UPY 2025

UPY  British Waters Wide Angle - Commended
'Blue Shark in Motion'
Henley Spiers

A blue shark captured as it swims by at speed. These sharks will cruise enormous swathes of the ocean in search of food and company. For a few years now, a population has been reliably spotted off the British southwest coast, having crossed the Atlantic to get there. A trip to swim with these charismatic animals has become a staple of the British summer for underwater photography enthusiasts. I used a slow shutter panning technique to capture an artistic rendition of this individual, as a well as a tribute to the high speeds these sharks can achieve. The work of Nick More deserves mention as an inspiration for this image.

Judge's comment: It takes a special image to attract the judge’s eyes when a tried and repeatedly entered technique is used. There’s absolutely no doubt that slow shutter panning is very effective with fast moving subjects, and long may it continue; but please accept that when faced with half a dozen to judge, more often than not, there can only be one that goes through. That’s the unfortunate truth and here, it seems, the apprentice has topped the master and nice to see credit where credit is due :-)
- Peter Rowlands