UnderwaterPhotography.com

Underwater Photography

Photo Contest Statistics  

Home
Store
Learn>
Photo Contest>
Forums>
Zones>
Contact Us>
 

Photo Contest Statistics

Where do underwater photographers take the most pictures? Which country? What Sea? What are their favorite subjects?

We have all the answers here, displayed in graphical format. This analysis of our photo contest entries is surely the most unique insight into the travel habits of underwater photographers ever!

You can use the data here to decide where the utimate u/w photo destination is!

What Seas?

When you enter the contest the sea that the image was shot in is an optional field. Not everyone knows what sea they were in! And, of course, freshwater shots are excluded. We have logged seas since 2007

Mouseover the graph bars to see even more detail. Is this the ultimate trip planner? Mouseover the graph bars to see which seas produce the most medals and so should be most worth a visit? Of course the most popular seas will have more images and should statistically therefore have more medals. But note the most popular seas do not always produce the most medals!

SeasPercentageGraph
Caribbean Sea15.60%
Red Sea12.90%
Pacific10.20%
Indian Ocean7.40%
Philippine Sea4.50%
Bali Sea4.10%
Sulu and Sulawesi Seas4.00%
Atlantic (North American coastal)3.90%
South China Sea3.90%
Celebes Sea3.80%
Mediterranean Sea3.60%
Andaman Sea1.80%
Adriatic Sea1.60%
Tyrrhenian Sea1.50%
Atlantic (European coastal)1.40%
Banda Sea1.20%
Atlantic (African coastal)1.20%
Atlantic1.20%
Molucca Sea1.10%
Asian Sea1.10%
North Sea1.00%
Coral Sea0.90%
Gulf Of Mexico0.90%
Tasman Sea0.80%
Bohol Sea0.70%
Flores Sea0.70%
Aegean Sea0.70%
Irish Sea0.60%
Mindanao Sea0.60%
Atlantic (South)0.60%
Halmahera Sea0.60%
Ionian Sea0.40%
Solomon Sea0.40%
Visayan Sea0.40%
Arabian Sea0.30%
Norwegian Sea0.30%
Bismarck Sea0.30%
Ligurian Sea0.30%
East China Sea0.20%
Gulf Of Oman0.20%
Balearic Sea0.20%
Sea Of Cortés /Gulf of California0.20%
Atlantic (South America coastal)0.20%
Mozambique Channel0.20%
Java Sea0.20%
Baltic Sea0.20%
Black Sea0.20%
Gulf of Venezuela0.10%
Great Lakes0.10%
Ceram Sea0.10%
Great Australian Bight0.10%
Sea of Japan0.10%
Persian Gulf0.10%
Sargasso Sea0.10%
Landlocked Seas/Lakes0.10%
Koro Sea0.10%
Antarctic (Southern Ocean)0.10%
English Channel0.10%
Norwegian Sea0.10%
Sunda Sea0.00%
Arctic0.00%
Sea of Marmara0.00%
Sibuyan Sea0.00%
Timor Sea0.00%
Arafura Sea0.00%
Gulf Of Aden0.00%
Savu Sea0.00%
Celtic Sea0.00%
Argentine Sea0.00%
Caspian Sea0.00%
African Lakes0.00%
Ross Sea0.00%
Sea of Crete0.00%
Camotes Sea0.00%
Sea of the Hebrides0.00%
Chilean Sea0.00%
Weddel Sea0.00%
White Sea0.00%
Bering Sea0.00%
Bay Of Biscay0.00%
Amundsen Sea0.00%
Lake Tahoe0.00%
Laccidive Sea0.00%
Labrador Sea0.00%
Great Salt Lake0.00%
Barents Sea0.00%
Gulf of Alaska0.00%
Bay of Bengal0.00%
Greenland Sea0.00%
Davis Sea0.00%
Alboran Sea0.00%
Gulf of Carpentaria0.00%
Wandel or McKinley Sea0.00%
Kara Sea0.00%
Queen Victoria Sea0.00%
Bellinghausen Sea0.00%

What Countries?

Is this the ultimate trip planner? You can see which countries produce the most medals and so should be most worth a visit, then cross-reference with the seas that produce the most medals and Viola! Book now!

It is interesting to compare country taken against sea taken. Note that the Caribbean Sea rates so highly when no single island does as a country.

CountryPercentageGraph
Indonesia13.90%
Egypt10.90%
United States7.90%
Philippines7.50%
Australia3.50%
Mexico3.50%
Malaysia3.50%
Italy3.20%
Maldives2.80%
United Kingdom2.60%
Netherlands Antilles2.30%
Cayman islands2.30%
Bahamas2.20%
Puerto Rico2.10%
South Africa1.90%
Thailand1.70%
Switzerland1.70%
Spain1.50%
Turkey1.30%
Honduras1.30%
Croatia1.10%
Canada1.10%
Papua New Guinea0.80%
Portugal0.80%
France0.70%
Micronesia0.70%
Fiji0.70%
Taiwan0.70%
Czech Republic0.60%
Palau0.50%
Norway0.50%
Ecuador0.50%
Malta0.50%
Belize0.50%
Solomon islands0.40%
Cuba0.40%
Greece0.40%
French Polynesia0.40%
United Arab Emirates0.40%
Germany0.40%
Virgin Islands U.S.0.40%
Northern Mariana Islands0.40%
Dominica0.40%
Mozambique0.30%
Sudan0.30%
Oman0.30%
Israel0.30%
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines0.30%
Netherlands0.30%
Turks and Caicos islands0.30%
East Timor0.30%
Saudi Arabia0.30%
Ireland0.30%
Virgin Islands (British)0.30%
Brazil0.30%
Seychelles0.20%
Guam0.20%
New Zealand0.20%
Mauritius0.20%
Sri Lanka0.20%
Denmark0.20%
Russia0.20%
Grenada0.20%
Costa Rica0.20%
Vanuatu0.20%
Ukraine0.20%
Guadeloupe0.10%
Japan0.10%
Vietnam0.10%
Austria0.10%
Jordan0.10%
Cape Verde0.10%
Sweden0.10%
Madagascar0.10%
Cocos Islands0.10%
Dominican Republic0.10%
Cyprus0.10%
Barbados0.10%
Bermuda0.10%
Saint Lucia0.10%
Myanmar (Burma)0.10%
Tanzania0.10%
Chile0.10%
Poland0.10%
Singapore0.10%
Tonga0.10%
Aruba0.10%
Saint Kitts and Nevis0.10%
Slovenia0.10%
Colombia0.10%
Marshall Islands0.10%
Brunei Darussalam0.10%
Argentina0.10%
Qatar0.10%
New Caledonia0.10%
Anguilla0.10%
Jamaica0.10%
Trinidad and Tobago0.00%
Romania0.00%
Antarctica0.00%
Martinique0.00%
Venezuela0.00%
Djibouti0.00%
Belgium0.00%
Slovakia (Slovak Republic)0.00%
Palestine Territory, occupied0.00%
India0.00%
Hong Kong0.00%
China0.00%
Finland0.00%
Iran (Islamic Republic of)0.00%
Kenya0.00%
Panama0.00%
Antigua & Barbuda0.00%
Bulgaria0.00%
Nambia0.00%
Reunion0.00%
Mayotte0.00%
Serbia and Montenegro (Yugoslavia)0.00%
Hungary0.00%
Cook islands0.00%
Iceland0.00%
Luxembourg0.00%
Tunisia0.00%
Greenland0.00%
Nicaragua0.00%
French Guiana0.00%
Pakistan0.00%
Niue0.00%
Korea, Republic of0.00%
Lithuania0.00%
Morocco0.00%
Guatemala0.00%
Samoa0.00%
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya0.00%
Latvia0.00%
American Samoa0.00%
Syrian Arab Republic0.00%
Peru0.00%
Malawi0.00%
Iraq0.00%
Angola0.00%
Nigeria0.00%
Eritrea0.00%
Mali0.00%
Kazakhstan0.00%
Pitcairn0.00%
French Southern Territories0.00%
Christmas Island0.00%
Cambodia0.00%
Bosnia and Herzegowina0.00%
Bahrain0.00%
Montserrat0.00%
Haiti0.00%
Albania0.00%
Bolivia0.00%
Afganistan0.00%
Central African Republic0.00%
Macau0.00%
Togo0.00%
Uganda0.00%
Faroe islands0.00%
Monaco0.00%
Azerbaijan0.00%
El Salvador0.00%
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands0.00%
Norfolk Island0.00%
Senegal0.00%
Saint Helena0.00%
Kuwait0.00%
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands0.00%
Korea, Democratic Peoples's Republic0.00%
Guinea-Bissau0.00%
Belarus0.00%
Comoros0.00%
Cote d’Ivoire0.00%

What Subjects?

Please bear in mind that we introduced several new categories in January 2008 so the figures may be skewed towards older categories. As time goes by this should even out and become more accurate.

Mouseover the graph bars to see even more detail. You should be able to deduce not only the most popular categories to enter but also for vistors to look at from their average vote. Note that new category Nudibranchia punches way above it's weight in this respect!

Photo contest categoryPercentageGraph
Macro - not swimming19.50%
Wide Angle - Marine Life16.30%
Macro - swimming12.60%
Macro - Close-Up9.30%
Wide Angle - Natural Light (no strobe)5.60%
Wide Angle - Divers5.60%
Macro - Nudibranchia4.90%
Topside (above water but marine related)4.80%
Wide Angle - Wrecks3.10%
Wide Angle - Close Focus3.00%
Freshwater2.70%
Macro - Super macro2.50%
Creative - Manipulated (Photoshopped)2.30%
Sharks1.90%
Temperate Waters1.70%
Over/Under (shots half topside, half U/W)1.20%
Humorous0.70%
Macro - Last years entries0.40%
Wide Angle - Year 2000 entries0.30%
Out Of Contest0.10%
Places0.00%


More stats - who takes the hot shots?
top of page
all content ©1996/2012 UnderwaterPhotography.com
all images © their respective owners This site uses Thumbshots previews