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UPY 2026 Compact - Winner
'Alpine lookout'
Andrea Michelutti
After years of waiting, I dived into a cold Alpine lake near my home in northeastern Italy. Its clear, deep-blue waters rise from a spring, making it a gem among the mountains. Low nutrients favour green algae growth, the constant low temperature (around 9–11 °C) contributes to the water’s clarity and unique colour. Life is sparse, but I spotted a freshwater crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes) among the aquatic plants. Impetuous, it swam toward me until it was touching my wet lens. With the housing too low to use the LCD, I had to shoot blind, holding the camera in one hand and one strobe in the other. I turned off my second strobe, positioning the remaining light above the dome for natural top-down illumination. The composition I'd planned for years is built on the transition from green vegetation to deep blue water, with mountain peaks framed in Snell's Window.
Judge's comment: A distinctive image with complementary colours, unambiguous composition and a great upward angle up through Snell’s window to the distant mountains. A compliment to the capabilities of compacts in the right hands.
Peter Rowlands
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