UPY 2025

UPY 2017 Wrecks - Highly Commended
'The operation was successful'
Torbjörn Gylleus

I was returning to Truk Lagoon after ten years with a list of photo subjects that I wanted to focus on. The operating table in the sick bay of the Shinkoku Maru was one of those subjects, and we did three dives on that wreck. My brother hovered close to the ceiling with two light sources, used in combination with my camera strobes. I also wanted to capture the faint natural light in the background to create some mood and depth in the image by using a slow shutter speed. One of the challenges here was to prepare and shoot quickly before the rust flakes started falling down from above causing backscatter, but the image came out as I wanted.

Judge's comment: Alex Mustard: A still life image that communicates perfectly the mood of a wreck, of a ship and the sick bay stopped in time. The lack of fish and a diver increases the somber, reflective mood. The carefully controlled foreground lighting and the depth created by the distant background combine to complete a subtly brilliant picture.