Ice diving

• Prize
  Silver in Press/Sports
• Photographer
  Petr Polach, Czech Republic
• Date of Photograph
  15 April 2011
• Socials
• Website
  https://www.polachpetr.cz

Among the unusual but very interesting sports is ice diving. This photo shows diving under the ice of the White Sea at the level of the Arctic Circle. An interesting sporting aspect of diving in these areas is that the diver is forced to withstand very cold water. The temperature of the salt water here is around -1.5 C. However, the most interesting thing from a photographic point of view is the fact that the ice, which is more than 1 m thick, breaks up into different shapes at the shore due to the tide, the light decomposes on its edges and magical colourful sceneries are created.

• Biography
  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"