Aussies celebrated at Underwater Photographer of the Year awards

Spanish photographer Rafael Fernandez Caballero has been named the Overall Winner of the Underwater Photographer of the Year 2022 for his image, Giants of the Night, of five whale sharks feeding together in the Maldives. The image reveals the whale sharks feasting on nocturnal plankton around a boat’s light. Caballero was diving with a shark researcher at the time who counted a total of 11 sharks - a once-in-a-lifetime encounter. The image went on to beat 4,200 other images from photographers in 71 countries.

Featuring a total of 13 categories, Underwater Photographer of the Year celebrates images taken below the surface of the ocean, seas, lakes, rivers, ponds, and pools

Australian-based Matty Smith won the title of British Underwater Photographer of the Year 2022 for his portrait of a great white shark, Great White Split. Captured off the Neptune Islands of South Australia, Smith built a super-sized dome port for his camera and utilised a carbon pole and remote trigger to allow him to capture the perspective revealed in the image.

“I had wanted to shoot a charismatic over/under portrait for years,” Smith said. “Some techniques I had previously tried failed terribly, so this time I designed and constructed my own equipment to get the camera exactly where I wanted.” He went on to say that the sharks were instantly attracted to the camera and that it was a battle to stop them biting it.

Other accolades Smith received included being named the runner-up in the Portrait category, a highly commended award in the Behaviour category, and a commended award in the Black & White category.

Top Australian finalists

Aside from Smith’s recognition, a number of other Australian photographers received top honours. Kerrie Burow took out first place in the Black & White category for her image, Sarah’s Underwater World. Meanwhile, Hannah Le Leu’s image, Against All Odds, placed third in the Wide Angle category.

Several other Australian photographers received Highly Commended and Commended awards in the competition:

• Jules Casey: Highly Commended, Behaviour category.
• Matty Smith: Highly Commended, Behaviour category.
• Jake Wilton: Commended, Behaviour category.
• Matty Smith: Commended, Black & White category.

Category Winners

Check out the gallery of all the category winners and finalists here.

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