2008/09 Medal Winners

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 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. The overall 2008/09 World Champion is...

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 images to zoom Andrew Macleod Australia Gold Medal Cal Mero Australia Silver Medal Jozef Butala Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Bronze Medal John Naylor United Kingdom Runner Up Allan Vandeford United States Runner Up Erika Antoniazzo Switzerland Runner Up

Over/Under (shots half topside, half U/W) shots that cross the surface boundary (so under/overs like Snells Window too) click images to zoom Andrew Mckaskle United States Gold Medal Giuseppe Piccioli Italy Silver Medal David Stephens United Kingdom Bronze Medal Geoff Spiby South Africa Runner Up Michel Lonfat Switzerland Runner Up Michael Grebler Canada Runner Up

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) click images to zoom Aleksandr Marinicev Latvia Gold Medal Miguel Cortés Spain Silver Medal Henry Jager Switzerland Bronze Medal Brian Mayes United Kingdom Runner Up Dave Hunt United States Runner Up

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) click images to zoom Michel Lonfat Switzerland Gold Medal Tunc Yavuzdogan Turkey Silver Medal Jim Chambers United States Bronze Medal Giuseppe Piccioli Italy Runner Up Miguel Cortés Spain Runner Up Cal Mero Australia Runner Up

Wide Angle - Wrecks anything man-made that is sunk including cars, tanks, planes etc. - oh and ships! click images to zoom Jim Garland Ireland Gold Medal Tom Wilson Canada Silver Medal Gareth Millson United Kingdom Bronze Medal Arthur Telle Thiemann Spain Runner Up Miguel Cortés Spain Runner Up Simon Theuma Australia Runner Up

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 click images to zoom Marco Waagmeester Netherlands Gold Medal Dray Van Beeck Netherlands Silver Medal Maria Munn United Kingdom Bronze Medal Jovin Lim Singapore Runner Up Victor Amor Spain Runner Up Cipriano (ripli) Gonzalez Spain Runner Up

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 click images to zoom Zena Holloway United Kingdom Gold Medal Heru Suryoko Indonesia Silver Medal Bea & Stef Primatesta Switzerland Bronze Medal Margo Cavis United States Runner Up Heru Suryoko Indonesia Runner Up Libor Spacek Czech Republic Runner Up

Wide Angle - Divers Divers doing what divers do - underwater or on the surface click images to zoom Sergio Loppel Italy Gold Medal Amanda Cotton United States Silver Medal Barbara Schilling Switzerland Bronze Medal Vito Lorusso Italy Runner Up Christian Skauge Norway Runner Up Sergiy Glushchenko Ukraine Runner Up Dray Van Beeck Netherlands Runner Up

Wide Angle - Marine Life wide angle shots with no divers in frame click images to zoom Christian Loader United Kingdom Gold Medal Ross Gudgeon Australia Silver Medal Mike Ellis United States Bronze Medal Puddu Massimo Italy Runner Up Kjeld Friis Denmark Runner Up Henrik Gram Rasmussen Denmark Runner Up

Freshwater shots taken bodies of water with no salt e.g. in lakes, streams, pools, rivers i.e NOT the Sea! click images to zoom Dejan Sarman Slovenia Gold Medal Richard Harris Australia Silver Medal Melita Bubek Slovenia Bronze Medal John De Jong Netherlands Runner Up Michael Grebler Canada Runner Up Dejan Sarman Slovenia Runner Up

Temperate Waters Seas with green water well north or south of tropical zones typically cold enough for drysuits! click images to zoom Geoff Spiby South Africa Gold Medal Doug Anderson Australia Silver Medal Brian Mayes United Kingdom Bronze Medal

Macro - Nudibranchia Sea slugs. A subject popular with macro guys! (means naked gills) Flatworms allowed click images to zoom Marco Waagmeester Netherlands Gold Medal Volker Katzung East Timor Silver Medal Patrick Neumann Germany Bronze Medal Harry Yang Taiwan Runner Up Edvin Eng Malaysia Runner Up Doug Anderson Australia Runner Up

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) click images to zoom Yves Antoniazzo Switzerland Gold Medal Beverly Speed United States Bronze Medal Fabrizio Frixa Italy Runner Up Yves Antoniazzo Switzerland Runner Up Teguh Tirtaputra Indonesia Runner Up

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 click images to zoom Marchione Giacomo Italy Gold Medal Andrey Tazba Russia Silver Medal Puddu Massimo Italy Bronze Medal

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

---award winners--- 2001 winners 2002 winners 2003 winners 2004 winners 2005 winners 2006 winners 2007 winners 2008 winners 2009 winners 2010 winners 2011 winners

Remember, if you don't enter you won't win!
Slide Show
how to win!

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