News

Gold, Macro (Compact Class), “Eggs at Eleven” by Andrea Michelutti
 

The organizer of the World Underwater Macro Awards (WUMA) has unveiled the winners of the first edition of the photo competition dedicated to underwater macro photography. A seven-member jury chose Gold, Silver and Bronze winners in eight categories, with each category having an “Open” class and six of the categories having an additional “Compact” class for a total of 42 winners. The jury comprised well-known underwater photographers Pietro Formis, Ipah Uid Lynn, and Tim Ho, as well as dive guides Kati Eschweiler, Ajiex Dharma, Ben Sarinda, and Christophe Kazmierski—acknowledging the collaborative nature of macro photography.

“Behind every great macro photo, there is often a local guide who found the creature and helped the photographer capture the award-winning image,” says WUMA founder Olivier Martinez, aka Martinoo. Recognizing this invaluable contribution, WUMA offers free entry for local dive guides and spotters—often also accomplished underwater photographers in their own right—and Martinoo notes 34 of them took part, with eight finalists and four on the podium.

Gold awards were picked up by Steven Kovacs (Macro Open), Andrea Michelutti (Macro Compact, Super Macro Compact, Nudibranchs Compact, Animal Behavior Compact), Boz Johnson (Super Macro Open), Giancarlo Mazarese (Nudibranchs Open, Crustaceans Open), Pietro Cremone (Crustaceans Compact), Ludovic Galko-Rundgren (Animal Behavior Open), Jiwon Choi (Creative Lighting Open), Kathrin Landgraf-Kluge (Creative Lighting Compact), Salvatore Gambacurta (Rare Critters Open), and Min-seok Jeon (Blackwater & Bonfire). Andrea Michelutti—aka Traveler Mike—deserves special congratulations for bagging four Golds as well as six other awards!

Enjoy the Golds below and check out the rest of the winners on the WUMA website.
 

Gold, Macro (Open Class), “Guard Duty” by Steven Kovacs
 

Gold, Animal Behavior (Open Class), “Last Gasp” by Ludovic Galko-Rundgen
 

Gold, Animal Behavior (Compact Class), “Predator” by Andrea Michelutti
 

Gold, Nudibranchs (Open Class), “The Moment of Laying” by Giancarlo Mazarese
 

Gold, Nudibranchs (Compact Class), “The Crown and the Jewels” by Andrea Michelutti
 

Gold, Crustaceans (Open Class), “Symbiosis and Progeny” by Giancarlo Mazarese
 

Gold, Crustaceans (Compact Class), “Heart of Grass” by Pietro Cremone
 

Gold, Super Macro (Open Class), “Parenting Is Hard” by Boz Johnson
 

Gold, Super Macro (Compact Class), “Samurai” by Andrea Michelutti
 

Gold, Creative Lighting (Open Class), “Flame Passenger” by Jiwon Choi
 

Gold, Creative Lighting (Compact Class), “On a Colorful Planet” by Kathrin Landgraf-Kluge
 

Gold, Blackwater & Bonfire (Open Class), “Anatomy of Distortion” by Min-seok Jeon
 

Gold, Rare Critters (Open Class), “Ghost of Sydney” by Salvatore Gambacurta