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Our World Underwater 2017

Best of Show by Yatwai So
Best of Show

PHOTOGRAPHER
Yatwai So

CATEGORY
Macro Unrestricted
Gold

The Our World Underwater international underwater photography and video competition has become known as the “Superbowl” of underwater imaging events. The competition celebrates and highlights both art of underwater photography as well as the beauty of the ocean.

This year the panel of judges went through thousands of images and videos taken by novice to professional photographers and videographers from around the world.

$55,000 in prizes were awarded to the winners. Congratulations to Yatwai So, who won Best of Show for his 1st place image from the Macro Unrestricted category.

Winners were announced live on stage during the Our World Underwater film festival in Chicago (February 24–26, 2017), and will be published by supporting media partners worldwide. You can enjoy the winning images and video below.

Winners
BEST OF SHOW
Best of Show by Yatwai So

Macro Unrestricted
Gold
Yatwai So Hong Kong
Prize
DS-161 Strobe or Gamma II Light from Ikelite
Macro Traditional
Gold
Blue Velvet by Jorge Marco ()

Jorge Marco

"Blue Velvet"
Location: Bali
Prize
7-night dive package in Palau with Sams Tours Palau
Silver
Moray ell by Liang  Fu (China)

Liang Fu
China

"Moray ell"
Location: Tulamben Bali
Prize
7 nights’ accommodation and 18 dives at Crystal Blue Resort, Anilao, Philippines
Bronze
Tylodina by Adriano Morettin (Italy)

Adriano Morettin
Italy

"Tylodina"
Location: Gulf of Rijeka (Croatia)
Prize
DS-161 Strobe or Gamma II Light from Ikelite
Honorable Mention
Imperator on solar powered nudi by Adriano Morettin (Italy)

Adriano Morettin
Italy

"Imperator on solar powered nudi"
Location: Lembeh strait, Indonesia
Prize
DS-161 Strobe or Gamma II Light from Ikelite
Macro Unrestricted
Gold
Phantom by Yatwai So (Hong Kong)

Yatwai So
Hong Kong

"Phantom"
Location: Anilao
Prize
DS-161 Strobe or Gamma II Light from Ikelite
Silver
Crab Catcher by Nicholas More ()

Nicholas More

"Crab Catcher"
Location: Manado Bay, North Sulawesi, Indonesia
Prize
7-day package to Norway at Gulen Dive Resort
Bronze
Brotulotaenia by Fabien Michenet (France)

Fabien Michenet
France

"Brotulotaenia"
Location: Tahiti
Prize
Various Lighting and Lens Accessories from Inon
Honorable Mention
Prey? by Yatwai So (Hong Kong)

Yatwai So
Hong Kong

"Prey?"
Location: Anilao
Prize
DS-161 Strobe or Gamma II Light from Ikelite
Wide Angle Traditional
Gold
One in a Million by Ron Watkins (United States)

Ron Watkins
United States

"One in a Million"
Location: Alaska
Prize
7-night trip on board the Fiji Siren with Worldwide Dive and Sail
Silver
Humpback Portrait by WaiHoe Mok (Singapore)

WaiHoe Mok
Singapore

"Humpback Portrait"
Location: Vava'u, Tonga
Prize
7-night package at Atlantis Puerto Galera or Atlantis Dumaguete, Philippines
Bronze
Pelagic by Eduardo Acevedo (Spain)

Eduardo Acevedo
Spain

"Pelagic"
Location: Los Gigantes,Tenerife,España.
Prize
Various Lighting and Lens Accessories from Inon
Honorable Mention
Thistlegorm Bedfords by Kees Opstal (Netherlands)

Kees Opstal
Netherlands

"Thistlegorm Bedfords"
Location: Egypt Red Sea
Honorable Mention
Honu Sunset by Renee Capozzola (United States)

Renee Capozzola
United States

"Honu Sunset"
Location: Maui
Prize
12-day liveaboard trip for two on the Seven Seas “East of Flores” cruise
Wide Angle Unrestricted
Gold
Whale Trail by Beau Pilgrim ()

Beau Pilgrim

"Whale Trail"
Location: Vava'u, Tonga
Prize
8-night liveaboard trip to Papua New Guinea aboard MV FeBrina
Silver
Polynesian Rendezvous by Renee Capozzola (United States)

Renee Capozzola
United States

"Polynesian Rendezvous"
Location: French Polynesia
Prize
12-day liveaboard trip for two on the Seven Seas “East of Flores” cruise
Bronze
Frond Of This Sunset by Patrick Webster ()

Patrick Webster

"Frond Of This Sunset"
Location: Pacific Grove, CA
Prize
DS-161 Strobe or Gamma II Light from Ikelite
Honorable Mention
On the Brink by WaiHoe Mok (Singapore)

WaiHoe Mok
Singapore

"On the Brink"
Location: Vava'u, Tonga
Prize
7-night package at Atlantis Puerto Galera or Atlantis Dumaguete, Philippines
Compact Cameras
Gold
Breakfast time by J.R. Sosky ()

J.R. Sosky

"Breakfast time"
Location: Monterey, CA
Prize
7-night dive package in Palau with Sams Tours Palau
Silver
Jellyfish under the sun by Enrico Somogyi (Germany)

Enrico Somogyi
Germany

"Jellyfish under the sun"
Location: Mallorca,Spain
Prize
7 nights’ accommodation and 18 dives at Crystal Blue Resort, Anilao, Philippines
Bronze
Toy? by Stephen Holinski (Canada)

Stephen Holinski
Canada

"Toy?"
Location: Hornby Island, British Columbia
Prize
Various Lighting and Lens Accessories from Inon
Honorable Mention
Magic Face of the fishes  by Melody Chuang (Taiwan)

Melody Chuang
Taiwan

"Magic Face of the fishes "
Location: Moalboal, Philippines
Commercial, Conceptual & Fashion
Gold
Cassiopeia by Alicia Franco ()

Alicia Franco

"Cassiopeia"
Location: Kona, Hawaii
Prize
8-night liveaboard trip to Papua New Guinea aboard MV FeBrina
Silver
Poison Tree by Conor Culver (United States)

Conor Culver
United States

"Poison Tree"
Location: Ambon, Indonesia
Prize
7-day package to Norway at Gulen Dive Resort
Bronze
Liberetas by Jan Erik Bjoroy (Norway)

Jan Erik Bjoroy
Norway

"Liberetas"
Location: Trondheim Norway
Prize
DS-161 Strobe or Gamma II Light from Ikelite
Honorable Mention
Light Amphorae by Thomas Heckmann (Germany)

Thomas Heckmann
Germany

"Light Amphorae"
Location: Pool in Germany
Video
Gold

Sascha Janson
Germany
"Aliens of the Lembeh Strait"
Silver

Chisa Hidaka and Benjamin Harley
"Dolphin Dreams: Part II"
Bronze

Sarosh Jacob
"Sailfish"
Categories
PHOTO
Macro Traditional

Any close-up image captured with a macro lens, where the reproduction ratio is between 1:10 and 1:1, or greater. The "Traditional" divisions allow for the adjustment of brightness, contrast, color, and sharpness only. Cropping, cloning, and other digital manipulation is not allowed in this category. This restriction on digital manipulation enables people who are not as savvy at Photoshop to compete on more-or-less even ground as those with more experience. It also highlights composition and lighting skills by not allowing cropping and cloning. Before selecting winning entries, we reserve the right to audit your original RAW or JPG files. Please do not submit cropped or manipulated entries in this category.

Macro Unrestricted

Any close-up image captured with a macro lens, where the reproduction ratio is between 1:10 and 1:1, or greater. Unlike the "Traditional" divisions, the "Unrestricted" divisions have no specific rules regarding digital manipulation. However, as we are not running a digital manipulation contest, you should exercise care in the decisions that you make.

Wide Angle Traditional

Any image captured with a wide-angle lens (focal length 35mm or less in 35mm format). The "Traditional" divisions allow for the adjustment of brightness, contrast, color, and sharpness only. Cropping, cloning, and other digital manipulation is not allowed in this category. This restriction on digital manipulation enables people who are not as savvy at Photoshop to compete on more-or-less even ground as those with more experience. It also highlights composition and lighting skills by not allowing cropping and cloning. Before selecting winning entries, we reserve the right to audit your original RAW or JPG files. Please do not submit cropped or manipulated entries in this category.

Wide Angle Unrestricted

Any image captured with a wide-angle lens (focal length 35mm or less in 35mm format). Unlike the "Traditional" divisions, the "Unrestricted" divisions have no specific rules regarding digital manipulation. However, as we are not running a digital manipulation contest, you should exercise care in the decisions that you make.

Compact Cameras

Any image taken by a point-and-shoot, non-DSLR, non-interchangeable-lens camera.
Any camera with interchangeable lenses is not considered a compact, so images taken with such cameras must not be entered into this category.

Commercial, Conceptual & Fashion

Any non-wildlife focused underwater images of commercial, conceptual or fashion related subjects.
Images can be shot in a pool or in the wild, but the primary subject should not be wildlife.

VIDEO
Short Film

Any film five minutes or less in duration. At least 50% of the footage must be shot underwater.

Judges
Abi Smigel Mullens

Abi Smigel Mullens is the associate editor of Wetpixel, a premiere online underwater photography community and website. She is also a freelance underwater photographer and writer that has been published in many popular scuba diving magazines. In addition to shooting wildlife underwater, Abi specializes in children’s underwater portraits and runs her own company, Sea Star Underwater Portraits. She is based in the San Francisco bay area and offers this service to clients and swim schools up and down the California coast.

Alex Mustard

Dr Alexander Mustard, from the UK, has been taking underwater photographs for 30 years and has worked as a full-time underwater photographer for the last decade. His photographs have attracted many awards including being category winners in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year, and in 2013, he was named European Wildlife Photographer of the Year as overall winner of the GDT contest. He was one of the team for the 2020VISION conservation photography project in the UK. He also runs popular underwater photography workshops at top diving destinations around the world. www.amustard.com

Berkley White

Berkley White is a leading expert in the field of underwater photography and digital image processing. As a professional photographer and instructor, he shares his in-field photographic techniques and digital methods through a series of select travel events each year. Berkley is the founder of Backscatter in Monterey, California, the largest specialty underwater photographic supplier in the US, and is the organizer of international photographic events such as the Digital Shootout.

David Doubilet

David Doubilet is considered to be among the best by editors, peers and colleagues the world over. He has photographed over 60 stories for the National Geographic Magazine where he is currently a Contributing Photographer-in-Residence. David has documented our changing underwater world since his first assignment with the Geographic in 1971. In addition to the Geographic, David’s work continues to appear in countless publications worldwide and he is a contributing editor and feature columnists for the Behind the Shot in Sport Diver Magazine (US) and Seascapes and Dive Magazine (UK). He has authored seven books on the sea, and is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including: The Sara Prize, The Explorers Club Lowell Thomas Award and the Lennart Nilsson Award in Photography. David is a member of both the Royal Photographic Society and International Diving Hall of fame.

Keri Wilk

Keri Wilk started diving at around 8 and was certified by the age of 12. Around two decades have now passed since he picked up his first underwater camera. With his brother, a fellow engineer, Keri co-owns ReefNet, which creates products that benefit the underwater world, such as optics, data recorders, and marine life ID guides. Keri recently ventured into the field of aerial imaging and started a company called Rotorpixel, which primarily manufactures direct-drive camera-stabilizing gimbals for unmanned aerial systems. After winning over 100 awards in international photo competitions, he now regularly appears on judging panels.

Prizes
12-day liveaboard trip for two on the Seven Seas “East of Flores” cruise
8-night liveaboard trip to Papua New Guinea aboard MV FeBrina
7-night dive package in Palau with Sams Tours Palau
7 nights’ accommodation and 18 dives at Crystal Blue Resort, Anilao, Philippines
7-night package at Atlantis Puerto Galera or Atlantis Dumaguete, Philippines
7-night trip on board the Fiji Siren with Worldwide Dive and Sail
DS-161 Strobe or Gamma II Light from Ikelite
Various Lighting and Lens Accessories from Inon
7-day package to Norway at Gulen Dive Resort