2nd Place Portrait

Peter Leopold

"Mirror Mirror on the Wall"

Peter won a 7-night dive package at Tawali Dive Resort in Milne Bay, PNG!

The story:  The picture was taken during a research expedition investigating the comparably young sea ice north of the Svalbard archipelago, in the European Arctic. I was part of the scientific diving team on board the research vessel R/V Lance, conducting dives under these (pretty extreme conditions) on a daily basis. During my time under the ice I encountered this beautiful amphipod (Eusirus holmii), which is a crustacean species living in close association with the sea ice. These restless predators are wading along the frozen ceiling and hereby scan their environment for potential pray items (often smaller amphipods). I was lucky enough to picture this specimen while it was apparently investigating itself in a diver-released air bubble, surely a very rare opportunity for both of us.

Location:  Arctic Ocean (at 82.5°N, 15.3°E)

Camera:  Nikon D7000 in Aquatica AD7000 housing, Nikon 105mm VR, 2xINON Z240 T4, manual settings

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