A small water snake and big photography skills. That is what helped Todor Dimitrov from Varna take a unique photograph that earned him first place in the prestigious Our World Underwater 2019 Photography and Videography Competition in Chicago.

“Todor Dimitrov grew up in close contact with the sea, watching the beauties of the Black Sea underwater world. He has an art education degree and works as a graphic designer. In his spare time he practices free diving and underwater photography. By means of his photographs he wants to show the underwater world from a different angle, using an innovative approach and various creative techniques. He has won several awards and photography competitions in recent years,” reads, in brief, the biography of Todor Dimitrov who won first prize at a highly prestigious underwater photography competition this year. Interest in this kind of art has been spreading worldwide, cameras are getting better and cheaper, so thousands of photographers from all over the world took part in this year’s Our World Underwater competition in Chicago, USA.

The photograph from Bulgaria won first prize in the Compact Cameras category for the mastery of the shot, showing the object equally well above and below the surface of the water.

“I am happy that the small water snake that is so widespread along the Bulgarian Black Sea coastline came out winner in competition with the whales and sharks, seals and various kinds of sea turtles we saw in photographs by other competitions,” Todor Dimitrov says.

“My photograph is of a water snake with its head above the water. That was exactly how I wanted to take a shot of the snake to impress the contest judges. No photograph like this has ever been taken in the world. After the competition different photographers from around the world wrote to me to say they had tried to take photographs of a snake like that one but had not been able to. I admit I used sophisticated technology and some resourcefulness. It was a shot I had been after for three years, but my efforts have been rewarded, and the professional recognition is huge. There was a member of the jury who also played an important part – the legend of underwater photography David Doubilet. He works for the National Geographic, and in the 1970s he invented the equipment I used for the “snake” photograph. I have two powerful flash units on either side of my camera. In the water, after the second-third metre the yellows, oranges and reds are lost, and you get a blue-green hue that is not very interesting. This equipment helps take photographs that are uniformly good. Another thing that makes a photograph like this difficult to take are the waves. Competition in this photographic format is enormous. Underwater photographers travel to the most exotic points on the planet to take a photograph of a tiny fish because nobody has taken a shot of it before. Seeing as I was on a zero budget, I took the photograph near Galata cape close to Varna.”

The competition carries over USD 55,000 of prizes that include exotic trips to the world’s most fascinating diving destinations.

“Everyone dreams of their five minutes of fame, I do not feel famous but I do feel very pleased. I am not going to stop here, I have lots of new plans connected with our sea,” says Todor. “I have taken photographs of other things, there are many of my photographs available online. The place I love taking photographs most is the Black Sea coastline. It is so different – to the south the water has a green tint, to the North it is green-blue. It is as if there are two different seas, only the inhabitants are the same. The landscapes, the plants are quite different as well. The southern portion of the Black Sea has really beautiful weeds. When the algae bloom it is a beautiful sight – long formations that make the sea so lovely and picturesque. I have done some underwater fishing, and that was how I found out about the places, the coves, the so-called “underwater meadows” which are so suitable for making magnificent photographs of the underwater world,” Todor Dimitrov explains.

English version: Milena Daynova