News
BIUPC founder scoops top prize with novel composition from the river Test in Hampshire
The British Society of Underwater Photographers (BSoUP) are once again pleased to announce results of The British and Irish Underwater Photography Championship (BIUPC) which was held on 26th August 2023.
For Underwater Photographers, a “splash-in” is a competition that takes place on a single nominated day, when photographers jump into the water to compete against each other. Traditionally, these competitions have been restricted to particular locations, but BIUPC is unique in that it has developed a format to allow pictures to be taken anywhere within the coastal or inland waterways of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. This has hugely increased the richness and variety of pictures submitted for judging, and so truly allows for a snapshot of the underwater environment captured photographically around these shores under time pressure.
There were two categories for competitors this year, mainly because of advances in camera technology:
- Wide Angle
- Close Up
Each category has one winner, and the overall Champion is chosen from those two images 2 images. The ultimate prize is the coveted Peter Scoones memorial Trophy.
There is also a category for:
- Human Impact on UK and Irish Marine and freshwater Environments (but this isn’t included in Overall Champion).
There were 36 entrants, 33 of whom submitted 75 images. Results were announced online at the BSoUP monthly meeting held on 19th September 2023. The top 4 of each category are displayed here and comprise a:
- Winner
- Runner up
- Highly Commended x 2
The judges were Damien McGuirk and Simon Rogerson. The standard was very high, and the decision about whose image would be Overall Champion (between Paul Colley’s wide angle and Dan Bolt’s close up) proved to be very difficult.
Results for BIUPC 2023 were as follows:
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- Champion & Wide Angle (Winner): Paul Colley. ‘Summer dreams by the River Test’. Whitchurch, Hampshire. U.K.
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- Wide Angle (Runner Up). Gina Goodman: ‘Ocean window’. Jellyfish through Snell’s window, Maenporth, Cornwall. U.K.
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- Close Up (Winner): Dan Bolt: ‘Fluorescing jewel anemones’, Babbacombe, Devon. U.K.
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- Close Up (Runner Up): Grant McCarry: ‘An inquisitive Conger Eel’. Loch Long, Scotland. U.K.
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- Human Impact (Winner) Gina Goodman: ‘Hidden Histories’. The wreck of the Ben As-dale, Maenporth, Cornwall. U.K.
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- Human Impact (Runner up). Sandra Stalker. ‘Oyster racks in Fleet nature reserve’. Fleet Lagoon, Dorset. U.K.
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- Wide Angle (Highly Commended): Dan Bolt: ‘Exploring Hilsea Point’. Plymouth, Devon. U.K.
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- Wide Angle (Highly Commended): Derek Bolton: ‘Secret daisy’s’. White striped anemones with dead men’s finger sponges, Sovereign Islands, South of Oysterhaven, Co. Cork. R
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- Close Up (Highly Commended): James Lynott: ‘Gills of a Sea Lemon nudibranch’. Doris Pseudoargus, Falls of Lora, Loch Etive, Scotland. U.K.
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- Close Up (Highly Commended): Ryan Stalker: ‘A hiding cephalopod in the seaweed’. Common Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis), Portland Harbour, Dorset. U.K.
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- Human Impact (Highly Commended): Dan Bolt: ‘Life from the rust’, Plymouth, Devon. U.K.
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- Human Impact (Highly Commended): John Bennett: ‘Man vs Lobster”. Big Sovereign Island, Cork, Ireland. RoI
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Human Impact (Winner) Gina Goodman: ‘Hidden Histories’. The wreck of the Ben As-dale, Maenporth, Cornwall. U.K.
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Human Impact (Runner up). Sandra Stalker. 'Oyster racks in Fleet nature reserve'. Fleet Lagoon, Dorset. U.K.
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Human Impact (Highly Commended): Dan Bolt: ‘Life from the rust’, Plymouth, Devon. U.K.
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Human Impact (Highly Commended): John Bennett: ‘Man vs Lobster”. Big Sovereign Island, Cork, Ireland. RoI
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Close Up (Winner): Dan Bolt: ‘Fluorescing jewel anemones’, Babbacombe, Devon. U.K.
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Close Up (Runner Up): Grant McCarry: ‘An inquisitive Conger Eel’. Loch Long, Scotland. U.K.
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Close Up (Highly Commended): Ryan Stalker: ‘A hiding cephalopod in the seaweed’. Common Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis), Portland Harbour, Dorset. U.K.
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Close Up (Highly Commended): James Lynott: ‘Gills of a Sea Lemon nudibranch’. Doris Pseudoargus, Falls of Lora, Loch Etive, Scotland. U.K.
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Champion & Wide Angle (Winner): Paul Colley. ‘Summer dreams by the River Test’. Whitchurch, Hampshire. U.K.
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Wide Angle (Runner Up). Gina Goodman: ‘Ocean window’. Jellyfish through Snell’s window, Maenporth, Cornwall. U.K.
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Wide Angle (Highly Commended): Dan Bolt: ‘Exploring Hilsea Point’. Plymouth, Devon. U.K.
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Wide Angle (Highly Commended): Derek Bolton: ‘Secret daisy’s’. White striped anemones with dead men’s finger sponges, Sovereign Islands, South of Oysterhaven, Co. Cork. R
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
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