July 2021 Photo Contest Winner and Review
WINNER CHOSEN AND REVIEW BY SCUBAVERSE.COM’S UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR NICK ROBERTSON-BROWN
WINNER: JellyFish Explosion by Huw Penson
Another month filled with incredible images, both macro and wide angle, from all around the world. So many great images to go through!
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!
Alas I cannot discuss each and every image but here are a few that caught my eye and why:
The Cleaning Station by Nus Lobbu: Lovely image of all these colourful reef fish on a a small bommie. As always a single fish has chosen to go its own way! You can feel the motion of the marine life as they go about their business.
The Coconut Octopus by Nus Lobbu: One of my favourite macro subjects to photograph and this is a lovely example. Good use of depth of field and I love the position of the octopus in the shell, looking out at the photographer.
Water Lily by Matej Miskovic: This image caught my eye due to the composition and colours. The lily flower in the corner, the diagonals of the leaf stems and the small gap through into the blue make this an evocative image to look at.
Mating pair by steven.walsh.underwater: Wow – what an encounter with such an iconic species. The egg laden male in the foreground and another swimming above is great to see. Add this to the fact you have been able to include both the seagrass habitat and the surface makes this very eye-catching indeed.
Geometric morays (Gymnothorax griseus) by Oksana Maksymova: What a great shot. Eye-contact with all four morays at the same time. There are even a couple of tiny shrimp thrown into the mix too. Bravo!
Odontaspis ferox by claude lespagne: What a great shot. Full of character and it just forces the viewer to smile back at this goofy shark.
This is MY house by Bill Passmore: Striking image of a moray. The lack background really makes the golden pattern on the subject stand out.
Giannis D by MichaelG: The post-processing of this image makes it really stand out. It look great in black and white with loads of contrast.
Golden Damsel by MichaelG: Well done! It is always hard to get small, quick fish head on and you have nailed this one. The yellow looks stunning on the black background and the eye-contact, detail on the fins and it’s facial expression are super.
Baby Black Tip Reef Sharks at Sunrise by Huw Penson: What an experience and well done for capturing an image of these 3 baby sharks. I would have loved this more if the sharks had been coming towards you and the portion above water had been in focus.
Reefshark B/W by Jan Leya: Striking portrait of a reef shark in black and white.
JellyFish Explosion by Huw Penson: Superb image. So much details in the jellyfish and the sunburst behind really makes this image jump out of the screen. I might have tried editing out the small bubbles as they could be considered a distraction from what is a striking image.
After much deliberation by our judge….
The results
Winner: JellyFish Explosion by Huw Penson
Runner-up: Geometric morays (Gymnothorax griseus) by Oksana Maksymova
Third Place: Golden Damsel by MichaelG
Highly Commended: Odontaspis ferox by claude lespagne; Mating pair by steven.walsh.underwater & The Coconut Octopus by Nus Lobbu
Congratulations to those who were placed – there were a number of excellent images, and well done to all those that entered.
Scubaverse.com’s July 2021 Underwater Photo Contest is now open! Enter as many as three of your underwater photos here.
