The jury has decided the winners of the photo contest of LIFE Conceptu Maris, Deep blue, edition 2023. More than two hundred images have been received and then screened which, on such difficult subjects, such as cetaceans and turtles in the open sea, are very many. Thank you very much for the extraordinary participation. The selection of the winners was very “hard”, given the quality of the material received.

The evaluation criteria considered were the relevance to the theme of the competition (priority was given to cetaceans and sea turtles), the “difficulty” of the documented scene (uncommon species, particular behaviors, images of action) and the quality of the file sent.

Here is the podium, with the relative motivations.

FIRST PLACE

Aixa Moratawith the pilot whale in “spyhopping”. This term refers to the behavior of a cetacean that takes the head out of the water, in vertical position, to observe the surrounding environment above the surface of the water. The image is amazing, because it documents a particular behavior of a species, such as the pilot whale, which is not so easy to observe in the Mediterranean.

SECOND PLACE

Diego Bonafèwith an adult striped dolphin jumping, accompanied by a young man, the moment he breaks the wave to dive into the next. This cetacean is one of the easiest to observe in the open sea, but getting a photograph like this requires many skills, good equipment and even a little luck. The value of the image lies in the beautiful composition and the chiseling sharpness, which freezes the activity of the striped dolphins.

THIRD PLACE

Elia Biasissi with a large loggerhead turtle, surrounded by pilot fish in the open sea. On the carapace of the reptilian grew tufts of algae.
The image is interesting, because it documents the animal underwater, without you can see the bottom, as often happens with the photos of sea turtles. This is why it fits perfectly with the theme of the open sea promoted by the competition.

The winners will be personally contacted by the LIFE Conceptu Maris staff for the delivery of the prizes. Furthermore, in the coming weeks, many other photographs received worthy of attention will be presented on the project website and social networks, with the names of the authors.