UPY 2025

UPY  Coral Reefs - Winner
'Kaleidoscope of Colour'
Catherine Holmes

Raja Ampat, Indonesia, is a magical destination where the colour, beauty, biodiversity and dense fish life can almost be an overload on the senses- a celebration of healthy reef life. I was lucky to find perfect conditions with clear water and schooling baitfish swirling amongst the canyons of a large coral bommie, adorned with verdant soft corals.
I aimed to capture the reef teeming with life and colour to inspire us all to protect this valuable habitat. All around the world, our oceans, and in particular the coral reefs, are under threat. They are vital habitat for the myriad of species they support, and critical for the oceans health. Climate change, pollution, overfishing and destructive fishing all threaten this environment, and the devastating outcomes are seen worldwide with bleached and dying reefs, with dwindling fish life. Awareness is essential to protect and sustain these precious environments for the future.

Judge's comment: This image just screams "coral"! It's also rare to see a vertical image which works well of a coral reef. The light distribution on the image is absolutely beautiful and the reef full of color. A very well deserved winner of this category.

Tobias Friedrich