Underwater Photographer of the Year: The story behind a new competition

Alex Mustard · Issue 81, Nov/Dec 2014 · pp. 41–44

Products mentioned: Apeks, Fourth Element, Nauticam, Scuba Travel

What? Another underwater photography competition? I am sure that there are some readers that feel our community needs one about as much as it needs another underwater selfie! But I hope to convince you that this one will be worth it. We’ve grand aims, we hope to create a contest that underwater photographers really want, one that draws on the past, but very much looks to the future, one which I hope anyone who reads Underwater Photography Magazine would want to be part of. Yes, we’ve set a modest long-term goal! We want The Underwater Photographer Of The Year to become the most sought after title in underwater photography! Down the years I have competed in, sometimes won awards in and judged most of the major contests around the world. Some have got the detail right and some shockingly less so. But I have learned plenty from being on both sides of the judges’ table and this has shaped th…