DivePhotoGuide & Wetpixel never planned to establish what would become some of the largest and most prestigious underwater imaging competitions in the world. But after three years, that is exactly what the competitions have become. The competitions are in association with Our World Underwater and DEEP Indonesia, and have been living on a centralized website at www.UnderwaterCompetition.com . The website has just received a major overhaul, including an automated entry system. 2009 will be the biggest year yet for the competitions and the deadline is Jan 15, 2009.

Check out this year's Best In Show - Animal Behavior by Dale Sanders pictured above. For 2009, prizes include more than $75,000 in dive travel, underwater photo and dive gear, as well as the glory of placing in such a prestigious event. There are categories for all levels. Go here for the 2009 participating contest sponsors and more about the contest.

Here are a few winners from the 2008 competition:

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| | Happy Blenny by Edvin Eng| Eagle Ray by Frank Baensch| Fish in Bed of Coral by Steven Kovacs|

2007 marked the first time two international underwater photography competitions associated with dive expos on opposite sides of the world cooperated to establish a complementary series of categories and prizing opportunities. For 2008, this unique combination of complementary competitions awarded over $80,000 in prizes to winners in almost 20 countries around the world! Additionally, each year 15 percent of competition proceeds are donated to marine conservation efforts.

The 3rd Annual Wetpixel & DivePhotoGuide International Underwater Photography & Video Competition in association with Our World Underwater, and the DEEP Indonesia competition, in association with Indonesia's only watersports and scuba diving expo in Jakarta, had 13 technical and themed still image categories and two video categories, for shooters of all levels. All the winning images and videos can be found on the official competition website at www.UnderwaterCompetition.com.

The panels of esteemed judges includes professional photographers, cinematographers, and editors: Eric Cheng, David Espinosa, Stephen Frink, Ric Frazier, Jason Heller, Alex Mustard, Chuck Nicklin, Mary Lynn Price, Berkley White, and Tony Wu.