UPY 2025

UPY  British Waters Macro - Commended
'The Boatman'
Paul Colley

I've been trying for many years to photograph small river creatures with variable and largely inconsistent results. The trick has been to find the right environment, which is still and shallow water. On rivers, natural backwashes filled with gravel and weed work well. But you also need a subject that sits still long enough to focus on it. The normally-frenetic water boatman will keep rock steady for up to a minute after charging his air sacs, when it's possible to get two or three shots and create an image with sufficient depth of field using manual focus stacking. A specialist self-build camera housing supports slave flash guns to achieve strong backlighting.

Judge's comment: Stunning and absolutely sharp image of an unusual subject in difficult waters. Not many photographer do make this big effort, so it's a well deserved placement in the top 10. - Tobias Friedrich