A look underwater at award-winning photos

This photo of a Blue Shark by Jim Machinchick of the U.S was the gold medal winner in the Shark category in

Doris Vierkštter from Germany won a gold medal in the macro, swimming category which was made up of photos of smaller subjects typically 1 to 3 inches shot on macro settings or with macro equipment that are not touching anything. This photo was taken in Indonesia.

According to Allen Walker from South Africa this young female raggie finally snapped and fought back when a big potato bass kept pushing her around. Allen won a gold medal in the wide angle, marine life category which consists of wide angle shots without divers.

This is Lorenzo Mittiga's gold medal winning photo from the over, under category that is made up of shots taken half topside and half under water. Lorenzo is an Italian photographer based in Bonaire off Venezuela’s coast. In this photo a green Iguana takes a breath after an underwater incursion in a semi-submerged cave on the island of Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean. Green Iguanas are everywhere on the island, they are part of every house's garden and...pools...

German photographer Uwe Schmolke shot this Trout being eaten by Pike to win a gold medal in the freshwater category.

Khaled Zaki from Qatar won a gold medal for this great photo of a Grouper in the wide angle, close focus category. This category includes shots taken with a wide or fisheye lens having one well defined close subject (usually strobe-lit) and a wide angle background with a second subject, usually a diver but in this case another fish.

Italian photographer Marchione Giacomo used a close up lens to win a gold medal in the macro close up category when he shot this Acrobat snake eel. The category was made up of shots taken of a subject between 3 inches and a foot with a large fish or diver head dominating the frame, any background is incidental and occupied less than 50% of the frame.

John Roach from the U.S. made this photo of a Banded Jawfish which won the Gold Medal in the macro category which was smaller subjects typically 1 to 3 inches shot on macro settings or with macro equipment that are not moving and usually on the bottom.

The fashion category gold medal winner went to Lucie Drlikova of the Czech Republic. This category is of models and fashion underwater.

Francesco Pacienza from Italy photographed this Sea Slug to win the Gold Medal in the Macro Nudibranchia category.

Kelvin H.y. Tan from Singapore calls this photo "jump" and and won the Gold Medal in the super macro category. This category is made up of shots taken (at smaller than 1:1) with multiple extension rings, diopters, or teleconverters of extremely small subjects typically less than 1 inch.

The squid was the temperate waters category gold medal winner and was made by Canadian Marc Damant in a night dive. This category was made up of seas with green water well north or south of tropical zones typically cold enough for drysuits.

Catalin Craciun photographed this swimmer free diving in Barracuda Lake in the Philippines to win the gold medal in the wide angle, divers category.

The light shines on a diver in Kukulkan Cenote in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Nick Blake from the United kingdom won a gold medal for this photo in the wide angle, natural light (no strobe) category.

German photographer Tobias Reitmayr won the Gold Medal for this photo he calls "R2D2" inside Fujikawa Maru in Micronesia. This was the wide angle, wrecks category and his included anything man-made that is sunk.

Iyad Suleyman from Ukraine shot this Pipefish in Malaysia and won a silver medal in the super macro category.

Spencer Burrows for the United Kingdom won a bronze medal in the temperate water category for the photo of a 'Hydroid light' Medusa Hydroid in the early morning light.

Tony Cherbas from Guam who now lives in Kauai, Hawaii started diving in 2008 and uses mostly a Canon 7d mk 2 in a housing. This is a bronze medal winner in the fresh water category.