COMPETITIONS

Hawaii Spearfishing Experience

Nov 5-9,2024

This is a 5-day experience of Hawaii from the lens of a spearfisher. Dive deeper into local knowledge, invasive species, how to pick which fish you hunt, how to cook the fish, and more in this one-of-a-kind immersive experience trip.

$1100 per person

Learn More + Register

Freediving Photography Competition

Registration Form

First name

Last name

Phone

Multi-line address

Country/Region

Address

Address - line 2

City

Zip / Postal code

What is your favorite setup for underwater footage?

Example: We use GoPro and DJI action cameras most of the time. It doesn’t need to be a complicated setup. This is just to get an idea of what others are using.

T-shirt size

T-shirts are included in the registration. They will be handed out at the awards party, or you can select to have yours shipped.

Do you want your T-Shirt shipped to you?

Yes, please ship it to the address provided on this form!

No, I will pick it up at the awards party!

If you need your shirt shipped to you, you will be asked to cover the shipping cost. Cost might vary based on shipping from San Diego, CA.

Registration Fee

Focus Freedive Member$35

Non-member$50

What:

Freediving ONLY photography competition

When:

May 1 - October 31, 2026

Where:

Anywhere

How:

See the information below then register with the form

Parameters:

Location: Anywhere

Timeframe: May 1 - October 31, 2026

Method: Freediving only

Theme: The Natives. We want to see pictures of the native species who live at your home dive spots with you.

Qualification: Entrant must be registered prior to first time stamp on photo. Photo must be submitted through provided channels and time stamp must fall within outlined parameters.

Content: Animals Only. Humans should not be the focus, but acceptable if present. If a person is in the photo it must be all ages appropriate. No nudity/skimpy bathing suits, obscene/gang gestures, blood/gore. Obscenity extends to poor or illegal treatment of animals. Any picture portraying any unsafe behavior will not be admitted.

Submissions: 3 submissions per entrant month. Last submission of the month accepted 7 days after the month ends. (For example: Last submission for June will be accepted 11:59pm on July 7.)

Winner will be determined by total accumulated points for top 3 submissions throughout competition.

Prizes

All participants will receive a competition t-shirt

1st Place: Winning photo is used to make the perennial trophy

Name on the perennial trophy

Individual Trophy to take home

GoPro/DJI action camera

2nd place: Individual Trophy

$100 Gift Certificate to Spear America San Diego (redeemable online)

3rd Place:

Individual Trophy

$50 Gift Certificate to Spear America San Diego (redeemable online)

Registration

Anyone may enter

Focus freedive members pay $35 for registration. Non-members $50.

Registration will open April 1, 2026 and close April 24, 2026.

Submissions can be sent in from. May 1, 2026 through October 31, 2026.

Judges

Andrew Ferris - Professional Photographer and Videographer - judging technicality and editing

Robin Canfield - Digital Designer and Webmaster - judging creativity and artistry

Brandon Zeek - Focus Freedive founder - judging dive difficulty and animal interaction

Scoring

Technical & Editing Difficulty - up to 100 pts.
This category tells us how well you know your way around your equipment, and how refined your editing technique is.
Creativity & Artistic Elements - up to 100 pts.
Anyone can take an underwater picture. But can you get that perfect shot where the backdrop compliments the main character? This category is focusing on things like color, angles of the shot, and how well it captures the essence of the moment.
Diving & Interaction Difficulty - up to 100 pts.
Diving with a camera isn’t always easy. Approaching the subject in a way that gets them to “smile for the camera” rather than swim away is an art in itself. Doing that on a breath hold is just another element of difficulty.

BONUS POINTS:

10 pts for each individual species in the shot (vertebrate/invertebrate), per photo
250 pts to your final score if you are Fii Freediving Photography certified

Disqualification

Photos will be approved for submission by the competition judges. Here are rules that will disqualify your submission:

No Nudity/skimpy clothing - In case there are any people in the photo, if anyone in the photo is underdressed it will be grounds for disqualification from submission. These photos will be publicly displayed and we want family-friendly content.
No Obscene/gang gestures - Same thing as the previous rule, we want family-friendly photos.
No Blood/gore - If you spearfish we love good fish pics. They should be easy on the eyes for the public. Death is a really hard thing to see for some people, so we want the photos to reflect the respect given to the life taken.
Safety and Respect - no images should portray mistreatment of animals or unsafe diving practices.