UPY 2025

UPY  My Backyard - Highly Commended
'Furious'
TANER ATILGAN

Due to the Covid restrictions, we decided to go to Zeeland with couple of friends last summer, and wanted to dive at a mussel farm which we haven't tried before. Visibility in the Netherlands is already not very good, however mussel farm areas become far worse if you touch the ropes or the ground. Therefore, most of the people prefer to shoot very close to the surface to eliminate backscatter. That day, I preferred to go a little bit deeper (only 5-6 meters) and tried to find a close focus wide angle frame which I can use the ropes as a proper background. After some tiny foreground objects, I've found this purple colored crab and had the chance to take a couple of shots before it changed its position. Luckily, I've managed to have a relatively clean picture and I'm very glad that it was worth it.

Judge's comment: I like the depth perspective which the author has created. Without the close proximity of the crab, it may not have worked as well as it did. It's very clean and this is what drew me to this particular image. The green water background blends well with the colours of the crab.
- Martin Edge