The winners of the contest Underwater Photographer of the Year 2019

• The winners Underwater Photographer of the Year 2019

Contest "Underwater Photographer of the Year" attracts thousands of works in dozens of countries the fourth consecutive year. "Although we are a special niche in the world of photography, underwater photography is very diverse," - said the chairman of the jury.

"I hope you are as impressed with the work of the winners, as well as the judges of the contest: Martin Edge, Peter Rowlands and me. "Underwater photographer - 2019" (UPY-2019) attracted more participants than ever before. Entries were received from 65 countries. The competition was even tougher. But as much as I loved the special prize winners, the greatest value for me is tender collection as a whole, because it demonstrates the art of underwater photography from different angles. Please enjoy every work ", - wrote Alex Mustard, chairman of the jury Underwater Photographer of the Year.

To the judges were more than five thousand photos from around the world. Contestants demonstrated their skills in terms of "macro", "Wide Angle", "Fragments", "behavior", "Portrait", "Black and white photo."

Underwater photographer named Richard in 2019 Barnden. The victory brought him the photo titled "The Challenge."

The underwater photographer, Richard Barnden (UK). "Call".

"When the sun sets on the South Pass of the island Fakarava, about 700 sharks patrolling the mouth of the channel, begin their hunt. Going down into the darkness, I feel like my heart beats faster. Hundreds of the shark cover the bottom. This hapless parrot fish swimming in the coral thickets, seeking refuge and sharks flock "we followed her in hot pursuit. (Richard Barnden)

The winner in the category of "Wide Angle". "Gentle giant". Photo by: François Bael (France).

"Gentle giants Francois Bael taken off the island of Reunion. At the end of the day the humpback whale was resting at a depth of 15 meters. I invited him to take part in the shooting. He did not take to beg: he was very curious. Bottom scene seemed unreal, and I am glad that the photographer captured the moment. Humpback whales - amazing and peaceful animals, and I still can not believe that humanity is still hunt them. " (Francois Bael)

2 nd place in the category of "Wide Angle". "Cynomolgus". Photo by: Jessica Farrar (USA).

Curious seal cynomolgus shot in the Gulf of Pliny (Antarctic Peninsula) was photographed on a snowy day, when a group of eight of his fellow dived near the icebergs. "They splashed and swirled around us. It was one of the most memorable days of communication with the seals. " (Jessica Farrer, biologist)

The winner in the category "Macro". "Fast cuttlefish". Photo by: Fabio Yardino (Italy).

"In the first three months of the year, I am often in the Gulf of Trieste in north-east Italy, where committing a night dive to photograph small cuttlefish. Way to move these sea creatures gave me the idea to make a panoramic image capture and motion effect to give dynamism to the image. Using the slow synchronization flash technique, I was able to make this picture. " (Flavio Yardino)

2, in the "Macro" category. "Inside the egg." Photo by: Flavio Vaylati (Italy). "To make this picture, I went to the Philippines and photographing these creatures. I had to wait until this creature will be in the position that I had imagined. " (Flavio Vaylati)

3 in the "Macro" category. "Tiger Wave". Photo by: Henley Spears (Philippines).

The head of a large tiger fish with open mouth overwhelmed blue wave. The male of this fish is responsible for the protection of calves, as it will not be ready for the emergence of fry. "I spent three dives, gradually conquering the confidence to male allowed me to capture his close-up." (Henley Spears)

The winner in the category of "Fragments". "Big Guns". Photo by: Rene Andersen (Denmark).

"His Majesty's Ship" Odeyshes "(Audacious HMS) was a battleship drednoutnogo type that hit a mine and sank in 1914 near the coast of Ireland. I used a tripod and 3 large blue video light to illuminate the tower with a majestic 13, 5-inch guns. " (Rene Andersen)

2 nd place in the category of "Fragments". Wrecks Hrisula Kay, Egypt. Photo by: Tobias Friedrich (Germany).

"Because the nose of the sunken ship Hrisula Kay too large in the Red Sea, so they can be placed in a single shot, my idea was to create a panoramic photo from multiple images and join them together into one big pan to get a good overview of the entire piles of wreckage of the ship at this point. " (Tobias Friedrich)

2 nd place in the category of "Behavior". "Chase". Photo by: Scott Portelli (Australia). "Chase" Scott Portelli - an incredible encounter with wildlife, where several whales compete for the female. The pursuit may continue for several hours or even days. "It is truly heartbreaking adrenaline and action." (Scott Portelli)

3 rd place in the category of "Behavior". "On the top". Photo by: Liang Fu (China).

"The photo was taken in Lembeh (Indonesia). Snake eel with excellent shrimp hanging on it. My goal - to use a strong shadow to enhance the interactive behavior of the snake eel and shrimp. So I took off vertically, so that the subject fills the frame. " (Liang Fu)

The winner in the category "Portrait". "Fly and smile." Photo by: Nicolas Samaras (Greece).

"I visited the Stratoni (Halkidiki, northern Greece) three times in August 2018, engaged in projects related to shooting seahorses. And suddenly there was a ray of this happy. I was able to swim with them and take a picture of it. " (Nicolas Samaras)