We are happy to announce that the winner of the RSDS Photo Competition for May 2020 has been chosen. Congratulations to Pål Winkrantz with his photo “Long Tail“!
Pål wins a free stay at the RSDS village of his choice. You can view the winning photo, and all the May 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 Pål, and good luck to all those participating in 2020!
From Paul Duxfield, our competition judge:
The two pictures that immediately grabbed my attention this month were both from quite unusual viewpoints and broke one of the commonly trotted out conventions of underwater photography that says you should try and shoot upwards.
I’m not a big fan of saying this without qualification because it often stops people from trying out unusual compositions that they may have ignored if they were locked into this mindset.
One of these shots initially made me wonder exactly what it was at first, because the angle of view is looking straight down its entire body, isolated against the blue background.
I’m talking about the dolphin picture from Luis, and the creature has also taken on a slight pink hue because its quite close to the viewer and the white balance has over compensated somewhat.
So whilst this is breaking some conventions, I really think it’s quite a striking shot, because the dolphin is really making eye contact with the camera.
The second of May’s picks is Pål’s topdown view of an Eagle Ray, made in to a monochrome shot and I appreciate the edit because this shot is all about the shape and composition, and I don’t think colour would have helped at all.
The beautiful curve of the Eagle Ray’s body and tail, perfectly filling the space over the sandy patch in counterpoint to the darker coral patch is perfectly timed.
It would have lost impact if you couldn't have seen the silhouette of the rays body.
Ok whilst I think the Dolphin shot is very good I realise I’m mostly attracted to it because it’s unusual, so in the end my decision goes with Påll’s Eagle Ray to just clinch first place.
Duxy has been running escorted photo workshops in Marsa Shagra for the last three years. These workshops are designed for camera users of all experience levels, with any type of underwater camera. Duxy is on hand to share tips and information, troubleshoot individual photography issues, escort early morning and late afternoon dives, and give talks on specific subjects. The 2021 Red Sea Photo Camp with Duxy and Alphamarine Photography will be in Shagra from June 8-19 2021 - full information.
