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Kingdom of Beauty and Danger: Christian Vizl Mac Gregor, Mexico
1st place, Portfolio category The attraction to the sea makes this photographer a captive of what he can see under the waves. Wandering through the ocean and observing the beauty of the creatures in it, he is communicating with nature directly, always surprised by what he sees.
Photograph: Christian Vizl Mac Gregor
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Rafting People on Yalu River: Zhoufan Cui, China
2nd place, Porfolio category The Yalu River is now the border between China and North Korea. Wooden rafts have been transported on the river for thousands of years. Every year between spring and autumn, North Korean foresters cut logs in the Changbai mountains and release them along the Yalu River. The raft travels down the river to Zhongjiangjun, North Korea.
Photograph: Zhoufan Cui
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Kingdom of Beauty and Danger: Christian Vizl Mac Gregor, Mexico
1st place, Portfolio category A sea lion hunting a school of mackerel 40 miles off the coast of San Carlos. Dangers to this beautiful environment include overfishing, pollution, plastic, radiation and climate change.
Photograph: Christian Vizl Mac Gregor
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Rafting People on Yalu River: Zhoufan Cui, China
2nd place, Porfolio category With the development of the modern transportation industry, this method of moving timber will gradually fade out of history and become a valuable part of the world’s cultural heritage.
Photograph: Zhoufan Cui
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The Predator’s Fins: Atho Ullah, Indonesia
3rd place, Portfolio category Fishing boats in East Java, Indonesia. Sharks are apex predators at the top of the marine food chain. But since the 1990s, the number of black-fin sharks has been declining. Millions of sharks are killed every year for their fins.
Photograph: Atho Ullah
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The Predator’s Fins: Atho Ullah, Indonesia
3rd place, Portfolio category A freshly caught shark is taken ashore. Efforts to regulate shark fishing in Indonesia are not effective enough. Lack of awareness of the role sharks play in the ocean’s ecosystem poses a major threat to marine life.
Photograph: Atho Ullah
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A Journey Outside Our World: Apratim Pal, India
1st place, Mobile photography category In winter, when the flow of water is very low due to photochemical reactions, a moss-like structure is formed and causes water pollution. A fisherman appears on his boat as if he belongs on the upper deck of the Earth and is on a journey beyond our world.
Photograph: Apratim Pal
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The Downpour: Francois Bogaerts, Belgium
1st place, Water category This is a photo of a waterfall in Iceland called Dynjandifoss. It is one of the country’s most beautiful waterfalls. With this image, I wanted to capture the beauty of nature and portray how small and insignificant we are compared to it. By using a slow shutter speed (half a second), the water resembles a beautiful bridal veil.
Photograph: Francois Bogaerts
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What a problem! Shantha Kumar Samba Shivam Laila, India
2nd place, Water category People climb on to buses and cars submerged in flood waters to save themselves during the monsoons in Mumbai, India. Water has always been known as the essence of life, however in the recent past, due to climate change, water or the lack of it has become a destructive force. Droughts, floods and tsunamis have become more common now than ever.
Photograph: Shantha Kumar Samba Shivam Laila
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Octopus Hunter: Buchari Muslim Diken, Indonesia
3rd place, Water category A portrait of a child looking for an octopus off a fishing village in Ambon, the Maluku Islands. Children here rely on the sea, and are used to doing everything themselves from a very young age.
Photograph: Buchari Muslim Diken
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Save Me: Sourav Das, India
4th place, Water category At one point, a few children were playing and suddenly the sky collapsed and the rain came pouring down. There was no shelter in the area, until their father ran to save them from the rain.
Photograph: Sourav Das
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Water – The Secret of Life: Yousef Bin Shakar Al Zaabi, UAE
5th place, Water category This picture was taken in Bayan-Olgii in north-east Mongolia where there is a lake. This lake is a source of life, bringing fresh water to the people of the village. An old man and a boy were drinking water from the lake after a painstaking walk from their home.
Photograph: Yousef Bin Shakar Al Zaabi
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Essence of Life: Jasmine Carey, Australia
Grand prize winner A mother humpback whale is seen resting with her newly born calf in the Kingdom of Tonga. The rain fell rhythmically in a soothing pitter-patter on the water’s surface, gently lulling them. As we floated and watched them, the sound of the rhythm faded just a little and the ocean calmed just enough for the tranquil pair to rise up, meeting the light rays just starting to break through the surface.
Photograph: Jasmine Carey
