UPY 2025

UPY  Up & Coming - Commended
'On Approach'
Ronja Arnold

Have you ever travelled to a country just because of one picture you randomly saw?
Last year I stumbled over this photo of hundreds of grey sharks gathering in the deep blue waters of the Fakarava Atoll and instantly felt a strong urge to not only see this with my own eyes, but also to capture it with my camera. So I did my research, bought an appropriate underwater housing, booked the flights and even completed my advanced open water diver.
And what can I say? This was one of the best trips I've ever done. We had perfect conditions, saw plenty of sharks and while laying flat down in an underwater cave at a depth of thirty meters, I managed to take this picture of two grey sharks approaching me in almost perfect symmetry making it look like a scene straight from a science fiction movie.

Judge's comment: I loved the graphic simplicity, the simple composition and well chosen idea to reduce it to black and white. The background detail and the great presence of the subjects made me push for this image again and again. It was worth it.

Peter Rowlands