UPY 2025

UPY  Black and white - Winner
'Sarah’s Underwater World'
Kerrie Burow

This shot was taken a year into the Coronavirus pandemic; my 7-year-old niece Sarah stares with wonder into my housing dome while on one breath underwater.
The scene portrays the therapeutic power of water which so many of us experienced during the pandemic. The underwater world offered peace, comfort and hope - for the anxious, the depressed and the grieving. It gave us a chance to feel joy and adventure again as well as freedom from the heavy weight of the pandemic - even if just for a moment while on one breath.

The portrait was taken using an unobtrusive photojournalist technique. I minimalised my presence, gave no instructions to Sarah and, instead, allowed the scene to evolve naturally.

Judge's comment: Haunting yet compelling, this very striking portrait uses the simplicity of black and white to great effect. Colour would have been so distracting. - Peter Rowlands