HIGHLY COMMENDED CATEGORY OTHER ANIMALS
Litauszki Tibor | Between the stars

Name: Litauszki Tibor
Picture title: Between the stars
Category: Other animals 
Nationality: I am Hungarian, currently working in Germany.
Occupation: Nature photography is my hobby. I am a soft drink technician for a German company.

Technical information
Camera: Canon EOS R 5
Lens: Laowa 15mm f/4 wide macro
EXIF: 1/125 sec, 15mm, f/16, ISO 1250

Litauszki Tibor​ says:

In Germany, where I live, there are many clean and slow-flowing streams nearby, which provide excellent habitat for Alpine newts. For years, I have been observing their lives closely, and this year was no exception. As soon as the frogs lay their eggs, a few days later, at dusk, the newts appear and feast on them throughout the night. Sometimes multiple newts compete for the same prey. I attempted to capture this moment underwater this year. To do this, I placed my camera in an underwater housing, secured it with weights, and positioned it beneath the frog eggs. At first, I was a bit nervous because I wasn’t sure if the underwater housing (Ewa Marine) was completely waterproof. But I thought that if no bubbles appeared, my camera would remain dry. I manually set the focus on the lens beforehand and relied on luck to ensure everything was in the right place. I waited nearby for it to get dark, and when the first newt appeared, I illuminated it with an LED lamp while exposing the shot. I initiated the camera using a homemade wired remote release. I spent four evenings with them this year, trying to capture the best possible shots. Unfortunately, there weren’t more days available because all the frog eggs were consumed, resulting in only 1-2 sharp images.