Every Dive Counts

Underwater Photo Contest
Submit your photographs of marine animals and contribute to marine conservation research.

By joining the GARMIN x LAMAVE Project on iNaturalist you can contribute valuable data on marine animal encounters across Asia.

To encourage submissions, Garmin will gather a panel of judges comprising professional UW photographers, marine conservation scientists and professional divers to select outstanding submissions to win big prizes.

	BEST OF DESCENT MISSION	BEST OF HONG KONG	BEST OF LAMAVE MISSION
Tier 1 filter criteria	Species*, Date, GPS Location essential to qualify
Tier 2 25%	● Time, Depth, Water Temperature 15% ● Animal Behaviour, Sex, Group Size ( individual, 2 + etc ) 10%	Based on the amount of information. The more information you can provide (if you have), the better it will be for research and conservation efforts, and the greater the impact.
Tier 3 75%	● Adherence/Appropriateness to Theme. ● Uniqueness of Concept. ● Creativity. ● Innovative Means of Delivering Message ● Visual Design ● Overall Artistic Impression ● Composition ● Color, Lighting, Exposure and Focus ● Audience Appeal	Based on amount of information The more information people can provide ( if they have it ) the better it will be for research and conservation efforts, so the greater the impact.
Location of photo taken	ALL	REGION	ALL
Judge by	ALL JUDGES	ALL JUDGES	LAMAVE
PRIZE	All the winning entries win MK2i x 1 + T1 x 1
* If you do not know the species, the AI on iNaturalist will suggest a species for you or you can leave this blank and the iNaturalist community will identify it for you

BEST OF DESCENT MISSION

BEST OF HONG KONG

BEST OF LAMAVE MISSION

Tier 1 filter criteria

Species*, Date, GPS Location essential to qualify

Tier 2 25%

● Time, Depth, Water Temperature 15%
● Animal Behaviour, Sex, Group Size ( individual, 2 + etc ) 10%

Based on the amount of information. The more information you can provide (if you have), the better it will be for research and conservation efforts, and the greater the impact.

Tier 3 75%

● Adherence/Appropriateness to Theme.
● Uniqueness of Concept.
● Creativity.
● Innovative Means of Delivering Message
● Visual Design

● Overall Artistic Impression
● Composition
● Color, Lighting, Exposure and Focus
● Audience Appeal

Based on amount of information The more information people can provide ( if they have it ) the better it will be for research and conservation efforts, so the greater the impact.

Location of photo taken

ALL

REGION

ALL

Judge by

ALL JUDGES

LAMAVE

PRIZE

All the winning entries win MK2i x 1 + T1 x 1

* If you do not know the species, the AI on iNaturalist will suggest a species for you or you can leave this blank and the iNaturalist community will identify it for you

Judge Profile

- Singapore/Malaysia -

Kohei Ueno

Kohei is an international award winning photographer from Japan, specialising in freediving and underwater photography. He is also an avid scuba diver and a freediving instructor based in Singapore. His underwater photography work has won some of the most prestigious awards including IPA, Sony World Photography Awards, Redbull Illume, and TIFA.

- Philippines -

Martin Zapanta

The President of AIDA Philippines and founder of the Philippine Freediving Team, Martin is the top freediver in the Philippines and a 15x national record holder.

- Taiwan -

Marco Chang

An internationally renowned photographer of Taiwan, Marco has over 10 years of experience as an underwater photographer. His work has won more than 40 international prizes. One of his masterpiece 'Angel of Night' is awarded as Silver in PX3.

- Philippines -

Ariana Agustines

Vice President of Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines, Whale Shark Project Leader, National Geographic Explorer.

- Korea -

Kim Sung Soo

Kim Sung Soo, freediving instructor and underwater photographer, has more than 10 years of experience. He is also famous as a freediver in Korea, setting a Korean record in Red C Cup in Egypt in 2016.

- Thailand -

Shin Arunrugstichai

A Thai conservation photographer, specialising in marine conservation issues. Currently, Shin is a freelance photographer for National Geographic Magazine (Thai edition), starting with his work on the plight of sharks in Thai waters in 2016.

- Thailand -

Nat Sumanatemeya

Nat is one of the first professional underwater photographers in Thailand, having worked as a photographer and writer for Thailand Outdoor and other local and international magazines since 1974. Now in addition to his photography work, Nat shoots undersea documentary movies and records aerial footage for several documentary teams.

Competition Rules

Eligibility : The contest is open only to individuals, eighteen(18) years or older at time of entry. And must be resident of Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Hong Kong.

The competition is free to enter.

Eligible photos are those that have not been published or accepted for publication and must have been taken by the person submitting the entry. The Photographer must be the sole owner and author of each entry.

Photo contest staffs and judges are not allowed to enter the contest.

Minimal digital editing of photographs is acceptable (ie. minor brightness, contrast, or cropping). No creative compositing of imagery will be accepted; as in adding or removing subjects within an image. Any heavily filtered or manipulated photograph will be rejected at judges’ discretion.

Photographers retain all copyrights to their images. Garmin Corporation and all titles under its name retain the right to publish the contest entries in any format to congratulate or to feature the winners and their respective images, and to promote future events and will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such use in any media now or hereafter known, without restriction, including commercially using it to the fullest extent possible.

By entering the competition, you agree and acknowledge that The Decent Mission“ #EveryDiveCounts project are permitted to receive your registration data. All personal information will be used by the The Decent Mission“ #EveryDiveCounts project in accordance with its privacy policy.

Entries must be submitted before August 31, 2021, at 23:59 GMT+8. Entries will be judged between September 1, 2021, and September 19, 2021. The winner of each category will be announced on “The Decent Mission” campaign site. Photos will be judged anonymously. The decision of the Judges, Garmin and LAMAVE is final and no negotiation will be considered. BEST OF [REGIONAL NAME] will be awarded to the best photo from each participating region, e.g. BEST OF THAILAND will be awarded to the best photos taken in Thailand. Each region will have one(1) best winner. The location of each photo taken is based on the information from the GPS location data submitted.