UPY 2025

UPY  Portrait - Commended
'Spaceman Zachary Ray, 7, splashes in'
Lucy Ray/Starfish Photography

I wanted to create a spaceman image as I feel being underwater must be a lot like being in space. Astronauts train underwater before missions to space after all! It was a difficult shot to capture since the costume did not want to behave. The helmet flew off every time Zachary jumped in, the boot covers came down, and he flew up. It was my second attempt at this shot, as I ran into similar problems on a previous shoot. The first four attempts Zachary held onto the helmet, and although it stayed on, it just didn't look right, but on the fifth submersion he let go for a couple of seconds, and I was able to get this shot. I have used a black backdrop and a backlight on a slave trigger to create the moonlight effect. I used a lovely warm pool, so no spacesuit was actually needed.

Judge's comment: We encourage different images in this category and this certainly fitted the bill. The end result belies the workload but it was well worth it; capturing every youngster’s dream of being a spaceman or, more correctly, a spaceperson.
Peter Rowlands