WINNER CHOSEN AND REVIEW BY SCUBAVERSE.COM’S UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR STUART PHILPOTT

WINNER: HMS Southwold by Julian Goffin

PHOTOLINK: https://www.scubaverse.com/contestants/frogfish-reflection/

I apologise for the slight delay in announcing this month’s results. I have been away in the Med working on a filming assignment for Maltese television. Three very long, hot sweaty days but it was good to take a trip down memory lane and dive at all the old favourites on Malta, Gozo and Comino.

I’m now settled in front of my computer screen with a glass of Pinot Grigio in hand, ready to judge this month’s photo competition; and don’t worry, the wine won’t affect my decision making – well, not until I’ve finished the third glass!

It’s a shame that there are only 15 entries in this month’s competition. I hope I haven’t scared anyone away with my comments. Anyway, here goes….

The first entry Aliwal Shoal by Kael Pace has plenty of action with at least 10 black tips in the composition flying about all over the place. I have been to Aliwal Shoal in South Africa and know what it’s like to be in the thick of it. I spent 2 weeks with black tips and tiger sharks on baited dives. It’s very difficult to get a ‘clean’ picture in these conditions but in this instance Kael has got 2 black tips in the foreground looking directly at the camera, nice shot.

Anemone fish have to be the most popular macro subject in the world. They always stay very close to their anemone hosts which makes them easier to capture in the camera frame. Although getting an in-focus shot with the fish looking out of the anemone can be tricky. I have often spent the whole dive taking shots of one anemone fish trying to get the ‘just right’ composition! Arthur Borges’ Scar Clown Face is a great shot and is perfectly in focus. I really like the colours. I’m not sure if the picture has been cropped but having the fish to one side of the frame works well.

The Green eyes on a Red Shrimp, again taken by Arthur Borges, is another great macro composition. I like the dark area across the centre of the image (rule of thirds works well) with the shrimp sitting inside. It’s a shame the shrimp isn’t facing towards the lens like Arthur’s anemone fish shot but nonetheless it’s very effective. I was in Belize a couple of months ago and there seemed to be a large amount of nurse sharks and turtles around and they were coming in very close!

Arthur has submitted a third picture, Blenney Blenney, taken in Bonaire. You really do seem to be visiting some fantastic locations Arthur. Good composition and the eye is perfectly in focus. If I have any comments to make it has to be that there’s maybe a bit too much shadow below the head. Can you crop the image slightly? Just to get rid of some of the dead space? Otherwise, very good effort.

RC Smith’s Cozumel Snail show’s a crab popping out of its shell. The blue eye stalks really do stand out.

RC Smith’s second entry, let’s hide here, shows two grey angels ducking behind a coral branch, which in this case, is the only place to hide on an otherwise barren sandy seabed. I really like the composition. Maybe it could do with some more colour? Do you use any external strobes? This looks to be just ambient lighting with some white balance adjustments.

RC Smith’s third entry shows a hawksbill turtle coming towards the camera. The shot has been taken from an interesting angle, slightly above. Unfortunately the turtle’s eyes can’t be seen. Showing the eyes is always important.

I really like Duncan Scobie’s Transparency composition. The jellyfish looks like a spaceship taking off from a lunar landscape, very effective. Duncan has also managed to highlight all of the jelly’s internal features. In my mind this image works well and was a close runner-up.

Mat Howell’s Sardine Cloak is very atmospheric. It has all the makings of a very good composition. Considering Mat only had a basic camera he has done really well. With some external lighting and different aperture settings who knows what the result would look like!

Thanks Andy Kent for your Minke Whale shot off the Isle of Muck in Scotland. It’s always great to see whales off the UK coast. I hope you managed to capture the basking sharks? Where are the pictures???

Julian Goffin’s black and white image of HMS Southwold has to be my winner for this month. The reason for my selection is the fact that Julian is in around 70 metres of water so technically this is a difficult shot to get. Julian has shown an identifiable feature of the wreck i.e. the deck guns and there is also a diver in the frame to give it some perspective. I have never been on the Southwold before but hope to do so later this year on a return trip to Malta. The shot could definitely be improved by repositioning the diver, getting the diver to use a torch, take the shot from a different angle, maybe closer to the gun barrels but at 70m it’s a really good effort.

Julian’s eight legged friend entry could be misinterpreted. Marine life interaction shots are very tricky to publish in magazines. Did the octopus touch the divers hand or did the diver touch the octopus? I have just come back from Malta and unfortunately didn’t see an octopus during my trip. This would have looked very nice on my film, although I did see moray eels, sting rays and grouper to name but a few species.

Emma Hoffman’s green turtle relaxing on the reef entry is a really nice composition, the colours are great – what camera are you using Emma? I like the way the turtle is in a head up position. Maybe the shot could have been taken slightly closer?

Emma’s second entry, eye spy an eel, which is again from Florida Keys, shows a big green moray underneath a ledge illuminated by a torch beam. Slightly closer would have been better but maybe this wasn’t possible as the moray was under a ledge. An open mouth shot would also give it the extra wow factor.

Emma’s third entry just keep swimming is another very good turtle composition. Is it the same green turtle? I really like the colours and it’s nice to see the seafans in the background. Shame it’s not a head on shot but I’m guessing that this turtle didn’t stick around to play with you.

Thank you for this month’s entries. I really enjoy looking at all your pictures and I promise that the wine didn’t affect my choice! I’ll stick to ginger beer next time around! Hopefully we will get a few more entries in August’s competition. If I can help with any problems you are having with cameras, housings or underwater photography please send me an email. If I can help I will, if I don’t know the answer to your question I will pass you over to someone in the trade that can.