Special Edition: UPY 2024 Winners

The Underwater Photographer of the Year competition has just announced the winners in this year’s highly respected competition. In this special edition issue, we will share the top results, highlight our favorite images from the competition and also share an interview we had with Wreck category winner, Martin Broen.

What’s happening in this edition?

• Underwater Photographer of the Year 2024 Results
• Interview with Martin Broen: Wreck Category Winner
• Best of the Rest - We Share Our Favorites Images That Aren't Category Winners
• Summary

Alex Dawson has been named Underwater Photographer of the Year 2024 for his ambient light photo of a free-diver plunging beneath the icy depths of Greenland’s ice sheet, immersing themselves in a haunting tableau of butchered minke whales. Dawson’s photograph “Whale Bones” triumphed over 6500 underwater pictures entered by underwater photographers from around the world. The image also won 1st place in the wide angle category.

“Whale Bones was photographed in the toughest conditions” explains chair of judging panel Alex Mustard, “as a breath-hold diver descends below the Greenland ice sheet to bear witness to slaughtered whales. The masterful composition invites me to consider our impact on the great creatures of this planet. Since the rise of humans, wild animals have declined by 85%. Today, just 4% of mammals are wildlife, the remaining 96% are humans and our livestock. Our way needs to change to find a balance with nature.”

Backstory from the photographer:

In eastern Greenland the local hunters bring their catch and share it among each other. From a stable population of over 100,000 minke whales in the North Atlantic the hunters of Tasiilaq typically take less than a dozen. The whale is pulled up on the beach during high tide and many families gather to cut the skin, blubber and the meat off at low tide. Almost all the whale is consumed, however the skeleton is pulled back into the sea by the next high tide and the remains can be found in shallow waters where various marine invertebrates and fish pick the bones clean.

Whales stole the spotlight in this year’s winning pictures with Spanish photographer Rafael Fernandez Caballero winning two categories. His captivating images captured the essence of these ocean giants: a close up of a grey whale’s eye and a dynamic shot of a Bryde’s whale engulfing an entire bait ball, both taken in Magdalena Bay, Baja California, Mexico. Fernandez Caballero took ‘Grey Whale Connection’ while drifting in a small boat, holding his camera over the side in the water to photograph the curious whale. ‘The End Of A Baitball’ required Fernandez Caballero to dive down and be in exactly the right place at the moment the whale lunged. “The photo shows the high speed attack,” he said, “with the whale engulfing hundreds of kilograms of sardines in one bite — simply unforgettable to see predation on such a scale.”

Martin Broen clinched victory in the wreck category with his breathtaking photograph showcasing a pair of Chieftain tanks resting serenely in formation at the seabed of the Gulf of Aqaba in Jordan. Employing a six-shot panorama technique, Broen crafted a “powerful image that works on several levels” according to judge Peter Rowlands.

We recently caught up with Martin to discuss this image, his inspiration, and photographic style. Read the interview below in this newsletter.

Backstory from the photographer:

Together with an amazing group of photographers I had the honor to be invited to compete in the 1st Aqaba underwater photo competition in Jordan, where a highlight is the underwater military museum. An unusual sight of war machines sunk in 15 to 28 meters of water and stationed along the reefs in tactical battle formation.
 
I wanted to capture the symmetry of the Chieftain Tanks and strong presence of their 120mm guns, but the position where I could shoot that image with my fish-eye lens was occupied by a military ambulance. Therefore, I experimented with a 6 shot panorama from a point between the guns, which allowed me to recreate the virtual position further back, and achieve an elegant symmetry of the tanks, supported by the central focal point of my dive buddy in the back.

Read more…

Interview with Martin Broen: Wreck Category Winner

Martin has been very successful in a number of underwater photography competitions over the past several years. His victories span across various categories including Black & White, Wide Angle, Wreck and Cave photography. His latest triumph includes winning 1st Place in the Wreck category of this years Underwater Photographer of the Year competition. We caught up with Martin to ask him about his photography style, his inspiration and about his winning shot.

IS: You have quite the reputation for technical underwater photos and cave exploration. When shooting these types of images, are you planning the images out in your mind before you take them?

MB: I live in New York and don’t manage to dive as often as I wish, and do plan in my head, photos and new techniques I will like to try in my next dive, looking for images or videos of the sites and learning techniques from other photographers that may not be underwater. But as I do enjoy being surprised by a new animal or environment, I prioritize visiting new sites or new caves rather than coming back to a site to do a planned shot. Most of the cave shots I have taken, in over 250 Cenotes, are on my way out of a cave that I dove for the first time.

Read more…

The Best of the Rest

In this section, we’ve selected three images each that captivated us but didn’t make it to the category winners.

Commended in the wide angle category, “Sprats Circle the Sarchophyton” by Peter Mumby, shows an action packed scene of baitfish surrounding a coral head in Lady Elliot Island, Australia.

Byron’s comments: This photo captures a scene that makes me fall in love with diving all over again, beautiful colorful corals exploding from a school of fish. It just makes me want to be there.

Shane Gross was highly commended in the wide angle category for his image “March of the Tadpoles”. Taken on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, Shane says “there were millions of tadpoles in the sunlit shallows feeding on algae among the lily pads. My goal was to try and tell as much of the story as possible in one frame.”

Byron’s comments: I adore this photo, the movement, the light and the color are all so perfect. It’s also a highly original scene making it stand out from the crowd.

Alex Dawson of Sweden received a highly commended in the Wreck’s category for his photo taken inside the wreck of the SS Thistlegorm. Taken on a night dive using rebreathers Alex says “we were alone on the wreck and there were no bubbles! The image was shot on the fly as I like to do but with a fairly well-planned briefing before the dive.”

Byron’s comments: I have dived this wreck many times and its great to see a photo taken here that is so sharp, clear and well lit. This is a photograph that any wreck photographer would love in their portfolio.

Geo Cloete of South Africa received a commended in the wide angle category for a split-level photograph titled “In Celebration” of anemone’s in a tidepool at sunset. This was a challenging shot to take. As Geo explains “the breaking wave is towering a good five meters above me. When the waves are that size, it takes the rushing white water around two to three seconds to reach and completely cover me.”

Andy’s comments: This photo reminds me of a fireworks display with the colorful anemone’s in the foreground and the perfectly timed wave crashing onto the rocks. The streaks of clouds emanating from the center of the image add to the drama.

Jon Anderson of the United States received Runner Up in the Portrait category for his shot of a cormorant peering into the camera.

Andy’s comments: I love this image! The cormorant’s direct gaze into the camera really grabs my attention. I appreciate the intricate details, like the feathers protruding from the birds head, and the kelp with the sun ball in the background adds a beautiful touch.

Alvaro Herrero’s image of the inside of the Lockheed Tristar in the Gulf of Aqaba received a highly commended in the Wrecks category. Alvaro says he “decided to use one of the cave photography techniques, known amongst photographer’s as “The Butt Light” to show the silhouette of the diver (Taz), and the perspective with the seats and windows.”

Andy’s comments: I love how the leading lines in this image effortlessly guide my gaze towards the diver, and then I find myself exploring every detail within the fuselage. Having personally dived this plane myself, I know how dark it is inside and how difficult it is to manage the exposure.

Summary

We hope you enjoyed seeing the fantastic collection of category award winners from this year’s Underwater Photographer of the Year competition. If you would like to see all the winning images and read what the judges had to say, head over to the UPY yearbook.

If you know someone who might enjoy receiving this newsletter, please do share it with them. Meanwhile, stay tuned for our regularly scheduled issue coming out on February 25th.

Happy bubbles!
Andy & Byron