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Five years of competition. Hundreds of fabulous entries. More than 50 contests. And every theme under the sun: from sharks and shoals to crustaceans and cephalopods, portraits and patterns to abstracts and ambient light shots—macros and wide-angles, cold water and fresh water, eggs and eyes, and even the “strange and spook-tacular”…
 

After running our Monthly Contests for five years—ever since the inaugural competition way back in August 2009—we decided that it was finally time to hang up our judging wigs and clear the way for exciting new regular features to come.

As with all good things that reach their natural end, it only seems right to spend a little time looking back at those phenomenal winning entries. So, in this first part of a two-part feature, we singled out our favorite themes from the Monthly Contests running from August 2009 through November 2011. That’s 16 Monthly Contests and a total of 48 stunning winners (with each contest having a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place). In the second part of the feature, we’ll give you 51 more awesome shots—bringing the grand total to 99! We’re wondering, will there be a single image in the bunch—No. 100 you could call it—that trumps all the others?

Anyway, we’re sure you’ll agree with us—after seeing the best of the first two-and-a-half years of winners all in one place—that there are some seriously talented members of the DPG community out there. Indeed, you’ll notice that many of the individuals included here are responsible for inspiring, influencing, and molding the creative flow of underwater photography over the past few years. And it is almost a guarantee that anyone in the industry has somehow been impacted by several of these images—and the photographers who captured them—as we all grow in technique, knowledge and the subject matter we take on. 

So click on the thumbnails to enjoy the first 48 winners from our favorite contests. We hope you revisit some of this work with a renewed sense of vigor for the ocean and your own shooting.

Check out Part 2 of this feature for the second batch of winners from our favorite contests!

August 2009 – Nudibranchs
 

1st Esteban Toré 1	2nd Kevin Lee 2	3rd Christian Skauge 3

October 2009 – Reefscapes
 

1st Rogerio Silva 4	2nd Edvin Eng 5	3rd Ron Watkin 6

December 2009 – Wrecks
 

1st Jim Garland 7	2nd Tobias Friedrich 8	3rd Dray H. Van Beeck 9

January 2010 – The Color Yellow
 

1st Debi Henshaw 10	2nd Bruno Van Saen 11	3rd David Baxter 12

March 2010 – Animal Portraits

1st Mark L. Fuller 13	2nd Peter G. Allinson 14	3rd Steve De Neef 15

April 2010 – Patterns
 

1st Esteban Toré 16	2nd Sascha Unger 17	3rd Fabien Michenet 18

June 2010 – Macro
 

1st Michael Gallagher 19	2nd David Barrio 20	3rd Goos van der Heide 21

July 2010 – Wide Angle
 

1st Fabien Michenet 22	2nd John Muhilly 23	3rd Tobias Friedrich 24

August 2010 – Mating and Spawning
 

1st Rand McMeins 25	2nd Tobias Friedrich 26	3rd David Henshaw 27

November 2010 – Black and White
 

1st Guillaume Roland 28	2nd Lia Barrett 29	3rd John Muhilly 30

February 2011 – Shoals and Schools
 

1st Stefan Beskow 31	2nd Rand McMeins 32	3rd Mark Fuller 33

April 2011 – Crustaceans
 

1st Davide Lopresti 34	2nd Tobias Friedrich 35	3rd Maria Rivarola 36

July 2011 – Behavior
 

1st Adriano Morettin 37	2nd Goos van der Heide 38	3rd Mat Yie 39

September 2011 – Fresh Water
 

1st Becky Kagan 40	2nd Thomas Heckmann 41	3rd David Salvatori 42

October 2011 – Strange and Spooktacular
 

1st Luc Rooman 43	2nd David Mocholi 44	3rd Jackie Cambell 45

November 2011 – Cold Water
 

1st Allison Vitsky 46	2nd Thomas Heckmann 47	3rd Richard Wylie 48