One of the largest, most prestigious and unique series of international underwater photo & video competitions kicks off its 6th anniversary this year with over $120,000 in world class prizes - the largest in the world. Often referred to as the “Super Bowl” of underwater imagery events, the Our World Underwater and DEEP Indonesia competitions truly showcase the art of underwater imagery from across the globe while celebrating the beauty, mystery and delicacy of the oceans.

Prizes include nearly 40 trips to some of the best dive resorts and live aboards in the world, underwater photo and video equipment,  and scuba diving gear. In addition, this year the Best of Show winner will receive $1,000 cash to go along with his or her dive trip. A complete list of sponsors, prizes and competition guidelines are listed on the competition detail pages (Our World Underwater and DEEP Indonesia).

The competitions offer categories for all levels, ifrom novice to commercial photographers, and everyone in between. Our World Underwater focuses on technical categories, while DEEP Indonesia offers themed categories. Combined, the series represents the largest underwater imagery event globally.

A statement from competition founders and co-hosts Jason Heller and Eric Cheng:

"We are proud to announce the initial call for entries for the 2011 competitions. We always look forward to the outstanding images and video that are submitted from dozens of countries around the world. The quantity of high quality underwater imagery  today is astounding. We wish that we could provide prizes to all the talented photographers out there. Good luck to everyone!"

Jason & Eric run the two leading underwater photography websites, DivePhotoGuide.com and Wetpixel.com, respectively.

  
Esteemed judges include leading professional underwater photographers, cinematographers and magazine editors will select winners after the Jan 17, 2011 deadline. Winners for each respective competition will be announced live on stage at the Our World Underwater film festival in Chicago (February 18-20, 2011), and exhibited at DEEP Indonesia in Jakarta (March 31 – April 3, 2010), and will be published by supporting media partners worldwide ,reaching millions of readers. Winning videos will be podcast as episodes of the iTunes-featured DiveFilm High Definition Podcast.

As with all UnderwaterCompetition.com events, 15% of entry proceeds will be donated to marine conservation efforts.