The Our World Underwater international underwater photography and video competition, now in its 9th year, has become one of the biggest and most respected photography competitions in the world. The competition not only celebrates the beauty of the ocean, but the art of underwater photography as well.

The OWU competition is part of a unique series, that together with the DEEP Indonesia competition, comprises the largest and most prestigous underwater photography competition. Winners also take pride in being named one of the world’s best underwater photographers, and their images will be exposed to millions of readers of dive, travel and photography magazines and websites worldwide. Esteemed judges this year include: professional photographer Alex Mustard, Wetpixel Editor Abi Smigel, DPG Editor Matt Weiss and professional underwater photographer Keri Wilk

Underwater photographers of all levels, from novice to professionals, will compete in what has become the “Superbowl” of international underwater imagery events. Along with thousands in prizes of photo gear and world class trips, the Best of Show will receive a cash prize of $1,000!

The unique competition series was founded and hosted by the popular underwater photography websites DivePhotoGuide.com and Wetpixel.com. The competition is held in association with the Our World Underwater dive expo in Chicago.

Categories:

Macro Traditional: Any underwater image of a 7×5 inch or smaller picture area. The “Traditional” divisions allow for the adjustment of brightness, contrast, color, and sharpness only. Cropping, cloning, and other digital manipulation is not allowed in this category. This restriction on digital manipulation will enable people who are not as savvy at Photoshop to compete on more-or-less even ground as those with more experience. It also highlights composition and lighting skills by not allowing cropping and cloning. Before selecting winning entries, we reserve the right to audit your original RAW or JPG files. Our judges are digital photography experts, so please do not submit cropped or manipulated entries in this category.

Macro Unrestricted: Any underwater image of a 7×5 inch or smaller picture area.The “Unrestricted” divisions have no such rules regarding digital manipulation. Anything goes, but as we are not running a digital manipulation contest, you should exercise care in the decisions that you make.

Wide Angle Traditional: Underwater images larger than a 7×5 inch picture area. The “Traditional” divisions allow for the adjustment of brightness, contrast, color, and sharpness only. Cropping, cloning, and other digital manipulation is not allowed in this category. This restriction on digital manipulation will enable people who are not as savvy at Photoshop to compete on more-or-less even ground as those with more experience. It also highlights composition and lighting skills by not allowing cropping and cloning. Before selecting winning entries, we reserve the right to audit your original RAW or JPG files. Our judges are digital photography experts, so please do not submit cropped or manipulated entries in this category.

Wide Angle Unrestricted: Underwater images larger than a 7×5 inch picture area. The “Unrestricted” divisions have no rules regarding digital manipulation. Anything goes, but as we are not running a digital manipulation contest, you should exercise care in the decisions that you make.

Compact Cameras: Underwater images of all kinds, taken by point ‘n shoot, non-SLR digital cameras. In this category, no entries from scanned slides or digital SLRs will be accepted. Although there exist many great underwater images taken by point ‘n shoot cameras, it is often difficult for them to compete with SLRs when it comes to image quality. In this category, digital manipulation is allowed, but as we are not running a digital manipulation contest, you should exercise care in the decisions that you make. Please note that any camera with interchangeable lenses is not considered a compact, and should not be submitted into this category

Commercial, Conceptual & Fashion: Non-wildlife focused underwater images of commercial, conceptual or fashion related subjects. Images can be shot in a pool or in the wild, but the primary subject should not be wildlife.