Contest Subjects 2014 Archive

At the surface – Anything at the surface, taken from underwater. Could include a Manatee, Whale Shark, Squid at the surface, floating seaweed, Needlefish, etc.

Dinner – Fish or creature eating something.

Sea Slug flair – best shot of any sea slug with a unique pose focused on their eyes, rhinophores, or other appendages.

Geometry – an angular shape, a repeating pattern, etc.

Conch Republic – best behavioral or portrait shot of a live shell. 

Cleaning Station – Best behavioral shot of a cleaning station at work 

Piers – Best shot of a pier where the pier is the main subject.

Angelfish – Atlantic only!!!

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)

Eco Disaster – Best image that tells the tale of mankind’s footprint or visible pollution and it’s impact to the ocean.

Turtles

Wreck parts – pieces of the wreck or objects within/on, but not the entire wreck – toilets, sinks, davits etc.

Eyeballs – no croppy-croppy, the intent of the photo must have been an eyeball, not cropped to show an eyeball. 

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. 

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”

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.

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.

From the top – We’re “taught” not to shoot down, but certain subjects lend themselves to top down shooting. 

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.

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)

Goliaths Groupers

Shoot another SFUPS member – The subject must be an active member of the club. No self-ies.