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.
#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.
32points
Bored Panda wanted to learn more about one of the finalists and her work, so we reached out to Kat Zhou, the photographer behind a fascinating image capturing a gannet in its dynamic dive into the water.
We were curious about the story behind Kat’s winning photograph, "Plunge," and she kindly shared the details of the moment she captured it: “Photographing gannets was one of the most chaotic but also adrenaline-fueled experiences I’ve had underwater. I specifically went on this trip to try to photograph diving gannets; gannets are one of my favorite seabirds, and they are incredibly impressive, with the ability to dive from heights as high as 100ft and hit the water at speeds of up to 60mph! When they dive all around you, it’s difficult to figure out where to point your camera. I was happy with how this shot showed the motion of a dive and I happened to be pointing my camera in the right direction.”
#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.
24points
#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.
22points
Underwater photography comes with many challenges. We asked Kat to share both the most rewarding and the most difficult aspects of working in this medium. Here’s what she told us: “I’ve always been obsessed with marine life since I was a child, so my favorite part about underwater photography is getting to see and capture creatures that fascinate me. The underwater world is vibrant and diverse with life, and my style of photography tends to be very bold and colorful, which the underwater world lends to well.
The most difficult thing is that you’re limited on time! When I do wildlife photography on land, I like to spend hours looking for and observing subjects. When it comes to scuba photography, we’re often limited by air, decompression limits, the schedule of our dive boat charters, sometimes tides and currents, and other factors. This generally gives us a limited window in which we can photograph the subjects or behavior we’re looking for. Sometimes.”
#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.
22points
#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.
21points
When asked about her personal favorite species or location to photograph, Zhou answered: “I don’t necessarily have one favorite species, but my favorite type of underwater photography as a whole is blackwater photography. Every night, the largest migration in terms of biomass in the world happens in the ocean, where hordes of zooplankton and deep sea critters migrate to the surface to feed. When diving over deep water at night, you’re able to see many species that are unable to be seen during the day, including many beautiful larval fishes, cool types of zooplankton, and squids, octopuses, and other mollusks. The diversity and beauty of these deep sea critters makes this type of diving one of the closest things to outer space on earth, and it’s one of my favorite dive and photography experiences.”
#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.
21points
#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.
20points
Finally, we asked the photographer if she could share any upcoming projects she's excited about, and Kat kindly shared: “I’m always working on new projects! I have upcoming trips to photograph everything from falcons to whales to blackwater critters, and I’m always excited to try anything new. You can follow my latest work on Instagram!”
#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."
20points
#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.
19points
#10 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.
18points
#11 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.
18points
#12 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.
18points
#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.
17points
#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.
17points
#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.
17points
#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.
16points
#17 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.
16points
#18 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.
15points
#19 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.
15points
#20 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.
15points