We didn’t know that this competition existed, but we’re definitely glad we do now: It’s the In Water Photographer of the Year competition, and it’s all about the work of innovative photographers who capture their snaps while below the surface of the briny deep. Here’s what the website had to say about the yearly competition: > In Water Photographer of the Year Competition is all about entering the water with the bare minimum, the category winners below are open water swimmers, surfers, snorkelers, freedivers and skin diver enthusiasts. All of the photographs have been taken on one breath, with just a camera in hand and no other technical gear other than mask and fins. Sounds like a tall order, right? You’re not going to believe some of the images captured here — no Photoshop necessary.This is taken in the natural pool in the wet land of my hometown, where have very clear and clean water. I wanted to present the picture of broad sky of 360 degrees so I used Kodak SP360 to shoot from the bottom. I tried fine tuning for many times to change the angle of the picture and I am pleased to shoot successfully.
It’s 12 noon and Under 21 Colombian National Team is preparing to make the daily training. Image shows how the coach is holding the ball while in the background all players are entering into the water. A month after, this Team wins the World Championship in Lonsboda, Sweden.
Near the barren desert of Sinai, the coral reefs in water are so full of vitality. I went to the Woodhouse Reef by boat. I saw a large group of anthias fish under the reef rock while I was snorkeling. Therefore I free dived to the four-meter deep and shot from the bottom. By doing so, I presented the beautiful lights of bright sun, colorful coral reef and shoal of anthias in a same picture.
This photo was taken at Manly Beach in Sydney just moments after sunrise. Wading waist deep in the waves with no water housing to protect my camera, it was risky to say the least. To capture this shot, the angle, timing, focus and lighting all had to align, with just a few minutes to capture the sun before it moved too far above the horizon. Taking hundreds of photos within about 10 minutes, the camera held just millimetres away from the surface of the water at times, this was my last capture before misjudging a wave and completely soaking the bottom half of my DSLR. It was totally worth it though, my left arrow button now permanently salt damaged – a price I’m willing to risk to capture a great photograph.
During a free diving and sailing trip in Antarctica, we used to swim and free dive around the icebergs, it was such an amazing experience! I am very lucky to have visited this part of the world!
A free diving training session in one of the most beautiful pool of Paris! we keep training almost every day (free diving and swimming) to be in good shape when we go seeing animals in the oceans!
I had an accreditation from Redbull Cliff diving, and seeing those athletes diving from the cliffs of Polignano a Mare in Italia. The most incredible was the sound of the impact when they arrive on the surface of the sea, a few meters from me!
This photograph is part of the project underwater dance photography. Kleftiko is a unique spot in the world, where we first dived. When I opened my eyes under water I saw this elusive light. The rays of the sun reached the bottom where was created amazing shapes.I always carry with me my camera so we immediately began the shooting. I position the model in such a way as to illuminate those points outlined the move. So I managed to capture in my photo the light, motion and landscape.
I was swimming around the reef and seagrass beds, not far from shore on a calm day at Portsea, Victoria. I was lucky to spot this Weedy Seadragon well camouflaged among the seaweed. I dove down for a closer look, the dragon watching me calmly from his hiding place and allowed me to take a photo to remember the encounter by, before heading back to the surface.
The pools reflects light. Alejandro and Pablo are teammates, they know each other for 8 years or more thats why they get the enough intimacy to pose to my camera naturally.
During a free diving and sailing trip in Antarctica, we found a school of gentoo engines feeding in the open ocean, so we just get in the 0° water with them, it was an freezing experience!
Taken from out in the ocean at Manly Beach in Sydney on an incredibly perfect morning of clean waves and golden light, this photo shows a glimpse into the hidden treasures of the sea that not many people are lucky enough to experience. It is rare that Manly gets waves as clear and consistently dramatic as the ones I enjoyed on this morning and I’m sure glad I made the decision to pack the waterproof camera rather than opt for long exposure seascapes like i so iften do. This is one of those mornings where all the elements lined up and I was able to take full advantage to produce one of my all time favourite in-water photographs.
Cirkewwa is one of the best freediving locations in Malta with impressive reef walls and wonderful 30+ metre visibility. To get this photo I was watching one of my freediving students during his dive, and I then met him at 5m from the surface. The shallow depth allowed the colours to be kept in the shot and the picture stands out because of the eye contact with the diver, the clear blue water background and the bubbles giving a sense of movement.
We were playing with a baby sperm whale in the Indian Ocean, and this one was coming at us and very curious!
Not far off the coast of Malta, the recently scuttled ‘Tug 2’ wreck is an ideal playground for freedivers, as it sits at a depth of just 12-20m. On this occasion we were having some fun after a training session and my freediving student requested a photograph of himself next to the wreck. Thanks to his ability underwater, he confidently sat on the bow of the wreck and posed while I dived down and framed the shot at the angle I envisioned. I feel the conversion to black and white adds atmosphere to this particular wreck photograph.
I had the idea for the photographic image in a day dream. I was searching for some content for our Fremantle Underwater Film Festival and found a project in Bali in a little place called Les. It was a coral reef conservation project to restore their reef destroyed by Potassium Cyanide poisoning. I decided to visit at New Year and spent a week in Les with the village project facilitator as my kind host. I took with me from Fremntle, Western Australia a watering can and my Canon Powershot G9 with underwater housing (very versatile lil darling) and my ideal to shoot a coral gardener in Les. I made a few new friends while visiting Fsuion Freediving & Yoga in Amed and learned some advanced techniques in freediving. There I met Kirill Popov who was a very good freediver from Sydney. I had the luck of meeting him again in Gili T where he agreed to pose for me in the coral gardens there. The aim was to raise awareness about the conservation project in Les Village and share the love and nurturing that goes into raising such a coral garden from the sea floor up. Lots of heart in the sea!
Orcas Team is famous for their triumphs worldwide, it is composed by 100 athletes who daily practices in the Aquatic Complex of the City of the eternal spring, Medellin. Underwater rugby is one of the several underwater sports that Medellin has to offer and particularly this team, has achieve to remain in the second place at the world championship of clubs for a while, in a sport which is mostly played in Europe. My intention is to show the contrast between a sport that seems to be chaotic and the delicacy of the large volume of water.
This was my first experimentation with underwater photography at night. I wanted the stark contrast between the dark waters and her light skin. I knew black and white was perfect for that.
In this work, I mainly used the natural light and reinforced the brightness in the bottom of the work through the flashing light in water. Finally, I rotated the image ninety degrees anticlockwise so it presented an effect of mirror reflection. When shooting, the model needed to lie into water and keep balance to stabilize her posture, enduring the uneasiness of watering in the nose. It was really difficult to consider several matters in just ten seconds. We tried for many times and finally we were successful in this work.
