UPY 2025

UPY  British Waters Wide Angle - Third
'U-Boat exploration'
Rick Ayrton

This is an image of the U1021 lying in approximately 55m, sunk off North Cornwall in late 1944 or early 1945. This was one of 3 U-boats sunk by a deeply placed minefield in the Bristol Channel. The bow, unseen in this image is broken off lying on its port side. None of the crew survived and remain entombed in the wreckage making this a rather sobering dive. Apart from the broken bow the submarine is otherwise in very good condition. North Cornwall can offer some of the best visibility in the UK and so it was when taking this shot. I was lucky to have a buddy who was happy to get into a good position and light up the periscope and conning tower for me. Using only the ambient light available and allowing the ISO to go quite high enabled the capture of this image.

Judge's comment: As judges we have no idea how deep images are taken but, looking at this diver/model, we knew we were in serious territory so to have such a clean composition and amazing detail/resolution is a compliment to all those involved - photographer, model and the high ISO camera. Really pushing the boundaries.
Peter Rowlands