Elizabeth O goes underwater

Trust Elizabeth Oropeza to spring a surprise on everyone.

Remember how eyebrows soared when she admitted that she has a gift of healing? The cynics recoiled when Beth presented (as proof) that she actually finished a six-year course in Alternative Medicine cum laude and then she put up her own clinic at her residence in Fairview, Quezon City (for appointment, call 431-1147/385-3677). In fact, Beth has just completed another course (Clinical Hypnotherapy) at the Atlantis University School of Edgar Cayce early this year. She’s also a DOH-licensed acupuncturist.

“Our modalities are non-invasive,” said Beth. “I would say na masuwerte ako sa cancer patients. Many of our patients are obese people who have given up on everything including reducing pills, smokers na hindi na tumatalab ang nicotine patch who want desperately to quit and those suffering from bipolar disorder. Iba’t-ibang patients.”

Don’t look now but Beth has another surprise up her sleeve. She has been going underwater for almost two years now, not in the flimsy dress that she and Gloria Diaz were garbed in when they ushered in the “wet-look” trend in the movies in the mid-’70s but in the standard diving outfit, equipped with an oxygen tank and, yes, a camera.

“Being underwater and taking pictures of life in it is one of the most exciting experiences I have  ever had,” gushed Beth who has survived the vicissitudes of life…name it, she has gone through it, emerging unscathed and with flying colors. “The underwater experience is entirely different. Down there, you don’t feel alone. You should see how beautiful underwater life is.”

Beth (who signs her works with her real name Elizabeth Oropesa Freeman) is among the 73 members of NUDI (Network of Underwater Imagers), with more joining not only from the Philippines but also from other countries.

“You must earn a certain number of points before you are accepted as member,” said Beth who has been a NUDI member for more than one year. “I have been a diver for a long time. I started 20 years ago, off and on, and I went regularly diving only these past three years often in Anilao, Batangas. I’ve been traveling to different countries just to dive…Australia, US, Bali (Indonesia). I usually join a group of divers. We dive and at the same time take photographs.”

Her credentials as an underwater photographer are impressive. More for kicks, she joined competitions sponsored by Splash, a store that sells everything that you need for underwater photography, owned and managed by Juvic Santos.

“I forgot all about the competitions,” recalled Beth, “until I got a call that I won. One of the judges was a French photographer from National Geographic. I was flattered. I won several first prizes. That’s how I qualified as NUDI member. To think that I didn’t take formal lessons in photography, talagang self-study lang.”

Her first camera was an Olympus E-PL2 which she used to take shots between takes of an indie called Women of the Ruins (playing an island woman who takes care of a girl washed ashore, played by Alessandra de Rossi) being filmed in Corregidor.

“That was the same camera I initially used for my underwater shots. Then, I switched to Olympus E-M5. I have just upgraded to a later model, still Olympus.”

Besides the right outfit and a good camera, Beth said that you must have a very good body, with a strong pair of lungs.

“It’s risky if you’re not a good diver,” warned Beth, “because down there, ang ganda-ganda ng view at mga nakikita mo so you forget to check your gauge and the time, you forget everything else and you tend to stay underwater too long. You’re not supposed to stay too deep for too long, or else you run out of oxygen. If I’m not too deep down, I can stay underwater for two hours, around 60 feet deep. Luckily, conditioned ang katawan ko. I work out regularly.”

One of Beth’s memorable underwater moments was her encounter with a Butanding.

“May bumangga sa akin and I thought it was my co-diver. When I looked, it was a Butanding. It was a friendly one. I’m used to Butandings because I’ve been down there with them when I dived in Sorsogon.”

While busy underwater, Beth has temporarily put on hold her acting career (her last project was the Kapamilya soap Angelito, Batang Ama).

Love life? “Practically zero,” smiled Beth who separated from her last husband (a physical culturist) a few years ago. “I’m done with that. Hindi ko na hinahanap ‘yon.”

You see, for Beth, the excitement is down under.

(The NUDI Cup Cebu, an underwater photo shoot-out, will be held on Oct. 4 to 5, with the awarding on Oct. 6. The two main themes are Wide Angle and Macro under two categories, Open and Compact. Sponsors are Belo Expert Sun Block, Paul Frank T-Shirt and SM.)

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