Wetpixel is proud to announce Nicholas Samaras as the winner of the 2010 Raja Ampat Entrance Tag Design Contest. Nicholas' breathtaking tag design features a stylized illustration of a manta ray.

Nicholas explains, "The concept of this tag emanated from Indonesian Culture designs. Inspiration came from the geometric and circular designs in body and face traditional Indonesian tattoos. The font is also based in the traditional Indonesian hand, writing-adjusted in 'Latin' characters." He selected the manta ray as a subject because it is "so full of grace and beauty that it could be a 'pattern of behaviour' for visitors in Raja Ampat protected area."

Nicholas' tag design will be attached to the BCDs over 4,000 visitors to Raja Ampat in the year 2010.

Nicholas also won 2nd place with an illustration of two hammerhead sharks. Debi Henshaw won 3rd place with a tag design featuring a squid. Congratulations, Nicholas and Debi!

Debi and Nicholas will each receive two books: Raja Ampat Through the Lens of... and The Dive Guide to Raja Ampat. Nicholas also wins an all-inclusive, 7-day dive trip at one of the following resorts of liveaboards in Raja Ampat, Indonesia (excludes airfare):

You can also see all of the finalists for this year's contest. For more information about Raja Ampat please see www.diverajaampat.org.