Gr8at: Underwater Photographer of the Year 2019

Regular readers of my blog will know of my great love of photography, especially when covering nature and the animal world. So when I saw The Underwater Photographer of the Year 2019 I just had to include it here. If you want to see full quotes and the relevant award winners from the photographs below, please click on The Guardian’s feature here. Please feel free to let me know which is your favourite.

Beauty in the Mud by Arthur Kingdon (UK) in Loch Duich, Scotland, UK. “Moving cautiously to avoid stirring up the silt, I reached the open end and found this collection of marine life. A long clawed squat lobster posed proudly outside his man-made home, which he shared with numerous brittlestars, while dainty sea loch anemones decorated the entrance.”

Curious Crabeater by Jessica Farrer (US) taken in Pleneau Bay. “As a biologist I have been working with seals for many years and traveling to the Antarctic since 2009. This is a photo from one of my favourite encounters. It was captured on a snowy dramatic day, the sky could not have been more perfect.”

Playtime? by Martin Edser (UK) in Farne Islands, UK. “The younger pups especially were very curious of us lumbering black bubble monsters. This adorable seal pirouetted and arabesqued around me before sliding in and flicking sand over itself in a final attempt to get me to play. I have tried to focus and lock on the face but also capture a sense of movement.”

Mercury Tunnel by Ken Kiefer (US) in Eden’s Rock, Grand Cayman. “It is a rare event, but absolutely magical to witness. Hundreds of thousands of these tiny fish flow like mercury through the multiple swim throughs trying to avoid becoming dinner for the massive tarpon in the area … I was thrilled to capture the moment!”

Hairy in the Sunrise by Enrico Somogyi (Germany) in Ambon, Indonesia. “I woke up early in the morning to get a half-and-half shoot with a fishing boat and the sunrise. This was the first picture. The second picture with the Hairy Frogfish I take on Laha 1.”

Fly high and smile by Nicholas Samaras ( Greece) in Stratoni, Chalkidiki peninsula, northern Greece. “On my last visit I was planning to create a group photo of seahorses, when a small ray appeared on the scene. I managed to swim with him and place my camera underneath to capture a portrait of his belly with the mouth and nose looking like a smiling happy angel’s face.”

The Gauntlet by Richard Barnden (UK) in Fakarava South Pass, French Polynesia. “This unlucky parrotfish dodged in and out of the patch coral heads looking for somewhere to hide … In desperation it hurtled straight towards me as I snapped a few passing shots and curled up into a ball as the frenzy of sharks shot past, leaving only but a few falling parrotfish scales behind.”

Tiger Wave by Henley Spiers (Philippines) in Anilao, Philippines. “The face of a tiger cardinal fish, open-mouthed, with sharp teeth protruding, and eggs within, is captured within a wave of blue. Cardinal fish are famous mouth-brooders, with the male responsible for guarding the eggs until they are ready to hatch.”

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