{"id":906503,"date":"2026-09-23T10:58:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T10:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/906503\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T10:58:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T10:58:11","slug":"with-marine-life-you-never-know-what-you-might-see-and-thats-part-of-the-magic-says-underwater-photographer-on-her-mono-award-winning-image","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/906503\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWith marine life, you never know what you might see, and that\u2019s part of the magic,\u201d says underwater photographer on her Mono Award-winning image"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photographing wildlife is unpredictable, but photographing wildlife underwater is a whole other level of unpredictability. First, you need to be a strong diver; second, you need solid camera skills; and third, you need a stroke of luck \u2013 but when it pays off, it can be magical.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s according to Brooke Pyke, an Australian photographer and expedition leader who specializes in underwater photography, and who recently won the \u201cAnimal\u201d category at The Mono Awards 2026.<\/p>\n

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Hosted by Australian Photography and Capture magazines, the annual photography competition celebrates the world’s best black-and-white (monochromatic) imagery, this year attracting over 3,000 entries from Australia, New Zealand, and other nations worldwide.<\/p>\n

Latest Videos FromDigital Camera World<\/p>\n

Speaking to<\/a> the competition organizer about her winning scene, Pyke said: \u201cWith marine life, you never know what you might see, and that\u2019s part of the magic.\u201d The magic happened in Baja California, the peninsula state on Mexico\u2019s northwestern coast.<\/p>\n

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\"Mobula
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Fever – Brooke Pyke (Image credit: Brooke Pyke)<\/p>\n

Brooke Pyke’s gear and settings: Canon EOS<\/a> R5 Mark II | Canon<\/a> EF 8-15mm f\/4L Fisheye USM | Nauticam underwater housing | 1\/320sec | f\/9 | ISO 400<\/p>\n

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Although the region is a hotspot for divers seeking a glimpse of incredible species such as whale sharks, sea lions, and mobula rays, Pyke said that she kept her \u201cexpectations low,\u201d knowing that wildlife photography always \u201crequires patience.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, after \u201cplunging\u201d into the Pacific waters with her Canon EOS R5 Mark II<\/a> in a Nauticam underwater housing<\/a>, luck was on the diver and photographer\u2019s side. \u201cI looked down to see around a hundred [mobula] rays moving slowly across the sand, silhouetted against a glowing white backdrop,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The best camera deals, reviews, product advice, and unmissable photography news, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n

Using a Canon EF 8-15mm f\/4L fisheye<\/a> lens, Pyke was able to capture the entire group of rays along with the surroundings to create the shot, finishing it off dramatically with a black-and-white edit.<\/p>\n

\u201cShooting over white sand was an amazing opportunity, with their shapes contrasting beautifully against the ripples,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

As this year\u2019s Mono Award \u201cAnimal\u201d category winner, Pyke snagged a healthy AU$2,500 (approximately $1,800 \/ \u00a31,300) along with an 8TB Synology NAS storage. Not bad considering she had no idea what she was going to see that day.<\/p>\n

To view all of the 2026 commended frames, as well as past winners, head to The Mono Awards website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Deals On Brooke Pyke’s Gear<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s our pick of the best underwater housings for cameras and phones<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photographing wildlife is unpredictable, but photographing wildlife underwater is a whole other level of unpredictability. First, you need…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":906504,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[76,354,355,49,48,356,75],"class_list":["post-906503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=906503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906503\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/906504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=906503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=906503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=906503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}