Honorable Mention Wide Angle
Steve Kopp
Bellingham, WA, USA
“Hanging in Leru“
The Story: When researching a trip to the Solomon Islands, Leru Cut was a site that stuck in my photography imagination, wondering what it really looked like and how best to shoot it. The narrow opening above creates shafts of light in the cut for a short time each day. We stopped there early in the trip but it was too cloudy for sun rays. On return to port near the end of the trip we revisited the site with clear skies, and the magic happened.
As the breeze blows the trees, the shafts of light flicker in from above and the light dances around the walls, while bright sun and clear water make for a sapphire blue Suva Sea background, providing silhouette of Pato, from MV Bilikiki, as well as a school of fish and gorgonians in the entrance. Shooting an upward angle made the sun ray effect more prominent and accentuates the narrow cut.
Location: Leru Island, Solomon Islands
Equipment Used: Canon 5D Mark IV, Nauticam Housing, Canon 8-15mm Lens with Kenko 1.4 Teleconverter
Settings: F8, 1/160 sec, ISO 640
