UPY 2025

UPY  Wide Angle - Highly Commended
'Under the Platform'
Allison Vitsky Sallmon

It’s hard to know what to expect when I book a charter to the oil platforms off of Long Beach, California. On a bad day, they can deliver punishing surge, unmanageable current, and terrible visibility. On a good day, however, they are among my favourite dive sites in the world, which is why I keep going back again and again! This dive day was among the best I’ve ever experienced in California: The platform pilings were thickly covered with marine life, the visibility was incredible, and a huge school of mackerel swirled overhead. I‘ve long wanted to create a temperate water shot similar to the beautful images taken under Raja Ampat’s Arborek Jetty, and this dive presented the perfect opportunity to do so. I searched diligently for a large starfish in the right position, and once I found it, I photographed it until it was time to ascend. This image was the best representation of the sense of motion I was after.