Cayman Islands 'Diving' Photography Winners Selected

You can stop holding your breath, because the winners of the highly-prestigious "Caymanian Compass Calendar Photo Competition" have been announced. Winners secured a place in the Cayman Free Press 2012 calendar by submitting photos that were themed for 'Diving ... above, on and underwater.' The top winner, journalism student Joseph Tepper of Chicago, placed in the Cayman diving photo competition by snapping a shot of a stingray. The judges were won over because they believed his photograph perfectly captured and exuded the vibe of Cayman Islands diving.

"I took this photo at the world-famous Stingray City sandbar. I have taken hundreds, if not thousands, of photos at this location, but this was the first time I had the sandbar to myself. In order to be so secluded at this tourist hotspot, I went out with a friend at 4:30 in the morning to be prepared to shoot the sunrise, clouds, and stingrays," Tepper said.

The young man stated that he has been visiting the islands three or four times a year since the age of 13. "The theme of the contest was something along the lines of 'above, on, and underwater', so I thought a split shot of stingrays and a beautiful Caymanian sunrise would be a great way to showcase this amazing place," he said.

One of the judges, Cathy Church, noted that the numerous fantastic shots made judging a difficult affair. "The competition was terrific. The winners were very good pictures, I enjoyed them all. The hard part is trying to figure out whether they followed the competition rules as far as the sizing and that goes.," remarked Church. "Secondly was to make sure that it was colorful enough and bright enough that it would intrigue people looking at it for a month on their walls. And that's what we would ask each other 'Is this something you would like to look at for a month on your wall?'"

In the end, she and the other judges were able to sort through the worthy submissions and select the best of them all. All of the winners who were selected did a wonderful job of exemplifying what makes Cayman diving as special as it is.