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Winners - Underwater Photography Contests

July 2015 Photo Contest Winner and Review

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

WINNER: HMS Southwold by Julian Goffin

PHOTOLINK: http://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.

Stuart has spent the past 26 years taking pictures and writing stories for diving magazines and other publications. In fact, this equates to more than a year of his life spent underwater. There have been plenty of exciting moments from close encounters with crocodiles and sharks to exploration of deep wrecks and more recently rebreathers. He lives in Poole, Dorset and is very much an advocate of UK diving.

Winners - Underwater Photography Contests

December 2022 Photo Contest Winner and Review

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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.

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Winners - Underwater Photography Contests

November 2022 Photo Contest Winner and Review

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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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