UPY 2025

UPY  British Waters Macro - Highly Commended
'Brave butterfish'
Kirsty Andrews

Butterfish patrol brittlestar beds with confidence, the masters of all they survey. Look closely at the entwining colourful arms of the brittlestars and you're bound to see one moving sinuously about. Mostly they will ignore the diving photographer but this individual was yawning towards the lens in what I took to be a powerplay, reminding me of its dominance on the reef. I used a relatively open aperture for subject separation and to emphasise the pretty eyespot patterning of the fish.

Judge's comment: Butterfish are renowned for being skittish subjects. The slippery, sinuous bodies are always on the move and quality images are rare. Kirsty definitely made the most of an unusually confident individual to capture this peak portrait, with the repeating eyespots drawing our eyes through the composition.
Alex Mustard