Big and Small Faces
聯合國世界海洋日攝影比賽 2024｜人像組｜第二名（銀牌）
United Nations World Oceans Day Photo Competition 2024 │ Portrait │ 2nd Place (Silver Medal)
照片背後的故事
The story behind Big and Small Faces
多重曝光在比賽中受到的嚴格審視
多重曝光（multi-exposure）這個技法，在水下攝影比賽圈一直處於灰色地帶。許多評審光看到「multi-exposure」這個字就會直接淘汰——擔心是 Photoshop 後製合成。
這張作品所有疊圖步驟都是相機內完成（in-camera multi-exposure），不是電腦合成。要在水下完成這件事——精準對齊、控制曝光、處理浮動——本身就是另一個層級的硬技術。
為什麼叫「布蘭妮」？
潛水好友看到這隻䲁魚的第一眼，就因為牠頭上那團翹起來的「髮型」叫牠 Britney——對，就是那個 Britney Spears。從此這個綽號就跟著牠了。
每次回去拍同一隻，都覺得在跟認識的朋友打招呼。這種角色感，是水下攝影比較少出現的——多數時候我們拍的是「一隻 species」，不是「這一隻」。
「Big and Small Faces」的構圖意圖
畫面中同時呈現了 Britney 在不同距離下的兩個尺度——遠處的整體輪廓 vs. 近處放大的臉部細節。這是「big face」和「small face」並存的視覺意圖：同一隻魚，同一個瞬間，兩種觀察距離。
這也呼應我長期的攝影立場——水下攝影不只是「拍到了什麼」，而是「以什麼觀察距離去呈現」。
聯合國世界海洋日攝影比賽 2024 — 銀牌
這張照片獲得 聯合國世界海洋日攝影比賽（United Nations World Oceans Day Photo Competition）2024 人像組第二名（Silver Medal）。聯合國這個賽事與一般攝影比賽不同——它的訴求是「透過攝影傳遞海洋保育訊息」，所以評審除了視覺品質，也很重視作品是否能引發觀眾與海洋的情感連結。
拿銀牌——而且是用多重曝光技法——這在這個賝事歷史上是相當少見的組合。
Multi-exposure: heavily scrutinized in competitions
Multi-exposure has long sat in a gray zone in underwater photo competitions. Many judges will disqualify an entry the moment they see the words — they assume Photoshop compositing.
Every layer in this image was made in-camera (in-camera multi-exposure), not stitched in post. Pulling that off underwater — precise alignment, controlled exposure, dealing with drift — is its own level of technical work.
Why "Britney"?
A diving friend named this blenny "Britney" the first time he saw her — because of the tuft of "hair" sticking up from her head. Yes, like Britney Spears. The nickname stuck.
Coming back to photograph the same individual feels like greeting an acquaintance. That kind of character recognition is rare in underwater work — most of the time we're shooting "a species", not "this one specific animal".
The intent behind "Big and Small Faces"
The frame holds Britney at two different scales simultaneously — a wider silhouette plus an enlarged close-up of the face. The composition deliberately co-presents a "big face" and a "small face": same fish, same moment, two observation distances.
This sits inside my longer-term photographic stance — underwater photography isn't only about "what was captured" but "at what observational distance it's presented".
UN World Oceans Day 2024 — Silver Medal
The image won 2nd Place (Silver Medal) in the Portrait category at the United Nations World Oceans Day Photo Competition 2024. The UN competition differs from standard photography contests — its mandate is "communicating ocean conservation through imagery", so the judging emphasizes whether the work generates an emotional connection between viewer and ocean, alongside visual quality.
Taking Silver with a multi-exposure technique — that's a rare combination in this competition's history.
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