May 2016 Photo Contest Winner and Review
WINNER CHOSEN AND REVIEW BY SCUBAVERSE.COM’S UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY EDITORS NICK & CAROLINE ROBERTSON-BROWN
WINNER: All Alone by Paul Ansell
PHOTOLINK: http://www.scubaverse.com/contestants/all-alone/
When judging any underwater photography competition, the first thing we do is ask of each image: Is it in focus? The main subject has to be pin sharp. Is it exposed correctly?
We 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 we 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 us both go wow – I wish I had taken that!
May 2016
This month saw only 32 entries into the competition – yet there were some lovely images. One of the toughest judging decisions is selecting the winner from both worthy macro and wide angle images.
Our favourites
Caroline
In my top selection of images this month are:
Sean Chin’s image of the tiger shark being escorted by reef sharks in the Bahamas. The positioning of these sharks really makes the shot.
Paul Ansell’s striking anemone with anemonefish. Lovely lighting, striking colours against a black background, everything in focus and the fish having a look at the camera. Excellent.
David Niddam’s lovely nudi from Taiwan. This is a beautiful subject and David has got down to “eye” level with the nudibranch to give greater impact.
Yo-Han Cha’s nudi on black background. There were plenty of nudi shots in this month’s competition, but this gets a special mention as it was taken in very cold water, making the job that much harder.
Russell Lincoln’s manta smile. Mantas on night dives are not an easy subject and this is a lovely shot.
Kate Jonker’s In the spotlight is a lovely snooted shot. Vibrant orange colours & pin sharp eye contact with the subject.
My top 3 are: Paul Ansell’s anemone, Sean Chin’s sharks and Kate Jonker’s snooted fish.
Nick
It was another tough month for judging. The images that stood out for me are:
Inquisitive Guest by Simon Morley. This is an unusual shot, with the angel fish posing so nicely. A touch more lighting on the angelfish from the left would enhance the shot, and the model needs to shine her torch slightly away from the camera. Still an excellent, unusual shot.
By the Pinnacles of Babylon also by Simon Morley. Another lovely wide angle shot of a reef and diver.
Shark Gang by Sean Chinn. This is a dramatic shot of a tiger shark flanked at its nose by two reef sharks. The positioning of the sharks in the frame really make this shot.
Manta Smile by Russell Lincoln. I assume that this was taken on a night dive in Hawaii and photographing big animals at night is not easy. Well done!
Nemo by Martin Low. This is a great use of colour isolation, making nemo pop out of the image. I think the eyes are just not quite pin sharp, which is a shame, as the effect is dramatic.
In the Spotlight by Kate Jonker. A lovely snoot shot with bright colours and a pin sharp fish portrait.
All Alone by Paul Ansell. A smashing shot, with dramatic lighting that really brings this image to life.
My top 3 are: Kate’s snooted In the Spotlight; Paul’s All Alone & Sean Chin’s Shark Gang.
Nick and Caroline have picked a few different shots in their top selection this month, but when it came down to selecting their top 3 images, they picked the same three images. So then they had to work out what positions to place them.
After much deliberations between our two judges….
1st place: All Alone by Paul Ansell
2nd place: In the Spotlight by Kate Jonker
3rd place: Shark Gang by Sean Chinn
The top three this month are all excellent, and there were many other great shots in the competition. The top 2 have been selected for the quality of the lighting of the subjects. This makes them stand out from the crowd. Please keep them coming and making it difficult for us. Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter.
