Winners - Underwater Photography Contests
August 2015 Photo Contest Winner and Review
WINNER CHOSEN AND REVIEW BY SCUBAVERSE.COM’S UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR STUART PHILPOTT
WINNER: ‘Whale Shark’ by Tam Warner Minton
PHOTOLINK: https://www.scubaverse.com/contestants/whale-shark-2/
August time in the UK has been quite a wash out, definitely not the best weather for diving or for underwater photography. I’m hoping that the rest of the world has fared somewhat better? But judging by the amount of entries in this month’s competition, maybe that’s not the case. There are only seven pictures in August’s gallery. This is a real shame, but many thanks to those of you who have entered. Just as a reminder, you don’t have to submit a recent shot. You can put any pictures up, even if they were taken several years ago.
I’m going to make a conceited effort to judge the pictures earlier in the month which will allow you more time to submit your entries. There is also some exciting news of more prizes for the winner, but Dave, the Editor, will tell you more about this when the deal has been finalised.
And so to this month’s pictures…
Thanks for your entry Tam. You really do take some great underwater photos. This month’s entry ‘Whale Shark Female’ is no exception. I’m not sure how you can tell it’s a female? Maybe you could enlighten me on the intricate details of whale shark anatomy? This is a really nice head on composition with a diver in the background giving it some size perspective. I’m green with envy, my trip to Belize a few months ago yielded zero whale sharks. There were plenty of spawning snapper and pods of dolphins but not a whiff of a whale shark! On a more critical note the white under belly looks slightly over exposed on the image I’m looking at.
Tam’s second entry is another shot from the same whale shark series. I personally think this shot is slightly better than the first. The whale shark’s mouth is open wider and there’s more of a mirror like reflection from the surface. The white under belly doesn’t look over exposed in this shot. As a big fish action shot you can’t get much better than a whale shark. This has to be this month’s winning entry. Well done Tam.
Janice Nigro has submitted a really nice macro nudibranch shot called Indian Goddess Durga. I looked up a picture of Durga and Janice is right, the nudi does have similarities! Thanks for the description, it really does draw me into the picture. I can see why they are called spaghetti. It must be difficult to get a ‘clean’ picture. You have really done a good job. The only slight negative, as you have already mentioned, is the background. If it had been darker the nudi would have been even more impressive.
Tam has submitted another whale shark shot titled ‘pregnant whale shark and friends’. This time I can clearly see the swelling under belly and there are two snorkelers in the background instead of one which gives it a more ‘shared experience’ feel.
Mat Howell has submitted a shot simply called Zenobia. I have done quite a lot of diving on the Zen (thanks Dive-In, Cyprus) and know it reasonably well. The 178m long Ro-Ro ferry lies on its port side which can be disorientating for divers that go inside the wreck. Mat is looking towards the row of bow windows while ‘star shaped’ Neil is fiddling with his camera. I love the way the light shines through the windows. Mat’s shot shows how much space there is inside this massive wreck.
Janice’s second entry Chanel is another macro nudi, this time in arty black and white. The head and antennae are perfectly in focus and moving towards the camera. I think the picture works well in black and white, good choice. This has to be my runner up for the month.
Rickey L Ferand’s morning traffic taken at Namena in Fiji shows a very healthy reef teaming with fish. Is the diver in the background holding onto the coral? This shouldn’t be promoted. I had a great shot of the Giannis D wreck taken at Abu Nuhas in Egypt but the magazines wouldn’t use the shot because the diver in the foreground was touching the deck railing. Divers touching anything shows a lack of buoyancy control and disrespect for the environment. I think you could make the shot even more appealing by focusing on some coral in the foreground and get the diver to come in closer or position them in the empty blue patch on the left hand side of the frame.
Thanks again for this month’s entries. There might only have been seven but they were all great pictures.
WINNER CHOSEN AND REVIEW BY SCUBAVERSE.COM’S UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR NICK ROBERTSON-BROWN
WINNER: Basket star in the pure darkness by Arnaud Guillebert
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!
Three squid by Min seok Jeon: I love squid and this shot with three against a black background really stands out. I love the colours and shapes they create as they stretch across the frame.
Hippocampus guttulatus (Cuvier, 1829) by Marco Spoto: What a lovely scene. Great that you did not disturb the worm on taking this shot. I would have liked to have seen the subject isolated more though, losing the backscatter and seabed which can distact the eye.
Turtle in its coral garden by Claude Lespagne: What I like about this image is the snorkeler at the surface looking down on the scene. It shows that you do not have to be a diver to enjoy a stunning Red Sea scene like this one.
Ghost Goby by MichaelG: I love the colours, the expression on the goby’s face and most of all the texture of the coral. Lovely use of depth of field.
Hedgehog by Sofia Tenggrono: Great use of a snoot. You have lit up just enough of the environment to show us where this nudibranch lives, but still have highlighted the subject really well. The complimentary colours are lovely.
yellow cutie by Cedric Peneau: Lovely framing of a really cute little fish. The colours jump out from my screen.
REFLET by DIDIER PASQUINI: I like the motion in the tail and the reflection in this image of the biggest fish in the sea. I always like a bit more space in front of a fish when possible – but I know this will have been hard with a big Whale Shark.
Basket star in the pure darkness by arnaud.guillebert: This is more like a fine art image than the usual underwater imagery you see. Lovely lighting showing off the texture of this basket star.
After much deliberation by our judge….
The results
Winner: Basket star in the pure darkness by arnaud.guillebert
Runner-Up: yellow cutie by Cedric Peneau
Third: Ghost Goby by MichaelG
Highly Commended: Three squid by Min seok Jeon
Congratulations to those who were placed – there were a number of excellent images, and well done to all those that entered.
Scubaverse.com’s January 2023 Underwater Photo Contest is now open! Enter as many as three of your underwater photos here.
WINNER CHOSEN AND REVIEW BY SCUBAVERSE.COM’S UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR NICK ROBERTSON-BROWN
WINNER: The Herd by Cedric Peneau
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!
Longimanus by night by Claude Lespagne: Of the three wonderful Oceanic Whitetip Shark images you entered this month, this is my favourite. The reflection on the surface is sublime and I love the way the pilot fish really catch the eye against a dark night sea.
Underwater doughnut shop? by Bill Passmore: The detail in this simple shot of a coral head is super. I love the title too!
Little frogfish, big pollution by Cedric Peneau: I always worry about images like this one. Who put that battery there? Was it a diver in order to get a shot? I hope not. What it does to well is show how tiny this beautiful frogfish is.
The Herd by Cedric Peneau: Wow! I love this shot, there is so much going on and yet the subject is still really strong in the frame.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star by Sofia Tenggrono: This image really caught my eye. The focus is not what we would usually expect, but because the body and the glittering edges are the subject, it still works.
GREAT ENCOUNTER by DIDIER PASQUINI: Lovely shot that tells a story. You can imagine being this snorkeler and have an encounter of a lifetime with the biggest fish in the sea. You can imagine this image in a brochure.
Below the surface by arnaud.guillebert: These shots are so difficult to get right. This is another shot that tells a story and could grace a diving magazine. Initially you see the main shark subject, but as you spend more time, you see all the other sharks in the background.
After much deliberation by our judge….
The results
Winner: The Herd by Cedric Peneau
Runner-Up: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star by Sofia Tenggrono
Third: Longimanus by night by Claude Lespagne
Highly Commended: Below the surface by arnaud.guillebert
Congratulations to those who were placed – there were a number of excellent images, and well done to all those that entered.
Scubaverse.com’s December 2022 Underwater Photo Contest is now open! Enter as many as three of your underwater photos here.
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