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.