y de Investigaciones Submarinas (CRIS).[3] Following that he became an underwater photographer and cameraman. He also invented underwater camera housings[citation needed] and was a test diver of scuba diving gear for the Spanish trade mark Nemrod. In 1953 he designed and tested successfully a prototype of a scuba diving breathing device.[5]
On 30 September 1957, at the Spanish naval base atCartagena he beat the scuba diving world record by diving to 100 metres (330 ft).[6]
He penned five books describing his underwater experiences:La llamada de las profundidades,[7]Mis amigos los peces,[8]¡Fondo!,[9]Tierras y profundidades[10] andMi aventura submarina.[11]
As a follower ofHans Hass andJacques Yves Cousteau's work, Admetlla i Lázar was a Spanish pioneer of underwater photography and filming.[2] The first documentary TV series that he directed wasRumbo sur, filmed in black and white. After this experience he became professional and founded the film production company Volitans Films, S.L., which filmed the TV series:La llamada de las profundidades recorded in theSeychelles Islands;Nuestras islas, filmed in theBalearic Islands and theCanary Islands (Spain) andTierras y profundidades in the Caribbean. All of these were broadcast by the Spanish television networkRTVE. He also recorded the documentary television seriesLa natura en profunditat for the Catalan Television networkTV3.[citation needed]
Eduard Admetlla i Lázaro died on 8 October 2019 at the age of 95.
Admetlla Lázaro, Eduard.La llamada de las profundidades. Editorial Juventud, 1957. Editions 1961, 1999, 2009 and 2010.ISBN 84-605-8808-4
Admetlla Lázaro, Eduard.Mis amigos los peces. Bruguera, 1983. Revised by the author 2010.ISBN 84-02-09549-6.
Admetlla Lázaro, Eduard.¡Fondo! Plaza & Janes, 1976.ISBN 84-01-33095-5, andISBN 84-01-48032-9 (paperback)
Admetlla Lázaro, Eduard.Tierras y profundidades. Bruguera, 1983.ISBN 84-02-07764-1.
Admetlla Lázaro, Eduard.Mi aventura submarina. Barcelona: Grijalbo, 1984.ISBN 978-8425315404.
| Year | Series title | Colour | Nº of chapters | Filming location | Television network |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Rumbo Sur | Black and white | 6 | Miramar Studio | RTVE |
| 1975 | La llamada de las profundidades | Colour | 6 | Seychelles Islands | RTVE |
| 1977 | Nuestras islas | Colour | 13 | Balearic and Canary Islands (Spain) | RTVE |
| 1980-81 | Tierras y profundidades | Colour | 13 | Jungle of Venezuela, Orinoco delta and Caribbean sea | RTVE |
| 1983 | La natura en profunditat | Colour | 13 | Venezuela, Caribbean, Costa Brava (Spain) and Galapagos Islands | TV3 |
| Year | Honour/ Award |
|---|---|
| 1958 | First Member with Merit of theCentre de Recuperació i de Investigacions Submarines (CRIS) |
| 1958 | Silver medal for Sporting Merit of theDelegación Nacional de Educación Física y Deportes (Nacional Sports Delegation)-SPAIN |
| 1958 | Medal for Sporting Merit of theExcma. Diputación Provincial de Barcelona (Barcelona Province Council) - SPAIN |
| 1958 | Honorary Member of theSocietat Cultural Arca de Noé (Noah's Ark Cultural Society) of Barcelona (SPAIN) |
| 1959 | Medal and Diploma for Sporting Merit of theFederación Española de Actividades Subacuáticas (Spanish Scuba Diving Federation) |
| 2007 | Honorary Member of the Historical Diving Society Spain (HDSES) |
| 2011 | Honorary plaque of theCentro de Buceo de la Armada Española (Diving Centre of the Spanish Navy) |
| 2015 | First award forBuzo de Honor (honorary scuba diver) of the Historical Diving Society Spain (HDSES) |
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