UPY 2025

UPY  Macro - Highly Commended
'An Artistry Coral Home for Scorpion Shrimp'
Weiwei Zeng

Diving off the island of Romblon, Philippines, I found a tiny scorpion shrimp around the size of 5 millimeters long. It blended itself in so well into an oval-shaped opening of the hard coral where it was sheltering. To protect itself from predators, the shrimp sometimes hid effectively by hooking the coral tissue with its legs and drawing it over its backs like curtains. I was very pleased to find and frame this super camouflaged shrimp in its natural habitat.

Judge's comment: The repeating pattern on the coral polyps is only broken by the tiny shrimp sheltering in one of them. We love the graphic strength and the limited colours in this frame that invite you to explore the shapes and discover the shrimp.

Alex Mustard