We are happy to announce that the winner of the RSDS Photo Competition for January 2025 has been chosen. Congratulations to Christine Platt with her photo "Horse Mackerel".
Marea wins a free stay at the RSDS village of her choice. You can view the winning photo, and all the January participants here.
If you would like a chance to win, simply register on our website and upload your photos from our competition page. Each day we choose a 'photo of the day' from the selection of entries. Anyone can register on our website and vote on photos entered into the competition. At the end of the month our Photo Pro and photography workshop leader, Paul ‘Duxy’ Duxfield, looks at the votes and chooses a winner from the highest scoring photos. Full terms and conditions and prize details are available here.
Congratulations again to Christine, and good luck to all those participating in the coming months!
From Paul Duxfield, our competition judge:
Coming at you !
Bursting right out of the screen, that was my feeling about the two front runners starting off 2025 with a visual bang. Coincidentally my two very clear favourites this month share a similar theme of a load of creatures rushing towards the viewer, in one case Horse or Indian Mackerel and another Spinner Dolphins doing their thing, and they were also the two pictures that I saw first. So this meant I had to carefully check out the other entries as I didn’t want to be unduly swayed by the initial impact of the first two.
So honourable mentions go to Krista Dronkert with a lovely shot of a sole with it’s eye central to the success of this lovely macro shot, and also to Maria Lange and Anders Larsson with another pair of impactful macro pics.
Pamela Fischer deserves a mention too with a carefully composed shot of a Scorpion fish on a reef packed with lie and a diver looking on.
And whilst I didn't feel like it was a competition winner this time, Gina Goodman’s shot of a lone dolphin and freediver would make a lovely album cover, remember them? Vinyl records are making a comeback and this shot wouldn't have been out of place as album art, that’s how old I am!
Anyway back to my two favourites and the ultimate winner. I personally had a great year with dolphins in 2024 it seems like the Red Sea is really delivering with our favourite cetaceans and I was lucky enough to get some great shots of these guys showing off, and all of the RSDS camps run regular trips to see them at a variety of locations, and they often turn up in the bay at Shagra and Nakari too, so well done to Omar Dessouky for getting a very dynamic pic heading towards the camera of these friendly and local creatures we’re lucky to share our world with.
However my favourite this month is for another very common subject to both of the Marsa's the Indian Mackerel beautifully framed by Christine Platt, no mean feat as it’s often difficult to get a good grouping with these regular visitors to the shallows close in to the shore.
So well done Christine you clinched it.
Well done to everyone else, keep up the good work and keep sending those entries in, and maybe you’d like to join our second Fotofest this year in December? It’s quickly filling up and we’re limiting the spaces to give everyone the best experience.
Duxy has been running photo workshops in Marsa Shagra & Marsa Nakari for the last few years. These workshops are designed for camera users of all experience levels, with any type of underwater camera.
