Sunday 9 June 2013

Breathtaking and haunting underwater photographs capture the world"s most ...

Posted by midlandsevents |

  • More than 650 underwater images were submitted from 23 countries to the 2013 Annual

    Underwater Photography Contest hosted by the University of Miami

  • Winning entries included a harbor seal snapped in the kelp forest in San Diego, anemone shrimps in the Philippines, lionfish in Honduras and the ‘world’s most dangerous’ shark snapped in the Bahamas



By

Victoria Woollaston




PUBLISHED:


13:17, 5 June 2013




|

UPDATED:


17:36, 5 June 2013



A British photographer’s stunning shot of a lionfish swimming by the wreck of merchant navy ship in Egypt, and the haunting image of a harbor seal floating in a kelp forest of San Diego, are among the winning entries of an underwater photography competition.


More than 650 underwater images were submitted – from 23 countries including the UK and Italy – for the 2013 Annual Underwater Photography Contest by the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine Atmospheric Science (RSMAS).


The winners were chosen by a panel of experts including underwater photographer Nicole Wang, photographer and University of Miami lecturer Myron Wang and Rosenstiel School Marine Biology and Fisheries scientist Dr. Jiangang Luo.


This image of a harbor seal was taken in a kelp forest at Cortes bank near San Diego in California by Kyle McBurnie.


This image of a harbor seal was taken in a kelp forest at Cortes bank near San Diego in California by Kyle McBurnie. It was the overall winning image submitted to the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science’s (RSMAS) underwater photography competition in Miami



This shot of anemone shrimp was taken in Puerto Galera in the Philippines by Beth Watson from Missouri.


This shot of anemone shrimp was taken in Puerto Galera in the Philippines by Beth Watson from Missouri. It was the winning picture in the RSMAS macro category. Most anemone shrimp live, and are totally dependent, on sea anemones. They are vulnerable to predators when they are not attached to their hosts and some lie parallel to the anemone’s tentacles to camouflage themselves further


Photographs were judged in three

categories – macro, fish or marine animal portrait, wide-angle, plus the

best overall submission. 


There were also prizes for the best

University of Miami student photos and both first and second place went

to Laura Rock from Florida for her shot of goliath groupers spawning in

Jupiter, Florida and a great hammerhead shark.



Third place went to Austin Gallagher who took a picture of an oceanic white tip shark near the Cat Island in the Bahamas.


White

tips sharks are among the most dangerous in the world and were blamed

for the death of more than 800 sailors in 1945 after the torpedoing of

the USS Indianapolis in the Philippine Sea.


The best overall photo was taken by

American Kyle McBurnie for his harbor seal seen peering through a kelp

forest near San Diego in California.


The second place macro picture was this image of emperor shrimp sat on top of two nudibranch molluscs.


The second place macro picture was this image of an emperor shrimp sat on top of two nudibranch molluscs. It was taken at Dinah’s Beach in Papua New Guinea by Douglas Good from Pennsylvania. The nudibranches resemble the worms in 1986 film, Labyrinth. The word ‘nudibranch’ comes from the Latin nudus for naked, and the Greek, brankhia, which means gills


Whilst a pretty pink anemone shrimp snapped by American Beth Watson grabbed first place in the macro section.


Other winning pictures include an

emperor shrimp photographed in Papua New Guinea and a spotty porcelain

crab taken by Italian Frederica Bambi.


Spinner dolphins can be seen

swimming underwater in another photo, whilst a close-up of a young

lionfish got first place in the portrait section.



The third place in the macro category of the RSMAS underwater photography competition went to Italian photographer Frederica Bambi.


The third place in the macro category of the RSMAS underwater photography competition went to Italian photographer Frederica Bambi. It shows a porcelain crab on an anemone at Pescador Island, Cebu in the Philippines. This porcelain crab’s official name is Neopetrolisthes maculatus. The porcelain crab gets its nickname because of its delicate shell. They are typically less than 15 mm wide and readily lose limbs when attacked



A photographer from Bournemouth took this winning shot of a lionfish on the Thistlegorm wreck in the Red Sea. Alex Tattersall took the shot during a trip to Egypt.


A photographer from Bournemouth took this winning shot of a lionfish on the Thistlegorm wreck in the Red Sea. Alex Tattersall took the shot during a trip to Egypt and it won first place in the wide-angle category. The SS Thistlegorm was a British naval ship built in 1940 in England. She was sunk on 6 October 1941 near Ras Muhammad in the north African country and is now a well known diving site


The colourful purple and orange

lionfish seen swimming on the wreck of SS Thistlegorm was taken by Alex Tattersall from Bournemouth in Dorset.


It won first place in the wide-angle category of annual Underwater Photography contest.


SS Thistlegorm was British armed merchant navy ship built in 1940 by Joseph Thompson and Son in Sunderland.


She was sunk on 6 October 1941 near Ras Muhammad in the Red Sea and is now a well known diving site.


The remarkable pictures reveal a hidden world of colourful creatures of all shapes and sizes living deep beneath our oceans.



Second place in the wide-angle category went to Joseph Tepper, from New York.


Second place in the wide-angle category went to Joseph Tepper, from New York. It shows spinner dolphins swimming in a small inlet off the Kona coast of Hawaii. Dolphins work as a team to capture fish but they also hunt individually. They search for prey using echolocation, which is similar to sonar



Pietro Cremone from Itlay won third place in the wide-angle category.


Pietro Cremone from Itlay won third place in the wide-angle category. His entry shows a Raccoon butterfly fish and angelfish on a reef in the Red Sea near Sharm el Sheik in Egypt. Raccoon butterfly fish are also known as crescent-masked butterfly fish because of their patterns. They grow up to eight inches and can live for seven years


Tatttersall said: ‘I took the photo when I was diving on a big wreck of a Second World War ship in the Red Sea in Egypt.


‘I was about 20 metres down under the sea and took lots of shots but this was the one that came out the best.


‘I love taking underwater pictures as

it is very peaceful and you have access to a hidden world which only a

small minority of people gets to see.’



First place in the fish or marine animal portrait category was won by Steven Kovacs.


First place in the fish or marine animal portrait category was won by Steven Kovacs. This juvenile lionfish was shot during a night dive in Roatan in Honduras. Lionfish, also known as pterois, have red, white, creamy, or black bands to warn off predators such as moray eels and bluespotted cornetfish. They also have pectoral fins and venomous spiky fin rays



This greater blue-ringed octopus was photographed near Malapascua island in the Philippines.


This greater blue-ringed octopus was photographed near Malapascua island in the Philippines. The image won second place in the fish or marine animal portrait category and was taken by Marcello DiFrancesco from Italy. The octopus is one of three species of venomous blue-ringed octopuses that produce venom in its salivary glands. The venom called tetrodotoxin causes paralysis and respiratory arrest and can lead to heart attacks in victims due to a lack of oxygen


The photography contest is open to

any amateur photographer who earns less than 20 per cent of their income

from selling photography.


Each category awards a prize sum to

the top three entries – £163 ($250) for first place, £98 ($150) for

second place and £65 ($100) for entries that come third.


Kyle McBurnie who won the best overall

prize was given a trip on a Blackbeard cruise to the Bahamas and £195 ($300).



Third place in the fish or marine animal portrait category was taken by Judy Townsend.


Third place in the fish or marine animal portrait category was taken by Judy Townsend. It shows a male dusky jawfish protecting his eggs inside his mouth. The image was taken at the Blue Heron Bridge in Riviera Beach in Florida. Jawfishes are called mouthbrooders, which meaning their eggs hatch in their mouths in a bid to protect them from predators. The eggs are typically kept in the fishes’ mouths for between eight to 10 days before hatching



The best student entry in the RSMAS underwater photography competition was won by Laura Rock from Florida.


The best student entry in the RSMAS underwater photography competition was won by Laura Rock from Florida. It shows a goliath grouper fish, official name, Epinephelus itajara, during the annual spawning event in Jupiter in Florida. Goliath groupers mainly eat mostly small, slow-moving fish and crustaceans. They can live to their 60s and begin to spawn when they reach about four feet long. They will travel long distances ¿ as much as 180 miles ¿ to reach summer spawning sites


Among the other rules RSMAS state that all photographs must be of marine life.


No photographs of divers touching or stressing marine wildlife were acceptable.


Photographs must not have been digitally edited or enhanced aside from basic brightness, contrast and cropping edits.



Laura Rock from Florida also won second place in the student category with this shot of a great hammerhead shark in Bimini in Bahamas.


Laura Rock from Florida also won second place in the student category with this shot of a great hammerhead shark in Bimini in Bahamas. The average great hammerhead grows to around 20 feet long. The great hammerhead rarely attacks humans but will defend itself when hunted for large fins. The fins are valuable in Asia as the main ingredient of shark fin soup



This photo of an oceanic white tip shark was taken by third place student winner Austin Gallagher, from Florida.


This photo of an oceanic white tip shark was taken by third place student winner Austin Gallagher, from Florida. He took the image near Cat Island in the Bahamas. Renowned oceanographer Jacques Cousteau labelled the white tips as ‘the most dangerous of all sharks’. In 1945, after the torpedoing of the USS Indianapolis, whitetips were thought to be responsible for the deaths of up to 800 sailors








The comments below have not been moderated.



Absolutely gorgeous photos.



mrbadexample

,


worthing, United Kingdom,

06/6/2013 13:46


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I love the seal photo; so dreamy – perfection.



Trouble

,


London, United Kingdom,

06/6/2013 09:19


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yes, amazingly good….. May the next person eating shark fin soup choke on it..



Andrew_59

,


Richmond VA, United States,

06/6/2013 04:49


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Thanks for this DM. I haven’t found this in any US media outlet, so kudos to you



Pamela

,


Alexandria,

06/6/2013 02:48


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I have snorkeled in an area with a lot of sea kelp. Stunning plant. They look like abstract sculptures of people with long hair. Some believe that the legend of the mermaid comes from sailors seeing the kelp and thinking they are beautiful, blonde women. That sea lion makes me want to go back. I can see the crab at pescador island on a big canvas in a good friend’s living room.



Ellie

,


Missouri US,

06/6/2013 02:32


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Amazing pictures!!! Truly spectacular!!



Pirate.Kitten

,


Houston, United States,

06/6/2013 00:44


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Stunning photographs.



JanJan

,


Brevard, United States,

06/6/2013 00:36


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I wish I were a seal in the sea…



giddey_up

,


Houston, United States,

06/6/2013 00:30


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I think all of the photos are winners! Nature is a beautiful thing!



Donslady

,


New York, United States,

06/6/2013 00:01


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Photo could be a mermaid



embrace

,


West Lothian,

05/6/2013 23:49


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