2006/07 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.

Winners are announced to the Press at the end of May

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 2006/07
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 2006/07 World Champion is...
The UnderwaterPhotography.com photo course collection
click here to buy the book		See the best images from the last 10 years of the contest in all their glory in...
The UnderwaterPhotography.com photo course collection
120 full color pages

Topside (above water but marine related)

shots above the surface. Can be on land but with relevance to the marine environment
click to zoomclick images to zoom
Marine Iguana, Isabella, Galapagos. 2006. Nikkor 70-300mm.
Chris Wildblood
United Kingdom
Gold Medal Gold Medal		 Great White Shark - taken whilst cage diving with these wonderful animals off Gansbaai. Taken with Konica Minolta Dimage A200 prefocused and with patience!
David Edward Carson
United Kingdom
Bronze Medal Bronze Medal		 Wakatobi
Mauro Serafini
Italy
Runner Up - worthy of note but not a medal winner - an equal 4th place if you like! Runner Up
This seal swam up between the props and tried to board the boat for a bite...
Ryan Stafford
Nambia
Runner Up - worthy of note but not a medal winner - an equal 4th place if you like! Runner Up		 Small Crab and our Dive Boat taken with a Canon SD550 Point & Shoot
Terry Moore
United States
Runner Up - worthy of note but not a medal winner - an equal 4th place if you like! Runner Up		  
Underwater Photo course

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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The man and the sea nikonos V and 16mm.
Marco Caraceni
Italy
Gold Medal Gold Medal		 My best effort with the Maria Schroeder wreck in Nabq Park. Taken with flat port and E300.
Nikki Van Veelen
South Africa
Silver Medal Silver Medal		 I have taken the photo on a divetrip by natural light.
Gyula Zombor
Hungary
Bronze Medal Bronze Medal
     
Underwater Photo course

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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My special little buddy. Canon 20D & 60mm macro with Inon strobes.
Kristin Anderson
Australia
Gold Medal Gold Medal		 Lembeh Streit, north Sulawesi. I love this frog fish! Nikon Coolpix 5000 in Sea & Sea housing and two strobes.
Ugo Gaggeri
Italy
Silver Medal Silver Medal		 Do you want to be a star?
David Spiel
United States
Bronze Medal Bronze Medal
Colorful Nudi! Taken In Tulamben With Canon S80.
Ed Eng
Malaysia
Runner Up - worthy of note but not a medal winner - an equal 4th place if you like! Runner Up		 Decorated Warbonett. Port Hardy, B.C. Canada. Oly C5050
Rand Mcmeins
United States
Runner Up - worthy of note but not a medal winner - an equal 4th place if you like! Runner Up		 smile!
Marco Caraceni
Italy
Runner Up - worthy of note but not a medal winner - an equal 4th place if you like! Runner Up
     
Underwater Photo course

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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Turtle in cave
Martin Dalsaso
Northern Mariana Islands
Gold Medal Gold Medal		 A jellyfish. Photo taken in the Philippines at night. C5050.
Mikel Cortes
Spain
Silver Medal Silver Medal		 This little Yellowface Pikeblenny wasn't too shy about posing. Little Cayman, BWI. Nikon D70.
Jim Chambers
United States
Bronze Medal Bronze Medal
I was very lucky when I saw this harlequin shrimp climbing down the edge of a sponge to get to the arm of a starfish that was lying at the bottom of it. No, I didn't put it there, but someone else may have done so before me and I just got lucky :)
Erika Antoniazzo
Switzerland
Runner Up - worthy of note but not a medal winner - an equal 4th place if you like! Runner Up		 Leafy Sea-Dragon found while shore diving at Lucky Bay, Western Australia. Taken with Nikon Coolpix 990 and Video Lite. Without the lights, the Leafy Sea-Dragon is almost indistinguishable from the weeds. I'd watch these until the air ran out!
Brian Mayes
United Kingdom
Runner Up - worthy of note but not a medal winner - an equal 4th place if you like! Runner Up		  
Underwater Photo course

Wide Angle - Wrecks

anything man-made that is sunk including cars, tanks, planes etc. - oh and ships!
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The machine-room of the Kalais. This beautyful wreck laying in only 30 meters depth will disappear because it is inside the ampliation area of the exterior mole of the harbour at Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. This picture was taken may 2004.
Arthur Telle Thiemann
Spain
Gold Medal Gold Medal		 Freshwater wreck,Capernwray 10.5mm.
Derek Haslam
United Kingdom
Silver Medal Silver Medal		 upper part of the Salem Express (Safaga) D200, 10.5mm
Jean-Louis Danan
France
Bronze Medal Bronze Medal
Ship wreck off Orchid Island, Taiwan.
Steve Kuo
Taiwan
Runner Up - worthy of note but not a medal winner - an equal 4th place if you like! Runner Up		 Photographer on the wreck of the Giannis D at Abu Nuhas. Nikon D70, natural light, orange filter, 16mm lens
Jane Morgan
United Kingdom
Runner Up - worthy of note but not a medal winner - an equal 4th place if you like! Runner Up		 The 'American Yacht' - Dropped down after the rest of the divers, no flash just changed the ASA rateing to 800
Dave Reid
United Kingdom
Runner Up - worthy of note but not a medal winner - an equal 4th place if you like! Runner Up
     
Underwater Photo course

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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Catamaran used by local fishermen of Maya Island, Indonesia.. e900 with INON fisheye.. 2 meters from the surface..
Alex Tattersall
United Kingdom
Gold Medal Gold Medal		 Blue Hole - Middle Chamber. EOS5D + Sigma 15mm FE.
Jim Garland
Ireland
Silver Medal Silver Medal		 Underwater photographer at work in Ras Mohammed. D100 in Sea & Sea housing, no strobes. Converted to B&W in Photoshop.
Jean-Philippe Trenque
United Kingdom
Silver Medal Silver Medal
Shallows at Anchor Bay, Connemara. D200,16mm.
Mark Thomas
United Kingdom
Runner Up - worthy of note but not a medal winner - an equal 4th place if you like! Runner Up		 Starfish: Peter Island
Sarena Straus
United States
Runner Up - worthy of note but not a medal winner - an equal 4th place if you like! Runner Up		  
Underwater Photo course

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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Strange Encounter. Originally a so-so/lifeless shot of some coral. Mirrored and worked with Photoshop.
Mathew Cook
United States
Gold Medal Gold Medal		 "Jumpin' Jacks" - Grand Cayman East End. Taken with an Olympus C4040 Zoom in a PT-010 housing. Processed with Photoshop.
George Smorse
United States
Silver Medal Silver Medal		 Messing in photoshop and I came up with this.......
Martin Spragg
Belize
Bronze Medal Bronze Medal
in the pool,..w/ one strobe DS 125..
Iman Brotoseno
Indonesia
Runner Up - worthy of note but not a medal winner - an equal 4th place if you like! Runner Up		 nik D2x Maldives, Ari Atoll, Vakarufalhi, Photoshop
Manfred Bail
Germany
Runner Up - worthy of note but not a medal winner - an equal 4th place if you like! Runner Up		 Mutation – Three Eyed Spotted Pufinopolis. Found only in the early spring time off the Hawaiian Islands.
Glenn Poulain
United States
Runner Up - worthy of note but not a medal winner - an equal 4th place if you like! Runner Up
     
Underwater Photo course

Wide Angle - Divers

Divers doing what divers do - underwater or on the surface
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Red frogfish and photographing diver; Sabang beach, shallow water, Nikonos RS, Fisheye, Flash Nikon SB104 - Model: Leda
Frank Schneider
Germany
Gold Medal Gold Medal		 Underwater Babe! Taken In Redang, Malaysia!
Ed Eng
Malaysia
Silver Medal Silver Medal		 Giant sloth bones in kolimba cave
Becky Kagan
United States
Bronze Medal Bronze Medal
     
Underwater Photo course

Wide Angle - Marine Life

wide angle shots with no divers in frame
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Northern Right Whale, Patagonia - Puerto Pirámides.
Ralf Levc
Germany
Gold Medal Gold Medal		 Big cod at the "Bajón del Río", El Hierro, Canary Islands (one of the winning pics of the 10th Open Fotosub Isla de El Hierro, october 2006)
Arthur Telle Thiemann
Spain
Silver Medal Silver Medal		 Tornado of Jacks in the Solomons
Andy Lerner
United States
Bronze Medal Bronze Medal
Galapagos Love. I'm honestly not sure exactly what these two sharks were doing, maybe just a fluke behavior I snapped at the right time, or maybe not...? Ha ha.
Mathew Cook
United States
Runner Up - worthy of note but not a medal winner - an equal 4th place if you like! Runner Up		 Elephant ears:Nikon D100, 10,5 wide lens, Two strobo
Marchione Giacomo
Italy
Runner Up - worthy of note but not a medal winner - an equal 4th place if you like! Runner Up		 The Morays of Malpelo Island, Colombia
Ofer Ketter
Israel
Runner Up - worthy of note but not a medal winner - an equal 4th place if you like! Runner Up
Think I may have startle this one. LOL! Hammerhead with King Angel cleaner. D2x 15mm Fe
Rand Mcmeins
United States
Runner Up - worthy of note but not a medal winner - an equal 4th place if you like! Runner Up		    
Underwater Photo course


The UnderwaterPhotography.com photo course collection
click here to buy the book		See the best images from the last 10 years of the contest in all their glory in...
The UnderwaterPhotography.com photo course collection
120 full color pages

Previous year's winners


Remember, if you don't enter you won't win!
Annual Medal Winners slide showSlide Show
how to win!
top of page
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Category Quick Navigation :::: Topside (above water but marine related) :::: Over/Under (shots half topside, half U/W) :::: Macro - not swimming :::: Macro - swimming :::: Wide Angle - Wrecks :::: Wide Angle - Natural Light (no strobe) :::: Creative - Manipulated (Photoshopped) :::: Wide Angle - Divers :::: Wide Angle - Marine Life