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

WINNER: Dennis Emeric

PHOTOLINK: https://www.scubaverse.com/contestants/time-to-eat/

Welcome to Scubaverse’s November competition results. Sadly there are not so many entrants as last month but there are still some striking shots, mainly of macro subjects this time round.

The first image is by Denis Emeric and is called ‘time to eat’. This shows a porcelain crab inside an anemone. The colours and detail on this macro image are superb. The crab’s right hand claw seems to dominate the image. I’m not 100% sure about the composition but otherwise a very nice shot and a clear contender for the no.1 spot.

Janice Nigro’s first image ‘anemone trampoline’ shows an anemone shrimp inside an anemone taken at Lembeh Strait, Indonesia.  Lembeh is supposedly one of the top places in the world for muck diving. I have yet to visit!

It’s really worth zooming in on this image just to see the amount of detail. I love Janice’s title for the shot, I can picture the little crab bouncing around on the anemone while Janice is trying to take focus her camera. Very frustrating by the sounds of it! I really like the vibrant colours – not so sure about the composition yet again though.

Janice Nigro’s second image ‘exposed’ has to be one of the best submissions this month. Thank you for the extra information on your camera settings and the description Janice, much appreciated. The image shows a blenny sitting on a closed up anemone (it’s a shame that the anemone is not open). Great colours and composition. I think this macro shot works very well.

Domenico Luzzi’s shot titled ‘spine cheeky’ shows an anemone fish next to a bubble tip anemone. Bubble tip anemones are my favourite anemones! I think the anemone fish is slightly lost on the reef background but it’s in focus and the colours are punchy. Maybe slightly too contrasty?

David Fletcher’ first entry called ‘a shared thought: I’m hungry’ shows a Mexican stand-off between diver and barracuda and a reasonably sized barracuda at that! I’m sure there used to be a diver in the Florida Keys that used to put a fish in his mouth and then a barracuda would fly in and snatch the fish. This doesn’t sound like a very bright idea. What if the barracuda missed?

David Fletcher’s second entry called ‘vivid blue’ shows a scrawled filefish. It looks as though David has just caught the fish as it’s bolting away. Not an easy fish to photograph. I often see them in pairs. I think David’s pictures would benefit from a strobe as there seems to be a lack of colour. I guess that’s why this shot’s called vivid blue!

David Fletcher’s third shot called ‘rank and file’ show’s a filefish on a reef off Cozumel in Mexico. I’m not a marine biologist David but I would say this is either a trumpet fish or a cornet fish. I really like the way that this fish inverts itself so it can blend in with the soft coral fronds. Trumpet fish are quite long so it’s difficult to get the whole fish in the frame which David has found out here.

The juvenile whaleshark in Simone Lipscomb’s image called ‘contact’ only looks about 2 or 3 metres long. I like the composition of photographer next to whaleshark. I also like the sun’s rays filtering through the water. The white looks a little over exposed but otherwise a good all round effort.

Well known contender Tam Warner Minton has sent in three entries this month (thanks for your support Tam). Tam’s first entry is simply called ‘Cozumel lobster’. The sand is so white in the image that it reminds me of snow. I’m obviously thinking too much about Christmas! The head and eyes are in focus. It’s difficult to get all of the tentacles in focus as they are so long.

At this time of year most of us are thinking about Christmas time so Tam Warner Minton’s next entry, simply titled ‘Christmas tree worms’, is quite apt.  I agree with Tam that the worms make great photo subjects and they come in a huge variety of vibrant colours. The trouble is it’s very difficult to get a clean shot without the main subject getting lost in the background.

Tam Warner Minton’s third shot called ‘bubble eating angel’ shows a section of a grey angel. This abstract view of the eye works quite well, maybe slightly out of focus but I like the fish scale pattern and the dash of the colour from the pectoral fin on an otherwise monochrome image.

Bryan Kerschner’s ‘going for breath’ shows a turtle in-flight heading for the surface to breathe. I like the way the turtle is swimming across the diagonals and the blue background makes the turtle’s shell pattern really stand out. It looks like a green turtle. I always find that green’s are more skittish than hawksbill’s which makes it more difficult for the photographer to get a front facing shot. It’s a shame that the turtle’s flipper is obscuring the face and eye.

Great colours on Jamie Wilkes nudi shot called ‘Aliwal shoal’. When I think of Aliwal Shoal near Durban in SA, it’s always about the big marine life encounters, not about the small stuff, so it’s good to see this kind of shot. The background is slightly disruptive but the nudibranch still manages to stand out.

Neil Owen’s ‘In the forest of the Gorgonian king’ (great title) shows a huge sea fan, which looks pretty healthy. You managed to get the whole gorgonian in the picture which is a plus point but it’s missing some marine life and some blue sea in the background. I guess you were quite shallow when you took the shot? It’s much easier to get a blue background on a deep wall. A diver or some orange Anthias would have added some more interest. Try and get the dive guide in the frame next time around!

Neil Owen’s ‘this is my rock’ shows a colourful upside down shrimp. I like the composition. The shrimp is the central subject with the reef overhang crossing the diagonal. It’s obviously a macro shot but it’s not macro enough if you get my meaning. I think you need to get closer Neil but I don’t know what camera or lens you are using? I would say a compact of some kind.

That’s a nice looking moray eel taken by Neil Owen called ‘all the better to eat you with’. There’s plenty of light illuminating the subject and it looks in focus. The backdrop could have been slightly more interesting and more contrasting but I guess most morays live on or around the reef so this is their standard pose. Giant morays always look menacing but I have never seen one get aggressive even with antagonistic photographers poking a camera in the way!

Thanks again for this month’s entries. Now that I’ve had a good look through the images and gone back over them twice more in finer detail I think Denis Emeric’s shot called ‘time to eat’ is the overall winner with Janice’s blenny shot coming a close second. The last photo competition of the year will close on December 25^th, Christmas day, so get sifting through your hard drives. As well as a chance of winning the vivid-pix photo editing software don’t forget there is also a brand new set of Mares diving kit up for grabs if you win Photo of the Year.

Scubaverse.com’s December 2015 Photo Contest is now open! Enter here.