UPY 2025

UPY  Macro - Winner
'Goby Goodness'
Hannes Klostermann

During the dive that I took this image on I swam a grand total of about 30 metres. I dropped down from the surface and descended towards the shallow, pristine coral reef in the Cayman Islands when I spotted this little fella posing right at the top of a coral head. I noticed the purple sea fan in the background and suspected it would look pleasing with a shallow depth of field, a look I really like in macro photography. After I had taken the first image and reviewed it I knew I would spend the entire dive with this goby, as the complementary colours of the fan and coral head worked very well together. Thankfully, the goby really seemed to enjoy the prime spot at the top of the coral head so it kept coming back to have its picture taken, not minding my close approach one bit.

Judge's comment: This image was a winner right from the outset. The bokeh is nothing short of outstanding. The balance of the colours are superb, the eye contact is perfect, but what really caught my eye was the composition! Let us ask ourselves, How many of us viewing this image right now would have had the fore - thought to place the subject in the very bottom left hand corner? One of my favourites from the entire competition.
- Martin Edge