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Winners - Underwater Photography Contests

April 2015 Photo Contest Winner and Review

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

WINNER: Andrey Narchuk
PHOTOLINK: https://www.scubaverse.com/contestants/toy/

My sincere apologies for the late results to last month’s competition. I have been away on a magazine assignment to Belize in the Caribbean and had a few problems with the internet. I also had a few problems with the weather and the marine life. I was supposed to be photographing whalesharks and manatees but the whalesharks didn’t appear. As for the manatees, well, after a few disappointments I did actually spot a mother and calf but the underwater visibility was worse than pea soup! This goes to show that good underwater pictures don’t come easy and take a lot of hard work and effort as well as time and money.

I’ve had a good look at last month’s entries and all I can say is ‘wow’ nice pictures, and not just one, mostly ALL of the images submitted in this month’s competition are of an exceptionally high standard. I hope everybody who has looked at the website will agree with me? I also hope that this hasn’t frightened anyone away from entering. As the competitions become more popular we will have different categories, for macro, wide angle, compact, beginners etc, but for now I will judge each picture on an individual basis.

When I spoke to Dave, the editor in chief of Scubaverse.com, I thought he was playing an April fool’s joke on me! There are so many good pictures. I guess this is my fault. I wanted you to put forward some great images and you’ve done just that, but this hasn’t made my job easy. Choosing an overall winner was extremely hard work this month. There are so many I personally liked and photographically the compositions were spot on. I’m sorry I haven’t given comments to everyone, I just haven’t had enough time but this doesn’t mean they weren’t worthy.

We have some good news, too: as of next month there will be a prize for the winner! I will let Dave explain in more detail. But I’m hoping this will increase the amount of entrants which will inevitably make my job even harder. And now for this month’s picture results….

There seems to be plenty of of ‘big fish’ pictures including sharks. First off we have the nurse shark on Molasses Reef in the Florida Keys and it’s on the move and heading towards the photographer which makes a really nice composition. In this case missing off the tail doesn’t detract that much from the image. Nice shot Chris.

Then we have Alex’s tiger sharks which in my mind are most attractive looking shark in the ocean.  Both shots are head on with eye in focus. I’m not sure if the pictures have been cropped but the subject looks quite close to the camera. What lens are you using Alex?  I’m guessing you’ve submitted 2 different views of the same tiger? I prefer the slightly nose up version called tiger shark leader. I think the shark is almost too central in the 3-sharks picture although the addition of 2 reef sharks makes the background more interesting.

Tam’s Eagle Ray shot is crystal clear and close up.  I personally know how difficult it is to get close to these shy creatures. I have had better luck snorkelling or using a rebreather. Are you using one or two strobes? It looks like you are using one from the left? I like the soft coral in front of the ray; it looks as though the ray is peeking out from behind. I also like the big green moray eel ‘mouth open’ composition, nice action shot.

Both of Andrey’s images are stunning. I would love to know what camera you are using and the settings? The steller sea lion shot taken in the Bering Sea really does tell a story. I guess the sea lion in the foreground is playing with the jelly fish? The flashgun is highlighting the sea lion’s face and having multiple sea lions silhouetted in the background really does give the picture so much more depth of field.  So I’m choosing this picture as this month’s winner.

The Dahab squid image is equally impressive.  The strobes have really picked up the detail and colour of the tentacles and it’s perfectly in focus including the eyes. The position of the tentacles gives it movement. Personally I think it’s 50/50 whether the 3 white blobs make the composition more interesting. I would probably blacken them out in photo editing software and just leave the squid.

Joseph’s blue shark is one of my favourites. I like the sun’s rays filtering down from above and the shark is head on looking into the camera. Thanks for adding the camera settings. I too use a Sea and Sea housing with a Nikon D800. What time of the day was the shot taken?

I think the ‘freediving’ in Eluethera, Bahamas picture should be titled spear fishing in Eleuthera, Bahamas. Mr maverick mickle, thank you for the picture and I’m sure the Hogfish tasted really great but it’s not politically good to put this picture in an underwater photography competition – maybe it was April 1st after all?

The Hammerhead shark is a nice composition but a bit dark for my liking. Is there a diver hidden behind? I can see the bubbles rising to the surface? But all in all good shot Alex. I haven’t got a good shot of a Hammerhead; I have seen them in the distance but never close up.

The Dolphins of Sataya is also a nice ‘interactive’ shot. I couldn’t help but look twice! The water looks extremely clear. Were you using flash or just natural light? Flash would have probably disturbed their intimate liaison!

I’ve never been to the Zapote Cenote in Mexico so enjoyed seeing the unusual rock formation by Jean – Francois Gregoire . Putting a diver somewhere in the composition would have made it more arty and maybe using some backlighting inside the cave to highlight the scenery would also improve the overall effect, but this does takes quite a lot of planning. I like the El Eden shot, really atmospheric and this time there is a diver in the picture. The rays of sunlight angling through the water work really well.

So just to recap, Andrey’s seal picture has won this month’s competition. Well done Andrey. Thank you for this month’s entries and my apologies again for the late result. I really enjoyed looking at them and I hope you did too. Let’s see what next month’s entries bring…

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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