Humans have always been a bit obsessed with the places we don’t belong. The sky was off-limits until we built machines to borrow it, and the underwater world still treats us like temporary visitors at best. Yet those are the two environments we keep trying to photograph anyway, because when you finally get a clean frame from up there or down there, it doesn’t just look beautiful. It looks impossible in the best way.
And after we recently featured the Exposure One Awards’ Black & White Nature Photography winners in the Animals category, we’re now diving into two more categories of their contest: Aerial and Underwater.
Let us know in the comments which of these stunning photos you enjoyed the most, and you can explore more submissions across the contest categories on Exposure One’s website and Instagram.
#21 “Between Worlds, The Eye That Remembers” By Antoine Scuiller
Nominee in the Underwater Category at the Non-Professional level.
Report
10points
#22 “Wide Open” By Rick Beldegreen
Description: This American crocodile was photographed in Banco Chinchorro, Mexico, located 25 miles off the SE tip of Mexico in the Caribbean.
Nominee in the Underwater Category at the Non-Professional level.
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10points
#23 “Polka-Dotted” By Fabi Fregonesi
Honorable Mention in the Animals Category at the Non-Professional level.
Nominee in the Underwater Category at the Non-Professional level.
Report
10points
#24 “One Big Family” By Zach Parker
Description: A series of images of a mother Humpback Whale with her calf, accompanied by a male escort in the Pristine waters of Tonga.
Nominee in the Underwater Category at the Non-Professional level.
Report
9points
#25 “The Boss” By Catherine Holmes
Description: A large bull sealion protects his harem of females and pups in the marine biosphere reserve of Los Islotes , Mexico. Here, surrounded by baitfish, prolific in the safe haven of protection.
Bronze Award in the Underwater Category at the Non-Professional level.
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8points
#26 “Pingüino Papúa Visto Desde Otro Ángulo” By Gonzalo Bertolotto Quintana
Description: “During a summer afternoon in Fildes Bay, Antarctica, I spotted Gentoo penguins swimming around our ship. From nearly 40 meters up, I captured this penguin from a unique angle—almost like a drone shot, but taken only with my camera.”
Silver Award in the Aerial Category at the Non-Professional level.
Nominee in the Animals Category at the Non-Professional level.
Report
8points
#27 “Bonaire Baitball” By David Morton
Description: Schooling big eye mackerel taken in 100' of water off Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles.
Nominee in the Underwater Category at the Non-Professional level.
Report
8points
#28 “The Road Of Serenity” By Yu Hsuan S
Silver Award – Aerial (Professional Category)
Description: Captured in the high mountains of Taiwan, this image shows a winding road fading into the mist, where monochrome tones highlight the contrast between nature’s rough textures and the smooth curve of the asphalt.
Silver Award in the Aerial Category at the Professional level.
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7points
#29 “Natron Drift” By Jaren Fernley
Description: In a lake too caustic for most life, flamingos flourish. Natron Drift captures their delicate presence across a stark, otherworldly landscape — a reminder of nature’s resilience in even the harshest environments.
Bronze Award in the Aerial Category at the Professional level.
Report
7points
#30 “Heads Or Tails” By Jodi Frediani
Description: Three northern right whale dolphins bow ride our whale watch vessel. Unusually clear, flat seas provided a colorful palette to showcase these slender, sleek and streamlined cetaceans. Yet, even rendered in black and white, this threesome provides a striking image of silver and coal.
Bronze Award in the Underwater Category at the Professional level.
Nominee in the Lights & Shadow Category at the Professional level.
Report
7points
#31 “Silent Altitudes” By Ricky Liew Kah Chun
Description: A monochrome journey from Dubai to Switzerland, passing over Türkiye with the quiet company of another aircraft. Cloud oceans, distant peaks, and shifting light reveal the hidden landscapes seen only from the sky.
Nominee in the Aerial Category at the Professional level.
Report
7points
#32 “One Fine Morning” By Will Runk
Description: A pod of spinner dolphins surfaces and dives off the coast of West Oahu, HI.
Honorable Mention in the Underwater Category at the Professional level.
Honorable Mention in the Animals Category at the Professional level.
Report
7points
#33 “Thorny Headdress” By Richard Condlyffe
Description: “This image shows a Thorny Seahorse. I created this effect by back-lighting the subject and using a small amount of side light to further highlight its thorns. Taken in Anilao, Philippines.”
Nominee in the Underwater Category at the Professional level.
Report
7points
#34 “Silky” By Andrew Cummings
Nominee in the Underwater Category at the Non-Professional level.
Report
7points
#35 “Silent Geometry” By Balazs Fodor
Description: A minimalist exploration of marine life reduced to pure form. Sharks, a crocodile, and a whale calf emerge from darkness as sculptural shapes, revealing the silent geometry, grace, and primal presence of predators and giants beneath the surface.
Honorable Mention in the Animals Category at the Non-Professional level.
Nominee in the Underwater Category at the Non-Professional level.
Report
7points
#36 “The Dive” By Fabi Fregonesi
Gold Award in the Underwater Category at the Non-Professional level.
Nominee in the Animals Category at the Non-Professional level.
Report
6points
#37 “Black Eagle” By Luca Tambella
Description: “I took this aerial picture in southern Iceland. The waves crashing on the black sand beach create the silhouette of an eagle thanks to the snow that had fallen the night before. It's certainly a never-before-seen situation, which makes this photo unique.”
Gold Award in the Aerial Category at the Non-Professional level.
Report
6points
#38 “Patterns” By Francesco Negri
Nominee in the Underwater Category at the Non-Professional level.
Report
6points
#39 “Oceanic Megafauna” By Lisa Skelton
Description: Intelligent, charismatic and inspiring. Each of these species are keystones of their ocean ecosystems- their presence, numbers and movements revealing changes in our environment.
Nominee in the Underwater Category at the Non-Professional level.
Report
6points
#40 “Float Ensemble” By Ronja Arnold
Bronze Award in the Aerial Category at the Non-Professional level.
Report
5points
