UPY 2025

UPY 2017 Macro - Highly Commended
'Fishing fish'
Dragos Dumitrescu

Frogfish are some of the most photogenic subjects in macro areas. But apart from their yawning and weird looking shape, their most prominent action is "fishing for fish". This picture was about capturing the hypnotic movement of the frogfish's luring. Fascinated by these weird looking anglerfish, with their lures and baits, I was trying to transfer the "magic" that attracts their unsuspecting prey into a still image. Using a slow shutter speed my goal was to capture in one shot the whole process of luring while, at the same time, emphasizing the special texture of the hairy frogfish. It took a while, observing the behavior and few shots to get the right settings, but in the end the action got captured.

Judge's comment: Alex Mustard: A macro photograph that is truly macro art. A long exposure that doesn’t just capture the fishing behaviour, but also gives the surroundings a painterly feeling, without outcompeting the main subject.