News

Best of Show: Wide Angle Unrestricted – Gold – “Spurt” by Scott Portelli
PRIZE: 12-night cruise for two to Triton Bay, West Papua on the Seven Seas liveaboard
 

DPG is proud to announce the winners of the Masters Underwater Imaging Competition. Our esteemed panel of judges—David Doubilet, Stephen Frink, Erin Quigley, Scott “Gutsy” Tuason, Keri Wilk and Tony Wu—pored over a huge number of entries submitted by shooters from around the world. As usual, awesome gear and dive travel prizes (worth around $55,000) were up for grabs, as well as a $1,000 cash prize for the “Best of Show” image.

At the end of the day, it was Australia-based photographer Scott Portelli who took the “Best of Show” prize for his brilliantly captured over-under of an emperor fish tussling for position among a school of silver drummer in the shallows at Lord Howe Island, Australia. In the image, which claimed Gold in the Wide Angle Unrestricted category, the emperor is spurting a jet of water out of its mouth in an effort to distract the other fish from a nabbing food scraps left by tourists hoping to observe the behavior.

Commenting on Scott’s winning image, Doubilet said: “This is that moment we might see but rarely capture. This is literally crystal-clear behavior.” Gutsy added: “Nailing a spit shot is difficult, and adding a behavior is the cherry on top.” Keri Wilk summed up the shot perfectly: “What we all strive for as photographers: a painfully common subject, captured in an absolutely unique way. The combination of eye contact, dynamic behavior, and technical excellence make this a clear winner.”

See below for the full set of winning images and videos or check out UnderwaterCompetition.com. The winning photos and films will be presented at the inaugural Wave Film Festival in Chicago tonight. Our congratulations to all the winners—and honorable mentions—in the various categories.
 

A HUGE THANKS TO OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS
 

Wide Angle Unrestricted – Silver – “Frozen” by Alex Dawson
PRIZE: One week of diving and accommodations at Gulen Dive Resort, Norway
 

Wide Angle Unrestricted – Bronze – “Mating Toads and a Frog” by Gino Symus
PRIZE: Ikelite DS-161 strobe and Inon LF1100h-EWf flashlight
 

Wide Angle Unrestricted – Honorable Mention – “In-between Two Frozen Worlds” by Alex Dawson
 

Wide Angle Unrestricted – Honorable Mention – “Smile” by Alex Rose
 

Macro Unrestricted – Gold – “Eyes” by Keigo Kawamura
PRIZE: One week of diving at Sam’s Tours and accommodations at Caraline’s, Palau
 

Macro Unrestricted – Silver – “Female Blanket Octopus” by Katherine Lu
PRIZE: One week of diving and accommodations at Gulen Dive Resort, Norway
 

Macro Unrestricted – Bronze – “Garden Eel in the Sun” by Enrico Somogyi
PRIZE: Inon D-200 strobe and Ikelite Gamma II dive light
 

Macro Unrestricted – Honorable Mention – “Dance” by Heng Cai
 

Macro Unrestricted – Honorable Mention – “Light Bulb” by Filippo Borghi
 

Wide Angle Traditional – Gold – “Strange” by Yung-Sen Wu
PRIZE: 8 nights on board the liveaboard dive vessel, MV Oceania, Papua New Guinea
 

Wide Angle Traditional – Silver – “Dragon’s Teeth” by Petr Polách
PRIZE: 7 nights’ accommodation and 18 dives at Crystal Blue Resort, Anilao, Philippines
 

Wide Angle Traditional – Bronze – “Under the Pier” by Jose Antonio Castellano Garrido
PRIZE: 7 nights’ accommodation at either Atlantis Puerto Galera or Atlantis Dumaguete, Philippines
 

Wide Angle Traditional – Honorable Mention – “A Huge Mobula School” by François Baelen
 

Wide Angle Traditional – Honorable Mention – “Golden Hour” by Jesse Alpert
 

Macro Traditional – Gold – “Red Carpet” by Yatwai So
PRIZE: 8 nights on board the liveaboard dive vessel, MV Oceania, Papua New Guinea
 

Macro Traditional – Silver – “Friends” by Enrico Somogyi
PRIZE: 7-night liveaboard cruise to the Red Sea with blue o two
 

Macro Traditional – Bronze – “Xenia Pipefish” by Yung-Sen Wu
PRIZE: Ikelite DS-161 strobe and Inon UCL-67 M67 close-up lens
 

Macro Traditional – Honorable Mention – “Gemini” by Marco Gargiulo
 

Macro Traditional – Honorable Mention – “Haunting Hawkfish” by Joe Daniels
 

Video – Gold – “The Calling” by Evan Sherman
PRIZE: One week of diving at Sam’s Tours and accommodations at Caraline’s, Palau
 

Video – Silver – “Diving into the Underwater Galaxy” by Ping Fan
PRIZE: 7 nights’ accommodation and 18 dives at Crystal Blue Resort, Anilao, Philippines
 

Video – Bronze – “A Snorkel Venture in Komodo” by Alex Lindbloom
PRIZE: 7 nights’ accommodation at either Atlantis Puerto Galera or Atlantis Dumaguete, Philippines
 

Video – Honorable Mention – “Coldwater Dreams” by Mattias Granberg