UPY 2025

UPY  Macro - Commended
'Banded Coral Shrimp'
Richard Condlyffe

This image of a Banded Coral Shrimp, common to the Caribbean, was taken at West Caicos, one of the Turks and Caicos Islands. During a wall dive, I found this one hiding within the recesses of a sponge and was drawn to this composition by the smooth shades of red, pink and white. Often the Banded Coral Shrimp has a habit of moving away from the lens, but fortunately, this one posed compliantly for long enough to get a sharp image of it, with the shades of pink and red rolling into the depths of the sponge. Important to this image was an aperture setting that captured the depths of the sponge and sufficiently in focus. I enjoy the challenge of creating appealing images of common subjects, so this one was very satisfying.

Judge's comment: A very well composed and thought of image. It's not easy to find these small critters and be able to light them well, but Richard did all of that and deserved the top 10 in the macro category. - Tobias Friedrich