UPY 2024

UPY 2016 Award Winners - Underwater Photographer of the Year 2016
'Gold'
Davide Lopresti

Over the years seahorses have been drastically reduced in the Mediterranean sea, only in the last period was there a significant restocking thanks to an awareness campaign of the sea and its preservation, bounding off limits area for fishing, where even more vulnerable and delicate creatures like sea horses can be free to recreate. For this shot in particular, I used a long exposure time, to give dynamism to the image, combining the ambient light and artificial light with the aid of a snoot, freezing my main subject from the rest of the scene giving a sense of grace and strength at the same time.

Judge's comment: Martin Edge: Another one of my favourites from the entire competition. I see many motion blur images but this one has been shot to perfection. A Simple composition with a balanced amputation of muted colour at bottom right of the frame. Blue surrounds the entire four corners which helps to keep the eye of the viewer firmly focused on the detail of the seahorse. The eye cannot escape the frame, it continues to rotate in circles. Complementary colours of blue and yellow are entirely responsible for the 'wow factor' which this image had on me when I first viewed it.