UPY  British Waters Living Together - Highly Commended}

UPY  British Waters Living Together - Highly Commended
'Friend or foe'
Sandra Stalker

I took this shot on my second ever outing of our Nauticam EMWL lens, this was with the 160 optic. It wasn't really the best viz for it at about 3m max and a dark grey day and I had spent the dive looking for creatures to test it out on. Then we came across this lobster just wandering across the seabed under the pier, it was very unusual behaviour as they are normally hidden during the day but it seemed totally at ease by our presence and made the perfect model. I wanted a diver in the background so got my husband Ryan to model for me with his torch on as I liked the way it provided a focus for the diver, highlighting the interaction between human and marine life.

Judge's comment: The camera angle and lens create a really dramatic angle in this frame. If the image, and particularly the lobster, were a little brighter this would have been challenging for the win. A fantastic composition.
Alex Mustard