I know it seems strange for the 2025 winners to be announced in January 2026, but that’s not uncommon in the world of photo awards. Just a few days ago, I was notified that I won the Gold Medal in the DPG Masters Underwater Photography Contest with an image I shot here in Bali just a few months ago. And just a week before that great news, I was notiified that the Exposure One Awards (a black & white photo competition) had given me the Gold Medal for “Holy Waters” from the Fish Faces Collection, as well as a Nominated award (“finalist”) for the newest Fish Faces print, the mimic octopus, “Shall We Dance”! Okay great – but what does all that mean for a professional photographer? Is it just for ego? What’s a resume to a photographer? Why put in all the work just for recognition that hardly anyone but other photographers knows about unless I bring it up? I want to discuss all that, but first, let’s talk about the images themselves.
In “King of the Hill” the harlequin swimming crab (Lissocarcinus orbicularis) was perched so perfectly that I knew it was something special, and possibly unrepeatable. On the way back up a deep, sandy muck slope, at 25 feet, I saw my 30th tube anemone of the dive, and I habitually—obsessively—inspect each and every one for symbionts. The prize I was looking for wasn’t just present, but perched in the perfect spot, looking like the ruler of its domain. Before beginning to shoot, I knew I wanted a blue background rather than black, so I slowed the shutter speed. Since I had to be quite far back for this composition with my 105mm macro lens, I moved my strobes all the way forward to try to minimize backscatter. Then the challenge was getting a crisp shot at 1/25s (since I’m an ISO noise snob) as the anemone swayed back and forth in the current. So, much to the chagrin of my housing’s already-gritty O-rings, I braced the housing in the sand as a poor excuse for a tripod. I checked this anemone each time I repeated this site over the next few weeks, and the crab was never there again, so I’m glad I dedicated all the time I could when the chance presented itself. What I love about a contest like this, is that it makes space for “Traditional” photography, meaning no Photoshop allowed (aside from a RAW conversion). I’m not opposed to Photoshop – it’s part of every photograper’s workflow (including mine). But it’s nice to see a contest that lets photographs be just a photograph without any editing.
For the two awarded images in the Exposure One Awards, Holy Waters was shot many years ago down in Key Largo and has been a print in the Fish Faces Collection for over a decade, and by contrast, Shall We Dance was shot about one year ago in Lembeh, Indonesia, and is the newest addition to the Fish Faces, having been added just last month. If you know me well, you may have heard me say that “the ocean deserves to be seen in color”. And while I still generally stand by that, there is certain underwater subject matter that lends itself to being seen in terms of shadows & light; in composition and elements of geometry; and in form & tones, rather than just in loud color. While I’ll never tire of showing the oceans in a bold Crayola-box fashion, I’m grateful that here, I was forced to reevaluate things and test myself to see if the images would still hold up when color was removed from my original vision. As for other images like Candyland or Confetti, could you imagine them being in black & white? Certainly not!
I’ve always felt photo competitions serve two purposes:
Firstly, you’ve collected my art, and for that, I am more grateful than you know. And while I’ve met many of my clients in person, just as many have purchased online or at the gallery without ever having met me. It was beautiful, so you bought it – thank you! But you’re an accountant, a doctor, a crypto-bro…etc… likely not a gallery curator, an interior designer, or a even a scuba diver. So it was pretty, but how do you know that it’s “good”? What is “good” in the world of art? What’s the metric? Well, here’s a jury of highly-skiled technical experts telling us that, in their educated opinion, it’s “good”. And I hope that when a piece of art that you’ve purchased from me with your hard-earned money receives an award, it helps remind you that it was the right choice. Not just pretty, but also holding a standard of true excellence. Not that you needed it, but owning a piece of art that wins major prestige, adds a validation to your purchase that is both intangible and unquantifiable in the art world.
And then there’s my competitive nature! I simply enjoy going up against the best-of-the-best top photographers from Asia, Europe, and the rest of the world! It raises the bar, and elevates the art. It brings photographers together at award cerimonies and on social media, where we can learn from each other and be inspired. If I add another feather in my cap, great! And if I don’t, I analyze, learn, work harder, and perhaps move in a new creative direction. The point is, I didn’t make it into WFC 68, or the Olympics. I didn’t graduate college. And I can’t outdrink you. But at one time, I thought each of those thinge were the most important measure of myself. But in my 30+ year career as a professional underwater photographer, these contests are a great outlet for my ultra-competitive nature. And now that I’ve retired from the ultra-time-consuming art festivals, and semi-retired to Bali, I’m enjoying having the time to once again compete against the world’s best.
If you’re a fellow photographer, entering is fun! Don’t let it stress you out. Your shots may be excellent, but you’re not winning – why? There are so many obscure technicalities that prevent great images and great photographers from winning, so if I were to give any advice to newer entrants, first, read the rules. Then read the rules. And then read the rules. Second, don’t copy last years’ winners – it’s okay to build on techniques, but judges hate copycats. Third, what I consider my best, most challenging, most technically-perfect, rarest fish, most extra-awesomist gooderest photo ever – it rarely impresses anyone else, including judges. It’s a psychological game, much like marketing/sales or public speaking, and it’s important to enter shots that might appeal to those making the decisions. All contests give bios of the judges for a reason – use that information for a strategic advantage. And lastly, don’t be discouraged if you don’t make the winner’s circle. You’re going up against thousands of other people, all of whom also think their photos represent their very best work. And judges can be very opinionated and subjective, and its extremely rare to get feedback on why your image wasn’t chosen. Don’t let it get you down, but do learn from it, refine your entries, and kick butt next year. But on that note, a super short verion story: once, I was a loser one year, but noticed 4 of the 5 judges were different the next year, so I submitted my same favorite photo that next year, and won! Ha!
And now I get to brag – if you have a spare minute, glance at my list of previous awards – I think these bring me to 111 listed on that page, and that list begins in 2006 – they go back about a decade before that… Okay, done bragging 🙂 But seriously – if you own one of my pieces, see if yours is on there! In the upcoming month, I plan on updating my website to show the awards next to their respective images on my site. All that stuff takes a lot of time, but, again, now that I’m no longer exhibiting at art festivals….
