Cave diving is a very interesting but also very difficult sport. This photo shows a diver in the cave "Coop 1" in Yucatan, Mexico. The shape of the cave, together with the stalactites, resembles the mouth of a giant and the picture creates the illusion of a diver swimming through this huge jagged mouth. Not only diving, but also photography in flooded caves is a great challenge. It is absolutely dark in the caves and the photographer has to "carry" all the lighting equipment hundreds of meters inside the caves. A total of five underwater flashes were used to take this image.
I come from the Czech Republic. My photography has almost always accompanied my sports activities, including diving. I have adapted my photography equipment to be able to take photos under water and in flooded caves. Caves are characterized by an unfavorable situation for a photographer, that is: absolute darkness. Nevertheless, the world of flooded caves, in which a diver floats in a state of weightlessness between the beautiful stalactite decoration, has absolutely captivated me and forces me to capture this beauty in photographs and share it with people.
Awards Some of my photographic achievements:
* Grand Prize: Chromatic Discovery of the Year 2021 and 1st Place in the „Nature, Amateur" category in the international color photography contest "Chromatic Awards 2021
* 3rd place in the „Sports, Amateur" category in the international color photography contest "Chromatic Awards 2021"
* Honorable Mentions in the international black & white photography contest "Monochrome Awards 2021" in the "Nature, Amateur" and in the "Street, Amateur" category
* Placing in the final in the "Masterpiece by SanDisk Professional" category in the world’s greatest adventure and action sports contest "Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2021"
* 2nd place in the international photography contest „ND Awards 2021“ in the „Nature: Underwater“ professional category
* Honorable Mention in the "Wildlife" category in the worldwide competition "Neil Dankoff Photography Competition 2021, 500px Fall Edition
* 1st place in the international competition „MonoVisions Photography Awards 2021“ in the category „Nature and Wildlife“ with the series of 8 photos
* Second in Category „Documentary & Journalist Photography“ with a series of 4 photographs
* Runners-Up position in the "Landscape" category in the worldwide competition "Neil Dankoff Photography Competition 500px Edition 2021"
* 2nd place in the world wide competition “Ocean Art Safe Under The Sea 2020” in category “Underwater Art”
* 2nd place in the world wide competition “Ocean Art Safe Under The Sea 2020” in category “Wide Angle”
* 1st place (Gold) in the world wide competition "DEEP Indonesia 2020" in category "Divers"
* 2nd place (Silver) in the world wide competition "DPG/Wetpixel Masters Underwater Imaging Competition 2020" in category "Wide Angle Traditional"
* 4th place in one of the world's most prestigious "Ocean Art 2019" in the "Macro" category
* semi-finalists in the category "Creative by Skylum" in the competition "Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2019"
