Underwater

This amazing shot from Tilly could easily be gracing the pages of the National Geographic magazine. These are stunning organisms that I could look at for ages. I love the back lighting which brings out the incredible, translucent detail of these jelly fish against the contrasting dark background and it has been done well to avoid any distracting backscatter. The exposure for this image would have been quite tricky for a camera's meter and it could have easily exposed for the dark background and burnt out all the amazing detail, so Tilly has done a good job exposing for the jellyfish.

This image is in my Top 3 because working in this genre of underwater photography myself, I know how hard it is to produce strong images like this. Alec has captured a very beautiful moment here in this underwater fashion photograph and the model has produced a very striking pose. Very soft lighting has created a peaceful and dream-like feel about this image and, in my view, the folds in the fabric of the dress and the background help to accentuate this.

What a great shot! Well done, Tilly! A fast shutter speed has frozen the bubbles and the movement in the polar bear's fur perfectly. It really makes me wonder what the bear was doing to create all those bubbles - doing somersaults? I like the subtle shafts of light coming through the water to highlight patches on the polar bear's fur. The colours in this image are nice with the classic underwater blue. But I wonder if it could have been even better with some colour correction as well - just to bring the polar bear out of the blue a little.

This is a very well-executed shot of an intriguing leafy sea dragon by Krys that could well be found in a National Geographic magazine feature. This picture is evenly and dramatically lit, which helps to separate it nicely from the dark background. The image has been very well exposed to show all of the fascinating detail. The blue tones work well creating a striking and almost electrifying feel for this photograph. I've seen lots of pictures of leafy sea dragons and this one has to be one of my favourites.

This has to be in my Top 10, because it has the feel of tonal fine art painting. I can see this hanging on a white gallery wall as a big canvas print. The slow shutter speed gives this shot motion blur, which creates the illusion of fast, almost chaotic, swimming fish. The fish take on the guise of watery determined rush-hour commuters oblivious to the others around them. Thomas has used a tight crop to cleverly capture a snapshot of this otherwise unseen underwater world.

John's photograph of a yellow barbaganti pygmey seahorse is superb. Photographing such tiny creatures, which are not much bigger than a grain of sand, is a huge challenge in composition, focus and lighting, and John has accomplished all three. The seahorse and the photographer would have both been moving in the current, and the focus is very sharp on the seahorse's eye showing the amazing detail. He also did very well to spot it as they are very well camouflaged.

This shot of Philip's caught my eye as it is so interesting to look at. I like the texture of the ice with the bubbles underneath and the splashes of red from the goldfish contrast perfectly against the dark patch under the ice and the grey, cold Winter's day. I sat wondering about the fish underneath, presumably gathering under a thin piece of ice waiting for it to thaw. It gives me the impression that they are little, red, hot fish and that is why the ice is melting where they are.

When I look at an image, the first thing that I see is whether it creates any atmosphere or feeling, and Mihail's image has a great cinematic, epic feel. That is why I awarded it first place. The fish in the foreground lead my eye through the atmospheric shafts of light to the fish swimming around in the background. There is a lot going on and a lot to see in this image and it is all well balanced. The image processing and post-production work has been done well by keeping details in the shadows and not losing any detail in the highlights.

I really like Philip's shot. The split view of both the underwater scene and a hint of what is above the water really adds to the cinematic feel of the image. The lines of the almost parallel penguins with their trails of bubbles make for a very well-composed shot. It's almost penguin synchronised swimming. My eye is drawn from the disappearing penguin in the foreground to the penguin in the middle, and then on to the penguins disappearing into the darkness of the water. The way Philip has worked on the post-production is great - the colours have a great desaturated, moody feel.

This is a nice shot by Meg of a lion fish. I like the way she has filled the frame with the fish and the diagonal angle she has used in her composition. The use of wide aperture and a telephoto lens has allowed Meg to focus on the fish's eyes and allowed the rest of its body to go out of focus. It seems to be contemplating the photographer, wondering what that strange round thing pointing at it is.

A similar image to this has made it into my Top 10. Whilst I like the full bleed crop, this photo hasn't captured the speed and movement of the fish. I think the shot would benefit from panning the camera to create an even greater feel of motion. The metallic tones of the fish give a surreal feel, and their open mouths suggest the fear of a nearby predator about to eat them. The image would also be a lot more powerful if the out-of-focus silver fish in the foreground was not present.

The beautiful colours and intricate shapes in this shot by Karl Redshaw look great. It's a really lovely underwater garden. The nice composition leads my eye around every part of the image exploring the multi-coloured circles and other shapes of these fascinating creatures. I would have liked to see a little bit of colour correction to the image to introduce some red and remove some blue. This would have made the colours really pop and look even more stunning!