2016 Photo of the Year

2016 Photo of the Year

Congratulations to Shingo Ishida, whose photo was chosen for the 2016 GUE Image of the Year!

About the site:

The wreck of the squid purse seiner Infidel sits in about 150 feet of water at the east end of Catalina Island off the coast of Southern California. Visibility at depth, as well as surface conditions, can vary wildly, often changing from one hour to the next. Local marine life is diverse and includes colorful nudibranchs, crustaceans, schooling fish, reef fish, and playful sea lions. On occasion, one might encounter a curious (and rather imposing) great white shark.

About the project:

Ghost Fishing (www.ghostfishing.org) is a GUE Affiliate consisting of specially trained volunteers that are removing abandoned commercial fishing gear, namely nets, from our world's oceans. With projects in over 15 countries, we truly have a global reach. There is an estimated 640,000 tons of ghost gear left behind annually, so there is unfortunately no shortage of work for us to do. These nets will continue to harm, trap, and kill marine life for decades, even centuries, due to the sturdy, non-biodegradable materials they are made of. Therefore it is imperative to remove as much as possible.

About the photo:

The photo was shot on a calm and clear day with great visibility. Prior to the dive, videographer Cyrille Rio and I discussed how we might assist each other with backlighting. Once we began documenting the various stages of the day’s net cleanup, Cyrille and I happened to position ourselves perfectly for what turned out to be a great shot – he on one side of the net shooting video, me on the other side snapping photo. The image shows Karim Hamza (GUE Instructor Trainer and US Coordinator of Ghost Fishing) as he prepares to cut the net free with an experimental pneumatic cutting device. The photo was taken with a Sony RX100 M2 with a WA-110 wet lens in a Recsea housing and was lit by two Keldan Luna 4 video lights.

About the photographer:

Shingo has always been a huge fan of the movies. It was this passion that drove him to study Film Production in college and then go on to have a career in the television business. He enjoys bringing this experience underwater to oceans and caves around the world where, as an amateur photographer, he can capture and share the infinite beauty of the underwater world.