Another competition has ended with an impressive 8,542 entries out of which 1,367 became hotshots that we consider the first round of judging to the annual competition. We are so proud to be having a constant flow of new talent coming in. Our goal is and always have been to promote young talent and give them a stage to show off their photos and launch a career as underwater photographers.

Thank you to all the contestants and judges, Winners will be released to the press later in March.

Congratulations Marco! Marco clearly dominated the competition uploading more than 684 shots to date since registering in 2012. 98 of these images became hotshots which is a clear evidence of the level of photos Marco has demonstrated. Marco was nominated by many for Champion and was chosen due to the incredible diversity of his portfolio, excelling in both macro, super macro shots and wide angle shots. Marco's portfolio also includes a huge variety of photo subjects and unique marine life. Mostly noted are his Seahorse images and Alicia mirabilis which he claims to be his favorite subject.

Mathieu is a long time member and uploaded over 170 images in 2014 out of which 41 were shortlisted. That's almost 25%! Mathieu was a leader in many categories: over/under, topside, close ups, macro, sharks and more.. each of his winning shots is very different from the other and all in the highest technical standards and creative composition. Notable series this year were the toad shots, crocodiles and sharks. He is also famous for his selfies with Crabs and Gilbert the Toad.
Well done Mathieu, keep them coming!

Oscar joined underwaterphotography.com only towards the end of 2012 and still managed to upload over 300 images since, almost an image every day. 51 of these images became hotshots and mostly dominated the macro and super macro categories. Oscar's photos usually present strong vivid colors, sharp eyes that stand out and very accurate lighting and depth of field. Thanks, Oscar, for competing and sharing your portfolio with us, we look forward to see you excel and maybe make champion in 2015.