Winners medal
Winning here (or even just being placed) is Underwater Photography's most coveted accolade because it says you succeeded in the most competitive environment there is, against the top talent of the moment.
Every year a panel of judges select the best images entered in our online photo contest from the previous year. Gold, silver, and bronze medals are awarded for the top three from each category in order of merit.
The judges comprise of industry professionals, previous year's World Champions, our site moderators - anyone we can rope in! They are unpaid, non-affiliated, and (of course) cannot vote for themselves.
You may not agree with the judges. You may think you have 'better shots' at home - prove it! Enter this year's contest.
| World Champion 2015/16 |
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The judges award the photographer who submits the most consistent and complete portfolio over the year World Champion.
Other photographers of distinction are awarded Grand Master.
 The overall 2015/16 World Champion is...
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Over/Under (shots half topside, half U/W)
shots that cross the surface boundary (so under/overs like Snells Window too)
Gold Medal Winner
Over/Under (shots half topside, half U/W)
'Lemon Shark evening split'
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Subal underwater housing, Canon 1Dx, Canon EF 8-15mm@15mm, f11, 1/160, ISO400, ambient light and Inon Z240 strobe
Location: Bahamas
Silver Medal Winner
Over/Under (shots half topside, half U/W)
Taste The Rainbow
Location: United States
Bronze Medal Winner
Over/Under (shots half topside, half U/W)
Cave split. Cenote Tajma Ha
Location: Mexico
Runner Ups
Over/Under (shots half topside, half U/W)
Wide Angle - Natural Light (no strobe)
shots taken using ambient light i.e. unlit by flash or continuous lighting like HID but filters on the lens are allowed if declared
Gold Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Natural Light (no strobe)
Mantaflight, Hanifaru Bay
Location: Maldives
Silver Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Natural Light (no strobe)
A beautiful Octopus
Location: United States
Bronze Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Natural Light (no strobe)
Whilst diving in the Socorro islands we came across a family of majestic Humpbacks at Roca Partida in the Socorro islands. These gentle giants stole my heart!
Location: Mexico
Runner Ups
Wide Angle - Natural Light (no strobe)
Wide Angle - Wrecks
anything man-made that is sunk including cars, tanks, planes etc. - oh and ships!
Gold Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Wrecks
1941
Red Sea. Thr Gulf of Suez. SS Turkia.
Location: Egypt
Silver Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Wrecks
Dakota DC3
Location: Turkey
Bronze Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Wrecks
It's the moments in life that change us forever...
— Subal underwater housing, Canon 5Dmk2 Canon 8-15mm fisheye @ 15mm, f8, 1/250, ISO400, Manual white balance. No strobes
Location: Bahamas
Runner Ups
Wide Angle - Wrecks
Wide Angle - Divers
Divers doing what divers do - underwater or on the surface
Gold Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Divers
Free diver
Location: Indonesia
Silver Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Divers
Three free-divers strike a pose upside down under the ice in Morrison's Quarry. Canon 6D, 15mm lens, cropped and colour corrected in PS.
Location: Canada
Bronze Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Divers
Jade & the Sardines
Location: Philippines
Runner Ups
Wide Angle - Divers
Wide Angle - Marine Life
wide angle shots with no divers in frame
Gold Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Marine Life
A curious baby humpback swims by me on the way to get a breath. The escort male is just visible behind momma. Despite the protection of the adult whales, two orcas killed and ate the baby the day after this photo was taken.
Location: Mexico
Silver Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Marine Life
~ Feed Me! ~
Location: South Africa
Bronze Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Marine Life
"The Order of Things" - Life in the ocean is so unknown, yet we fly to the moon, experiment on Mars, all our research to find a human habitat in space in stead of understanding the ocean, a habitat that supports earth!!! A rather crazy notion!!!
Location: South Africa
Runner Ups
Wide Angle - Marine Life
Wide Angle - Close Focus
shots taken with a WIDE ANGLE (or fisheye) lens having 1) a well defined close subject (usually strobe-lit) AND 2) a wide angle BACKGROUND with a second subject, usually a diver
Gold Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Close Focus
Contact solar
Location: Italy
Silver Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Close Focus
shallow life (Thau lagoon, France)
Location: France
Bronze Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Close Focus
Hippocampus guttulatus #3
Location: France
Runner Ups
Wide Angle - Close Focus
Macro - not swimming
Smaller subjects typically 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.5cm) shot on macro settings or with macro equipment that are NOT MOVING usually on the bottom (i.e. between 1:1 and 1:3)
Gold Medal Winner
Macro - not swimming
Backlit thorny seahorse
Ambon, Maluku Islands, Indonesia
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Subal underwater housing, Canoin 5D m2, Canon EF100 macro, f25, 1/200s, ISO200, Inon Z240 remote strobe,
Location: Indonesia
Silver Medal Winner
Macro - not swimming
Be my Valentine
Location: Indonesia
Bronze Medal Winner
Macro - not swimming
Gobi on a seapen
Location: Indonesia
Runner Ups
Macro - not swimming
Macro - swimming
Smaller subjects typically 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.5cm) shot on macro settings or with macro equipment that are in MID WATER not touching anything (i.e. between 1:1 and 1:3)
Gold Medal Winner
Macro - swimming
Muddle. Box Jellyfish - Morbakka virulenta. Sail Rock, Thailand
Location: Thailand
Silver Medal Winner
Macro - swimming
Golden Cowfish
Location: Indonesia
Bronze Medal Winner
Macro - swimming
The Lion's Roar
Location: Philippines
Runner Ups
Macro - swimming
Macro - Nudibranchia
Sea slugs. A subject popular with macro guys! (means naked gills) Flatworms allowed
Gold Medal Winner
Macro - Nudibranchia
Sunbathing doto
Location: Indonesia
Silver Medal Winner
Macro - Nudibranchia
Tricolore
Location: Indonesia
Bronze Medal Winner
Macro - Nudibranchia
Sea hare potrait
Location: Philippines
Runner Ups
Macro - Nudibranchia
Macro - Super macro
Shots taken (at smaller than 1:1) with multiple extension rings, diopters, or teleconverters of extremely small subjects typically less than 1 inch (2.5 cm)
Gold Medal Winner
Macro - Super macro
Ready to face the world?
One almost ready to hatch cuttlefish.
Location: Mozambique
Silver Medal Winner
Macro - Super macro
Fightclub - Sceleton shrimp
Location: Indonesia
Bronze Medal Winner
Macro - Super macro
Emperor shrimp on seacucumber
Location: Indonesia
Runner Ups
Macro - Super macro
Macro - Close-Up
Shots taken of a subject between 3 inches and 1 foot (7.5 to 30cm) in size (e.g. large fish or diver head) that dominates the frame - any background is incidental and occupies LESS THAN 50% of frame
Gold Medal Winner
Macro - Close-Up
Golden - juv. batfish
Location: Indonesia
Silver Medal Winner
Macro - Close-Up
Clearfin Lizardfish (Synodus dermatogenys) predating on Juvenile Acanthuridae, right moment, right time
Location: Indonesia
Bronze Medal Winner
Macro - Close-Up
"Eye Of The Squid"
No crop
Location: Cayman islands
Runner Ups
Macro - Close-Up
Sharks
Shots where sharks are the predominant subject. Sponsored by Stuart Cove's
Gold Medal Winner
Sharks
"Shout" - One of my personal favourites ;)
Location: South Africa
Silver Medal Winner
Sharks
Shadow Sharks
There were so many sand tiger sharks around us while diving off of North Carolina a couple weeks ago, that they seemed to just come out of nowhere.
Location: United States
Bronze Medal Winner
Sharks
Few encounters are more rewarding than shooting sunset splits with a wonderfully co-operative lemon shark.
— Subal underwater housing, Canon 1Dx, Canon EF8-15mm fisheye @ 15mm, f11, 1/160, ISO320, 2x Inon Z240 strobes
Location: Bahamas
Runner Ups
Sharks
Temperate Waters
Seas with green water well north or south of tropical zones typically cold enough for drysuits!
Gold Medal Winner
Temperate Waters
'Hello Cheeky'
An excited and boisterous atlantic grey seal at Lundy Island, UK
Location: United Kingdom
Silver Medal Winner
Temperate Waters
Belugas in the wild where they should be! Hudson Bay, Churchill, Canada
Location: Canada
Bronze Medal Winner
Temperate Waters
I think he was trying to tell me something...
Location: United States
Runner Ups
Temperate Waters
Freshwater
shots taken bodies of water with no salt e.g. in lakes, streams, pools, rivers i.e NOT the Sea!
Gold Medal Winner
Freshwater
Silver Medal Winner
Freshwater
Freediver enjoys the tranquility of the crystal clear water.
— Subal underwater housing, Zen DP230, Canon 1Dx, Canon EF8-15mm @ 15mm, f9, 1/80, ISO500, available light
Location: Mexico
Bronze Medal Winner
Freshwater
Brown Trout on the iconic UK chalk stream - the river Test
Location: United Kingdom
Runner Ups
Freshwater
Fashion
Underwater Fashion Photography, Trash the Dress, Wedding and Couple shots and any other shot with models underwater
Gold Medal Winner
Fashion
Moonlight Ballet
(night underwater photo shooting in swimming pool)
Location: United States
Silver Medal Winner
Fashion
Dolphins are not Pets!
Location: United States
Bronze Medal Winner
Fashion
The restlessness of a condemned soul.
Location: Israel
Runner Ups
Fashion
Creative - Manipulated (Photoshopped)
Shots that have been digitally edited outside of the camera for creative reasons (not brightness/contrast etc.) in a program like PhotoShop
Gold Medal Winner
Creative - Manipulated (Photoshopped)
"Home Security" part of my Underwater Surrealism series
Location: Palau
Silver Medal Winner
Creative - Manipulated (Photoshopped)
ATLANTIDA
Poetic name for the mythical continent Atlantis. This image is my very personal project, it reminds me of my childhood. I have dreamed about Atlantida from the moment I first heard song "Atlantida" on the radio, when I was a child.
Location: United States
Bronze Medal Winner
Creative - Manipulated (Photoshopped)
Imagine
Location: United States
Runner Ups
Creative - Manipulated (Photoshopped)
Topside (above water but marine related)
shots above the surface. Can be on land but with relevance to the marine environment
Gold Medal Winner
Topside (above water but marine related)
~ Break on Through to the Other Side ~
Location: South Africa
Silver Medal Winner
Topside (above water but marine related)
Lahaina Makai
Location: United States
Bronze Medal Winner
Topside (above water but marine related)
A water spout during a storm.
Location: Cayman islands