Sharon wins a free stay at the RSDS village of her choice. You can view the winning photo, and all the April participants here.
Anthropomorphism, wow thats a big word for the start of this month's competition.
If you’re not aware of, it means the action of placing human qualities upon animals.
Zoologists have to be particularly conscious of not drifting into anthropomorphism as it can lead to very inaccurate data whilst observing animals.
However we all have a tendency to do it, ie Dolphins smiling are a classic example so we subconsciously imagine that they’re all playful and happy, and the opposite can equally be true
which is very frustrating for specialists in Dolphin behaviour.
As underwater photographers though, we can, I think be allowed to drift into areas that show our perception of personality within the creatures we’re taking pictures of.
And this month's entries have everything from a sinister seahorse to a bumbling and benign Dugong to a cute Blenny.
Of course it’s impossible to place these emotions either negative or otherwise on the animals in question, but we humans will do this anyway.
So I’m unashamedly looking for personality in this selection of excellent captures.
A top quality cross section of both macro and wide angle pictures, with a few vying for the top spot.
So let’s address the first shot that caught my attention the Seahorsea an excellent macro picture of an elusive creature by Sibylle Malinke that is hard to shoot, and is definitely up with a chance at the top prize.
I’m calling it sinister as there’s something about it in my opinion that gives it a slightly malevolent look, i'm not sure what it is exactly but I find it a little unsettling.
I know, I know purely subjective but this is what this shot says to me, but whilst it generates an uneasy feeling in me, it nevertheless is a great picture with very good use of the light and against a very nice blue background so well done Sibylle for capturing this.
At the other end of the cuteness scale we have Sharon Austin’s uncluttered shot of a Blenny in a hole, simple, beautifully sharp focus on the eyes, jaunty angle it oozes personality and is adorable. Excellent shot Sharon.
Another personality shot is Gennady’s turtle, head on and with eye contact this sleepy turtle is a great picture, and would have made the top grade if it had been edited in black and white, as the scene itself is quite lacking in colour so sometimes removing the colour entirely can bring more attention to the subject and textures in the frame.
My next choice within the wider angle selections is Wioletta’s great shot of a Dugong complete with dive buddy and pilot fish in attendance.
Lovely diagonal composition, and of course Dugong’s share that familiar trait that Dolphins do in that they look like they're smiling a lot of the time, I guess it’s the simple life without taxes, mortgages and grocery bills that make them like this, who knows?
Another mention must go to the beautiful scene on the reef by Leila Tazi Garcia Gill the sort of shot that typifies what the Red Sea reefs are all about, deep blue background, pretty corals and fish, great shot.
The other shots are all very good and as usual this makes choosing difficult.
In the end though it’s down to the two I first mentioned, and would I sleep easy with a picture of the seahorse or the cute Blenny on the wall in my house?
So eventually in my mind it can only be Sharon’s super cute Blenny that takes the top spot this month.
Well done and commiserations to the runner up.
