Underwater Photographer Of The Year: The Amazing Military Shipwreck Shot That Clinched It
© Tobias Freidrich/UPY2018
An eerie image showing two British World War Two vehicles trapped inside a shipwreck at the bottom of the ocean has seen its photographer grab a prestigious gong.
German photographer Tobias Freidrich was declared Underwater Photographer of the Year after capturing the striking picture, taken off the coast of Egypt.
'Cycle War', selected from over 5,000 underwater images, shows several Norton 16H motorbikes aboard the SS Thistlegorm surrounded - somewhat ironically - by a school of soldierfish.
Freidrich said of the photograph:
"I've had this image in mind for a few years, but it is impossible to capture in one photo because there is not space inside the wreck to photograph this scene in a single frame.
"My solution was to take a series of pictures and stitch them together as panorama."
Peter Rowlands, heading up the judging panel, said:
"This is a quite extraordinary shot which must be viewed as large as possible.
"The artistic skill is in visualising such and image, and the photographic talent is in achieving it."
Whilst Freidrich claimed the title, the winner in the British category was Grant Thomas from Glasgow.
His photograph, called 'Love Birds', was taken at Loch Lomond in Scotland.
The competition also named Malaysian Man BD as 'Up and Coming Underwater Photographer of the Year', with his image 'Roar' depicting a pair of sea slugs with a gaping moral eel in the background.
The title of Most Promising British Underwater Photographer 2018 went to Tony Stephenson from the East Midlands.
His image 'How Many Pike' shows the ritual of pike courtship in Stoney Cove, Leicestershire
Other entries included 'Down the Stream' by Wendy Timmermans from the Netherlands - a photograph taken in Mexico whilst she was on a free-diving expedition.
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