UPY 2025

UPY  Macro - Highly Commended
'Red sea'
Ben Oakes

One of the most recognisable animals in the sea is the clownfish, and this fish is a Red Sea clownfish. Whilst visiting Egypt I learnt that an incredibly popular clownfish dive, Nemo City had been decimated in recent years due to increased poaching for the aquarium trade. But this resilient individual had made its home in the sheltered waters of Marsa Shagra's house reef. To capture this shot, I timed my dive to take advantage of the stirred-up particulate from diver training! With this opportunity, I positioned a red colour-filtered Backscatter mini-flash, behind the fish, to create a vibrant red glow. Meanwhile, my other Backscatter mini-flash, attached to the housing, illuminated the details of the clownfish. By chance, as I pressed the trigger, the fish caught a shell out of the water.

Judge's comment: Red Sea clownfish are probably the most attractive and ideal subjects for practice. Rarely stationery, they exercise shutter finger reflexes but for competitions they need to stand out and this one certainly did with the well observed and imaginatively lit background topped by the tiny shell.
Peter Rowlands