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Photo: Mirco Zanni
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Photo: Magnus Lundgren
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Photo: Marco Carb
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Photo: Marina Kochetova
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Photo: Anrey Nekrasov
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Photo: Noam Kortler
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Photo: Mark Fuller
A magical world underwater
Several Israelis win in international underwater photography competition held in Eilat. Watch the stunning images here
Over a 100 photographers from all around the world took part in the "Epson Red Sea 2008 World Underwater Images competition", which was held in the southern resort town of Eilat for the fourth time last week.
The big winner of the competition was well-known Israeli photographer Noam Kortler, who won in the category for best five images and received a $10,000 prize and a diving trip to Papua New-Guinea.
Kortler, 32, also represented Israel in the category "Winning and Donating", alongside photographers from 11 different countries, and won the first $5,000 prize, which was donated to a project for the rescue of sea turtles across the globe.
"This is the third time I have won a competition in Eilat, and it is always exciting. I'm glad that my creativity and ability to capture colorful moments in our own local nature were appreciated," Kortler told Ynet.
Other Israeli photographers have also enjoyed success in the contest. Danny Weinberg won for "Best Singular Entry"; Amir Stern shared the first prize in the category "The Jury's Prize"; Ron Gerstein was awarded first prize in the "Quality of the Environment" category' Amotz Tal Hollander won in the category "Behind the Scenes"; and Yahav Ash won in "Sunken Ships".
According to the organizers, the number of foreign participants in the competition has grown dramatically since last year. "The overall sum of the prizes stood at over $80,000, and some of it came from countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. This proves that even when we don't have diplomatic ties with certain countries, the love for underwater photography knows no boundaries."
