UPY 2025

UPY  British Waters Compact - Highly Commended
'Million Miles Away'
Martin Edser

Diving with seals is always a privilege and I love the opportunity to photograph them. Like us they have different characters and moods. Trying to capture some of these traits in a photograph is what I have tried to accomplish this year on my visit to the Farne islands. Wide angle and ambient light is my preference. The water was clear enough here to take a picture at some distance and capture this seal in what seems to be a moment of far away contemplation. The lighting, haziness of the water and surrounding fauna help to give, I believe, an ethereal quality to the image adding to the ‘million miles away’ look. The reality is of course this seal is being very attentive of me and choosing to keep its distance!

Judge's comment: The natural tendency with seal photography is to get as close as possible to those puppy dog eyes for judge appeal. Take a step back however, as Martin has done here, and suddenly there’s atmosphere, there’s context yet still the character comes across but in a much more understated way. This is a moment in time which is very easy on the eye.
- Peter Rowlands