~~
An underwater image taken by Ryohei Ito, a hairdresser living in Yoshikawa, Saitama Prefecture, has won first prize in the Portrait Category of the world-famous Underwater Photographer of the Year (UPY) Competition 2021.
The 36-year-old is the first Japanese who has ever been ranked first in any category of the UPY contest. Thrilled at the news, Ito said, “I am overjoyed to win this prize and honored to be lined up with the prominent overseas photographers who I have looked up to for so long.”
The prize-winning photograph is an image of an Asian sheepshead wrasse, known as
kobudai in Japanese. Ito shot the fish, a member of the Labridae family, in the Pacific Ocean off the city of Tateyama, Chiba Prefecture. The moniker of the fish comes from the big bump on its head, after which it has been named
Good News Pilipinas
Filipino photographer Jophel Ybiosa harvests 50 awards for the Philippines
The pandemic did not stop Jophel Ybiosa from continuing his winning streak in international photo contests with these images.
Filipino photographer Jophel Botero Ybiosa continued to raise the Philippine flag around the world as he harvested 50 international awards for the Philippines in various tilts.
The 9-time Ani ng Dangal national awardee did not let the coronavirus pandemic stop his winning streak in 2020 and wrapped up the year with the following wins:
10 top awards
8 finalist finishes
Ybiosa entered the contests with varied images he captured from around the world but shares that he favored the winning image about the Filipino people’s devotion to festivals.