1st Place Wide-Angle

Francis Perez

Freediver and bait ball

SMY Ondina liveaboard trip

The story: ” I got this picture last may, in Tenerife, Canary Islands. It was in the afternoon, I was with a group of friends and my girlfriend taking pictures of pilot whales. We saw in the distance, there was forming a big group of shearwaters and seagulls,countless in numbers. Underwater there were many spotted dolphins. The baitball would spin and spin but not move apart, all the time changing its shape. Dolphins, shearwaters, and seagulls attacked the group of fish, and it changed shape . When the scene was quiet, my friends and myself tried to get pictures and video of the movement. My girlfriend is an excellent swimmer and freediver and I told her to dive near the ball. It wasmy chance to get thispicture. 

Camera: Canon 5D; EF 15mm f/2.8 fisheyelens; F6, 1/80th, ISO 400