Your Favourite Photo of 2008

[dkayuk 0]

My pictures used to be quite mediocre but after attending Maria's (Oceanvisions) u/w photoworkshop in Nuweiba in September 2008, I managed a few decent shots.

 

This was the best one. It was taken during a dawn dive (about 7am, I think) on the last day of the workshop. The lionfish were pretty calm and moving more slowly than usual. I managed to get a big lionfish to completely block the sun. The shot was taken at the Nuweiba Hilton Hotel House reef and won me a Sport Diver UK Readers pic of the month. It's the first time I actually won something!!

 

I used an Olympus SP350, Inon Fisheye conversion lens and Inon Z240 strobe (type 3). The fisheye lens were very very close to the lionfish....

 

Here's my image

 

 

thx

 

DK

[Tjsnapper 0]

Many thanks to all the Wetpixelers that have shared their knowledge on this site, it has been an invaluable source of information and inspiration.

Here is one of my favorites underwater photos this year (my first year of diving). It was taken in October, the second day after getting my PADI Adv Open water ticket. It was my first wreck dive and also the first time I had strapped the dome on the front of the camera. I would have preferred it if the Videographer was not hanging on the back of the Anit-Aircraft gun, but there you go.

 

 

 

Thanks .... and

 

 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.

 

 

Tristan

 

Thanks Stew

Edited December 21, 2008 by Tjsnapper

[stewsmith 14]

If anyone can tell me how to get the image to appear here it would be great I have tried tags but i get this response " You are not allowed to use that image extension on this board. A valid format is: http://www.domain.com/picture.gif, an invalid format is: http://www.domain.com/picture.one.gif"

 

Thanks .... and

 

 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.

 

 

Tristan

 

PM sent Tristan

[adamhanlon 0]

Hi all,

 

I hope it is OK to have more than one! There are such fantasic images on here-I love this thread!

 

I got married to the woman of my dreams on Kuredu Island in the Maldives in May. This is my gorgeous bride!

 

 

While we were there we did some diving! Whilst cruising between dive sites, we were surrounded by a massive school of Mantas. There were easilly a hundred of them, feeding in the plankton bloom, moving up and around the graceful arcs that they do while feeding. Some were even breaching! We got in with skin diving gear and this one particular ray moved in close as I dived down and these pictures were the result. It was actually brushing on my dome port! We spent a good hour or so in the water with them-these weren't the best of the series of images, but being that close to such a magnificent animal was very special.

 

 

 

Wishing you all the very best for Christmas and great safe diving for 2009

 

Adam

[lpp 0]

Here's mine ,

 

Beaver : Primed in BBC Wildlife Photographer in the Year, London 10/2008

 

 

 

 

Laurent

[tubino 1]

Wow, what a great thread with wonderful images and stories. From my first (and only, so far) trip with an SLR. I was pleased that I managed to get foreground and subject reasonably lit, subject in focus, and I like the peek-a-boo look of the shrimp. But mostly it's my favorite because it reminds me how absolutely luxuriously wonderful it was to take a slow leisurely shallow beach dive in the mornings at Eden Beach in Bonaire, and just watch what happens with the little things as the sun comes up. Nikon D200, Tamron 90mm, Sea & Sea YS-90DX x 2.

 

[scorpio_fish 5]

Laurent,

 

Let me be the first to say what Mike Veitch was thinking, "nice beaver shot"

 

Anyway, my favorite non-contest worthy shot. I just thought it captured the soulful serenity of the underwater photographer as he waits to exit the water. Trying to capture it was difficult as the boat kept bobbing up and down quite significantly.

 

Edited December 21, 2008 by scorpio_fish

[lpp 0]

Oups...thank you Scorpio....Fantastic adventure..beaver meeting and WPY 2008...

[Andy Morrison 0]

Looks like I'm not the only one who went diving on their honeymoon this year.

This is a shot of my wonderful wife swimming through a huge school of yellow tail snapper at Snapper Ledge in the Florida Keys on our honeymoon. Maybe not my best shot of the year but it was by far the best dive of the year. We're mainly wreck divers who see very little fish where we dive so this was a treat.

[limeyx 0]

Many thanks to all the Wetpixelers that have shared their knowledge on this site, it has been an invaluable source of information and inspiration.

Here is one of my favorites underwater photos this year (my first year of diving). It was taken in October, the second day after getting my PADI Adv Open water ticket. It was my first wreck dive and also the first time I had strapped the dome on the front of the camera. I would have preferred it if the Videographer was not hanging on the back of the Anit-Aircraft gun, but there you go.

 

 

Thanks .... and

 

 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.

 

 

Tristan

 

Thanks Stew

 

Stunning!

[adamk76 0]

Firstly I'd like to say how good everyones pics are and thank you for sharing them with us.

 

Here is my favourite pic for 2008.

 

 

 

I know its not to the same standard as most, but for me as a novice I like it.

It was taken on a safety stop in Crystal Bay, Bali. Our safety stop was in the middle of a Thermocline and I thought I'd just experiment with a few shots taken through the haze of the thermocline. Although it lacks a complete focus, I seem to think that it almost looks like the corals and fish in the centre of the picture are from a painting. It's for this reason that I think it's different and my favourite pic for 2008. Hopefully someone else will agree with me.

 

Lastly, I'd like to thank everyone one who has given me advice, answers and added confusion to all that I've asked this year.

 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.

Edited December 22, 2008 by adamk76

[belizediversity 0]

A great memory of a good couple of days out.

 

[chphoto 0]

 

 

2008 has been a good year; many great shots for me and lots of good memories. Lots of time spent diving with new friends I've met directly or indirectly through Wetpixel.
Our favorite shots are not always the most technically perfect, but often those that do more on a personal emotional level. I do two very different things in my underwater photography - in a pool studio, it's all about visualization and control, in the wild it's all about trying to show something the way I saw and wondered at it.

In my pool work I've made progress in setting up my 'studio' and I have lots of ideas for 2009 with some pool shoots already scheduled for January. Here's one that shows some control of lighting and control by my excellent model.

Image removed at the request of the photographer

In the wild, my favorite shot; is of the same subject as Carol's manatees. I think one of the hardest things to do underwater is to tell a story, unless it's something obvious like a dead finned shark.
For me the composition of this image tells the story of an ever watchful mommy manatee hanging in the background as her little one curiously checks me out.
Sun streaming through the water just the way I saw it, another difficult thing to convey underwater.
I'm also very pleased that the image is 100% available light, and my first outing with the D700.

Great model image!

[PRC 2]

 

Don't post many images - but here is one because of the background story.

 

We were on the Wetpixel JASC trip in June and Jim says "Hey I have a great idea, lets do a night dive with the sharks (and bait - obviously - Jim does not seem to enter the water without bait).

 

So the simple minded of us gave it a go - unfortunately Alex Mustard had a prior engagement to wash his hair that night and declined - it was a great dive and one among many great dives on that one trip.

 

So thanks to all involved.

 

Paul C

Edited December 22, 2008 by PRC

[diggy 51]

I wan in Pemuteran on a very shallow dive near the pier which not many people go to but turns out it is a great muck/macro site. The viz was not so great and 70 minutes through the dive spotted this sea horse. It took me another 15 minutes to get this shot as it was only in 3 mtrs of water with a lot of sand flotaing about and quite an effort to get your body down to the correct angle without scaring the sea horse, which kept moving constantly. It was also the first time i saw one. I was quite pleased with this result.

 

I am overwhelmed with the quality of pictures posted here. Just takes your breath away.

 

Cheers,

 

Diggy

[puffin 0]

Hi all

 

Its fantastic to be able to 'relive' every ones favourite shots. Like a few others, this is not my best shot but I like it because its a bit different. After the day's dive, I spent a few hours lying in the rock pools to see what secret critters were lurking around. I was trying to get a shot of this rock skipper when he darted into a hole. I then realised that I could get a shot of the fish and its reflection on the under side of the waters surface. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

 

Happy Yuletide to all.

 

 

 

[elbuzo 8]

This is the one i liked most from this year , it reminds me the great time i spent with the blacktips during 3 days diving among them in KZN , South Africa . I went for the tigers and didn't saw any of them but at the end the blacktips made my days. This one was my last picture on my last day .

 

 

 

Edited December 22, 2008 by elbuzo

[debersole 3]

This is my favorite of 2008. I had just completed a cave dive at Ginnie Springs and as I looked up I saw the tannic water from the river contrasting with the crystal clear water coming out of the cave. The photo was taken as I had my legs wrapped around the "deco log" at the Devil's Ear entrance to the cave system to keep from being blown to the surface from the high flow.

 

[Thierry 0]

Hello,

 

Here's my best one of this year. It was taken during a night dive in Sharm El Naga (Red Sea - Egypt).

This was my first night dive during this trip with my new SLR equipment (D70 - Ikelite - 1x DS125).

It was really a magic moment to see this spanish dancer dancing in the water.

I think I was lucky enough to take this shot as well.

I take the opportunity to thank everybody who post on this forum. You guys gave me the desire to buy this (expensive) equipment.

But it's really worth it (but I still think this hobby is made for crazy people, isn't it ? )

I wish everybody a very nice Christmas time and look forward to maybe dive with some of you in 2009 (who knows, though I haven't see many Belgian people around here ). Anyway, I wish all of you a fantastic 2009 !

 

 

[jeremypayne 0]

What a great collection of images! I'm honored to be associated with this terrific group - if only in a virtual way.

 

My New Year's resolution is to meet SOMEONE from Wetpixel in the flesh in 2009.

[Nakedwithoutcamera 0]

I'm right across the GW Bridge. Wanna go look at the tree? I don't ice skate. It's too dangerous.

[jeremypayne 0]

I'm right across the GW Bridge. Wanna go look at the tree? I don't ice skate. It's too dangerous.

Sure! ... but I'm out of town until January 5th ... I'll definitely be in touch when I get back! I'll shoot you a PM.

[Walt Stearns 51]

Here are two of mine from this year. I like to think of the addage, don't shoot till you see the whites of their eyes.

[scubamarli 5]

Oh my goodness, Walt, how intimidating! Both shots are stunning but the whale shot is a stunner. Now for my humble entry. I like it because it's wide angle (I spend most of my time shooting smaller than 1:1), it's actually Lembeh Straight, (not telling where), and I was talking the night before how much I'd like a chance to shoot Golden Sweepers again. My dive guide Opo always knew what I wanted to shoot without ever telling him.

Happy Holidays to everyone, and may 2009 bring you all the photo opportunities of which you dream, and a magazine to publish them in.

Cheers,

Marli

[TheRealDrew 0]

What a great collection of images! I'm honored to be associated with this terrific group - if only in a virtual way.

 

My New Year's resolution is to meet SOMEONE from Wetpixel in the flesh in 2009.