Name: Nur Tucker
Picture title: Flaming Sea Horse
Category: People’s Choice
Nationality: I was born in Turkey and have dual citizenship: Turkey and the United Kingdom. I currently live in the United Kingdom.
Occupation: I’m not a full-time photographer; photography is a passion that grew out of my love of diving and nature. For over twenty years, I worked in investment banking on busy trading floors before retiring ten years ago. Since then, I’ve spent much of my time exploring the underwater world with a camera in hand. What started as a hobby has become an essential part of my life, a combination of adventure, creativity, and a deep respect for the underwater world.
Technical information
Camera: Sony A7R3
Lens: 24-70mm f2.8
EXIF: 1/1250 – f5.6 ISO 1000
Accessories: Aquatech water housing and natural light
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD
Nur Tucker | Flaming Sea Horse
Name: Nur Tucker
Picture title: Flaming Sea Horse
Category: People’s Choice
Nationality: I was born in Turkey and have dual citizenship: Turkey and the United Kingdom. I currently live in the United Kingdom.
Occupation: I’m not a full-time photographer; photography is a passion that grew out of my love of diving and nature. For over twenty years, I worked in investment banking on busy trading floors before retiring ten years ago. Since then, I’ve spent much of my time exploring the underwater world with a camera in hand. What started as a hobby has become an essential part of my life, a combination of adventure, creativity, and a deep respect for the underwater world.
Technical information
Camera: Sony A7R3
Lens: 24-70mm f2.8
EXIF: 1/1250 – f5.6 ISO 1000
Accessories: Aquatech water housing and natural light
Nur Tucker says:
This photo shows a spiny seahorse (Hippocampus histrix), one of my favorite species to see while diving. It was taken in the Lembeh Strait, Indonesia, a world-renowned muck diving destination and a hotspot for unusual marine life. Seahorses have always fascinated me with their fragile beauty, upright posture, and mysterious behavior, and I wanted to capture this individual in a way that went beyond a traditional documentary portrait.
Together with my dive guide, Opo K, I experimented with creative lighting. I asked him to shine a narrow red flashlight over the seahorse for a dramatic side glow, while I placed a blue Weefine snoot on the seabed for a contrasting color. Using a shutter speed of a quarter of a second, I combined deliberate camera movement with a flash to freeze certain details. This technique allowed me to combine blur and sharpness, giving the moment a dreamlike, abstract quality. The seahorse sat quietly on the muddy surface, gently swaying with the current – typical behavior for this species. For me, this photo is not just about the animal’s delicate form, but also about capturing the sense of wonder and artistry that underwater photography can evoke.
Nur Tucker
United Kingdom
I am an award-winning underwater and equine photographer based in the UK. After over twenty years working on busy trading floors in investment banking, I retired and dedicated myself to photography – a passion born from my love of diving and nature. My work encompasses the vibrant, often hidden underwater life, to the dramatic presence of wild and semi-wild horses. It has been published internationally in magazines such as Ocean Geographic, Plongez, SCUBA, and Black & White Photography. I am an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society and chair both the British Society of Underwater Photographers and the Sub Aqua Group of the Royal Automobile Club. For me, photography is not just a creative outlet, it’s a way to connect, explore, and tell stories through light and movement.