Winners - Underwater Photography Contests
August 2019 Photo Contest Winner and Review
WINNER CHOSEN AND REVIEW BY SCUBAVERSE.COM’S UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR NICK ROBERTSON-BROWN
WINNER: Mom introduces her baby by Nathalie Rodrigues
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!
August 2019
Well not as many entries as usual, but the quality was outstanding. I guess (and hope) that lots of you are away diving somewhere nice and we will get a host of great new images next month! Here are the images I have selected for comment this month:
Bottle Top by Jack Pokov: I love the fact that these amazing coconut octopuses will squeeze themselves into anything they can fit into. Shot against a black background, the eye and the suckers really draw the viewer into the image.
Larvae Octopus by Daryll Rivett: This is a really interesting shot and well-captured blackwater image. This octopus is very small, and trying to capture this type of image of no easy feat.
Tuna Factory by Gigi fu: This captures the nature of a “busy” dive site and the stingrays clearly depict motion as they swim under the schooling bannerfish.
Red Carpet by Miguel Ramirez: this is a super behaviour shot, showing a tiny nudibranch eating the eggs of a much larger nudibranch, the Spanish Dancer. I am not keen on the angle shooting down on the subject, but sometimes you have to take what you can get.
Mom introduces her baby by Nathalie Rodrigues: This kind of shot does not come along that often. The focus is on the baby’s eye and I love the motion and the reflection at the surface. Excellent. What a moment that must have been.
Deep Blue by Sean Steininger: This is a shot that all photographer would love to capture for themselves. The cavitation coming off the left fin really shows the power and force of the whale.
Creative by Marc Eeckhaut: This is a super shot of a Whip Coral Shrimp which is beautifully enhanced by the use of a coloured slate behind the subject. The yellow and blue really compliment each other.
Love Dance by Marc Eeckhaut: Anyone who has tried to capture mandarin fish mating in the dark will know how difficult this can be. Marc has captured the “peak of the action” in this image, just as the male and female come together.
Flying Carpet by Dietmar Gunther: Sometimes it is difficult to work out what is going on in an image. Whilst it is obviously a frogfish, the red petternation completely alters the perceived shape of the fish, working perfectly as camouflage. The lighting is great and the black background accentuates the colours.
After much deliberation by our judge….
There were some great shots to select from this month it made judging very tough indeed. Well done to all those that entered and sorry I could not comment on every image.
The results
Winner: Mom introduces her baby by Nathalie Rodrigues
Runner-up: Bottle Top by Jack Pokov
3rd place: Creative by Marc Eeckhaut
Congratulations to the those who were placed – some really nice images here, and well done to all those that entered. I cannot wait to see what September has to offer.
Scubaverse.com’s September 2019 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: 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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