UPY 2024

UPY  Wide Angle - Commended
'Pink salmon make their way up river to spawn.'
Shane Gross

I had an abstract "fill the frame with fish faces" image in mind. I sat in one spot in the chilly, flowing river waiting for the fish to change their opinion of me from bear to rock. It actually didn't take that long. Then I kept waiting for the sun to go behind a cloud so it was dark enough to use a really slow shutter speed and wiggle the camera around until something looked pleasing. It was a ton of fun and hopefully if the salmon come back next year I can get an even better frame!

Judge's comment: UPY always gets a lot of salmon photos and many photographers experiment with long exposures in these dark waters. However, few shots create such a ghostly atmosphere of these fish swimming themselves upstream and to the point of exhaustion, before ending their lives spawning. Its an image that draws you in - the longer you look, the more you see.
- Alex Mustard