Advanced Macro

Best of Show, Bob Commer Award of Excellence and First Place by David Hinkel

Advanced Normal / Wide Angle

First Place by Bartosz Strozynski

Novice Macro

First Place by Oliviero Pulido

Novice Normal / Wide Angle

First Place by Oliviero Pulido

Underwater California

First Place by Linda Reisinger

Creative

First Place by Giordano Cipriani

Marine Conservation

First Place by Jose Alejandro Alvarez

Print

First Place by Steven Kovacs

First Place Video Classic: Indonesia's Reef Warriors by Roger Uzun

Second Place Video Classic: The Sharks of North America by Roger Uzun

Third Place Video Classic: Susan Brown

First Place Video Snapshot: Frogfish Dines by Walter Marti

Second Place Video Snapshot: Mantis Shrimp Itch by Walter Marti

Third Place Video Snapshot: Octopus Fight by Walter Marti

The first thing that I will mention is how far we have come in the last couple of years with digital photography editing. Entrants seem to have gotten over the "over-editing" problems that we have been seeing in the last few years since digital started becoming more common. There were very few entries in 2009 that were over-saturated or over-sharpened which were the most common editing problems seen in the past.

While exposure and sharpness were very good in most entries, it was noticed that some entries did not have a subject or point of interest. This was especially noticeable in the Normal/Wide Angle classes. Also, there were several that would have looked better in a different orientation from what they were entered. When entering your images if the orientation (horizontal vs. vertical) is not obvious look at them in both orientations and select the one that is most pleasing, even if the image had been taken in the other orientation.

Images with interesting composition placed well; diagonal lines, good negative space, use of the "rule of thirds". When you see an interesting subject if possible look at it from all sides to determine the most pleasing view and to block out any undesirable elements from the image. Technically excellent images of a common subject usually did better than a more unusual image that was of lesser technical quality.

We had several images that were entered in the wrong category. Make sure to read the rules and regulations and enter your images in the correct category (Macro vs. Normal/Wide Angle). If you're not sure which category is correct for your image, ask.

The judges liked the Classic videos that had a good story and narration. Music that was in sync with the video footage and fit the mood of the footage was favored also. In the Video Snapshot category clean cuts, with footage with plenty of action were favored over slower paced footage. Humorous footage also goes over well. With a video snapshot you don't have much time so make it count!

All in all it was a very good competition with MANY excellent images and videos for the judges to select from. Congratulations to all!

Lastly, I hate to keep repeating myself but this is one area where it is so very important when you are entering competitions…Read the Rules & Regulations! If you read the Rules & Regulations document and don't understand something…ask! There is always a contact email address and most competition committees are happy to answer questions.

Until next year,
Kathy Mendes
NCUPS SEA Coordinator

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Past Winners

• 2008
• 2007
• 2006
• 2005
• 2004
• 2003
• 2002
• 2001
• 2000
• 1999

SEA 2008 Best of Show and Bob Commer Award of Excellence winner
by
David Barrio