10 minute read
UPY 2022
from Scuba Diver #59
over 4,200 underwater entries
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An astounding photo of five whalesharks feeding together at night in the waters of the Maldives sees Rafael Fernandez Caballero from Spain named Underwater Photographer of the Year 2022
Photographs as credited
Fernandez’s photograph triumphed over 4,200
underwater pictures entered into UPY 2022 by underwater photographers from 71 countries. The photo captures a unique ocean event, taken in demanding photographic conditions.
‘Giants Of The Night’ features five whalesharks, the biggest fish in the world, feeding together on nocturnal plankton that have been concentrated in the lights of a boat. “It was already incredible when one whaleshark came to our boat,” explains Fernandez.
“But more and more kept arriving. I was diving with Gador Muntaner, a shark researcher, who couldn’t believe it as their numbers grew. He counted 11 sharks that night – a once-in-a-lifetime encounter that nobody thought was possible.”
Competition judge Peter Rowlands commented: “This image took my breath away from the first viewing and I never tired coming back to it. Scale, light and the sheer numbers of big subjects, this was, by some distance, our winning image.” Judge Alex Mustard added: “Photography needs light and simply recording these giants in a dark ocean is a massive achievement. To do this with such beautiful light and careful composition of the five sharks is outstanding.”
“Restriction on travel over the last year may have stopped many photographers visiting their favourite waters, but it hasn’t stifled their creativity,” commented judge Mustard. “The Underwater Photographer of the Year contest aims to celebrate underwater photography in all its forms and we are delighted that many of this year’s awarded images come from home countries and some are even taken in swimming pools.”
The Underwater Photographer of the Year contest is based in the UK, and Matty Smith, an Englishman now living in Australia, was named as British Underwater Photographer of the Year 2022 for a portrait of a great white shark taken in the Neptune Islands, South Australia.
To produce ‘Great White Split’, Smith built a special supersize dome port for his camera, as well as a
UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2022
© Rafael Fernandez Caballero
TOBIAS FRIEDRICH
BRITISH UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2022
© Matthew Smith
carbon pole and remote trigger to allow him to get this revealing perspective. “I had wanted to shoot a charismatic over/under portrait for years,” explained Smith. “Some techniques I had previously tried failed terribly, so this time I designed and constructed my own equipment to get the camera exactly where I wanted. Surprisingly, the sharks were instantly attracted to the camera, in fact it was a battle to stop them biting it!”
UPY 2022 competition judge Tobias Friedrich commented: “This split shot of the most famous fish in the sea truly captures its character. An excellent reward for the perseverance of the photographer, experimenting with different techniques until he got the result he wanted.”
In the same contest, Thien Nguyen Ngoc from the Vietnam was named ‘The Save Our Seas Foundation’ Marine Conservation Photographer of the Year 2022 for his aerial photo ‘Big Appetite’. The photo shows boats straining the waters for anchovies in the Phu Yen province of Vietnam.
“Salted anchovy is the most-important raw material in traditional Vietnamese fish sauce,” said Nguyen Ngoc, “but these little fish are a keystone of the ecosystem. The reserves and catches of anchovies have decreased by 20-30% in the past ten years. When they are overfished, the whales, tunas, sea birds and other marine predators face starvation and critical population declines.”
Competition judge Rowlands commented: “A stark visual reminder of man’s reach and control over the surrounding habitat and its devastating effect on the
MARINE CONSERVATION PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2022
© Thien Nguyen Ngoc
natural balance.” Mustard added: “The mouths of these nets dwarf the people casting them, and the tight composition speaks about our squeeze on nature.”
The Underwater Photographer of the Year competition also aims to promote new photographic talent. Quico Abadal, from Spain, was named as Up & Coming Underwater Photographer of the Year 2022 for a creative image ‘Supernova In Paradise’.
Adabal’s photo was taken at sunset off Sairee Beach, Koh Tao, Thailand and is purposely shown upside down. “This photo features Jeniya, who moves so poetically in the water,” explained Abadal. “What I like about this photograph is the imperfection of backscatter in the
ALEX MUSTARD
© Quico Abadal
MY BACKYARD AND BEHAVIOUR CATEGORY
© Pekka Tuuri
BLACK & WHITE CATEGORY
© Kerrie Burow dark water, creating the feeling of outer space and making it perfect to me.” Judge Mustard explains the reasons for the photo’s success: “In this category we are always looking for exciting new talent bringing fresh visions to underwater photography. This image is a fabulous example. Simple subject matter, elevated into an artistic image by the imagination, ideas and talent of the photographer and model.”
Pekka Tuuri was the My Backyard and Behaviour category winner, with a striking photo taken in the city of Vantaa in Finland. He said: “This love pond is in my backyard, a 20-minute drive from home. And it has rewarded me plentifully over the past ten years. The common frogs come first, then toads, and finally newts. I floated and stayed put among the frogs and quite soon they accepted me and my camera as a part of the scenery. What an experience, with lots of photo ops!”
Judge Tobias Friedrich commented: “This image truly made me laugh, when I saw it first time. What an iconic moment and excellent reaction by the excellent Pekka Tuuri. He is truly one of the underwater photographers in the world who always comes up with different ideas and outstanding different images from places just around his corner in Finland. Excellent composition and light, very well done.”
The Black and White category was won by Australian Kerrie Burow, for the shot Sarah’s Underwater World. Kerrie explained: “This shot was taken a year into the Coronavirus pandemic - my seven-year-old niece Sarah stares with wonder into my housing dome while on one breath underwater.
“The scene portrays the therapeutic power of water, which so many of us experienced during the pandemic. The underwater world offered peace, comfort and hope - for the anxious, the depressed and the grieving. It gave us a chance to feel joy and adventure again as well as freedom from the heavy weight of the pandemic - even if just for a moment while on one breath.
“The portrait was taken using an unobtrusive photojournalist technique. I minimalised my presence, gave no instructions to Sarah and, instead, allowed the scene to evolve naturally.”
Peter Rowlands said: “Haunting yet compelling, this very striking portrait uses the simplicity of black and white to great effect. Colour would have been so distracting.”
The Wrecks category was won by Swedish shooter Alex Dawson for his eye-catching image of the Tyrifjord shipwreck in Norway. “The wreck of Tyrifjord is one of the favourite wrecks in the Gulen Dive Resort area of Norway. She sits in approximately 40m and is very sheltered from most winds,” explained Alex. “The highlight of the wreck is always the huge extra steering wheel in the aft.”
Judge Tobias Friedrich said: “Excellent composed image of a truly not-easy subject. With poor visibility and lighting conditions, wrecks in those depths are not easy to photograph. Alex did a great job by a minimalistic, but also intense and dramatic lighting of the steering wheel, maybe one of the most recognizable parts of
WRECK CATEGORY
© Alex Dawson
COMPACT CATEGORY
© Enrico Somogyi
PORTRAIT CATEGORY
© Thomas Heckmann
a ship, which drags the viewer straight into it. I knew immediately when I saw the image for the first time that it would go far in the competition.”
Showing that you don’t need expensive equipment to capture striking images, Germany’s Enrico Somogyi took first and third place in the Compact category.
His winning image, titled Peace, was taken at a pond
in Leipzig, Germany. He said: “ Once a year at the end of March, it is mating time for the toads. It last only a few days and only at this time is it possible to get very close to them. Normally they are very shy. I was trying to get a split shot with this toad, when he started to crawl on my small dome port. I got some pictures from this action and this was my favourite pic.”
Judge Peter Rowlands commented: “The Compact Category is subjectless, which makes it hard to shoot for and even harder to judge, but this welllit, unambiguous image created an appeal that was unanimous with the judges.”
Germany’s Thomas Heckmann took the win in the Portrait category for his shot Rapunzel on Fire, which was taken in his own underwater photo studio.
Thomas said: “Our image idea was to create a completely black silhouette in the foreground, but at the same time make eye contact with the viewer.
MOST PROMISING BRITISH UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHER
© Paul Pettitt
To make the hair glow, the camera settings were for the silhouette and three powerful strobes were needed hidden in the background. These background strobes were triggered by long cables and an additional RSU. For the face I used a combination of video light/strobe with snoot for the front.”
Peter Rowlands said: “This highly unusual image using strong colours and contrasts had a winning appeal which endured every time.”
Most Promising British Underwater Photographer – and third place in the British Waters Macro category - went to Paul Pettitt, for his shot Diamonds and Rust, which was taken at Swanage Pier. Paul said: “This picture was taken on a bright afternoon when I knew the sun would be on the west side of the pier. The sea gooseberries had been around for a while, and on this particular day, the water was like glass. I floated in the spot I wanted and waited for them to slowly drift by. The background colours represent the rust and weed growth on a metal cross beam.”
“Images like this leap out despite being subtle. The colours are celebratory and the subject perfectly placed to produce a stand-out image in this category,” said judge Peter Rowlands.
You can see all of the UPY 2022 winners on the Underwater Photographer of the Year website:
www.underwaterphotographeroftheyear.com
About UPY 2022
Underwater Photographer of the Year is an annual competition, based in the UK, that celebrates photography beneath the surface of the ocean, lakes, rivers and even swimming pools. British photographer Phil Smith was the first underwater Photographer of the Year, named in 1965. Today’s competition attracts entries from all around the world, has 13 categories, testing photographers with themes such as Macro, Wide Angle, Behaviour and Wreck photography, as well as four categories for photos taken specifically in British waters. This year’s UPY 2022 judges were experienced underwater photographers Peter Rowlands, Tobias Friedrich and Dr Alexander Mustard MBE.
