The winners of the contest organized by DivePhotoGuide have just been announced in New York. This year’s grand winner, Eiko Jones, wins the competition not with a photo but with an underwater video!
DivePhotoGuide (DPG) announced this Friday, January 31, in New York the winning images and short films of the 2024 edition of the DPG Masters Underwater Imaging Competition. Once again, thousands of photographers and filmmakers from dozens of countries participated in this international competition. The competition invited entries in eight image categories and one video category. Submissions were judged by a panel of award-winning underwater photographers: Nicolas Remy, Steven Kovacs, Shane Gross, Tanya Houppermans, Imran Ahmad, and Andy Sallmon.
This year’s grand winner is Canadian videographer Eiko Jones, whose film The Journey brilliantly captures the dramatic life cycle of salmon in the rivers of British Columbia, Canada. By winning first place in the short film category, Eiko was awarded the title of ‘DPG Grand Master 2024’.
Short Film
1st prize and DGP Great Master 2024 – Eiko Jones (Canada), The Journey
« This short film is a compilation of sequences from my film Heartbeat of the River. My goal in producing this short film is to show the incredible journey that salmon from the Campbell and Quinsam rivers on Vancouver Island undertake to complete their life cycle. It is a triumph over their adversaries and many obstacles that has lasted for millennia along the coasts of British Columbia and the United States ».
2nd prize – Alfred Schaschl (Austria), Magic of the Macroverse
3rd prize – Jacob Guy (United Kingdom), Paradise in Peril
Honorable mention – Lara González and Xaime Beiro (Spain), The Ocean Is Not Ours
Honorable mention – Lionel Pawlowski (France), Cosmogony
Traditional
1st prize – Vanessa Mignon (Australia)
« I was going to Baja California hoping to witness the famous aggregation of Mobula rays. We had seen a few groups migrating into the bay, but the visibility was not good in the shallow waters. So we decided to head offshore in search of bluer waters. Soon, we saw what we hoped for: Mobulas leaping out of the water. We dived in and discovered a tight ball of Mobulas spinning and swimming in unison, in a magnificent and hypnotic dance. When observing large aggregations like those in Baja California at certain times of the year, one might think that Mobula rays are doing well. Unfortunately, the IUCN Red List indicates that the global population is declining and classifies these amazing rays as vulnerable ».
2nd prize – Renata Romeo (Italy)
3rd prize – Isaac Szabo (United States)
Honorable mention – Jean-A. Luque (Switzerland)
Honorable mention – Chris Gug (United States)
Macro
1st prize – Andrea Michelutti (Italy)
« It was very moving to witness this scene of a scorpionfish devouring a lizardfish. It was not easy to stay focused to take the photo. It captures the striking contrast between the beauty of nature and its harsh reality. A snoot was used to concentrate the light from my strobe while keeping the background dark and discreet ».
2nd prize – Wen Chou Wu (Taiwan)
3rd prize – Enrico Somogy (Germany)
Honorable mention – Keigo Kawamura (Japan)
Honorable mention – Enrico Somogyi (Germany)
Wide angle
1st prize – Massimo Zannini – (Italy)
« Cava Valsora, one of the famous marble quarries in Carrara, Italy, offers an arena-like backdrop to a charming Italian alpine newt (Ichthyosaura alpestris apuana). While the quarry still produces the well-known white and blue-gray marble, extraction is avoided in the natural pool where a colony of these colorful newts reproduces – a comforting example of safeguarding a vulnerable species ».
2nd prize – Brittany Ilardi (United States)
3rd prize – Yazid Shaari (Libya)
Honorable mention – Martin Broen (United States)
Honorable mention – Jules Casey (Australia)
Over-under
1st prize – Luc Rooman (Belgium)
« I have a strong attraction to amphibians, even though photographing them requires a lot of patience, as they are generally not very willing subjects. However, after spending many hours in the water, a frog finally sat still on a lily pad. It clearly wanted to be photographed: every time I moved to photograph it from a different angle, it turned with me ».
2nd prize – Martin Stevens (United Kingdom)
3rd prize – Anton Sorokin (United States)
Honorable mention – Grant Thomas (United Kingdom)
Honorable mention – Anita Verde (Australia)
Conservation
1st prize – Matthew Mak (Canada)
« The bait we were following had attracted seabirds, bonito, and California sea lions. Among the group of sea lions was this male. He had around his neck what appeared to be fishing net debris. Nevertheless, he was seen successfully hunting, appearing in good condition and not emaciated. We encountered him at two different bait points, where he participated enthusiastically in the action. It was incredibly heartbreaking to see how he had become entangled, but also remarkable to see how he coped. An alarming amount of plastic waste is accumulating in our oceans, and this image is a stark reminder of the impact it has on wildlife and the environment. Even as animals adapt, we need to do better to minimize our impact on the planet if we want to coexist harmoniously with its inhabitants ».
2nd prize – Pasquale Vassallo (Italy)
3rd prize – Jason Gulley (United States)
Honorable mention – Marco Schulze (Germany)
Honorable mention – Andrea Michelutti (Italy)
Blackwater
1st prize – André Moyo (France)
« From unfathomable depths, where light fades and silence reigns, an argonaut begins its journey to the surface. Enclosed in its delicate shell, a masterpiece of natural architecture, it rises, carried by a mysterious current. Like a drifting dream, it encounters a floating leaf, an unlikely companion of its wandering. The leaf, detached from an unknown tree, seems to dance, guided by the whims of the water. Together, they drift, the iridescent shell and the gentle cradle of nature, united in a silent dance. The depths traveler aligns itself with the lightness of the leaf, as if the ocean itself offers a fleeting moment of poetry. In this meeting, the current becomes a storyteller, weaving a tale of balance between fragility and strength. The argonaut, a symbol of marine mystery, and the leaf, a fragment of the terrestrial world, move aimlessly but with a grace that transcends their solitude. Their drift reminds us of the beauty of simplicity, carried by invisible forces, a testament to the fragile harmony between worlds. »
2nd prize – Dennis Corpuz (Philippines)
3rd prize – Keigo Kawamura (Japan)
Honorable mention – Boz Johnson (United States)
Honorable mention – Jin Gao (China)
Compact Camera
1st prize – Andrea Michelutti (Italy)
« This striped trevally (Carangoides ferdau) nestled inside a jellyfish Thysanostoma thysanura illustrates their symbiotic relationship, a form of commensalism. The fish benefits from the jellyfish for protection and shelter, using it as a shield against predators. In return, the jellyfish benefits indirectly, such as the removal of parasites or debris thanks to the presence of the fish. »
2nd prize – Enrico Somogyi (Germany)
3rd prize – Andrea Michelutti (Italy)
Honorable mention – Kate Jonker (South Africa)
Honorable mention – Andrea Michelutti (Italy)
Portfolio
1st prize – Filippo Borghi (Italy)
« Highlighting different regions of the world, this portfolio aims to showcase the various behaviors of marine creatures in their natural environment. From large mammals to microscopic creatures drifting in ocean currents, the subjects range from the depths of the Mediterranean Sea to the surface of Southern Australia, from the cold waters of Antarctica to the warm waters of the Indian Ocean: A frogfish catches a torpedo ray, demonstrating its impressive hunting abilities; vibrant giant cuttlefish gathering to spawn, showcasing their remarkable camouflage and communication skills; a curious leopard seal in an both exciting and surreal interaction, playfully showing its teeth; a transparent octopus larva, barely the size of a fingertip, extends and contracts its tiny tentacles searching for food; a marine iguana, perched on the rocky substrate, feeds on algae; and a humpback whale mother nurses her young calf and bonds with it. »
2nd prize – Vanessa Mignon (Australia)
3rd prize – Martin Broen (United States)
Honorable mention – Laura Gourgas (Australia)
Honorable mention – Martin Broen (United States)
Opening image 1st prize Over-Under © Luc Rooman / UnderwaterCompetition.com