UPY 2025

UPY  Macro - Highly Commended
'Seahorse Silhouette'
Patrick Neumann

I had this kind of silhouette shot in my mind for a while. I tried it on different critters like ghost pipefish, hairy frogfish and more, but none of them turned out like the picture I had in my mind. Finally, this seahorse was the perfect critter for that silhouette shot. Special thanks goes out to my dive guide Hiros Tempone. Without his help that shot wouldn`t have been possible. To achieve the shot we placed a leaf (that we found underwater) in front of the seahorse and put a minigear snoot light behind the seahorse. That way the light of the minigear created a "light circle" on the leaf and the shadow of the seahorse in the middle of it. Once again big thanks to Hiros for holding the leaf and placing the minigear torch.

Judge's comment: Graphically powerful and amusingly different. It is a fun shot that just works and the green colour is eye catching while the natural degradation of the leaf adds attractive texture to the shot. Always heartening to read a photographer sharing the credit for an image with their dive guide.
Alex Mustard