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UPY 2026 Smartphone - Highly Commended
'Baby Shark'
Martin Stevens
Falmouth in Cornwall is a key breeding site for nursehound sharks. It’s fairly common to see adults swimming around; impressive fish, much larger than small-spotted catsharks, up to 1.6 m long but very docile. They lay eggs along the rocky shore in tidal pools, but it’s rare to see a baby. I was fortunate to be exploring on a low spring tide when this little one settled right next to me. I’d been keen over the last year to see what was possible with smartphone cameras and various set-ups that can go alongside them, and had been trying a probe lens. Like probes for interchangeable lens cameras, the smartphone probe allows up to 2x macro while giving a wide view, opening up a range of possible shots. It allowed me to capture the shark up close in the wider environment it was heading out into.
Judge's comment: A ground-level viewpoint that just wouldn’t have been possible with any other camera system. Oh, and what a cute baby shark. If only there was a song…
Alex Mustard
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