Stunning photo shows circling sharks It takes a certain type of person to hop in the water with sharks to capture an award-winning photo but one woman has been highly honoured for doing so.
Pets & Animals by Alice Peacock, The Sun 10th Feb 2021 2:21 PM A stunning image of sharks at sunset has won Underwater Photographer of the Year 2021. Renee Capozzola took the prestigious prize for her snap of blacktop reef sharks cruising beneath seagulls in French Polynesia.
Sharks Skylight won out over 4500 underwater pictures entered by underwater photographers from 68 countries. The win makes Capozzola, from California, the first female photographer to be named overall winner of the prestigious UK-based annual contest.
Lianne Kolirin, CNN • Updated 9th February 2021
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(CNN) American Renee Capozzola has become the first female Underwater Photographer of the Year overall winner after her stunning image of blacktip reef sharks in French Polynesia scooped the award for 2021.
Capozzola s atmospheric shot of the marine predators cruising beneath seagulls at sunset beat more than 4,500 submissions from competitors across 68 countries in the annual contest.
A native of southern California, Capozzola has traveled all over the world with her camera, according to her website.
The winning image, Sharks Skylight, was taken on the Pacific island of Moorea in August. French Polynesia strongly protects its sharks, it is my favorite place to photograph them, she said in a statement released by the contest organizers. I dedicated several evenings to photographing in the shallows at sunset, and I was finally rewarded with this scene: Glass-calm water, a rich sunset,
The underwater world has never looked so magical, mysterious and mesmerising.
They show just how awe-inspiring Mother Nature can be in aquatic mode - and how fragile she is. And they also underscore the sheer skill and determination of the world s finest underwater snappers, who brave underwater caves and shark-infested reefs to bring us unforgettable pictures, some of which took years to plan.
The overall winner is Renee Capozzola from California, whose picture of blacktip reef sharks cruising beneath gulls at sunset in French Polynesia left the judges jaws on the floor. She triumphed over 4,500 underwater pictures entered by photographers in 68 countries.
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About the Underwater Photographer of the Year competition
Underwater Photographer of the Year is an annual competition, based in the UK, that celebrates photography beneath the surface of the ocean, lakes, rivers and even swimming pools. British photographer Phil Smith was the first underwater Photographer of the Year, named in 1965.
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Today’s competition attracts entries from all around the world, has 13 categories, testing photographers with themes such as Macro, Wide Angle, Behaviour and Wreck photography, as well as four categories for photos taken specifically in British waters. This year’s judges were experienced underwater photographers Peter Rowlands, Martin Edge and Alex Mustard.