UPY 2025

UPY  British Waters Compact - Runner Up
'Hold Tight'
Sandra Stalker

Within my underwater photography I am always excited by the tiny and overlooked, mostly focusing on macro and getting as close as I can to my subject. On this day last Summer the conditions were perfect, calm sea, clear viz and fantastic underwater scenery meant it was like diving through a spectacular underwater meadow. There were so many tiny Stalked Jellyfish clinging to the bootlace weed. The ambient light was stunning, sunshine beaming through the long strands of bootlace. For this shot I went much wider than normal and used the ambient light to almost silhouette the tiny Stalked Jellyfish, emphasizing its tiny shape against the naturally lit background.

Judge's comment: Sandra’s beautiful image is wonderful and unintentional homage of famous 1960s shot taken by the great Colin Doeg, BUPY in 1968 and founder of BSoUP, at the same location. Colin’s shot Rays Of The Spectrum was celebrated for decades yet is topped by Hold Tight with the inclusion of a stalked jellyfish.