Page 19: 1st Place Novice DSLR Ocean Art 2015 Irene Middleton. The story, "Every summer schools of Starry Toado Pufferfish (Arothron firmamentum) start appearing at the Poor Knights Islands, off Northern New Zealand. Normally found in Pelagic waters, strong easterly winds blow the pufferfish into the marine reserve islands where they often survive for less than a few hours. The marine reserve offers a safe haven to many fishes but the thriving population of Jacks and Bream make short work of this exotic delicacy. As soon as divers enter the water the schools of puffers race over to seek shelter which is what they were doing when I snapped off this shot. Soon after I left the water about half of them had been devoured." Location: Maroro Bay, Poor Knights Island Marine Reserve, Northland New Zealand Camera: Nikon D300, Sealux housing, Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye lens, Ikelite D125 strobe and DS50 on slave.
Previous Page: 1st Place Portraitby Greg LeCoeur. The story, "During a sailing day off the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, I spotted a big pod of Pilot whales that accepted me in the blue water. They were turning around me in the crystal blue water. It was an amazing experience and a great opportunity to photograph them." Location: Nice, France
Next Page Top: 1st Place Wide-Angle by Francesco Visintin. The story, "In the last summer a conjunction of several factors: the sea temperature rise in conjunction with coelenterates reproduction period and the decrease of natural predators, dramatically boosted the population of Rhizostoma pulmo. Then Mistral wind and currents concentrated thousands of individuals of jellyfishes in the shallow water of Versilia coast. Calm sea and unusually good visibility motivated me to explore this fascinating subject from a photographic standpoint, exploiting the soft light of the early morning and sunset." Location: Forte dei Marmi, Tuscany, Italy
Next Page Bottom: 1st Place Compact Macro by Alessandro Raho. The story, "The use of these particular filters makes the fluorescence of some animal species stand out. They are typically used in night diving, but for this photo I used them during the day." Location: Noli (SV) Italy
Page 24-25: 1st Place Nudibranchs by Roland Bach. The story, "This photo was taken on the North coast of the Balearic island Minorca on a place called Punta den Siulet. It shows a Felimare picta in a very nice posing. The proplem was to bring the sun and nudi together in this shot because there was very little space for the housing and strobe. So I had to wait about 10 minutes. When I have seen the result of the shot I just thought 'in the end it was a good idea to let my buddy wait.' " Location: Mediterranean / Balearics / Minorca / North coast / Punta den Siulet
22 - SEVENSEAS
Editor's note: This small collection of photographs is just the tip of the iceburg. To see more stunning images from the contest visit www.uwphotographyguide.com. Underwater Photography Guide is THE resource for instruction, tips, equipment, outreach, and furthuring education regarding just about anything to do with underwater photography.