Project AWARE Foundation (International) once again supported the prestigious Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition by sponsoring the Underwater Category. This is a wonderful contest which, with the power of underwater imagery, can engage a new audience to think about the underwater world and its urgent need for conservation.

This year’s winner of the Underwater World Category is PADI Master Instructor Felipe Barrio from Spain with his photograph Giant Feast. At dawn on New Years Eve in the Red Sea off Djibouti, Felipe slipped into the water using snorkelling gear and captured a rare image of four whale sharks feeding. Project AWARE is working hard to help conserve whale sharks, through its Whale Shark Project which encourages divers and snorkelers to upload their whale shark images to a sightings database; the pattern and distribution of their markings can distinguish an individual for those studying these creatures and their geographic distribution and movement. The more information known about whale sharks can lead to further international protection for this vulnerable species. Felipe’s winning image will go a long way in raising awareness about the need to protect these giant and harmless creatures.

In 2004, awareness of the underwater environment received a tremendous boost, when PADI Instructor Doug Perrine from the USA won the overall Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2004 for his dramatic image of bronze whalers charging a baitball during the annual sardine run up the East Coast of South Africa. The inspiring image helped open up the wonders of the underwater world to a larger audience and provided an opportunity to highlight the fate of many species of sharks worldwide: over 100 million sharks are killed each year, excluding those killed as by-catch and that at the current mortality rate, many shark species will soon be extinct.

Last year, the overall winning image was from the Animal Behaviour category: an underwater shot of a feeding walrus: Beast of the Sediment by Goran Ehlme.

Over the years an increasing number of underwater images have been selected as highly commended or winners in categories other than the Underwater World.

Once again, congratulations to the PADI members so well represented, as category winners, runners up and highly commended, in this year’s prestigious competition:

Felipe Barrio (Spain), Winner, Underwater World
Patrick Weir (Grand Cayman), Highly Commended, Underwater World
Douglas Seifert (USA), Highly Commended, Underwater World
Thomas Peschak (South Africa), Winner, Nature in Black and White

The 2008 competition call out for photos has already begun and we look forward to seeing underwater images increasingly represented. You may have taken part in competitions or may be new to the competitive arena, but if you’re serious about photography, take up the challenge to have your inspiring images judged and potentially shared with millions of people. Entry forms become available each February and the deadline for submission is April.

Visit www.nhm.ac.uk/wildphoto for further information about the competition and exhibition tour. To help reduce your impact on the aquatic environment when taking underwater photos download a copy of the 10 tips for Underwater Photographers.

Notes:

The Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year is owned by the BBC Wildlife Magazine and Natural History Museum, and is sponsored by Shell. One of the aims of this international competition is to use the winning entries to encourage people to appreciate the huge diversity of life on Earth and in consequence, care about its future. The winning images – those considered the most outstanding and memorable – together with the highly commended ones, totalling more than a 100 this year, are displayed at the Natural History Museum in London, whilst touring internationally including the UK, Australia, France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and the US. The images are also published in a hardback commemorative portfolio book by the BBC, Portfolio 17 and in a special supplement in the November 2007 issue of BBC Wildlife Magazine.

Whale Shark by Felipe Barrio, Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2007	Fish by Patrick Weir, Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2007