About me
I have been taking photos for over forty years and I have been shooting underwater since 2006. As for the photographic equipment, in the past I used Praktika and Panasonic cameras. Lately, I have been using cameras and lenses made by Canon and Sony. For underwater photography I use Sea & Sea equipment (from D.E.A.W.S. Centrum s.r.o.). When photographing the “above water” world, I mostly focus on landscape photography, I like to photograph trips “not only” for diving and I like to work on some interesting topics as well. Underwater photography definitely is special. I try to convey views from the underwater world of the oceans, seas and lakes both from the warm climatic zone and as well as from the cold northern areas. In recent years, cenotes and caves on the Yucatan Peninsula have become my matter of the heart. I try to capture the mysterious beauty of what can be seen in the caves while diving. I am involved in some photographic communities in whose galleries I publish some of my photos. It is the Czech Gallery Megapixel, a global gallery 1x and the world-wide ViewBug community.
My photographic achievements:
- Honorable Mentions in the MONOCHROME PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2024, photos Cave scenery and Under Halocline
- 2nd place – Silver in the Tokyo International Foto Awards 2024 (TIFA 2024), photo Like In The Theatre, category Nature/Underwater
- 3rd place – Bronze in the Tokyo International Foto Awards 2024 (TIFA 2024), photo Diving In Caves, category Events/Sport
- Honorable Mentions in the Tokyo International Foto Awards 2024 (TIFA 2024), photo Winter landscape at sunset and photo Underwater Cave Scenery
- 2nd place Winner in the Chromatic Awards 2024, photo Scenery of flooded cave, category Nature(Amateur)
- Honorable Mentions in the Chromatic Awards 2024, photo Beauty of flooded caves, category Nature(Amateur) and photo Like in the theatre , category Sports(Amateur)
- 3rd place – Bronze winner in the Budapest International Foto Awards 2024 (BIFA 2024), photo Diving In Caves, category Events/Sport
- Honorable Mention in the Budapest International Foto Awards 2024 (BIFA 2024), photo Diver In Flooded Cave
- 2nd place in the ND Awards 2024, series of 4 photos Mayan Underworld, non-professional category Nature:Seascapes/Waterscapes
- Honorable Mention in the ND Awards 2024, photo Hells Bells, non-professional category Nature:Other category
- Honorable Mentions in the IMACRES Awards 2024, photos Electricity for lighthouse a Landscape of flooded caves in Landscape category and photo Jellyfish hair in Wildlife and Animals category
- 1st place in the International Photography Awards 2024 (IPA 2024), photo Diving under halocline, category Special/Other
- 2nd place in the International Photography Awards 2024 (IPA 2024), phot Blue eye, category Nature/Other
- Honorable Mention in the International Photography Awards 2024 (IPA 2024), photo Penetration into flooded caves, category Sports-Extreme sports
- 2nd place – Silver in the Prix de la Photographie de Paris 2024 (PX3 2024), photo Under Ice, category Nature/Underwater
- Honorable Mentions in the Prix de la Photographie de Paris 2024 (PX3 2024), photo Lampar in Prague 1980, category Special/Night Photography a
photo Diving in caves, category Press/Sports - 3rd Place Winner in the Annual Photography Awards 2023, photo Landscape of flooded caves, category Nature: Natural Landscapes
- Honorable Mentions in the Annual Photography Awards 2023, photo Lucernaria, category Nature: Wildlife & Animals and photo Under the ice on the Arctic Circle, category Special: Open Category
- Honorable Mentions in the MONOCHROME PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2023, photo Scenery of flooded cave, category Landscapes/Amateur and photos Jellyfish hair and Beauty of flooded caves, category Nature/Amateur
- Honorable Mention in the Tokio International Foto Awards 2023 (TIFA 2023), photo Diver In Front of The Curtain, category Nature/Underwater
- 3rd place – Bronze winner in the Budapest International Foto Awards 2023 (BIFA 2023), photo Under Water In A Cave, category Nature/Underwater
- 3rd place – Bronze winner v soutěži Budapest International Foto Awards 2023 (BIFA 2023), photo Sheep In The Last Sunlight, category Nature/Landscapes
- ND Nature Discovery Of The Year 2023, and 1st place – Gold in the ND Awards 2023, photo Under the ice on the Arctic Circle, category Nature: Seascapes/Waterscapes Non-Professional
- Honorable Mentions in the ND Awards 2023, photos On a sandstone rock, Small satellite and Water scenery of flooded cave
- 3rd place in the IMACRES Awards 2023, photo Lost in deep, category Wildlife and Animals
- Honorable Mentions in the IMACRES Awards 2023, photos Jellyfish hair, Electricity for lighthouse and Landscape of flooded caves
- Honorable Mention in the International Photography Awards 2023 (IPA 2023), photo Beauty of caves, category Nature/Other Non-Professional
- 3rd place – Bronze Winner in the international photography contest of analogue photos „Analog Sparks 2023“ in the „Human/Other“ category with the „Lampar In Prague 1980“ photo
- Honorable Mentions in the international photo competition „Prix de la Photographie de Paris (PX3 2023)“ in the „Nature/Underwater“ Non-Professional category with the picture „Small satellite“ and in the category “Press/Sports” with the photo „Cave diving“.
- Honorable Mentions in the international black & white photography contest “Monovisions Photography Awards 2023“ with the series of four photos”Art of nature” in the „Nature and Wildlife” category, and with the photo “Wreck” in the category “Travel”.
- Honorable Mention in the international photography contest “Annual Photography Awards 2022“ in the “Nature: Natural Landscapes“ category with the series of six pictures „Landscape of flooded caves“
- Honorable Mentions in the international photography contest „2022 Monochrome Awards“ in the „Landscapes, Amateur“ category with the photos “Landscape of flooded caves” and “Landscape of stalactites” and in the „Nature, Amateur“ category with the photos “Flooded cave scenery” and „Stalactite kingdom“ and in the „Wildlife, Amateur“ category with the photo “Emerging out of the Sand“
- 3rd place in the international photography contest „Chromatic Awards 2022“ in the „Sports (Amateur)“ category with the „Cave diving“ photo
- Honorable Mentions in the international photography contest „Chromatic Awards 2022“ in the „Landscapes (Amateur)“ category with the photos “S-road” and “On a sandstone rock” and in the „Nature (Amateur)“ category with the photos “Jewels” and „Hell’s Bells“ and in the „Wildlife and Animals (Amateur)“ category with the photo “Sea angel portrait“
- 1st place – Gold in the international competition „Budapest International Foto Awards – BIFA 2022“ in the category „People/Life Style“ with the „In The Hot Spring“ photo
- 3rd place – bronze star award in the international photography contest „ND Awards 2022“ in the „Nature: Seascapes/Waterscapes“ Non-Professional category with the „Under ice“ photo
- 3rd place – bronze star award in the international photography contest „ND Awards 2022“ in the „Nature: Seascapes/Waterscapes“ Non-Professional category with the „Sunset time“ photo
- Honorable Mention in the international photography contest „ND Awards 2022“ in the „Nature: Landscapes“ Non-Professional category with the series of 3 pictures „Icelandic roads“ and Honorable Mention with the „Jewels“ photo
- 3rd place in the European photography competition “IMACRES Awards 2022” in the category “Wildlife and Animals” with the photo “Small satellite” and Honorable Mentions for four other photos in the categories “Wildlife and Animals” and “Landscape”
- 2nd place, Silver in the international photo competition „Prix de la Photographie de Paris (PX3 2022)“ in the „Press/Sports“ Non-Professional category with the picture „Ice diving“
- 3rd place, Bronze in the international photo competition „Prix de la Photographie de Paris (PX3 2022)“ in the „Nature/Underwater“ Non-Professional category with the series of five pictures „Natural beauty of flooded caves“
- Honorable Mention in the international photo competition „Prix de la Photographie de Paris (PX3 2022)“ in the „Nature/Other“ Non-Professional category with the picture „Lucernaria“
- Honorable Mentions in the „Nature and Wildlife” category in the international black & white photography contest “MonoVisions Photography Awards 2022” with the photos “Cave scenery“, “Stalactite kingdom” and “Stalactite grid“.
- Grand Prize: Chromatic Discovery of the Year 2021 and 1st Place in the „Nature, Amateur” category in the international color photography contest “Chromatic Awards 2021” with the photo “Under the White Sea ice“
- 3rd place in the „Sports, Amateur” category in the international color photography contest “Chromatic Awards 2021” with the photo “Cave diving“
- Honorable Mention in the „Landscapes, Amateur” category in the international color photography contest “Chromatic Awards 2021” with the photo “Blue cave eye“
- Honorable Mention in the „Sports, Amateur” category in the international color photography contest “Chromatic Awards 2021” with the photo “Cave diver silhouette“
- Honorable Mentions in the „Nature, Amateur” category in the international color photography contest “Chromatic Awards 2021” with the photos “Stalactites” and “Magic Temple“
- Honorable Mention in the international black & white photography contest “Monochrome Awards 2021” in the “Street, Amateur” category with the photo „Lampar in Prague 1980“
- Honorable Mentions in the international black & white photography contest “Monochrome Awards 2021” in the “Nature, Amateur” category with the photos „Deep Sunny Cave” and „Cave eye“
- Placing in the final among the top six photos in the “Masterpiece by SanDisk Professional” category in the world’s greatest adventure and action sports contest “Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2021” with the photo “Blue cave eye“. More than 41,000 photos were submitted to the competition.
- 2nd place – silver star award in the international photography contest „ND Awards 2021“ in the „Nature: Underwater“ professional category with the series of 5 pictures „Mystery of flooded caves“
- Honorable Mention in the “Wildlife” category in the worldwide competition “Neil Dankoff Photography Competition 2021, 500px Fall Edition” with the photo „Lucernaria Quadricornis”
- 1st place in the international competition „MonoVisions Photography Awards 2021“ in the category „Nature and Wildlife“ with the series of 8 photographs „Mystery of flooded caves“
- Second in Category „Documentary & Journalist Photography“ with a series of 4 photographs „Diving in Flooded Caves“ in the competition „Ward Museum Photo Festival 2021“
- Second position – “Runners-Up” position in the “Landscape” category in the worldwide competition “Neil Dankoff Photography Competition 500px Edition 2021” with the photo “Blue Cave Eye”
- TOP 10 award in the “Landscape” category in the “Photo Is Light 2020” World Photography Contest with the image “Blue Eye”, Interview on PIL
- 2nd place in the world wide competition “Ocean Art Safe Under The Sea 2020” in category “Underwater Art” with the “Under the Ice of the White Sea” photo
- 2nd place in the world wide competition “Ocean Art Safe Under The Sea 2020” in category “Wide Angle” with the “Flooded Magic Castle” photo
- 1st place (Gold) in the world wide competition “DEEP Indonesia 2020” in category “Divers” with the “Diver in the Magic Temple” photo
- 2nd place (Silver) in the world wide competition “DPG/Wetpixel Masters Underwater Imaging Competition 2020” in category “Wide Angle Traditional” with the “Dragon’s teeth” photo
- 4th place in one of the world’s most prestigious “Ocean Art 2019” contests with the “Lucernaria Quadricornis” photo in the “Macro” category
- Photography “Diving in the Flooded Cave La Concha-upstream” among twenty semi-finalists in the category “Creative by Skylum” in the prestigious competition “Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2019”, which was entered almost 60 thousand photographs
- Photography “In the flooded cave Vaca Ha – upstream” was rated the best photo of 2019 in the ViewBug community and was awarded the title “Grand Jury Winner“.
Diving, traveling and, additionally to it, photographing requires quite a lot of time. I would like to express my thanks for their kind cooperation first of all to my wife Lidka, who is a my buddy and who patiently undergoes the eternal “waiting for the photographer”; big thanks belongs to my sons: director of photography Martin Polach, who is my great photographic consultant and to my son Petr Polach, who is my second buddy. I would like to say “thank you” also to Mr. David Dusek for his key cooperation during photographing in the caves of Yucatan.
Photographic trips (“not only”) for diving are organized by myself, my wife and my son, depending on our possibilities. We sometimes use the services of other organizations and dive centers, among which I would like to mention SPELEO ZONE MEXICO, D.E.A.W.S. Centrum s.r.o.(CZ), BARAKUDA DIVING s.r.o. (CZ), Kapr Divers, s.r.o. (CZ), TOP DIVE s.r.o. (CZ), UWH s.r.o. (CZ), DIVE.IS (Iceland), Aggressor Adventures (USA) and Ballinskelligs Boats (Ireland). I am looking forward to any comments you may have regarding my web site.
Petr Polách, Šumperk