We ask the judges (comprising 200+ site moderators including former champions) to name their 1,2,3 choices in order of preference. This year was a two horse race between Brian Mayes and Aleksandr Marinicev.

There was a strong entry in 2010 with many previous years’ winners returning to claim medals, however, the majority of medals went to relative newcomers! It is the shot, not the big name, that matters so, why not enter your best shot this year? Everyone stands the same chance of winning!

Aleksandr is our first Grand Master from Latvia and has been a member since February 2008.

He shoots on a Canon 1Ds MarkII in a Subal housing and has been an u/w photographer for 6 years.

His favorite photo dive site is Wolf Island and he has dived Bali Sea, Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Coral Sea, Indian Ocean, Java Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Norwegian Sea, Philippine Sea, Red Sea, Solomon Sea, Sulu and Sulawesi Seas.

Aleksandr is another photographer who is very strong on macro with some very considered portraits of small marine creatures. He also has some very strong wide angle work including some spectacular wreck shots.

Aleksandr is a Contest Monthly Winner, previous annual contest Medal Winner and Monthly Hotshot. He has an average vote of 25 for his entries and is in the #3 spot for all-time monthly hotshot winners.

Brian collects this award with almost unanimous acclaim by the judges. If he was not a judges first choice - he was the second.

Brian is a long time (since 2005) popular member of the community here at UnderwaterPhotography.com. He has won medals for three years running and was a strong contender (though he does not know it) for champion last year.

Brian is a Brit and fortunate enough to get multiple trips per year to some of the World's greatest u/w photo destinations including the Arabian Sea, the Atlantic, Bali Sea, Caribbean Sea, Celebes Sea, Coral Sea, Flores Sea, Great Australian Bight, Indian Ocean, Irish Sea, Molucca Sea, Philippine Sea and the South China Sea. Phew, what a list!

He started U/W photography in 1994 with a Nikonos V as a means to identify what he had seen U/W. His first digital camera was a Nikon Coolpix 990 in an Ikelite housing and Video Lite. He is currently using a compact Canon G9 with Canon housing and, amazingly, only the internal flash! He refuses to upgrade to a housed DSLR thus proving that it is the photographer, not the kit, that counts.

Brian is our first champ to shoot, pretty much exclusively, only macro. He has entered some wide angle but it would be true to say that, by specializing in small subjects, he has taken the art of shooting small subjects to a new level. That is an achievement not seen since the lenses enabling super macro became available. You can tell from his sympathetic treatment of his subject matter just how much he loves the marine environment.

Brian hasn’t entered many shots this year but boy have they been World Class! Many subjects he has shot have been unique, and some even new species!
He has an average vote of 27 for his entries and is in the #1 spot for all-time monthly hotshot winners. All in all Brian makes a deserving World champion for this year.