COMPETITION 2022
The third edition of MARE will follow the classic format of a competition, with digital underwater photography as its main discipline. Photography is an ideal vehicle to show the hidden beauty of the sea, with its vast palette of colours and light. It also allows us to document species and habitats, providing us with essential information about their state of conservation.
Summary
2022 MARE Competition - Open Call: 15 May to 15 September
Each participant can submit up to 20 digital photographs related to the Balearic Sea and the Mediterranean that showcase its richness and beauty, as well as those showing our relationship with it, whether they report on negative or positive actions.
In all cases, photographs must have been taken within the Balearic Sea or the Mediterranean in the last 10 years.
For the Adult participants (> 18 years old), a distinction is made between Amateur (original JPG essential) and Expert (RAW essential). Each participant may submit up to 15 photographs distributed into 5 categories:
- MARE Animalia
- MARE Plantae
- MARE Sapiens
- MARE Denounces
- MARE Nostrum
For the Young participants, a distinction will be made between children (< 14 years) and young adult (14-17 years).
Registration is free for young people, members of the Associació de Fotografia de Natura de les Illes Balears (AFONIB), the Federación Balear de Actividades Subacuáticas (FBDAS) and associated diving centres. For the rest of participants, the registration fee is 10 euros.
All entries must be accompanied by a clear conservation message.
The Jury will select the best projects and award the prizes.
A total of € 10,000 will be distributed into 23 prizes - cash prizes for the Adult participants and underwater equipment for the Young participants.
The best projects submitted will be included in the travelling exhibition that will tour the Balearic Islands in 2023.
Do you have any questions or suggestions? Write to us!
Diving centers associated with MARE
If you are an associate in any of the following centers participate for free in the Audiovisual Contest for the Conservation of the Balearic Sea MARE.
Mallorca
- Tramuntana diving (Puerto Pollença)
- Mar Balear Dive Center (Port Adriano)
- Skualo Porto Cristo (Porto Cristo)
- Albatros Diving (Cala Bona)
Menorca
- Diving Menorca (Playas de Fornells)
- Binibeca Diving (Cala Torrent)
Eivissa
- Scuba Ibiza (Puerto de Ibiza)
Formentera
- Vellmarí Formentera (La Savina)
Jury
Jordi Chias
Born in Barcelona, Jordi’s greatest passion is the sea. Since 1998, he has worked as a freelance photographer specialising in underwater subjects, capturing both wildlife and human activity. For the last four years, he has been part of the film crew for Laurent Ballesta's Gombessa Expeditions. Jordi’s work has been published in many different media (books, magazines, websites, etc.) and some of his pictures have received special commendations in various competitions, among them the 10 times BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year award winner.
Fiona Tomas
Fiona is a researcher at IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), where she investigates the processes and mechanisms that regulate the structure and functioning of coastal benthic systems, with special emphasis on human impacts, conservation, and restoration. She has worked extensively in the Mediterranean and maintains an extensive collaborative network with researchers around the world (through her research in Australia, Mexico, and the USA). They jointly address big questions about how biodiversity, climate change, and natural variability influence the structure and functioning of marine ecosystems globally.
Francis de Andrés
Francis is a self-taught photographer who, after 30 years in the financial world, decided to turn his life around to focus on his family and nature photography. He is a founding member of IRCC Photo and collaborates with various organisations dedicated to nature conservation, as well as with different national and international media. He is a professional juror in photography contests and winner of multiple international nature photography awards such as Wildlife Photographer of the Year, GDT, Glanzlichter, and Montphoto.
Ai Futaki
Marine photographer, freediver, and sea ambassador of the Ministry of Environment in Japan, Ai highlights the meaning and expression of the human-water connection. Her stories, films, and images appear in television programmes, commercials, and exhibitions around the world. She has spoken at TEDxTokyo, appeared on TV programmes for the NHK series Precious Blue, and collaborated with photographers and designers such as Issey Miyake and Isabel Muñoz. As a photographer, Ai has had two solo exhibitions in Madrid and Tokyo: Naka-Ima (Here and Now) and Coexistence.
ETHICAL CODE
The audiovisual competition for the conservation of the Balearic Sea is subject to the code of ethics that regulates conservation photography, which all participants must respect and comply with. The spirit of this code of ethics focuses, above all, on these principles:
- The safety of the subject and the preservation of its environment is always more important than obtaining the photograph.
- The biology and behaviour of the species to be photographed must be documented beforehand to prevent inappropriate actions.
- The necessary permits must be requested from the relevant authorities to photograph species that require this by law or are in protected areas.
- Animals must be photographed in their natural environment, with no alteration to their behaviour.
- The location of rare or endangered species should not be disclosed, except to accredited researchers and administrations responsible for their conservation.
Read our complete code of ethics here:
Association of Nature Photographers of the Balearic Islands, AFONIB