UPY 2024

UPY  Wide Angle - Runner Up
'Gothic Chamber'
Martin Broen

The riviera Maya in Mexico host the world’s largest underground river systems filled with clear water, never-ending tunnels and amazing halls with decoration that can compete with the best gothic cathedrals of the world.
The challenge of capturing this beautiful hall in cenote Monkey Dust was not only the huge dimensions but the fact that is pitch black.
This photo is a x6 shot horizontal panorama stitching captured at 1/15 sec handheld at the usable limit of the camera ISO and diaphragm wide open to create an 86mpx panorama. My aim was to capture the scale, the tridimensionality of it, the richness of the formations and their incredible textures.

Judge's comment: The very best cenote images often catch the judges’ eyes in UPY. But Martin's picture raises the bar significantly both in terms of jaw dropping beauty and for its technical achievement. This is place few humans are capable of even reaching, so to get there and then produce a such a demanding piece of photography while in the darkness, deep underground and underwater is a stunning achievement.
- Alex Mustard