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2008/09 Medal Winners

medal
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 2008/09
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.

winnerThe overall 2008/09 World Champion is...

Over/Under (shots half topside, half U/W)

shots that cross the surface boundary (so under/overs like Snells Window too)

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Gold Medal Winner
Over/Under (shots half topside, half U/W)
profile Andrew Mckaskle United States

US Navy Divers going to the office.

Location: Dominica

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Silver Medal Winner
Over/Under (shots half topside, half U/W)

Under the surface: Xmas tree

Location: Indonesia

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Bronze Medal Winner
Over/Under (shots half topside, half U/W)
profile David Stephens United Kingdom

Stepson fishing in Martin's Haven, West Wales

Location: United Kingdom

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

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Gold Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Natural Light (no strobe)

Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola) cleaned by bannerfish, Crystal Bay, Bali (Canon G9)

Location: Indonesia

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Silver Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Natural Light (no strobe)
profile Dray Van Beeck Netherlands

St.Johns caves. Couldn't find the rockband anywhere.

Location: Egypt

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Bronze Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Natural Light (no strobe)
profile Maria Munn United Kingdom

Taken in Nuweiba with Emperor Divers in Egypt, this was taken with a Fuji Finepix F31D compact camera and an Inon Wide Angle lens on the Underwater Setting whilst doing a headstand to fit it all in!

Location: Egypt

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!

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Gold Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Wrecks

The Giannis D, Sha’ab Abu Nuhas Reef, Red Sea, Egypt.

Location: Egypt

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Silver Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Wrecks

Un-named wreck in Lake Ontario, Canada, near Picton. Depth 170'.

Location: Canada

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Bronze Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Wrecks
profile Gareth Millson United Kingdom

Motorcycle in Hold of the SS Thistlegorm. Canon 10-22mm wide angle. Balanced natural light through hold doors with strobes with a 1/50 shutter.

Location: Egypt

Runner Ups
Wide Angle - Wrecks

Wide Angle - Divers

Divers doing what divers do - underwater or on the surface

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Gold Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Divers

Pollution - camera Nikonos UW 15 mm.

Location: Italy

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Silver Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Divers
profile Amanda Cotton United States

Camera's point of view at the end of a dive. ©Amanda Cotton

Location: Bahamas

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Bronze Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Divers

Diver checking out the soldierfish before going back up to the boat.

Location: Egypt

Runner Ups
Wide Angle - Divers

Wide Angle - Marine Life

wide angle shots with no divers in frame

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Gold Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Marine Life
profile Christian Loader United Kingdom

All aboard the Manta Train!! Olympus SP350, Inon fisheye lens, natural light. Baa Atoll, Maldives.

Location: Maldives

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Silver Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Marine Life

Kissing fish? Two blued striped grunts trying to establish dominance over each other. Cozumel Mexico. Canon 20D and Sigma 17-70.

Location: Mexico

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Bronze Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Marine Life
profile Mike Ellis United States

Diving with the m/v Dolphin Dream at Tiger Wreck in the Bahamas. Lemon sharks by the dozen

Location: Bahamas

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

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Gold Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Close Focus

Big fun gorgonias in Moal Boal Nikon D200 , !0,5 wide angle, two strobo and amd one very good model

Location: Philippines

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Silver Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Close Focus

Leopard

Location: Malaysia

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Bronze Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Close Focus

sharm el seik,ras mohamed,nikond2x 10,5mm 2 strobes

Location: Egypt

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)

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Gold Medal Winner
Macro - not swimming

Rhinopias eschmeyeri (Rhino-fish), Lembeh strait

Location: Indonesia

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Silver Medal Winner
Macro - not swimming

Nose to nose.

Location: Spain

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Bronze Medal Winner
Macro - not swimming
profile Henry Jager Switzerland

"Two Bargibanti Buddies" ... Ok ... if you spot three of them, I won't negotiate ;-). Taken at the Raja Ampat, West Papua. Touched up background, but left animals untouched in PS.

Location: Indonesia

Runner Ups
Macro - not swimming
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Brian Mayes
United Kingdom
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Dave Hunt
United States
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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)

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Gold Medal Winner
Macro - swimming
profile Michel Lonfat Switzerland

Cleaning time.... :O)

Location: Maldives

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Silver Medal Winner
Macro - swimming

Colors of Nature....

Location: Malaysia

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Bronze Medal Winner
Macro - swimming
profile Jim Chambers United States

I was very fortunate to see these two Black-Saddled Tobies spiraling upward in a mating ritual. I got a sequence of about a dozen shots before the action ended. Dauin, Philippines.

Location: Philippines

Runner Ups
Macro - swimming

Macro - Nudibranchia

Sea slugs. A subject popular with macro guys! (means naked gills) Flatworms allowed

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Gold Medal Winner
Macro - Nudibranchia

Hypselodoris Kanga nudibranch, Tukad Abu, Bali (Canon G9, WP-DC21,Inon D2000w)

Location: Indonesia

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Silver Medal Winner
Macro - Nudibranchia

jumping nudi

Location: East Timor

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Bronze Medal Winner
Macro - Nudibranchia

Another Nudi Shot from Anilao taken with Canon 400D + 100mm macro lens

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)

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Gold Medal Winner
Macro - Super macro

Nudi close-up D200/105 VR

Location: Philippines

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Bronze Medal Winner
Macro - Super macro
profile Beverly Speed United States

Pygmy Seahorse

Location: Indonesia

Runner Ups
Macro - Super macro

Temperate Waters

Seas with green water well north or south of tropical zones typically cold enough for drysuits!

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Gold Medal Winner
Temperate Waters
profile Geoff Spiby South Africa

in the kelp forest

Location: South Africa

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Silver Medal Winner
Temperate Waters

Giant cuttle, Kurnell

Location: Australia

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Bronze Medal Winner
Temperate Waters
profile Brian Mayes United Kingdom

"Dont mess with me!"............................ A snarling Mosaic Moray (Gymnothorax prionodon)<><><><>Canon G9

Location: New Zealand

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Freshwater

shots taken bodies of water with no salt e.g. in lakes, streams, pools, rivers i.e NOT the Sea!

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Gold Medal Winner
Freshwater

Apnea World Championship in Maribor, 2007

Location: Slovenia

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Silver Medal Winner
Freshwater

Skydiver. A diver suspended in the clear waters of an Australian Sinkhole.

Location: Australia

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Bronze Medal Winner
Freshwater

The Napoleon Bridge near Kobarid. The Picture is made on 2m depth Soca River (max depth on this place is cca.8m). It's nice place with lot of fish...also well known for its unique trout species Salmo trutta marmoratus (known as the marble trout).

Location: Slovenia

Runner Ups
Freshwater

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

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Gold Medal Winner
Creative - Manipulated (Photoshopped)
profile Zena Holloway United Kingdom

Golden dress

Location: United Kingdom

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Silver Medal Winner
Creative - Manipulated (Photoshopped)

nudi delivery :)

Location: Indonesia

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Bronze Medal Winner
Creative - Manipulated (Photoshopped)

Pterois mutans II

Location: Egypt

Runner Ups
Creative - Manipulated (Photoshopped)
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Margo Cavis
United States
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Heru Suryoko
Indonesia
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Libor Spacek
Czech Republic
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Topside (above water but marine related)

shots above the surface. Can be on land but with relevance to the marine environment

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Gold Medal Winner
Topside (above water but marine related)

An Antarctic view before a dive under the ice. One of the things that is amazing about the Antarctic is that there is no distance 'haze' effect through lack of dust. This mountain is over 1,000 m high and the ice cliffs hundreds of m high.

Location: Antarctica

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Silver Medal Winner
Topside (above water but marine related)
profile Cal Mero Australia

One of my most memorable marine life encounters. A baby seal basking in the morning sun Olympus sp-350

Location: Australia

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Bronze Medal Winner
Topside (above water but marine related)
profile Jozef Butala Slovakia (Slovak Republic)

Surfing "Jaws"

Location: United States

Runner Ups
Topside (above water but marine related)
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John Naylor
United Kingdom
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Allan Vandeford
United States
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Take me to the Contest!
Previous year's winners


Remember, if you don't enter you won't win!