Wetpixel.com and DivePhotoGuide.com have teamed up to celebrate the beauty and delicacy of the marine environment by developing the first instance of a new, annual, international underwater photography competition. For our inaugural event, only digital entries were accepted (images taken from digital cameras or scanned from film).  Photographers competed in six categories to win more than $25,000 in prizes, including premium dive travel, underwater photography equipment, and more, and 15% of entry proceeds will be donated to marine conservation efforts. 

Winners were announced on stage at the 2006 Our World-Underwater festival in Chicago, Illinois last night - click through to read about the contest winners and prizes.  Congratulations to all who entered (Wetpixel members were well represented) and to the well-deserved winners and HMs.  Special thanks to the sponsors and to OWU, who made this contest possible.  A unique feature of this contest was the special Compact Camera category, where submissions had to be taken using small “point and shoot” type cameras (no DSLRs allowed).  The winners of this first Compact Camera category really put the pint-sized cameras to great use, as you’ll see by the fabulous winning results.