UPY 2025

UPY  Wrecks - Commended
'The Parat'
Guilhem Duprat

The Parat is a relatively small wreck. A victim of an air raid in 1944 which now lies in 60 meters of water in a very scenic Norwegian fjord. The dive site looks very barren initially, no corals, no fish, no crustaceans and very few shellfish. The rock cliff which you can just about make out to the right of the photo is just raw rock, the sea bed is a total desert. But the wreck has become an oasis for these wonderful white anemones and orange worms, which against the brown red of the rusted hull and the clear blue green of the fjord water makes for a spectacular sight. But with a temperature of 8°C even at the height of summer, it is a very cold place.

Judge's comment: Wreck photographers are so often only enamoured by the made made structures that they encounter, that the beautiful life support by wrecks is often overlooked. This picture perfectly celebrates the whole story.
Alex Mustard