Underwater Images Win Prestigious Award

Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2007

Winners of the prestigious Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition (owned by the BBC Wildlife Magazine and the Natural History Museum) have recently been announced and the exhibition is now open to the public at the Natural History Museum in London, UK. Once again, images from the underwater world have impressed the judging panel. This is a wonderful contest which, with the power of underwater imagery, can engage a new audience to think about the underwater world and its urgent need for conservation. Project AWARE Foundation is proud to support this year’s competition by sponsoring the Underwater Category.

This year’s winner of the Underwater World Category is PADI Master Instructor Felipe Barrio from Spain with his photograph Giant Feast. At dawn on New Years Eve in the Red Sea off Djibouti, Felipe slipped into the water using snorkelling gear and captured a rare image of four whale sharks feeding.

Project AWARE is working hard to help conserve whale sharks, through its Whale Shark Project which encourages divers and snorkelers to upload their whale shark images to a sightings database Whale Shark Project; the pattern and distribution of their markings can distinguish an individual for those studying these creatures and their geographic distribution and movement. The more information known about whale sharks can lead to further international protection for this vulnerable species.

"Felipe’s winning image will go a long way in raising awareness about the need to protect these giant and harmless creatures" comments Suzanne Pleydell, Project AWARE Foundation Director.

In 2004, awareness of the underwater environment received a tremendous boost, when PADI Instructor Doug Perrine from the USA won the overall Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2004 for his dramatic image of bronze whalers charging a baitball during the annual sardine run up the East Coast of South Africa. The inspiring image helped open up the wonders of the underwater world to a larger audience and provided an opportunity to highlight the fate of many species of sharks worldwide: over 100 million sharks are killed each year, excluding those killed as by-catch and that at the current mortality rate, many shark species will soon be extinct.

Last year, the overall winning image was from the Animal Behaviour category: an underwater shot of a feeding walrus: Beast of the Sediment by Goran Ehlme.

Over the years an increasing number of underwater images have been selected as highly commended or winners in categories other than the Underwater World.

The 2008 competition call out for photos has already begun and we look forward to seeing underwater images increasingly represented. You may have taken part in competitions or may be new to the competitive arena, but if you’re serious about photography, take up the challenge to have your inspiring images judged and potentially shared with millions of people. Entry forms become available each February and the deadline for submission is April.

Visit http://www.nhm.ac.uk/wildphoto for further information about the competition and exhibition tour. To help reduce your impact on the aquatic environment when taking underwater photos download a copy of the 10 tips for Underwater Photographers.

Project AWARE Foundation is a nonprofit organization working with divers to conserve underwater environments through education, advocacy and action. Visit http://www.projectaware.org to support your local office and participate in environmental activities to make a lasting difference.

Contributed by Joanne Marston added 2007-11-21