Herbert Futterknecht from Gaaden, Lower Austria, achieved remarkable success at the CEWE Photo Award, placing among the top 30 photographers out of 656,738 submissions from around the world. His stunning underwater photograph of a great hammerhead shark captured the moment the predator caught a fish with its mouth wide open.

The CEWE Photo Award stands as the world's largest photography competition, featuring entries from 153 countries across ten categories plus a Young Talent Award. The prestigious contest showcases how photography connects people globally through compelling visual storytelling. A six-member expert jury, including renowned Austrian photographer Lois Lammerhuber, selected category winners, the overall champion, and the Young Talent Award recipient from the top 1,000 submissions.

Hasan Baglar from Cyprus claimed the overall victory with a fascinating macro photograph of praying mantises, which also won him the "Close-Up Macro Photography" category. Austria demonstrated strong representation in this year's competition, with submissions increasing by 25,859 entries compared to 2023, reaching a total of 54,395 submissions. This represents an impressive growth of over 90 percent, making it no surprise that an Austrian photographer ranked among this year's top 30 finalists.

Futterknecht's award-winning underwater snapshot was captured in 2015 at Bimini in the Bahamas, showing a great hammerhead shark at the precise moment it caught a fish. "I pressed the shutter just as the great hammerhead shark grabbed a fish and opened its mouth wide. I was simply in the right place at the right time," Futterknecht explained about his winning photograph.

The Lower Austria native discovered diving in 2003 through his wife Gabi and simultaneously began underwater photography. Futterknecht developed a particular fascination with sharks, serving on the board of Sharkproject-Austria from 2010 to 2015 before assuming the regional chairmanship in 2016. His expertise in marine conservation led to his involvement in a 2021 "Universum Special" television program focused on species protection.

Together with his wife, Futterknecht leads the international "Great White Mystery" project near Guadalupe Island off Mexico, dedicated to preserving the great white shark population. Drawing from his extensive experience with these apex predators, he offers valuable safety advice for potential shark encounters: "Stay calm, maintain direct eye contact, and remain upright in the water. Quick movements could be interpreted by the shark as escape behavior, and escape behavior equals prey behavior – that's when sharks attack."