The Los Angeles Underwater Photography Society (LAUPS) has announced the winners of its annual International Underwater Photographic Competition. The overall winner was Pasquale Vassallo of Napoli, Italy, with an over-under image of an octopus in a sea weed bed entitled “View from the bay”. Keri Wilk won the Open category with a wide-angle shot of a sunburst through a large sargassum bed. The overall quality of all the images in the finals is stunning, and many congratulations to all who placed. As always, it is great to see so many Wetpixel members amongst the winners.

Below are full details of the results:

BEST OF SHOW.
Pasquale Vassallo. Napoli, Italy. “View from the Gulf”. (Image is above.)

OPEN.
Keri Wilk. Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. “Sargassum”.

WIDE ANGLE.
1st Place: Clark Miller: “False Killer Whales & Dolphin”.**
2nd Place: Eduardo Acevedo: *”Sky Lion”.
3rd Place: Francis Perez: “Odontaspis Ferox”. 4th Place: Francis Perez: “Castle of Basalt”.
5th Place: Allison Vitsky: “Anemone”.
Honorable Mention: David Antoja: “Jellyfish”.

MACRO.
1st Place: Phil Sokol: “Lionfish”.
2nd Place: Rand McMeins: “Sea Pen with a Flea”.
3rd Place: Domenico Roscigno: “In the Shade”.
4th Place: Denis Palbiani: “Magic”.
5th Place: Tony Cherbas: “Quicksilver”.
Honorable Mention: Maxim Tomashevich: “From The Darkness”.
Honorable Mention: Eduardo Acevedo: “Visitor”.

BEHAVIOR.
1st Place: Borut Furlan: “Hungry Worm”.
2nd Place: Denis Palbiani: “Cleaning”.
3rd Place: Tony Frank: “Two Nudis with Eggs”.
4th Place: Borut Furlan: “Big Meal”.
5th Place: Uwe Schmolke: “Dental Service”.
Honorable Mention: Denis Palbiani: “Large Vacuum”.
Honorable Mention: Denis Palbiani: “Collectors”.

COLD WATER.
1st Place: Michele Davino: “Free Diving on Ice”.
2nd Place: Luc Rooman; “Frog”.
3rd Place: Allison Vitsky: “Sunstar”.
4th Place: Michele Davino: “Rumble”.
5th Place: Luc Rooman: “Pike”.
Honorable Mention: Luc Rooman; “Lumpsucker with Eggs”.

PHOTO ESSAY.
1st Place: Francis Perez: “Doublet”.
2nd Place: Jose Alejandro Alvarez: “Sperm Whale Encounters”.
3rd Place: Tony Cherbas: “Partners in Crime”.
Honorable Mention: Jeremy Kozman: “Scenes from the Solomon Islands”.

VIDEO OPEN. 1st Place: Nannette Van Antwerp; “Pacific Drifters”.
2nd Place: Walter Marti: “Ocean Worms”.
3rd Place: Anastasia Laity: “The Philippines: Beauties & Beasts”.
4th Place: Walter Marti: “The Removal”.

VIDEO RAW FOOTAGE.
1st Place: Kenneth Ward: “Octopus Catches a Fish”.
2nd Place: Matthew Berry: “Snake Eel Spinning”.
3rd Place: Anastasia Laity: “Guadalupe Fur Sea Chasing Great White”.
4th Place: Walter Marti: “Cuttlefish”.
Honorable Mention: Xavier Michalet: “Torpedo Ray”.