We are happy to announce that the winner of the RSDS Photo Competition for January 2023 has been chosen. Congratulations to Shannon Moran with her photo "Lionfish in the Shoal".
Shannon wins a free stay at the RSDS village of her choice. You can view the winning photo, and all the January participants here.
If you would like a chance to win, simply register on our website and upload your photos from our competition page. Each day we choose a 'photo of the day' from the selection of entries. Anyone can register on our website and vote on photos entered into the competition. At the end of the month our Photo Pro and photography workshop leader, Paul ‘Duxy’ Duxfield, looks at the votes and chooses a winner from the highest scoring photos. Full terms and conditions and prize details are available here.
Congratulations again to Shannon, and good luck to all those participating in the coming months!
From Paul Duxfield, our competition judge:
A couple of great fish portraits in this months crop.
One of which, as of right this very minute because I haven't quite yet made my mind up is in with a chance of the top spot but I’ll mull it over for a little bit whilst I talk about the other shots that caught my attention on first pass.
I thought that Rebecca’s sunburst turtle was really good, very eye catching and I’m also a sucker (pun intended) for a cephalopod so Svenja’s cute squid was a definite front runner too.
Dietmar’s close up of a resting shark ticked a lot of compositional boxes also. And even though it’s a big underwater photography rule breaker to show the rear of a creature, in this case it was definitely worth Francis going out on a limb (another intended pun i'm sorry) as his picture of the rear flipper of a Dugong is beautiful in it’s symmetry and framing, so that it’s very obvious to the viewer that the tail end is the intended subject and not an accidental shot.
However the two pictures that I’m agonising over are both very different, firstly Pamela’s portrait of a Porcupine Puffer head on is an exercise in patience as they are quite skittish creatures generally, but it’s cute and uncluttered, a lovely shot.
However the shot that is making me return back to it again and again, is Shannon’s cracking picture of a Lionfish amid a school of bait fish, with a splash of colour drawing your eye to that which is above the water to frame the picture beautifully within it’s shallow hunting environment. Beautifully lit, composed, exercising patience and an understanding of the marine life, all factors which add up to a winning picture, so whilst Pamela’s was a very close runner up, Shannon gets my vote this month. Great stuff.
Duxy has been running escorted photo workshops in Marsa Shagra for the last three years. These workshops are designed for camera users of all experience levels, with any type of underwater camera. Duxy is on hand to share tips and information, troubleshoot individual photography issues, escort early morning and late afternoon dives, and give talks on specific subjects. The Red Sea Photo Camp with Duxy and Alphamarine Photography will be held in Shagra from June 13-20 2023 - full information.
