Another very competitive Mares Underwater Photo Marathon has come to an end. We are proud to say that the 8th Mares Underwater Photo Marathon 2020 gathered a large number of competitors (437 competitors from 44 countries). Thank you all for contributing to such an impressive number. This is a clear indication that we are growing and gathering more and more underwater photography and videography enthusiasts.
Throughout all these years, we have been trying to develop this competition in all aspects (categories, prizes, novelties, rules) and YOU, the competitors, judges and sponsors, have played a key role in making this happen with your kind and much appreciated advice, suggestions and remarks.
This year, the competition was very tough thanks to such a vast number of amazing photos that we received, and we had to make some difficult decisions while judging them. Unfortunately, some of the photos had to be disqualified because they were sent to the wrong category (fish/macro), some were more than 3 years old, some had been manipulated too much through photoshop and some of the photos had been previously awarded in other competitions, which is in direct conflict with the Mares UWPM rules. As this competition grows year after year, all the photos that went into TOP 10 have been additionally checked to make sure that all the Mares UWPM rules were followed. After closer examination, some photos could not be accepted, as they did not comply.
We have a responsibility, not only to our general sponsor Mares, but also to other sponsors and contestants to ensure fair play and well-deserved wins. With this in mind, we kindly ask all participants to help us maintain the integrity of this competition by respecting the rules and other contestants.
We want to thank, once again, all our sponsors, partners, and jury members for all the hard work and effort they put into making Mares UWPM a respectable worldwide competition. We are very happy that we were able to continue with this competition, even in times of a global pandemic, and that together we made it happen – we made this year’s competition the best one yet!
Many thanks to all the participants and congratulations to all the winners of the 8th Mares UWPM 2020. Unfortunately, due to the global pandemic, there will be no award ceremony this year.
Lastly, please accept our sincere apologies for the delay in announcing the results. There was a lot of work that had to be done and we wanted to make sure that it was done properly.
Thank you for all of your support and trust throughout the years!
Direct link to the winning photos: https://bit.ly/36V22tj
Damir Zurub,
Damir
3rd June 2020
