UPY 2025

UPY  British Waters Wide Angle - Highly Commended
'Jellyfish hangout'
Martin Stevens

Jellyfish are one of my favourite things to photograph, and there are some impressive species that regularly visit Cornwall. Last year, unusually, there were loads of reports of mauve stingers being seen around the Cornish coast (this species is usually very rare). Frustratingly, I hadn’t seen any, as they had largely avoided Falmouth, and by autumn I was almost resigned to not witnessing them at all.
Then on a day when a few of us were out to film and photograph some rock pool animals, we found huge numbers washing up on the beach and swimming in the tidal pools. I got into my wetsuit, snorkelled in a low shore pool, and happily captured this photo of a group of these beautiful animals where they had collected against the bright yellow seaweed.

Judge's comment: This image grabs the eye with its pastel delicate subjects complimented by the weed. An unusual aggregation, well lit overall and perfected by the surface reflections. A celebratory image for British waters.

Peter Rowlands