The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest has once again showcased the world’s finest underwater photography! Now in its 13th edition, the competition received thousands of submissions from over 90 countries, featuring mesmerizing macro shots of marine birth and breathtaking wide-angle reefscapes and cenotes.
With 14 categories, including stunning portraits, dramatic black-and-white imagery, and unrestricted digital underwater art, the contest not only celebrates creativity but also highlights the importance of ocean conservation. Thanks to generous sponsors, over $60,000 in prizes were awarded, making this incredible event possible.
Scroll down to explore the award-winning images and discover some fascinating facts.
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#1 1st Place Portrait: Exceptional Shipping By Stefano Cerbai
I was on my honeymoon in Australia, and among the many incredible places we visited was Southern Australia, where I had the chance to dive and search for the elusive sea dragon - an animal I had dreamed of seeing for years. I was incredibly lucky not only to find and observe one but also to capture a photograph of it carrying its eggs, which it was protecting on its back near its tail. This unforgettable experience was truly a dream come true.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#2 1st Place Macro: Juvenile Batfish By Adam Martin
This juvenile batfish was found at 85' depth in Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia. A snoot was used to try and isolate the flash to the subject, without lighting up too much of the background. The lighting highlights the texture and structure of the fish's body, emphasizing its graceful lines and vivid coloration.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#3 2nd Place Cold Water: Plunge By Kat Zhou
I took this photo during a trip to dive with Northern Gannets in Shetland. Gannets can hit the water at speeds of up to 60mph, making the experience both exciting and chaotic. The gannets were diving from all directions, and it was hard to choose where to aim my camera! I tried to photograph any bird that zoomed by, and I liked how this photo showed the motion of a gannet slowing down its dive.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#4 3rd Place Wide Angle: Where Is Waldo By Todd Aki
It is nice to have a wife that puts up with being my model. Modeling is rarely fun. Trying to stay in a certain position in current, watching your breathing, following hand directions when you can't look at the camera is hard work. Luckily, this shot was relatively easy on my wife. She just had to be very calm, which she always is underwater.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#5 Honorable Mention Marine Life Behavior: Piggyback By Ines Goovaerts
This was an incredibly special encounter, as it was the first time in my life that I had the privilege of photographing a dugong. While free-diving in the Red Sea near Marsa Alam, Egypt, this serene individual appeared, gliding effortlessly through the water. He spent his time grazing on seagrass, chasing green sea turtles out of his territory, and rising to the surface for air. Then, unexpectedly, he laid himself sideways on the seafloor and began rolling around, much like a puppy scratching an itch. Despite his eternal smile suggesting otherwise, this male dugong seemed visibly annoyed by the dozen remoras hitching a free ride on him. Being listed as 'vulnerable' on the IUCN Red List, sightings of dugongs are incredibly rare. Observing and capturing this natural behavior felt like a profound privilege, especially knowing that their remaining isolated population along the shores of the Red Sea is estimated to be just 2,000 individuals. Encounters like this are a powerful reminder of the wonders that still thrive in our oceans. They underscore how precious these fleeting moments are and how vital it is to protect their habitats to safeguard their future.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#6 Honorable Mention Marine Life Behavior: Egg-Cellent Guardian By Shuo-Wei Chang
This image was taken at a popular local dive site in Washington, USA. A giant Pacific octopus (GPO) mother had taken residence in one of the newly constructed artificial reefs and laid her eggs shortly after. I was fortunate to document her incubation. To capture these photos without disturbing her, I used my EMWL wet lens, which allowed me to fit the lens into her den while maintaining a respectful distance. This enabled me to photograph her entire body along with her eggs. This particular shot was taken about a month before the eggs hatched. It also illustrates the fascinating behavior of GPO mothers during incubation - they periodically blow water jets over their eggs to keep them oxygenated and clean.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#7 3rd Place Portrait: Blue Crab In Cave By Martin Broen
In order to help protect this hidden ecosystem that few people know, over the last 8 years, I have been exploring and capturing images in over 300 different cenotes of the Yucatan Peninsula and have published the book "Light in the Underworld." In a DPV dive connecting several cenotes, I saw this blue crab fishing in the cave flow where the salty water from the sea mixes with the fresh flow of the cave, standing on a stone and perfectly framed by the light entering the cenote from the jungle above, and tinted by the tannic acid in the water, beautifully representing the elements of the ecosystem.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#8 2nd Place Marine Life Behavior: Fight By Reiko Takahashi
I took this photo in Sado, Japan. This diving point is called "Akaiwa" and is a sacred place for the Asian Sheepshead Wrasse. This photo shows two males fighting over territory. On the right is the winner with a wider mouth, the boss of this Akaiwa. He has a name and is called "Yamato."
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#9 4th Place Macro: Four Eyes By Jeongin Kim
Anemone fish do not stay still; they move quickly and open their mouths only briefly, making it very challenging to photograph the parasites inside. Additionally, it was quite difficult to focus precisely on the parasites living on the tongues of anemone fish. Since the moment an anemone fish opens its mouth is extremely brief, I took continuous shots to capture it and I believe I got very lucky with this photo.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#10 1st Place Black & White: Dancing White Tips By Eduardo Labat
It was our last dive of the day, in the afternoon, with sunlight fading. At Roca Partida, most white tip sharks congregate in small groups at various ledges throughout the rock formation. On this particular afternoon, a large aggregation of white tips started forming some distance from the rock. Dozens of sharks formed a tight group at an approximate depth of 25 feet. The sharks were not hunting or exhibiting aggressive behavior. After witnessing this rare event from the periphery of the formation, I slowly ascended to hover just above it. That is where I took this picture. From above, the sharks seemed to be swimming in synchrony in a circular motion. It was beautiful to witness. I decided to use black and white for this picture both because of how the geometry of the formation looked in this style and also because of the natural contrast one can appreciate in black and white regarding the shark tips in relation to the rest of their bodies.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#11 3rd Place Compact Macro: Housemates By Jayson Apostol
These yellow gobies usually inhabit discarded bottles at certain muck dive sites here in Anilao. While I was photographing two gobies perched at the mouth of a bottle, a dwarf lionfish suddenly emerged from inside. This was an incredibly rare encounter based on my experience. To enhance the scene, I used a snoot to highlight the subjects and the bottle's opening, creating a more natural and focused composition.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#12 3rd Place Marine Life Behavior: Releasing The Next Generation By Kirsty Andrews
On a night dive in Romblon, an island in the Philippines, I witnessed a cunningly decorated crab climb laboriously to the top of the tallest coral bommie. In several swift, determined movements, it released hordes of young from its abdomen into the pitch-black water. It was a few nights after the full moon, which the crab may have chosen to take advantage of the biggest tides and maximize the dispersal of its young. It's always a wonder to see this species of crab, so splendidly decorated with living soft corals and anemones for perfect camouflage. Observing this rare behavior made the encounter even more special.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#13 3rd Place Nudibranchs: Hydatina By David Pleuvret
Night snorkeling in the lagoon of St-Pierre, along the jetty. I found this little shell wandering along the substrate, searching for food. This specimen has a beautiful electric blue color.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#14 4th Place Portrait: Family Portrait By Ariel Gliboff
Gunnels are a common fish here in the Pacific Northwest. 11 gunnels lined up for a family portrait? One in a krillion! Gunnels come in a rainbow of colors, and are often found solo or in pairs. Occasionally, one can spot a small group clustered together. This particular dive, my buddy spotted this crowd huddled under a fallen log. Luckily for us, they kept together long enough for a family portrait before fleeing to a less crowded hiding spot.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#15 Honorable Mention Macro: An Underwater Colorful Snowstorm By Dr. Tom Shlesinger
Corals are animals that engage in a fascinating reproductive process, creating new generations of baby corals. Typically, thousands of corals belonging to a specific species, spanning hundreds of kilometers of the reef, precisely synchronize their reproduction by releasing egg-and-sperm bundles into the open sea, an intriguing phenomenon known as "broadcast-spawning." These bundles, propelled by ocean currents, mingle in the water until they encounter a match, a moment when a sperm fertilizes an egg, creating new life. Yet capturing the spectacle of coral spawning is a challenging endeavor as it unfolds only once a year during a specific month, on a designated night, and at a particular hour, within a brief time window lasting just a few minutes. This image provides a close-up perspective of branching coral spawning, featuring pinkish egg-and-sperm bundles. Witnessing this magical phenomenon gives a unique aesthetic sensation as if you are looking at an underwater colorful snowstorm. This image is part of an ongoing scientific documentary project dedicated to exploring the nightlife and distinctive reproductive behaviors of corals and other inhabitants of the Red Sea coral reef. Over the past few years, I have spent more than 300 nights underwater, particularly during the major reproduction season of corals, engaging in snorkeling and freediving for hours each night. This effort is aimed at studying and documenting the nocturnal behavior of underwater life, as well as constructing a comprehensive calendar detailing the reproduction cycles of corals and other reef-associated creatures.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#16 2nd Place Macro: Patterened Safe Haven By Imogen Manins
In the cold, dark of night mid-winter waters of Port Phillip Bay, I decided to go in search of small creatures that may be living on sessile invertebrates. On examining a Ladder Ascidian, I found this Pygmy Leatherjacket of approximately 20mm, its highly compressed body with cryptic pattern of ocelli matching perfectly to its host. Most often I have seen these timid fish residing close to similarly coloured sargassum seaweeds, so this was a special sighting for me.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#17 5th Place Wide Angle: Close Contact By Julian Gunther
This photo was taken under a professional photography permit issued by the Argentine government and under direct supervision of Argentine authorities. This was shot using ambient light, as strobes can disturb the animals and often will blow up suspended particulate anyway. For this particular shot, I was free-diving in about 30ft (9m) of water, looking for whales to photograph, when this adult took a keen interest in me. It spent well over 30 minutes with me, doing a few close passes, but mostly swimming around me and doing underwater acrobatics such as going inverted or swimming around me while at a 90-degree angle to the seafloor. I wasn't sure if it was doing it for fun or to amuse/impress me (I'm probably anthropomorphizing, but I like to think that's what I might have been doing).
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#18 Honorable Mention Wide Angle: The Mobula Ball By Eduardo Acevedo
Baha Magdalena, located in Baja California on the Pacific Ocean, is one of the world's most incredible places for witnessing marine wonders. On this occasion, we spent many hours searching for humpback whales and marlins, but without any sightings. Then, a call came through on the marine radio, informing us of a huge group of mobulas nearby. We immediately headed to the location. To my surprise, I had the opportunity to swim with them and photograph them for a few hours. It was an absolutely unforgettable moment.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#19 1st Place Underwater Digital Art: Desire By Unkoo Kim
The sea at Seogwipo, where I captured this image, is a place close to my heart, filling me with warmth and cherished memories. However, it is far from an ideal environment for underwater photography. The water is often murky, and the currents are strong. While other locations may face similar challenges, Seogwipo's waters have been further impacted by rising sea temperatures, a lack of subjects, and other factors that make photography particularly difficult. I wondered, how could I create images that truly capture the beauty of the sea creatures inhabiting Seogwipo's waters? The idea of using light as a background to highlight these creatures came to mind, and I set out to convey the stunning beauty hidden within Seogwipo's challenging waters. I took this image during the best season of the year. To capture a front-view image of the main subject, the blue hana goby, I spent countless hours observing and getting close to them. Many shots had to be discarded along the way. Imagining the dynamic interplay of the blue hana goby with bokeh lights, I used tools I had prepared in advance and a modified vintage lens to combine multiple exposures with firework bokeh images. While capturing firework images is not particularly difficult, it requires meticulous preparation, effort, practice, and, most importantly, time to build a connection with the subjects.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#20 2nd Place Compact Macro: Seahorse At Sunset By Enrico Somogyi
While visiting one of the top spots for muck diving in Anilao, Philippines, I was lucky to find this seahorse. At home, I had built a DIY solution to create an effect that resembles a sun or a fireball. The seahorse turned out to be a perfect subject to test this effect. The thorny seahorse was very cooperative, allowing me to capture the backlit image I had envisioned.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#21 2nd Place Portrait: Blue Face By Eduardo Acevedo
Some days in September and October offer the best opportunities to capture great images of pilot whales. However, it's essential to wait until they are truly calm and relaxed. When the sea is like glass, the sun is in the perfect position between 9:30 and 11:00 a.m., there's zero wind, and the pilot whales are cooperative, it becomes possible to take an exceptional photo. But believe me, achieving all these conditions in the wild is incredibly challenging. I truly appreciated this rare moment as a photographer. This photo was taken with special permission from the Ministry of Ecological Transition in Spain.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#22 Honorable Mention Macro: Synchronicity By Suliman Alatiqi
Grooved razorfish (Centriscus scutatus) live in sandy substrates and tend to stay in large groups. Unlike most fish, they are unique in swimming and positioning themselves vertically with their tails up and snouts down, which helps them blend in with sea urchins, sea grass or whip coral. They move together as a group in synchronized movements, angling themselves almost identically to each other as seen in the photo, which likely makes it more difficult for predators to isolate individual fish.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#23 1st Place Wide Angle: Light By Hwanhee Kim
LIGHT is nature's greatest gift. The week before I captured this shot, heavy rains fell in Cancun. Sediment and nutrients from the nearby CARWASH were washed into the cenote, creating stunning colors due to the difference in concentration. Rain is typically a challenge for underwater photography, but in this instance, it produced vibrant hues rarely seen underwater. Sunlight, with its strong vitality, pierced through the reddish waters, revealing a magical moment. The light served as a connection between the land and the underwater world, as well as between nature and humans. I felt privileged to witness this beauty and fortunate to have been able to document it.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#24 4th Place Wide Angle: Spinner Dolphins In Sataya By Mehmet A. Gungen
Sataya Reef (also known as Dolphin Reef) is located in the Marsa Alam region of the Southern Red Sea, Egypt. The most distinctive feature of this location is the presence of permanently residing pods of spinner dolphins. I visited the area on a liveaboard tailored for underwater photographers. We spent around 1.5 hours snorkeling in the water with dolphins. During this time, snorkelers from a couple of day-trip boats were also in the water. Our group stopped the activity as soon as the dolphins began showing sleeping behavior, in contrast to the playful behavior we had witnessed earlier. I visualized the image I wanted to capture as one of the pod or individual dolphins swimming toward me, rather than chasing them for side or tail shots. This presented a challenge: I needed to align the early morning sun in the right direction, as I was shooting with natural light. Another important consideration was keeping other snorkelers out of the frame as much as possible. Given the amount of swimming required, I kept my camera rig as compact as possible and brought freediving fins specifically for the dolphin snorkeling, even though this was primarily a scuba diving trip. To minimize motion blur, I shot most images at 1/320s. As the available light increased with the rising sun, I gradually lowered my starting ISO from 800 to 400. One advantage of using my water-contact Nikonos RS 13mm lens was its ability to shoot at relatively wider apertures, in addition to its compact size. For post-processing, I used Adobe Lightroom Classic. Most adjustments were global, such as white balance, contrast, and exposure adjustments for shadows and highlights. I also used Lightroom's auto subject selection tool to enhance the contrast of the dolphins, helping them stand out more.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#25 2nd Place Underwater Conservation: Turtle Conservation By Tom Vierus
As part of a photographic assignment to document the turtle conservation program implemented by WWF Pacific in Fiji, I joined WWF staff & turtle monitor volunteers at three locations in the country. Besides monitoring and recording data from known nesting beaches, the teams also monitored adult turtle populations in the waters surrounding the islands. During one such scouting trip through the waters near Dravuni Island in Fiji's southern part, one of the villagers spotted a green turtle from the boat at about 20m depth. He was a skilled freediver and carefully slid into the water. I joined him shortly after and followed him down with my housing, freediving as far as I could with my skills and the housing with attachments. It was impressive to witness: He dove down, approached the turtle, caught it with his hands, and brought it to the boat, where he passed it to the team for a number of measurements. This is the moment you see in this photo. Time is of the essence, and everything has to go as fast as possible, so I knew I didn't have a lot of chances to capture this moment. I tried to get as close as possible while framing an over/under shot, minding the wave action, making sure the settings were on point and everything was in focus. After a few minutes, the turtle was released back into the water unharmed and swam off. The data will help to formulate robust conservation plans for the turtles in the waters of Fiji, an urgent necessity given that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies green turtles as 'Endangered.'
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#26 1st Place Blackwater: Hunting By Kyungshin Kim
I captured this shot during a blackwater dive in Anilao last November. At first, I noticed two squids stuck together and assumed they were mating. However, upon closer inspection, I realized they were not mating, one squid was eating the other, a smaller squid. Squids are known to engage in cannibalism, but it's rare to witness small squids eating each other during a blackwater dive. I carefully followed and observed them, managing to capture a few photos. After about 10 minutes, the color of the smaller squid, which was being consumed, began to fade. Finally, it released a spurt of black ink. Shortly after, the squid that had finished eating slowly disappeared into the distance, while the squid that became its prey sank into the dark depths of the sea.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#27 1st Place Cold Water: Curious Cormorant By James Emery
During a dive in Monterey, I was photographing the Metridium fields when I noticed a cormorant swimming down towards us. To my surprise, it began pecking at my wife's head, but she was completely unfazed. I quickly swam over to get a few shots, and then the cormorant's attention shifted to the reflection in my camera's dome port. It stayed with us for about 20 minutes, swimming up for air before returning to check us out again. It was a unique and playful moment that gave me a glimpse into the curiosity of the cormorant, and I was lucky enough to capture it.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#28 2nd Place Wide Angle: Blue Sun Rising By Julian Gunther
This photo was taken in the very late afternoon, just as the sun was setting offshore Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. My friends at Latitude Encounters and I had arranged to stay out as late as possible to try and capture sharks during the transition from day to night. We had several Blue Sharks swimming around at this particular moment, but this one seemed to be swimming directly out from the setting sun. Although enough light penetrated the water to illuminate the sharks, I still used strobes to help illuminate some areas that would have been dark due to shadows, but again, keeping the strobe power fairly low. The sharks' behavior was changing as light dropped and they became much more deliberate with their actions - not something I would recommend for the uninitiated.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#29 3rd Place Compact Behavior: Family That Stays Together By Wendy Biscette
Arrowhead crabs are really common in St. Lucia, which makes some people ignore them. However, while on a night dive, seeing this reproduction behaviour showed the arrowhead crab in a different light. From the pouch being open on the female, to the male being there to protect her was so intriguing that I couldn't help capturing this moment.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
#30 2nd Place Underwater Digital Art: Fire Babies By Jenny Stock
Cardinalfish are mouthbrooders. Females release an egg mass close to their chosen male. The male fertilises these eggs, then takes them into his mouth for incubation. Fathers are then unable to eat during the incubation period, although research has shown that they may partake in partial brood cannibalism - eating up to thirty percent of their brood. On a dive at Atlantis Dumaguete, I slowly approached this egg-laden male. I waited patiently until he opened his mouth and aerated his babies. Later, in Photoshop, I felt the bright orange of the cardinalfish would work well as licking flames. I got to work and made a smokey fire creation. Many thanks to Norway Luardo for his guiding skills at Atlantis Dumaguete.
Image credits: The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest
