The Underwater Photographer of the Year contest shows us each year the winners of underwater photography, whose images show a variety of wildlife, environments and archaeological delicacies that we can find under the waves; “Under the sea”, as the well-known song of ‘The Little Mermaid’ would say.
Each year, more than 5,000 underwater photographers from all corners of the world, including China, Europe, the US and Bermuda, participate in the contest.
In 2018 the grand prize was awarded to German photographer Tobias Friedrich for his striking “Cycle War” image, which shows a wreck filled with submerged World War II motorcycles and supply trucks, with schools of soldiers patrolling above.
“I had had this image in mind for a few years, but it is impossible to capture it in a single photo because there is no room inside the wreck to photograph this scene in a single frame,” explained Friedrich. “My solution was to take a series of images and stitch them together as a panorama.”
The contest’s jury president, Peter Rowlands, called it “an extraordinary shot that should be seen as big as possible.” “The artistic ability is to visualize such an image and the photographic talent is to achieve it,” he added.
According to Peter Rowlands, “This year’s entry level was even better than last year … and that shouldn’t belittle last year because they blew us away!”
The contest covers a number of underwater photography categories including: Wide Angle, Macro, Wrecks, Behavior, Portrait, Black & White, Compact, or Wide Angle.
