Contest Subjects 2014 Archive
JANUARY MASTERS
At the surface – Anything at the surface, taken from underwater. Could include a Manatee, Whale Shark, Squid at the surface, floating seaweed, Needlefish, etc.
JANUARY MASTERS
Dinner – Fish or creature eating something.
FEBRUARY MASTERS
Sea Slug flair – best shot of any sea slug with a unique pose focused on their eyes, rhinophores, or other appendages.
FEBRUARY CHALLENGERS
Geometry – an angular shape, a repeating pattern, etc.
MARCH MASTERS
Conch Republic – best behavioral or portrait shot of a live shell.
MARCH CHALLENGERS
Cleaning Station – Best behavioral shot of a cleaning station at work
APRIL MASTERS
Piers – Best shot of a pier where the pier is the main subject.
APRIL CHALLENGERS
Angelfish – Atlantic only!!!
MAY MASTERS
Highly Decorated – Any crab that attaches other living animals to itself (sponge, hydroids, etc). Purpose is to show the intricacies of the crabs decorations. Crab should be visible and easily discernible. Not meant to be a camouflage category. (PS: No harassing or moving your subject)
MAY CHALLENGERS
Eco Disaster – Best image that tells the tale of mankind’s footprint or visible pollution and it’s impact to the ocean.
JUNE MASTERS
Turtles
JUNE CHALLENGERS
Wreck parts – pieces of the wreck or objects within/on, but not the entire wreck – toilets, sinks, davits etc.
JULY MASTERS
Eyeballs – no croppy-croppy, the intent of the photo must have been an eyeball, not cropped to show an eyeball.
JULY CHALLENGERS
Hidden – how camouflaged can your subject be while still making it beautiful? (Encouraging it to be as hidden as possible) perhaps a photoshopped-in species identifier could be allowed via added text. (Ex. “Pygmy seahorse” text in the top corner to help audience know what to look for). The emphasis is actually on it being hidden, rather than the typical camouflage category, where we normally try to make a hidden subject conspicuously stand out.
AUGUST MASTERS
Composition through a hole – ideas like through a crack in a reef, through a hatch or door in a shipwreck, like the iconic cover to the book “Jim Church’s Essential Guide To Composition”
AUGUST CHALLENGERS
Current – flowing branches of a gorgonian, divers bubbles going horizontally, a cluster of divers on a safety stop line being pushed to the surface, etc.
SEPTEMBER MASTERS
Trees – can be u/w mangrove roots, split shots with palms, a fallen branch, shooting up through the surface into overhanging trees, or anything else tree-ish.
SEPTEMBER CHALLENGERS
From the top – We’re “taught” not to shoot down, but certain subjects lend themselves to top down shooting.
OCTOBER MASTERS
Mini Photo Essay – 3 images layout that can tell a story without words. Note: for or this contest only, three images will be considered as one entry.
OCTOBER CHALLENGERS
Nematocysts & Stingers – not focusing on the beauty of an entire jellyfish, or an entire lion fish, but rather focusing on the actual mechanism of pain delivery (macro detail of fire coral, close up of jelly tentacles only, stingray barb macro)
NOVEMBER MASTERS
Goliaths Groupers
NOVEMBER CHALLENGERS
Shoot another SFUPS member – The subject must be an active member of the club. No self-ies.