CLOSE-UPS
The results of the CUPOT Y Challenge: Water, are in and every thing from mating toads to frozen flowers have been put before the judges. Selected entrants share their tips with CUPOT Y co-founder Tracy Calder
Apparently, every second breath we take comes from the ocean. It’s a sobering statistic, and one that makes caring for our oceans and waterways absolutely vital. Photographers have an important role to play in alerting us to the state of the natural world, and one way of doing this is to celebrate what we stand to lose if we continue to treat our oceans and rivers as waste receptacles. A few weeks ago, I got chatting to two underwater photographers. We discussed the impact of climate change, sewage and other pollutants on wildlife, but we also talked about the sheer wonder of discovering something new and the absolute joy of being submerged in water. I was struck by their calm, relaxed demeanour – being in or around bodies of water is said to have a soothing effect on the human brain and these two certainly seemed to back up the science!
Environmental and health benefits aside, water (in all its forms) can be fascinating to photograph – everything from reflections to raging rivers and sheets of ice can enhance a picture or even become the subject of an image. For the latest CUPOTY CHALLENGE (in association with Affinity Photo 2) our subscribers chose water as the theme. Our callout was answered with images of seahorses swimming through kelp, flowers bejeweled with rain, and insects drying out their wings before taking flight, among other things. As usual, looking at all the entries was both educational and inspiring. Congratulations to Tibor Litauszki for taking the top spot with his beautiful image of an alpine newt.
If you would like to stay up to date with the latest CUPOTY news, including details of this year’s main competition, please sign up to the CUPOTY newsletter. To see all of the shortlisted entries for the CUPOTY CHALLENGE: Water, please visit www.cupoty.com/water-shortlist
2nd Place Ian Gilmour Poppies Tiarella in Ice
Nationality: British Occupation: Retired Website: www.iangilmour.co.uk Facebook: IanGilmourPhotography
‘I submerged some wild poppies in water with tiarella flowers and froze them overnight. I then placed the frozen block on a lightbox and photographed them using my Venus Laowa super macro lens. My first attempt was unsuccessful as the water was cloudy, so I boiled the water before re-freezing for the second attempt, which seemed to give a better result.’
TOP TIPS
1 Boil the water for a few minutes before freezing to remove any impurities.
2 Use a tripod and either a remote release or the self-timer o
