UPY 2025

UPY 2019 British Waters Wide Angle - Highly Commended
'Diver and tug boat propeller'
Trevor Rees

My photo from underneath the Stanegarth tugboat wreck is from Stoney Cove. Many might wonder how such a popular inland former quarry can yield a successful wreck shot for the UPY competition! In taking this shot a number of elements have come together to make it work. My starting point was enlisting the help of a natural looking diver, posing with a torch, with the brief to make things exploratory. The diver and starboard side of the wreck were lit with light from one flashgun but the propeller was lit with an off camera flashgun hidden behind the rudder and hard wired to my camera with a 10 meter length of fibre optic cable. A generous helping of distortion from my fisheye lens forced the perspective and gave me the final look I was after. All in all, a pleasing shot, taken on a cold Saturday morning in winter.

Judge's comment: The off camera lighting has lifted this classically styled shot; the diver’s pose and torch beam lead the eye to the focal point producing powerful balance.
Peter Rowlands