UPY 2025

UPY 2019 Portrait - Highly Commended
'A Whole Lotta Lorenzini'
James Ferrara

While shark diving in the Bahamas, we had the pleasure of this special guest. Her name is Scylla, a tagged Great Hammerhead that is a seasonal resident to the area. Hammerheads are known for their erratic, but sometimes shy behavior. The unpredictability of this species makes for a challenging shoot. I have swam with hammerheads in the past, but was brief and not for many photo opportunities. On this occasion, she stayed with us for most of the day. Many freedive attempts were made to get in the right position for a mutual encounter. It is important when diving with sharks to let them come to you on their own accord, in order to get the best experience. It's their ocean and we are just living in it.

Judge's comment: Portraits can be aggressive and ‘in your face’ and here the subject and the photographic approach worked well together. Sometimes character isn’t pretty.
Peter Rowlands