UPY 2025

UPY 2017 Wide Angle - Commended
'Finally Whalesharks'
Patrick Neumann

Although I have been diving for more than 30 years with over 3000 dives, I had never saw a Whaleshark before. When I was working on a liveaboard in Thailand twice the whole boat saw one but not me and my group. Among my friends it was already a running gag. If you want to see Whalesharks don`t dive with Patrick. On our latest trip through Indonesia a friend told me that recently there are some around the Gorontalo area so we changed our plans and went there to end my whaleshark dilemma. We drove out to the divesite and everything was perfect. Very good visibility, no waves and a bright sunny day. Now only the big guy had to be there to make it really happen. When we entered the water there was not one Whaleshark ... but 6 of them! You can imagine my happiness.

Judge's comment: Martin Edge: Call it either 'The Peak of the Action' or 'The Decisive Moment' It matters not because everything within this image has come together! The shape of Snells Window. The pose of the shark. The position of the sunburst and the arrangement of all the other action captured within the frame. Even the two divers, middle right of the frame are perfectly posed. I'm sure Patrick took many more shots of this encounter but sometimes it can be a challenge knowing which shot of many to enter. In my opinion, an excellent choice of submission.