Winners – Underwater Photography Contests

April 2022 Photo Contest Winner and Review

Published 4 years agoon May 2, 2022

WINNER CHOSEN AND REVIEW BY SCUBAVERSE.COM’S UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR NICK ROBERTSON-BROWN

WINNER: Juvenile Emperor by MichaelG

Another great month full of wonderful underwater images!

When judging any underwater photography competition, the first thing I do is ask of each image: Is it in focus? The main subject has to be pin sharp. Is it exposed correctly?

I then look at lighting (photography is all about light) and composition. Backscatter, hot spots of light, messy backgrounds: all might see your image lose out.

Then there are other considerations that might get you knocked out of the first round: Was the image taken underwater? After all it is an underwater photography competition! Were any animals distressed or harassed to get the image? Was any environmental damage done to get the shot?

Once I have whittled out the images that do not pass these criteria, it is time to get down to picking a winner. A shot that makes me go wow – I wish I had taken that!

Simbiosis by Raffaele: Perfect focus on the eyes of both the shrimp and the moray. Lovely behaviour image that stands out from the crowd.

Pike by Bruno Labins: Lovely portrait of a Pike. Lighting is nicely done and it shows off this charismastic fish in its environment.

Mérou by Yannick Rondeau: Beautiful image. It really stands out in black and white. Lovely focus and contrast.

Shrimp in its colony of salps by claude lespagne: I love this image. The Shimp eyes are perfectly in focus as are the nearest salps. The depth of field is perfect and the lighting to get this right is highly skilled.

Juvenile Emperor by MichaelG: Lovely portrait. This fish is perfect for a black background as this makes the stunning pattern stand out even more. I love the turn the fish is making towards the photographer (and viewer), giving eye contact with both eyes. Bravo!

Seahorse by Min seok Jeon: it is always nice to have a seahorse with both eyes facing the camera. Lovely portrait. Good to see the seagrass habitat subtley in the background.

master of camouflage by salvatore: It is always hard to make such a camouflaged critter stand out, but the opposing diagonals really works on this show. As does the black background.

After much deliberation by our judge….

The results

Winner: Juvenile Emperor by MichaelG

Runner-up: Shrimp in its colony of salps by claude lespagne

Third: Mérou by Yannick Rondeau

Congratulations to those who were placed – there were a number of excellent images, and well done to all those that entered.

Scubaverse.com’s May 2022 Underwater Photo Contest is now open! Enter as many as three of your underwater photos here.

Nick and Caroline Robertson-Brown

Nick and Caroline (Frogfish Photography) are a married couple of conservation driven underwater photo-journalists and authors. Both have honours degrees from Manchester University, in Environmental Biology and Biology respectively, with Nick being a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, a former high school science teacher with a DipEd in Teaching Studies. Caroline has an MSc in Animal Behaviour specializing in Caribbean Ecology. They are multiple award-winning photographers and along with 4 published books, feature regularly in the diving, wildlife and international press They are the Underwater Photography and Deputy Editors at Scubaverse and Dive Travel Adventures. Winners of the Caribbean Tourism Organization Photo-journalist of the Year for a feature on Shark Diving in The Bahamas, and they have been placed in every year they have entered. Nick and Caroline regularly use their free time to visit schools, both in the UK and on their travels, to discuss the important issues of marine conservation, sharks and plastic pollution. They are ambassadors for Sharks4Kids and founders of SeaStraw. They are Dive Ambassadors for The Islands of The Bahamas and are supported by Mares, Paralenz, Nauticam and Olympus. To find out more visit www.frogfishphotography.com