Kirsty Andrews scoops the British & Irish Underwater Photography Championship for the second year in a row

Published 7 months agoon September 18, 2025

Forty one competitors submitted ninety one images in the annual British Society of Underwater Photographers’ splash-in competition. The British & Irish Underwater Photography Championship is a potentially challenging on-the-day competition and it is open to all. It asks competitors to take, process and submit images taken anywhere in UK and Irish waters in the space of only 24 hours.

Judges Paul Colley from the UK and Maja Stankovski from Ireland were hugely impressed with the quality of entries. They loved the variety of shots and creative approaches. Well-known photographers continued to show their ability, including former winners of the competition. But there were plenty of new photographers in the running too.

The full list of winners, runners-up and highly commended images shows the amazing results that can be achieved in just one day’s diving with a little bit of forward planning. It also gives a great idea of just what marine life UK and Irish divers can see around our shores and in our lakes and rivers.

Kirsty Andrews almost made a clean sweep, winning both the close-up and wide-angle categories plus a highly-commended award in the third category, mankind’s impact on the environment. Both judges gave her close-up image top marks and for this Kirsty was awarded with the Peter Scoones trophy in memory of one of BSoUP’s founding fathers. She also gets a BSoUP trophy to keep for life and a certificate embellished with her winning image.

Asked where she had taken her stunning octopus images, Kirsty said that it had once again been at Porthkerris and she gave great credit to her dive guide who had helped her find the creatures.

If you’re interested in taking part in this fun competition next year, it will be on 22 August 2026 and you can go to the BSoUP website here for more details.

Main Image: The British & Irish Underwater Photography Championship’s winning image by Kirsty Andrews

Saeed Rashid

Saeed Rashid is Scubaverse.com's Underwater Photography Editor and a highly respected underwater photographer and educator. He works at Bournemouth University, where he teaches photography, journalism and media, helping students develop strong creative and technical skills. He’s also a diver and collaborates with leading diving brands such as Fourth Element and Suunto. In addition, he serves as one of the European Coordinators for the Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society, supporting young people in marine science, exploration and conservation. Saeed runs Focus Visuals, offering underwater photography workshops to aspiring photographers and divers. He is also part of the team behind Underwater Photographer of the Year. Over the years his work has been featured in well-known diving and photography publications all over the world, and his images—often vibrant shots of marine life and underwater environments—are used to raise awareness about ocean conservation.