The Northern Underwater Photography Group held their annual splash-in competition on Saturday 16^th July. The rules of this single day underwater photography competition mean that divers have to take their photos in the seas off North Wales on the day and then hand in images to be judged by the group on the same evening. Post dive editing of the images is limited to the very minimum, so that it is all about what you do in the water.

As with previous years, the visibility and conditions were not ideal and gave the underwater photographers some real challenges, be it particles in the water, or simply the ability to hold still in the surge to take a shot! Divers entering the competition dived at Trefor Pier, McKenzies Pier and Bull Bay and then raced back to the Belle Vue Hotel in Bangor to hand in their images. Members were also invited to enter prints into a competition on the night, so that those more inclined to dive in warm clear waters could join in too!

After a refreshing beer, it was time to gather in the images and then project each category for judging by everyone that came along. Each category, along with the overall prize, was sponsored by a host of diving, travel and underwater photography companies, and the winners took away a glass trophy to keep. The winners of the 4 splash-in categories were entered into a vote-off to see who would be crowned the overall winner, who also gets a fabulous trophy to keep for the year.

Here are the results:

Splash-In

Compact Macro sponsored by DiveLife – Sue Spencer

Compact Wide Angle sponsored by Frogsborn Diving – Nick Robertson-Brown

System Macro sponsored by Nauticam UK – Paul Ansell

System Wide Angle sponsored by Scubaverse – Phil Medcalf

Overall Winner sponsored by DiveQuest – Paul Ansell

Print Competition

Overseas Macro sponsored by INON UK – Anne Medcalf

Overseas Wide Angle sponsored by Apeks – Nick Robertson-Brown

UK Macro sponsored by Mares – John Spencer

UK Wide Angle sponsored by Frogfish Photography – Alex Tasker

The NUPG would like to thank the sponsors for their support once again this year. It is wonderful to have the backing of such a great bunch of companies, many of whom have been sponsors for years now. It would also like to thank all those that came along to take part in the event. It is great to get out and dive together, as well as meeting up for the social aspect at the end of the day. We are looking forward to next year already!