Take a deep breath and get ready for some truly epic photo inspiration as the winning images from the 2018 Underwater Photographer of the Year contest have just been announced. The photo contest was first launched under its current guise in 2014, but has origins dating back to 1987.
The annual competition is based in the UK and seeks to ‘celebrate photography beneath the surface of the ocean, lakes and even swimming pools’. This year’s awards saw more than 5000 entries from around the globe, which were judged by an esteemed panel including experienced underwater photographers Peter Rowlands, Martin Edge and Alex Mustard.
Taking top spot this year, along with a $5000 USD voucher from Nauticam, was German photographer Tobias Friedrich for his panorama of British World War II military vehicles deep inside a shipwreck in the Red Sea. “Cycle War” was taken in Egypt and shows Norton 16H motorbikes loaded in Fordson WOT 3 trucks, with soldierfish schooling above. Friedrich commented on his winning image; “I had had this image in mind for a few years, but it is impossible to capture in one photo, because there is not space inside the wreck to photograph this scene in a single frame. My solution was take a series pictures and stitch them together as a panorama. ”
Tobias used a Canon 1DX MkII paired with a 8-15mm fisheye lens to capture his winning image. Image by Tobias Friedrich/UPY 2018
There were plenty of other amazing images that won categories or were recognised by the judges….
Grant Thomas won British Underwater Photographer of the Year for this charming shot, titled 'Love Birds', showing two swans intertwined.
Grant's winning image was tkane with a Canon 5D MkIII. Image by Grant Thomas/UPY 2018.
The Up & Coming Underwater Photographer of the Year category was won by Malaysian photographer ManBd UiDive, who used an Olympus TG-4 compact to capture this nudibranch in the waters around Lembeh reef in Indonesia.
This image shows what can be captured with a compact camera and some serious skill. Image by MnBd UiDive/UPY 2018.
Tony Stephenson was took top honours in the 'Most Promising British Underwater Photographer' category for his image of a school of Pike. Tony explained the image; "Living in the East Midlands in England is a long way from the sea and as a result, a lot of my diving takes place in the quarry at Stoney Cove, the UK’s National Diving Centre. I love photographing pike and on this particular dive during the Easter holidays, a ‘group’ of males were looking for a mate. Once they found one they pursued her relentlessly and were completely transfixed on gaining her attention. This allowed me to get close in front of the fish, fill the frame and aim to get lots of good eye contact. "
Tony used a OlympusOM-D E-M10 Mark II with a Panasonic Lumix G 8mm Fisheye lens in side a Nauticam housing. Image by Tony Stephenson/UPY 2018
Winner of the Wide Angle category was French photographer, Greg Lecoeur, who explained the story behind his image of a Humpback whale. "Each year, I go to Tonga to lead a small group of nature enthusiasts to photograph humpback whales. Tonga offers probably the best opportunity to interact with the whales in blue water. This year was very special, with my friends we had sone of my best moments in my underwater photographer's life: Very curious and playful whales came to investigate us and adopt the spy hopping posture in front of our masks. Although weighing several tens of tons this mammal showed incredible agility and power in holding itself vertically in the water. "
Greg used a Nikon D7200 paired with a Tokina 10-17mm. Image by Greg Lecoeur/UPY 2018
Runner up in the Wide Angle category was Chinese photographer Fan Ping, who captured this haunting image at the scarily-named Shark Junction area of the Bahamas.
Fan used a Nikon D810 with a Sigma 15mm fisheye to capture his image. Image by Fan Ping/UPY 2018.
Taking top honours in the Macro category was Canadian photographer Shane Gross, who framed up this epic image of seahorses in the Bahamas. Shane explained the image; "The pond I was in has the highest density of seahorses on Earth, but I’ve never seen three together like this before. I was camping on shore and had all night to shoot with the idea of backlighting a single seahorse, but finding three together was a real gift. I was super careful not to disturb them because they will swim away if they’ve had enough. I had my off-camera strobe and an underwater flashlight on a small tripod which I placed behind and below the trio. Then I waited for them to all turn in way that you could see their silhouette. "
Shane paired his Nikon D500 with a 60mm Macro lens for this shot. Image by Shane Gross/UPY 2018.
Highly commended in the Macro category was TianHong Wang's colourful image of a Japanese pygmy seahorse.
Image by TianHong Wang/UPY 2018.
Highly commended in the Wrecks category was this hauntin image taken by Finnish photographer Pekka Tuuri. Shot in the Baltic Sea, Pekka, talked us through the image; "The German ship Klaus Oldendorf went down in 1942 after hitting a mine. Today she is a very interesting wreck at 30m depth to the deck. This picture was actually already planned on the deck of the dive boat. We were a team of three and all had been to the wheel before. We went through the photo plan thoroughly. First we took pictures with a top light (torch) and then with backlight. I took pictures with both flash and no flash and liked this one without flash more. It was important to balance the light correctly as I wanted to have the natural faint green glow in the background. This picture is a panorama of two images. "
Pekka's image was captured on a Canon 5D MkIII. Image by Pekka Tuuri/UPY 2018.
Also highly commended in the Wrecks category was this striking frame from Susannah H. Snowden-Smith, who explains the image. "For six years, the 251’ long ex-USS Kittiwake sat upright where it was sunk as an artificial reef. On October 8, 2017, it was discovered that powerful surge from passing hurricane Nate had rolled the ship onto its side. I raced to find a dive operator to take me out there, and was able to dive and document the shipwreck the very next day. "
Susanna used a diver to add scale to the scene. Image by Susannah H. Snowden-Smith/UPY 2018.
Tanya Houppermans scooped top honours in the Portrait category for this superb capture of a sand tiger shark surrounded by tiny bait fish in the waters off North Carolina. "I always look forward to diving the wreck of the Caribsea and seeing the fierce-looking, but docile, sand tiger sharks that frequent the wreck. On this day as I descended to the wreck, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Millions of tiny fish, collectively known as "bait fish", were grouped together in an enormous bait ball above the wreck, with dozens of sand tigers lazily meandering among the fish. As I slowly swam to the center of the bait ball, I looked up and noticed a sand tiger a few feet above me. I swam on my back underneath her, trying not to startle her. As I moved with the shark through the water the bait fish parted way, giving me a clear shot of the underside of this beautiful shark, and also one of the most incredible experiences I’ve had yet as an underwater photographer," explained Tanya.
Tanya tooks this image with a Olympus OM-D E-M1 incased in a Nauticam housing. Image by Tanya Houppermans/UPY 2018
Claiming third position in the Portaits category was Rodney Bursiel. The American photographer braved the surf for this epic frame. "On a recent surf trip to Tavarua, Fiji I captured this shot of Donavon Frankenreiter playing under the wave at Cloudbreak. When shooting surf photography I love being under the wave. There is just so much more going on there. Seeing the power of the wave from below and watching the surfers dive below it. It's the side of the wave that you don't get to see from the shore. "
Rodney used a Nikon D800 paired with a Ikelite housing. Image by Rodney Bursiel/UPY 2018
. digitalrev.com2018-2-14 03:00
