News

Best of Show – Wide Angle – Gold – “Wishing Well” by Suliman Alatiqi (Kuwait)
 

The organizers of the DPG Masters Underwater Imaging Competition 2023 have crowned a new “Best of Show”—Suliman Alatiqi’s winning image in the Wide Angle category, a refreshingly original shot of a crab-eating macaque looking at the water from a rocky platform, as seen through Snell’s window.

The decision was made after the organizers and judges ascertained that the previously awarded “Best of Show” image by Marco Gargiulo—originally the winner of the Over-Under category—did not comply with the rules of the competition. The image has been disqualified and the awards have been rescinded. The judges subsequently reconvened to choose a new "Best of Show" image and felt Suliman Alatiqi's Wide Angle Gold winner deserved the top honors. Suliman wins the “Best of Show” cash prize of $1,000.

As a result of the disqualification, Grace Pempek’s beautiful shot of a critically endangered smalltooth sawfish is now awarded Gold in the Over-Under category, while Mirko Zanni’s photo of an American alligator now receives Silver in that category. Another crab-eating macaque from Suliman Alatiqi’s series captured in Thailand’s Phi Phi Islands is now the category’s Bronze winner.

Congratulations anew to Suliman, Grace, and Mirko! Check out the rest of the winners and runners-up on UnderwaterCompetition.com.
 

Over-Under – Gold – “Smalltooth Sawfish Among the Mangroves at Dawn” by Grace Pempek (USA)
 

Over-Under – Silver – “American Alligator” by Mirko Zanni (Switzerland)
 

Over-Under – Bronze – “Primal Plunge” by Suliman Alatiqi (Kuwait)