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DEEP Indonesia 2019

Best of Show by Grant Thomas
Best of Show

PHOTOGRAPHER
Grant Thomas

CATEGORY
Over-Under
Gold

The annual DEEP Indonesia International Underwater Photo Competition has grown to be one of the most prestigious and competitive of its kind. As part of the Underwater Competition Series, the contest is organized by DivePhotoGuide and Wetpixel. This year’s competition received thousands of entries vying for the chance to win more than $45,000 in travel and equipment prizes.

Congratulations to Grant Thomas, who took home the Best of Show award for an impressive split shot titled “Papuan Sunset.” This image, and all the other winning photos, can be viewed right here on UnderwaterCompetition.com, as well as at the DEEP Indonesia Expo in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Thanks again to our talented judging panel, Aaron Wong, Christian Vizl, Burt Jones and Maurine Shimlock, Adam Hanlon and Andrew Marriott. As with all Underwater Competition contests, 15% of proceeds will be donated directly to marine conservation efforts.

Winners
BEST OF SHOW
Best of Show by Grant Thomas


Over-Under
Gold
Grant Thomas United Kingdom
Prize
10-day dive packages to Lembeh Strait and Bangka with Critters@Lembeh and Lembeh Resort
Compact Cameras
Gold
Sad Sad Goby by Ipah Uid (Malaysia)

Ipah Uid
Malaysia

"Sad Sad Goby"
Location: Lembeh INDONESIA
Prize
7-day packages diving various regions of Bali, with Bali Diving Academy
Silver
Its a blue world by Ipah Uid (Malaysia)

Ipah Uid
Malaysia

"Its a blue world"
Location: Lembeh INDONESIA
Prize
Various lighting equipment from Ikelite
Bronze
bed of roses by Miguel Ramirez (France)

Miguel Ramirez
France

"bed of roses"
Location: Balicasag, Philippines
Prize
SubSee +5 or +10 Magnifier with custom adapter
Honorable Mention
Our Round World Underwater by Enrico Somogyi (Germany)

Enrico Somogyi
Germany

"Our Round World Underwater"
Location: Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia
Honorable Mention
Peek-a-boo! by Andy Schmid (Germany)

Andy Schmid
Germany

"Peek-a-boo!"
Location: Hurghada, Egypt
Divers
Gold
The Underwater Photographer by Henley Spiers ()

Henley Spiers

"The Underwater Photographer"
Location: Isla Espiritu Santo, Baja California, Mexico
Prize
7-day packages diving various regions of Bali, with Bali Diving Academy
Silver
Into the light by Grant Thomas (United Kingdom)

Grant Thomas
United Kingdom

"Into the light"
Location: Swallows Cave, Tonga
Prize
7-night, 12-dive packages to Siladen Resort & Spa, Sulawesi
Bronze
SOS, Arca calling for help, SOS... by Flavio Vitiello ()

Flavio Vitiello

"SOS, Arca calling for help, SOS..."
Location: Elviscot wreck, Elba Island, Italy
Prize
Various video lights from i-Divesite

Various lighting equipment from Ikelite
Honorable Mention
Jellyfish Bay by Oleg Gaponyuk ()

Oleg Gaponyuk

"Jellyfish Bay"
Location: Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Honorable Mention
Beneath the Jungle by Tom St George ()

Tom St George

"Beneath the Jungle"
Location: Cenote Maravilla, Mexico
Animal Portrait
Gold
Fly high by Nicholas Samaras (Greece)

Nicholas Samaras
Greece

"Fly high"
Location: Stratoni, Chalkidiki / Greece
Prize
10-day dive packages to Lembeh Strait and Bangka with Critters@Lembeh and Lembeh Resort
Silver
Leafy Sea Dragon by Katherine Lu (United States)

Katherine Lu
United States

"Leafy Sea Dragon"
Location: Rapid Bay, Australia
Prize
7-night dive packages to Lembeh Strait with Eco Divers Lembeh
Bronze
Tiger Wave by Henley Spiers ()

Henley Spiers

"Tiger Wave"
Location: Anilao, Philippines
Prize
SubSee +5 or +10 Magnifier with custom adapter
Honorable Mention
Hairy by Nadia Aly (United States)

Nadia Aly
United States

"Hairy"
Location: Lembeh, Indonesia
Honorable Mention
Mouth Wound by Francesco Pacienza (Italy)

Francesco Pacienza
Italy

"Mouth Wound"
Location: Umkomaas
Animal Behavior
Gold
New Life by Jinggong Zhang (中国)

Jinggong Zhang
中国

"New Life"
Location: minamata, Japan
Prize
7-night dive packages to Papua New Guinea at Walindi Dive Resort
Silver
Between Two Worlds by Henley Spiers ()

Henley Spiers

"Between Two Worlds"
Location: Isla Espiritu Santo, Baja California, Mexico
Prize
7-night, 10-dive package at Volivoli Beach Resort, Fiji
Bronze
Summit by Liang Fu (China)

Liang Fu
China

"Summit"
Location: Lembeh Indonesia
Prize
Various lighting equipment from Ikelite
Honorable Mention
I have got my eye on you by Sander van der Heijden (Netherlands)

Sander van der Heijden
Netherlands

"I have got my eye on you"
Location: Bonaire
Honorable Mention
Macolor macularis  by Yung-Sen Wu (Taiwan)

Yung-Sen Wu
Taiwan

"Macolor macularis "
Location: Palau
Reefscapes
Gold
Burst by Tyler Schiffman (United States)

Tyler Schiffman
United States

"Burst"
Location: Monterey, CA
Prize
7-night dive packages to Papua New Guinea at Walindi Dive Resort
Silver
Gardens of the Queen, panoramic image by Oleg Gaponyuk ()

Oleg Gaponyuk

"Gardens of the Queen, panoramic image"
Location: Garden of the Queens, Cuba
Prize
7-night, 12-dive packages to Siladen Resort & Spa, Sulawesi
Bronze
Enchanted Forest by Domenico Tripodi (Italy)

Domenico Tripodi
Italy

"Enchanted Forest"
Location: Reggio Calabria - Italy
Prize
Various video lights from i-Divesite

Various lighting equipment from Ikelite
Honorable Mention
The Reef by Nadia Aly (United States)

Nadia Aly
United States

"The Reef"
Location: Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Honorable Mention
Deep Lights, light painting during night dive by Flavio Vitiello ()

Flavio Vitiello

"Deep Lights, light painting during night dive"
Location: Elviscot wreck, Elba Island, Italy
Over-Under
Gold
Papuan Sunset by Grant Thomas (United Kingdom)

Grant Thomas
United Kingdom

"Papuan Sunset"
Location: Lissenung Island, Papua New Guinea
Prize
10-day dive packages to Lembeh Strait and Bangka with Critters@Lembeh and Lembeh Resort
Silver
Pacific Red Sockeye1 by Yung-Sen Wu (Taiwan)

Yung-Sen Wu
Taiwan

"Pacific Red Sockeye1"
Location: Adams River.British Columbia, Canada.
Bronze
All along the watch tower by Magnus Lundgren (Sweden)

Magnus Lundgren
Sweden

"All along the watch tower"
Location: Danube Delta, Romania
Honorable Mention
Crocodille in BW by Massimo Giorgetta (Italy)

Massimo Giorgetta
Italy

"Crocodille in BW"
Location: Cuba - gardens of the queen
Honorable Mention
New Life by Grant Thomas (United Kingdom)

Grant Thomas
United Kingdom

"New Life"
Location: Lissenung Island, Papua New Guinea
Categories
PHOTO
Compact Cameras

Any image taken by a point-and-shoot, non-DSLR, non-interchangeable-lens camera.
Any camera with interchangeable lenses is not considered a compact, so images taken with such cameras must not be entered into this category.

Divers

Any underwater image featuring a scuba diver or freediver.

Animal Portrait

Any underwater image featuring a portrait of an animal.

Animal Behavior

Any underwater image showing natural animal behavior. This includes (but is not limited to) feeding, hunting, fighting, courtship, mating, yawning, and activity at cleaning stations.

Reefscapes

Any underwater image featuring a wide angle view of a reef.

Over-Under

Any image where the lower portion is underwater and the upper portion is above water. Splits, aka half-and-halfs, will be judged on the merits of the picture as a whole. A minimum of 30% of the image should be underwater. Only “true” over-unders—captured in a single frame in camera—are allowed. Multiple exposures or composite images are not permitted. Note: Split shots can only be entered in the “Over-Under” and “Traditional” categories.

Judges
Aaron Wong

Aaron Wong’s underwater images have graced the pages of various dive publications, including Scuba Diving (USA), Alert Diver, Sport Diver, Fifty Fathoms, Wetpixel Quarterly, Tarzan (Japan), Red Bulletin (Austria), Unterwasser (Germany), Aquanaut (Germany), X Ray, Asian Diver, Asian Geographic, Underwater Photography web magazine, DivePhotoGuide, and Scuba Diver AustralAsia, where he also contributes as a field editor. Aaron is now one of the most sought after underwater photographers in Asia with sponsorships from Seacam, Scubapro, Uwatec and Fourth Element. Through his images, Aaron is helping spread the message of marine conservation. As the ambassador of Shark Savers, Aaron started the ‘FINished with Fins’ campaign, a global initiative that aims to educate the mainstream media on the reality of shark finning. Aaron now divides his time between his studio work and the protection and exploration of the world’s oceans. aaronsphotocraft.com

Adam Hanlon

Adam Hanlon is an underwater photographer captivated with the challenge and beauty of the underwater world and passionate about its conservation. His images and reports have won international competitions and been used in prestigious publications and by world-renowned organizations worldwide. He grew up in the bush in South Africa, holds an arts degree, and has been taking pictures and shooting video underwater since the mid-1980s, and has been pursuing a career "beneath the surface" ever since. Now resident in the UK, he is the editor of Wetpixel, one of the world’s leading resources on all things underwater imaging, and through Wetpixel Expeditions, Adam leads regular photography expeditions and workshops around the world.

Andrew Marriott

Andrew Marriott is a longtime diver, photographer and writer. His work has been published in a wide variety of media around the world, but his true love is writing books. The first of these was Legends Beneath the Waves: Truk Lagoon. The second book in the same series, Philippines, was released in March 2019. Aside from shipwreck books, Andrew also writes dive guides. His guides focus in incredible detail on small areas and seek to take the reader diving in that location in their mind. The first of these is Let’s Go Dive Guide to Anilao, which was written with Ram Yoro. Two more of these guides were released in 2019.

Burt Jones and Maurine Shimlock

Burt Jones and Maurine Shimlock are award-winning photojournalists who specialize in pioneering remote dive destinations, mainly around the Indonesian archipelago. Their photography has been featured in countless publications, galleries, and displayed at the United Nations’ first World Ocean Day. Sustainable marine tourism consultants for Conservation International since 2008, they published two guidebooks, Diving Indonesia’s Raja Ampat and Diving Indonesia’s Bird’s Head Seascape, which have promoted the region’s unsurpassed marine life, and the urgent need to conserve it. In 2012 Maurine was inducted into the Women’s Diving Hall of Fame. She was honored in 2015 with Chrysiptera maurineae, a new species of damselfish. Burt’s contributions to conservation and marine science were recognized in 2017 with a newly named damselfish species, Chrysiptera burtjonesei. secretseavisions.com

Christian Vizl

Christian Vizl was born in Mexico City in 1972 and has worked as a diving instructor, cave diver, rafting guide, and sailor. His photographic work has been featured in exhibitions throughout Mexico and published worldwide in magazines such as The Times (UK), Daily Mail (UK), Ocean Geographic, Sport Diver, Asian Diver, Plongee, Tauchen, Apnea, Mexico Desconocido, Scuba Diving, Dive Photo Guide, Scuba Diver Through the Lens, and others. His new book, Silent Kingdom: A World Beneath the Waves, will be published in May 2019. christianvizl.com

Prizes
10-day dive packages to Lembeh Strait and Bangka with Critters@Lembeh and Lembeh Resort
7-day packages diving various regions of Bali, with Bali Diving Academy
7-night dive packages to Papua New Guinea at Walindi Dive Resort
7-night dive packages to Lembeh Strait with Eco Divers Lembeh
7-night, 12-dive packages to Siladen Resort & Spa, Sulawesi
Various lighting equipment from Ikelite
7-night, 10-dive package at Volivoli Beach Resort, Fiji
Various video lights from i-Divesite
SubSee +5 or +10 Magnifier with custom adapter