Davide Lopresti just recently won the Underwater Photographer of the Year award for 2016. His enchanting photograph, Gold, of a yellow seahorse blurred against a blue background in the Gulf of Trieste, Italy took home the grand prize.

Here are his words of how he composed the shot:

“It was captured with a long shutter speed and, by moving the camera, gives the impression of movement in the background. Then, using an underwater flash with a “snoot” attached (a snoot is an accessory that allows you to concentrate your flash’s light onto a very small area), I was able to freezing only the seahorse.

Obviously it is a picture designed with the colors in mind, blue in contrast with the yellow and the effect of movement in opposition to the detail of the subject, with a very simple composition to exalt this dualistic aspect within the picture.

The photo was made in the Gulf of Trieste in Italy, and is part of a wider project to raise awareness for the preservation of our seas. It highlights for people the beauty that is under the water, and helps us understand that it is an important asset that cannot be missed. This is the purpose of my photography.”

Read the full article here.