Winners Gallery

An abstract portrait of a small bay squid. “Squid in the wild, at night, are a beautiful photographic subject,” says photographer Matty Smith. “Their skin flickers and changes with colour constantly, I find it an irresistible subject. I have shot many squid portraits, but wanted to produce something different on this dive. My willing subject let me close in with a macro lens and shoot detail shots of its intricate beauty.”

“I had wanted to shoot a split waterline image of a great white shark and on this day at the Neptune Islands in South Australia, I got my chance,” says photographer Matty Smith. “The wind had dropped off into the evening and the ocean glassed off. I needed a shark that showed non-aggressive and calm behaviour to avoid risk to myself or the animal in pulling off this image. This shark displayed the relaxed body language that I needed, so I made the decision to attempt the shot. Shortly after placing my pole mounted mirrorless camera housing into the water the shark showed some interest and cautiously approached allowing me to quickly fire a sequence of frames, before pulling the camera safely out of the shark’s way.”

“Here in Sydney, we are blessed with the presence of the majestic White’s seahorse in our waters, but they are endangered and in trouble,” says photographer Matty Smith. “Numbers are in decline along with their natural habitat. They have taken to inhabiting old swimming nets now instead of there usually seagrass beds which are quickly disappearing.”

“I call this shot ‘Hope’ as I received this message about it when I posted it on social a while ago,” says photographer Matty Smith: ‘Almost 1 1/2 years ago now I experienced my first run in with depression. I was sad and confused as I didn’t know where my life was going. That’s about the time when I came across your photography. I don’t know why but every time I look at them I feel at ease and a little spark of happiness. It was that feeling that helped me get through my depression, and I just wanted to thank you for helping me. I love your work.’ “I was so touched and proud that my work was helping someone out on the other side of the planet whom I’d never even met. Having such a reach is a true blessing and great motivator. Hope.”

“Leafy sea dragons are as quintessentially Australian as a kangaroo or koala, they are endemic to southern half of the country and an absolute joy to dive with,” says photographer Matty Smith. “I’m very lucky in that Sydney is one of the best places in the world to dive with them and so we are spoiled by their constant presence. Here is a colourful male fully laden with eggs. Similar to seahorses, it’s the male that does all the parenting. I observed him for several minutes as he cruised against the gentle current and waved back and forth in time with the vegetation. Choosing a low camera angle I was able to separate his silhouette from the surrounding habitat and frame him nicely against the sky.”

“It’s often said that pinnipeds are the puppy dogs of the ocean, but none more so than the Australian sea lion,” says photographer Matty Smith. “Catch one in a good mood and I’m sure this wild animal would fetch a ball for you! They often get super excited when swimmers are in the water and they will zoom about at lightning speed. In order to catch this more relaxed frame I had to wait until all the other swimmers had exited and try to project calmness to the sea lions with my body language. It worked and they soon settled into this wonderful family portrait.”

“It had been a long and uneventful day out on the ocean in the hours leading up to this frame,” says photographer Matty Smith. “It was cold, windy and raining on and off. We were about to give up and head for home when we spotted this humpback whale calf and its mother down below. Neither seemed phased by the presence of our boat, so I gently slipped into the water and swam over to it. The calf swam a full 360 degrees around me, never taking its eye off my movements. After a few breaths of air, it dived down to the side of its mother, but notbefore I’d shot this frame. I just love the calming feeling of this picture.”

“I love surface action with white sharks, but down on the seabed is where it’s at for me,” says photographer Matty Smith. “The sharks are more relaxed and the serenity of the waving seagrass is hypnotising. I had a black and white picture in mind when I shot this frame, I knew the clarity of the water and texture of the seagrass would translate into monotone beautifully. I chose as low a position as I could in the cage and asked the cage driver to take us as low as he dared. This allowed me ample foreground detail and an intimate connection with the shark.”

“The limestone islands of Raja Ampat are a perfect location to shoot over/under images,” says photographer Matty Smith. “On this day the tide was a little too high to be able to frame corals in the lower part of the frame, so I had to persevere with schools of tiny fish for foreground detail, which was frustrating as they move quickly! With the light fading fast I thought I had blown it. Then, it all of a sudden it all came together and this was the very last frame I shot! I used strobes above and below to illuminate the rock and fish.”