Beneath The Sea again

In this old post I showed you some pictures from the 2007 and 2006 editions of the "Beneath The Sea" Amateur Underwater Photography contest. It's time to show some shots from 2008 and 2009 editions.

2008


DAVID DOUBILET AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY

The Mystical Waters of Mexico

Mark Melnick, West Hartford, Connecticut

GENERAL

FIRST: Thought

Csaba Tokolyi, Budapest, Hungary

NOVICE/POINT & SHOOT - HONORABLE MENTION

Tubed

Bill Goodwin, Birmingham, Alabama

MACRO/CLOSE-UP - HONORABLE MENTIONS

Carousel

Marchione Giacomo, La Loggia, Italy

MACRO/CLOSE-UP - HONORABLE MENTIONS

The Kiss

Claudio Stoppato, Ortona, Italy

MACRO/CLOSE-UP

THIRD: Anemone Boudoir

Erin Quigley, Los Angeles, California

MACRO/CLOSE-UP

SECOND: Happy Fish

Steven Kovacs, Boynton Beach, Florida

MARINE LIFE - HONORABLE MENTIONS

Tigershark Taking Pictures

Karin Brussaard, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

GENERAL

SECOND: Mangrove Soft Coral

Ron Lagerlof, Los Angeles, California

CONSERVATION

SECOND: One Man’s Trash!

FLETCHER M FORBES, Islamorada, Florida

CONSERVATION

FIRST: Hook, Line and Sinker

Sumer Verma, Mumbai, India

UNDERWATER BEHAVIOR

FIRST: Jawfish with Eggs

KERI WILK, Ontario, Canada

2009


GENERAL

THIRD: Trio and Wreck

Dany Weinberg, Israel

MARINE LIFE

SECOND: Fish Ball

Burak Dedeler. Istanbul Turkey

GENERAL

SECOND: Wreck of The Giannis D

Jim Garland, Merseyside UK

DAVID DOUBILET AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY

Leafy Sea Dragon

Cal Mero, Victoria, Australia

GENERAL

FIRST: Sea Cucumber and the Anemone

George Vincent, Lewisville TX

MARINE LIFE

FIRST: Lemon Snap

Pedro A Vieyra,, London, United Kingdom

MACRO/CLOSE-UP

SECOND: Emperor Shrimp on Spanish Dancer

Goos van der Heide, GRONINGEN The Netherlands

UNDERWATER BEHAVIOR

SECOND: Velociraptor

Marco Caqraceni, MIGLIANICO ITALY

CONSERVATION

HONORABLE MENTION: What we do

Umeed Mistry, Bangalore, India

NOVICE/POINT & SHOOT

HONORABLE MENTION: Dolphins and
snorkeler

Yan Ottesen, Rennaz Switzerland

CREATIVE
JIM CHURCH AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN UNDERWATER CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY

Rajan at South Button

Umeed Mistry, Bangalore, India

CONSERVATION

HONORABLE MENTION: Sad Encounter

Csaba Tokolyi, Budapest Hungary

UNDERWATER BEHAVIOR

FIRST: Free Ride

Rand McMeins, Lynnwood, Washington

UNDERWATER BEHAVIOR

THIRD: Whale shark & sardines

Matthew D. Potenski, Sayreville NJ

MACRO/CLOSE-UP

FIRST: Pygmy Deluxe

Kim Yusuf, Munich, Germany

Beneath the Sea 2009 will show at Meadowlands Exposition Center since March 27th to March 29th, 2009.

Mother Earth

If you're in Rome or you're planning to go there this month there's an exhibition you should not lose. National Geographic Italia has organized Madre Terra ("Mother Earth" in italian) an exhibition of the best 101 photos from National Geographic phorographers to describe our beloved planet, edited by Guglielmo Pepe director of National Geographic Italia.
101 photos from 58 photographers:
William Albert Allard, James P. Blair, Sisse Brimberg, Jodi Cobb, Bill Curtsinger, David Doubilet, Nicole Duplaix, David Edwards, Peter Essick, John Eastcott and Yva Momatiuk, Melissa Farlow, Alessandro Gandolfi, Annie Griffith Belt, David Alan Harvey, Fritz Hoffman, Ralph Lee Hopkins, Chris Johns, Lynn Johnson, Ed Kashi, Mattias Klum,Tim Laman, Frans Lanting, Gerd Ludwig, Pascal Maitre, Steve McCurry, David McLain, Gideon Mendel, George F. Mobley, Albert Moldway, Michael Nichols, Paul Nicklen, Flip Nicklin, Alberto Novelli, Richard Olsenius, Randy Olson, Carsten Peter, Steve Raymer, Nicolas Reynard, Reza, Norbert Rosing, Susie Post Rust, Sandro Santioli, Joel Sartore, Brian J. Skerry, James L. Stanfield, George Steinmetz, Maria Stenzel, Brent Stirton, Paul Sutherland, Medford Taylor, Roy Toft, Tomasz Tomaszewski, Stefano Unterthiner, Gordon Wiltsie, Steve Winter, Cary Wolinsky, Michael S. Yamashita, Christian Ziegler.

From February 7th to 29th March at "Palazzo delle Esposizioni", Rome, Italy.
If you cannot be there you still can see all the pictures here.

The following is just a brief selection of 20 water-related pictures that I like:




















All their images are copyrighted by National Geographic and their authors

The earth (and water) from above

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Icebreaker Louis Saint Laurent in Resolute Bay, Nunavut Territory, Canada.
© Yann Arthus-Bertrand
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Yann Arthus-Bertrand is a famous photographer author of those beautiful pictures of the earth seen from above. If you haven't seen his pictures you really should do it as soon as possible. Your chance could be next year in New York when Yann Arthus-Bertrand will bring his work back to the United States for the first time in 2009. The exhibition of his amazing aerial shots aimed to inspire people to think globally about sustainable living, will be on display in New York City at the World Financial Center Plaza and along the Battery Park City Esplanade from May 1, 2009 to June 28, 2009 in over 150 4-ft. by 6-ft. prints. When completed in New York City, the Earth From Above exhibit will also move on to California in 2010.

Photographs and captions all courtesy of Yann Arthus-Bertrand


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Lake Nakuru has a surface area of 24 square miles (62 km2). which takes up one-third of the national park of the same name that was created in 1968.
It shelters nearly 370 bird species, includingthe lesser flamingo (Phoeniconalas minor) and the greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber), of which 1,4 million have been counted on the site. Like the other alkaline lakes scattered along the Rift Valley, its location on a rocky volcanic substrate, weal flow, intense evaporation, and average depth of 40 inches (1 m) give it a high soda content. These briny waters are favorable to the formations of blue-green algae, microorganisms, and small crustaceans, which providedthe basic diet of the flamingos. However, chemical products used in river farming and the water runoff from the nearby city of Nakuru have gradually polluted the lake waters. Since 1990 Lake Nakuru has been considered a wetland of international importance
© Yann Arthus-Bertrand
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Town of Koh Pannyi, Phand Nga bay, Thailand. The south-western coast of Thailand offers a series of beautiful bays lined with many islands. Phang-nga Bay's special formations were created after the thawing of ice 15,000 years ago. Rising waters then submerged arid calcareous mountains, leaving only their peaks visible to the eye. The bay was turned into a marine park in 1981. One of its popular attractions is the village of Koh Panyi, which was built on piles two centuries ago by Muslim sailors coming from Malaysia. The inhabitants make a living via traditional fishing and tourism. Preserved by its configuration, the bay floor of Phang-nga Bay suffered much less from the tsunami of December 26, 2004 than nearby sites.
© Yann Arthus-Bertrand
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Icebergs and an Adelie penguin, Adelie Land, Antarctica. Antarctica, the sixth continent, is a unique observation point for atmospheric and climatic phenomena; its ancient ice, which trapped air when it was formed, contains evidence of the Earth's climate as it has changed and developed over the past millions of years.
© Yann Arthus-Bertrand
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A whale swims off the Valdes peninsula, Argentina. After summering in the Arctic, whales return to the southern seas each winter to reproduce. From July to November, whales mate and bear their young along the coasts of the Valdes Peninsula in Argentina. Until the 1950s, this migratory marine mammal was extensively hunted for its meat and the oil extracted from its fat, which brought it to the edge of extinction. Protective measures were adopted after international attention was focused on the problem in 1937. In 1982 a moratorium was declared on whale hunting for commercial purposes, and in 1994 the southern seas became a whale sanctuary. After decades of protection, 7 of the 13 whale species, of which only a few thousand remain (10 to 60 times fewer than in the early 20th century), are still endangered.
© Yann Arthus-Bertrand
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