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Wow! We at DPG are constantly impressed by the level of so-called “amateur” underwater photographers—and our January Monthly Contest is exactly why!

The theme for January was “Split Shots” or “Over/Unders” and the winner of a pair of Doug Sloss’ “Photoshop and Lightroom for the Underwater Photographer” DVDs valued at over $200 is Wilfried Niedermayr.

Wilfried captured the judge’s votes with his dramatic shot of a Caribbean Reef Shark lunging out of the water, while other sharks circled below. 

Second place went to Pasquale Vassallo for his stunning shot of an octopus lounging in a bed of kelp. DPG contest regular Adriano Morettin took home third place with his shot of schooling baitfish under a tropical pier, which follows the golden rule of having interesting subjects above and below the water in a split shot.

While we can only crown three winners for monthly contests, there were literally dozens of split shots worthy of recognition. Below are a few of the judges other favorites. 

DPG would like to extend a special thank you to Doug Sloss for presenting the prize for this month’s winner: a pair of “Photoshop and Lightroom for the Underwater Photographer.” We would also like to thank the hard work by our staff of experienced judges: Jeff De Guzman, Keri Wilk, Mark Fuller, Steve De Neef and DPG Editors Matt Weiss and Joseph Tepper. 

Make sure to check out and enter your best shots of eels into this month’s contest.