UPY 2025

UPY  British Waters Wide Angle - Third
'Fireworks anemone sunburst'
Trevor Rees

This fireworks anemone (Pachycerianthus multiplicatus) was photographed at the head of Loch Dutch in Scotland at a depth of 15 meters. The water was dark and peat stained. It is a favourite subject that I have photographed many times before but this time I aimed for a different look and feel to the subject. I used the 28mm wide end of my zoom lens and positioned the anemone to the bottom right hand side of the frame. To complete the image I added a sunburst taken by shooting towards the surface on the same dive, this time using the 70 mm end of the same zoom lens. It is a double exposure using in-camera image overlay. It is a somewhat surreal view of this subject as these anemones normally live quite a bit deeper and capturing a sunburst in the same frame is almost impossible. That’s creativity eh?

Judge's comment: Creativity it indeed is Trevor. Whilst I have seen this image many times elsewhere, I still find it stunning. It’s the sunbeams with the water line at a diagonal. The firework anemone is the perfect shape to reach for the beams and (in my opinion) is the diagonal sweep between the water line and the sand. The anemone seems as though it is reaching out to the sun with five fingers but cannot quite grab on. Stunning and one of your best ever.
- Martin Edge