UPY 2025

UPY 2019 British Waters Macro - Runner Up
'Swanage Sea Hare'
Paul Pettitt

This picture of a Sea Hare was taken just before the major restoration works commenced on Swanage Pier.
The subject was crawling along a broken pier leg that was beautifully covered in growth, and was perfectly positioned for me to take a picture of its unmistakeable face at the right angle.
These creatures are often mistaken for nudibranchs, but are a different group of sea slugs.
The Sea Hare’s colour tends to adhere closely to the colour of the weed on which it feeds.
Swanage Pier is my local dive site and it offers so much variety of subjects depending on the time of the year you visit but no 2 dives are ever the same, Its my quest to promote the beautiful Sea life we have here in the UK.

Judge's comment: In recent UPY competitions UK macro images have lacked their overseas counterpart's flair and imagination but this magnificent shot raises the bar for everyone else to follow. World class from the UK at last.
Peter Rowlands