UPY 2025

UPY  British Waters Macro - Highly Commended
'Atomic'
Laura Storm

This image took many sessions of working in a shallow pond to perfect the technique, background and lighting for this artistic expression. Tadpoles are both the cutest and cruelest of subjects when shooting Supermacro. They're born to wriggle! So many times I would have all the elements aligned but the star of the show had other ideas. Often they would swarm over my off-camera lights - the ones placed with obsessive precision. So while they basked in their new-found LED luxury, I'd be trying to encourage them to move along without knocking anything out of place or stirring up the water. For the background I designed a series of creative slates to bounce light off and then experimented with an extremely shallow depth of field. My ultimate goal was to make a contemporary image.
Something refreshing that might inspire, renew or ignite interest in our endangered freshwater environment.

Judge's comment: Love the subject, but love the background even more. The light and colours in this frame transport me straight to spring.
- Alex Mustard