I represented Andalusia during the 2024 NAFOSUB (Spanish Championship of Underwater Photography) with my assistant Carlos
2024 AWARDS: 2024 NAFOSUB (Spanish Championship of Underwater Photography). Me and my assistant (Carlos Navarro) received the Gold Medal in the Wide Angle Without Model Category. The competition took place in Medas Islands, a Natural Park in Girona (Spain) famous for its big groupers and colorful fan corals.
2 gold and 5 silver medals in the regional championship
2024 AWARDS: My dad and I celebrating my victory in the 2024 CAVISUB (Andalusian Championship of Underwater Video) and my second place in the 2024 ANFOSUB (Andalusian Championship of Underwater Photography). Overall, I won both categories (film and reel) in the video championship and received 5 silver medals in the photography competition (wide angle with model, wide angle without model, macro, fish, and creative). I participated representing the Buceo Calahonda Team with José Carvito and Carlos Navarro as assistants in the video and photo contests, respectively.
Below you can find the 5 unedited images awarded with the silver medal. For the awarded videos you can visit the following links: 1. Short film. 2. Reel
2024 AWARDS: I was awarded second place in the Underwater Digital Art category of the Ocean Art Contest, one of the most prestigious underwater photo contests in the world. The prize was a complete diving package at El Galleon Resort in the Philippines. Conveniently, the images of the nudibranchs in this photo were taken at the same location a couple of years earlier, using the prize I received for winning the Underwater DigitaArt category at the Ocean Art 2019 competition (see further below).
2024 AWARDS: I won the 2024th FOTOVIDEOSUB overall championship with this image of a monkfish's eye. The picture is an in camera double exposure with minimal postprocessing that portrays the eye of a monkfish against a rocky background. The pyramidal rock of the background creates an illusion that resembles ‘the eye that sees everything’, a symbol of God that has been used in many cults and even appears in the dollar notes.
2024 AWARDS: Second place in Concurso Criação e Ciência. This is an initiative by MARE-Politécnico de Leiria, celebrating its 9th anniversary. This photography competition focuses on the theme of "Marine Biodiversity", encouraging participants to creatively communicate scientific concepts through their photographs. The 2nd place award was given to Francisco Sedano Vera for his captivating photo titled "O Alvorecer da Biodiversidade Marinha". For more info click here.
2023 AWARDS: Two honorable mentions and a finalist image in OGPICOTY
Creative Vision Category: my photo titled "Froggynator, a dystopic future for fish populations." received an honorable mention for its innovative and thought-provoking composition. I came up with this, since according to World Wildlife Fund (WWF)’s 2020 Living Planet Report, the world has seen an average 68% drop in mammal, bird, fish, reptile, and amphibian populations since 1970. This alarming data is the result of years of habitat destruction and unsustainable development. If we keep up the pace of species loss, soon there will not be much to photograph during our dives, except for our artificial inventions.
Music and Pictures Category in OGPICOTY 2023: My video titled "The giant barrel sponge." received an honorable mention for its unique blend of visuals and musical elements, highlighting the beauty and fragility of barrel sponges.
About OGPICOTY: The Ocean Geographic Pictures of the Year (OGPICOTY) competition is an annual event organized by the Ocean Geographic Society. It celebrates outstanding ocean photography, videography, and storytelling. The competition aims to inspire conservation of our oceans by showcasing the beauty and importance of marine life through powerful imagery. Participants compete in various categories, with awards named in honor of renowned ocean image-makers and scientists.
2023 AWARDS: With the invaluable help of José Carvito, I achieved my first podium finish in a federated championship. We placed in third position in ANFOSUB 2023. To gain that position we took home 4 medals, two silver medals in wide angle with diver and without diver plus two bronze medals in fish and theme categories. See the awarded unedited images below:
2022 AWARDS: Ocean Geographic Picture of The Year 2022 was particularly exciting for me because I received an honorable mention as Emerging Photographer of the Year (thanks Sir Alex Mustard for this recognition) and another mention in my fetish category the Creative Vision.
2022 AWARDS: I received 3 medals in the ANFOSUB 2022 (Andalusian Championship of Underwater Photography). The nudibranch image with stars received the Gold Medal in the Creative category while the fish and the doto nudibranch received Bronze and Silver medals respectively. Remember this is a Federative live contest where edits are not permitted.
2021 AWARDS: The above pictures were awarded with the Bronze medal in the ANFOSUB 2021.
2021 AWARDS: Winner of the Marine Fauna category. The FotoVideoSub trophy is a prestigious award presented to winners of the FotoVideoSub photography and underwater video competition. Since 2020, the competition has featured a custom-designed trophy, crafted with unique textures and colors inspired by the sea. Each trophy is handmade and numbered, making it a special recognition for outstanding contributions to underwater photography and videography. The trophy is composed of bamboo wood as its base, and its body is constructed from three pieces made from materials obtained by recycling plastic recovered from the sea and other natural resins.
2021 AWARDS: Best Diving & Free Diving photographer in the 35 Awards theme contest.
2021 AWARDS: Digital Ocean Photo Art – Winner for second time in a row at United Nations World Oceans Day.
In the famous Disney movie Aladdin, the Cave of Wonders is a hidden cavern filled with all sort of riches and magical artifacts that are guarded by a lion's head. This work is similar, but the cave is guarded by a moray eel and filled with precious species. The capacity of underwater caves to harbor rich communities has granted them an important status as biodiversity reservoirs. This has been recognized by the European Union, which considers marine caves as priority habitats requiring protection. The work is a composite of three images that were taken in the Mediterranean Sea. This image was chosen by DIVER Magazine to be the cover of the August Issue. Click the button to see other publications.
In the famous Disney movie Aladdin, the Cave of Wonders is a hidden cavern filled with all sort of riches and magical artifacts that are guarded by a lion's head. This work is similar, but the cave is guarded by a moray eel and filled with precious species. The capacity of underwater caves to harbor rich communities has granted them an important status as biodiversity reservoirs. This has been recognized by the European Union, which considers marine caves as priority habitats requiring protection. The work is a composite of three images that were taken in the Mediterranean Sea. This image was chosen by DIVER Magazine to be the cover of the August Issue. Click the button to see other publications.
2020 AWARDS: I received medals for the first time in the ANFOSUB 2020 (Andalusian Championship of Underwater Photography). By that time I had only one strobe and no wide-angle lens, therefore, my assistant Alba and I focused only in the macro subjects and we couldn't be happier with the jury's decision, 1 Gold in the Theme category (Crustacean) and two Bronze medals in the macro and creative categories. Find the awarded images bellow:
2020 AWARDS: During COVID lockdown, the Spanish Federation held a National Online Competition where I was lucky enough to reach the second position just behind the World Champion Rafael Fernández.
2020 AWARDS: During COVID lockdown the Ocean Art "Safe Under the Sea" underwater photo competition brought together photographers from 79 countries to celebrate the beauty of our oceans and support health initiatives. With the help of generous sponsors, 25% of the proceeds were donated to the WHO and CDC Foundation, bringing us closer to a cure for Covid-19.
This image is the first of my series 'inside out' & 'upside down' developed during the Covid-19 quarantine. During this hard time, we have experienced fear and anxiety but we have also adapted to the situation and showed our best inner self to the world. We have seen volunteers helping out in hospitals, trainers entertaining a whole block of buildings, singers performing from their balconies and infinite examples of the most humane acts. That is exactly what this image represents: a rupture with your shell and the burst of your best inner self.
Technical details: The original image of the clownfish (Amphiprion sandaracinos) was taken with an Olympus EPL2 + Zuiko 60mm macro lens. That image was processed with the Fractalius filter to create the inner view of the fish. Then both images were overlapped in different layers in photoshop and playing with layer masks and different mask blendings I was able to create the 'holes' in the skin of the fish so you can see through.
2020 AWARDS: United Nations Wolrd Oceans Day - Digital Ocean Photo Art – Winner: Francisco Sedano
2019 AWARDS: Winning the Ocean Art competition with my first entry into an online contest was a transformative moment for me. Inspired by a poster from a symposium in Crete Island during my marine research, this image not only won but also went viral on the internet, influencing others and securing victories in subsequent contests. It marked a breakthrough in my photography career, bringing me international recognition for the first time. Since then, I've consistently been present in the media and have continued to place in various photo contests year after year.
