About 71 percent of the Earth's surface is covered in water, so it is only natural that there is a photography competition dedicated to celebrating 71 percent of the world’s natural splendor.
Yep, the Underwater Photographer Of The Year Contest has just now announced its winners for the year 2021 and the pictures are absolutely breathtaking. The competition celebrates all things underwater, whether it’s oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, or any other pool of water.
First, second, and third place winners as well as a slew of honorable mentions were selected across 14 photographic categories. Renee Capozzola, SJ Alice Bennett, Mark Kirkland, Karim Iliya, and many others were in the 1st place spotlight across the various categories, captivating with their winning photographs.
Bored Panda has gathered the top winners from each category and compiled a list for you to enjoy. While you’re scrolling through the fascinating winning photographs, go ahead and vote and comment on the ones you enjoyed the most!
#21 ‘Toward Shining Light’ By Ryohei Ito (Japan), 2nd Place In 'Up & Coming'
“As we were mooring the safari boat in the lagoon at night, Manta rays came behind the boat to eat the plankton that gathered in the light of the boat so I put on my snorkel and fins and went into the sea with my camera.”
“This Manta ray, which preys on plankton, repeatedly flipped in front of me and went deep into the water. The appearance of the giant dancing in front of me was a masterpiece. Watching the situation up close, I was absorbed in releasing the shutter. This photo was taken aiming at Mantaray rising from the depths toward the light on the surface of the water.”
Maaya Lagoon , North Ari Atool, Maldives
Canon, 5D Mark4, SEA & SEA MDX-5D MARK 4, EF8-15mm F4L fisheye USM, iso 400, f16, 1/200, RETRA FLASH PRO x2
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25points
"I'd like to thank the judges and contest organizers for all their hard work and for having this competition, especially this year, which gives photographers an opportunity to showcase their work and raise awareness for marine conservation," concludes Renee Capozzola.
You can find more from Renee on her Website as well as her Instagram. Renee Capozzola is an international award-winning underwater photographer who specializes in wide-angle and split-level images that provide an intriguing combination of artistic talent honed through oil painting during her youth and a professional background in biology—so, her work is definitely worth a look (or two, at the very least)!
#22 ‘The Yellow Candy’ By Pasquale Vassallo (Italy), 2nd Place In 'Marine Conservation'
“During one of my trips to the sea, I noticed a strong presence of these yellow nets closed like “candy”. I could not understand their purpose. In the following days, with the help of some local fishermen, I discovered that the candy is the heart of a trap. It is filled with dead fish and inserted into another net. Thanks to the smell of the remains of dead fish, it attracts some small molluscs - to be precise Nassarius mutabilis - that once they enter the trap they are unable to get out. Once the contents of the trap have been recovered, the candy is often abandoned in the sea, causing plastic pollution and, as visible in the shot, a trap for other organisms.”
Campi Flegrei, Italy
canon, 5d sr, SEACAM 5D, 8-15 lens, iso 125, f/16, 1/60, ONE UW
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24points
#23 ‘Crab Affairs’ By Atanas Petrov (United Kingdom), 2nd Place In 'British Waters Living Together'
“During a dive on the SS Rosalie, a wreck off the coast of Weybourne in England, I noticed these two brown crabs (Cancer pagurus) occupying a groove in one of the supporting elements of the propeller shaft. They have probably completed an important part of their life cycle - the mating, and the male on the top was protecting the female underneath until her exoskeleton hardens. I was pleased to witness and capture this special behaviour using my wide-angle lens, which allowed me to include part of the surrounding environment as well.”
SS Rosalie, Weybourne, England, UK (MBY)
Nikon , D300, Subal ND7100, Tokina fisheye lens 10-17mm, iso 200, f/13, 1/25, Dual Inon Z-240
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23points
#24 ‘Bowlander’ By Tobias Friedrich (Germany), 1st Place In 'Wrecks'
Due to bad weather at Tiger Beach and in Bimini we had to look for shelter near Nassau in the Bahamas and do some regular dives. This wreck was totally new to me and a big surprise when we descended as the bow is hanging almost completely over a sandy overhang.
Nassau, Bahamas
Canon, EOS 1DX Mark II, SEACAM Silver, Canon 8-15mm Fisheye, iso 200, 7.1, 1/160, SEACAM Seaflash 150D
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22points
#25 'Trying In' By SJ Alice Bennett (Mexico), 1st Place In 'Up & Coming', Most Promising British Underwater Photographer
"As this shot was taken during cavetraining, we had a pretty intricate plan in place, which is not usually how I run cave shoots. However, the plan failed miserably as the cave student, Max, had multiple equipment failures. Plans are important, but when they fail you need to adapt quickly and deal with a new situation. After fixing all the issues on the surface and changing our plan to accommodate our now fairly depleted gas supplies, we descended again. I swam ahead and waited just beyond the beginning of the permanent mainline watching the team swim towards me, followed closely by the lighting assistants creating those beautiful halo effects. Suddenly everything just lined up perfectly, so I pressed the shutter just as Max turned to tie into the mainline."
Cenote Mayan Blue, Sistema Ox Bel Ha, Tulum, Mexico (MBY)
Sony, a7S II, Nauticam NA-A7II , Sony FE 24- 70mm f/2.8 GM, iso 2500, f/2.8, 1/125, Big Blue Video Lights, 30k, 2 x 15k, 2 x 4k lumen
An interview with SJ Alice Bennett can be found in this article.
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22points
"I'd like to thank the judges and contest organizers for all their hard work and for having this competition, especially this year, which gives photographers an opportunity to showcase their work and raise awareness for marine conservation," concludes Renee Capozzola.
You can find more from Renee on her Website as well as her Instagram. Renee Capozzola is an international award-winning underwater photographer who specializes in wide-angle and split-level images that provide an intriguing combination of artistic talent honed through oil painting during her youth and a professional background in biology—so, her work is definitely worth a look (or two, at the very least)!
#26 ‘Doule Near The Surface’ By Jack Berthomier (New Caledonia), 1st Place In 'Compacts'
"I used to go fishing in the river to take some shots a few days after big rains which make the riverbed go higher and make some big floods. The current is strong but still practicable for freediving with dislodged plants, leaves and branches. They bring a lot of color which showcase this plain New caledonian carp (Kuhlia Rupestris) which are common in our rivers."
Ouenghi River, New Caledonia
SONY, RX100, ISOTA, Wide angle INON UW-H100, iso 200, 5.6, 1/800, Internal flash
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21points
#27 ‘Golden Hour At The Georgios’ By Renee Capozzola (United States), 3rd Place In 'Wrecks'
“This split shot of the Georgios shipwreck was taken in Neom, Saudi Arabia along the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea. In 1978, this large cargo ship originally from England became stranded on a shallow coral reef at night and then suffered from a large fire. Now serving as an artificial reef for many marine organisms, this wreck sits halfway out of the water on the bow side and in roughly 80 feet of water on the stern side. Some locals refer to this site as the “Saudi Titanic.” To achieve this photo, I used a very small aperture, an extremely wide rectilinear lens at 12mm, a lower ISO, and strobes to light the coral underwater.”
Neom, Saudi Arabia
Canon, 5D Mark III, Nauticam, Canon 11-24mm, iso 200, f20, 1/160, Dual Sea & SeaYS-D2’s
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20points
#28 ‘SS Hispania’ By Kirsty Andrews (United Kingdom), 1st Place In 'British Waters Living Together'
“The UK in my view has some of the finest wreck diving in the world, and the SS Hispania in the Sound of Mull is one of my favourites. This wreck truly has become an artificial reef: the wreck attracts the wildlife and both wreck and wildlife attract the divers. Every inch of metal is covered in anemones, seaweeds or sponges, orange and white. My buddy was investigating the superstructure above a row of portholes and I moved back, shooting as wide as I could to try to give a sense of scale within this colourful scene.”
Sound of Mull, Scotland, UK
Nikon, D500, Nauticam NA D500, Tokina 10-17mm, iso 800, f11, 1/80, Sea & Sea YS-110a x 2
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18points
#29 ‘Time Travel’ By Martin Broen (United States), 2nd Place In 'Black & White'
“Imagine yourself in an underwater cave in Mexico, hours away from the exit to surface, diving through a never ending labyrinth covered with prehistoric formations, seeing charcoal in the ground from the fires of an ancient culture, finding bones of animal species extinct 8000 years ago, and everything around you is preserved as it was back in the time those caves flooded. It’s a visceral feeling of going back in time to a different age.”
“This image is trying to capture that. The rugged texture of those prehistoric overhead environments with pristine formations framing the diver in darkness. The depth of the never-ending tunnels and the feeling of the travel in time given by the zooming movement into the light and model. And the processing in black and white to simplify the image.”
“A claustrophobic feeling for some and of discovery and adventure for others”
Cenote Chan Hol (Litte Hole), Mexico
Sony, A7RIII, Nauticam NA-A7III, Canon 8-15mm at 15, iso 5000, f/5.0, 1/10 sec, Big Blue 33000 lumen
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18points
#30 ‘River Of Blood From A Dead Sperm Whale' By Rafael Fernandez Caballero (Spain), 3rd Place In 'Marine Conservation'
“Seeing a dead animal is always sad. But seeing a big mammal dead like this sperm whale, it is something indescribable.”
“From land the image was terrifying. But when I flew the drone the situation was even more shocking and dramatic. There
was an incredibly large river of blood, maybe longer than a mile, coming out of the sperm whale.”
was an incredibly large river of blood, maybe longer than a mile, coming out of the sperm whale.”
Baja California Sur, Mexico, Spain
Dji, Mavic air, iso 100, f/2.8, 1/230
16points
