UPY 2025

UPY  British Waters Macro - Commended
'Dreamscape'
Sandra Stalker

In Portland harbour, Dorset there is a large grille covering the end of a pipe that is always a haven for life and is one of my go to snorkeling spots all year round. I love the way the sunlight shines through the grille and for this image wanted to create a photograph that almost felt like a painting with the soft hues of colour and the bars creating an almost stained glass window feel. I snooted a bunch of lightbulb squirts in the foreground as I love their shape and structure and used a long exposure to create the dreamlike ambiguous background.

Judge's comment: I love these artistic images with a lot of blur and well composed colors. Such a nice usage of simple subjects while being highly creative. It wouldn't even need a subject in the left golden ratio to make it good, but integrate that into the overall frame is just the icing of the cake.

Tobias Friedrich