Incredible Winners of the 2024 Ocean Art Underwater Photography Contest

“Dancing White Tips” by Eduardo Labat. Overall Winner and Winner, Black & White
Location: Roca Partida. Revillagigedo, Mexico
“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.”

“Exceptional Shipping” by Stefano Cerbai. Winner, Portrait
Location: Australia
“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.”

“Blue Sun Rising” by Julian Gunther. 2nd Place, Wide Angle
Location: Chubut Province, Patagonia, Argentina
“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).”

“Juvenile Batfish” by Adam Martin. Winner, Macro
Location: Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia
“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.”

“Light” by Hwanhee Kim. Winner, Wide Angle
Location: Mexico, Rancho Viejo, Carwash
“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.”

“Patterned Safe Haven” by Imogen Manins. 2nd Place, Macro
Location: Rye Pier, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia
“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 colored sargassum seaweeds, so this was a special sighting for me.”

“Born From Mouth” by Yoichi Sato. Winner, Marine Life Behavior
Location: Minamisatsuma, Kagoshima, Japan
“I was fortunate to capture the irreplaceable moment of a tiny creature hatching. On a midsummer night, while most creatures were fast asleep, a male Ostorhinchus properuptus, having completed a week-long incubation period, summoned all its energy and, with a trembling motion, released a swarm of larvae from its mouth. To minimize stress on the fish, I observed the process under a dim red light. During the hatch-out moment, I used red lighting with a special setting that turned off the red light as soon as the strobe’s pre-flash was detected. This setup effectively eliminated red light interference in the photograph, ensuring the image captured the moment as naturally as possible.”

“Hunting” by Kyungshin Kim. Winner, Blackwater
Location: Anilao, Philippines
“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.”

“Turtle Consevation” by Tom Vierus. 2nd Place, Underwater Conservation
Location: Dravuni Island, Kadavu Province, Fiji
“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’.”

“Longnose Hawkfish” by Naomi Springett. Winner, Compact Macro
Location: Great Barrier Reef, Australia
“For our honeymoon, we joined a liveaboard dive trip to the Great Barrier Reef. This photo was taken on one of the nicest dives of the trip; a thriving coral bommie with abundant macro life. Perched proudly on the Black Sun Coral (Tubastraea micranthus), this Longnose Hawkfish (Oxycirrhites typus) was not too concerned with my presence and, much to my delight, sat still long enough for me to get a few photos before it swam away. With so many tropical fish being camera shy, this was a rare treat. Black Sun Coral is among my favourite corals; the rich green colours provided a contrasting background for this striking fish, making this one of my favorite moments from a very special diving trip.”

“Face to Face” by Sylvie Ayer. 2nd Place, Black & White
Location: Alimatha in Vaavu Atoll, Maldive
“One of my favorite place in the Maldives is Alimatha. This is a great place to do a night dive with a lot of nurse sharks. I could spend hours to dive there. This nurse shark was just laying on the floor and I moved the slowest I can to approach a maximum to this shark. It took time but at the end I was really close to it.”

“Fight” by Reiko Takahashi. 2nd Place, Marine Life Behavior
Location: Japan, Area Kitakoura, Sado, Nigata dive site – Akaiwa
“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.””

“Feast and Fornication” by Jenny Stock. 2nd Place, Nudibranchs
“Here, two nudibranch use their extended gonophors to mate, whilst simultaneously enjoying the delights of a good meal of green tendrils. Nudibranchs are hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female reproductive organs but they can’t fertilize themselves, so they need to find a partner to mate with. After cross-fertilisation (and finishing their meal) they would both go onto lay their own egg spiral. Thanks to dive guide Regie Casia and Rutherford Parutanin for their assistance with this dive at Kirby’s Rock.”

“Long Live the Queen!” by Lucie Drlikova. Winner, Underwater Fashion
Location: Swimming pool, 8 meters deep, Aquapalace Praha, Czech Republic, Europe
“Long Live the Queen: Underwater Photography of Evil Queen, lifted by her demons, from Snow White fairytale. This photo is part of my personal project Once Upon a Dream in Waterland, which I’ve been working on for 7 years. This project represents a return to my childhood dreams. All costumes, scenes and props are hand made by myself.”

“Hooded nudibranchs” by Borut Furlan. Winner, Nudibranchs
“This was my first visit to Vancouver Island in October 2024 and my first visit to Canada at all. I didn’t have much knowledge about the area; therefore, I decided to use a wide-angle zoom lens on most of my dives because of its diversity. It turned out that this was a good idea since I had the opportunity to photograph a wide selection of objects (except the smallest ones). When I reached the kelp forest with hooded nudibranchs, I was simply shocked. I have never before seen so many nudibranchs in one spot. There were many thousands of them and they were everywhere, on the bottom, on the kelp and they were even swimming. I shot hundreds of various images of them and this one is one from this series.”

“Hunting in the Night” by Marco Lausdei. Winner, Compact Wide Angle
Location: Maldives – Fish head dive site
“We are at one of the most famous night dive sites in the world: Maya Thila. I noticed a whitetip reef shark moving in cyclical patterns, visibly attracted to a cloud of silverfish positioned along the Thila drop-off. Using a nearby boulder for cover, I carefully hid and minimized my bubbles, trying to get as close as possible without disturbing the predator’s behavior. Once the shark grew accustomed to my presence, I waited for one of its cyclical movements to bring it within flash range. I timed the shot to capture not only the shark but also the evasive motion of the cloud of potential prey. The shot was taken from a bottom-to-top angle, intentionally including the surface of the sea to add depth and dimension to the image. Understanding the subject’s habits and behavior was essential to the success of this shot.”

“Curious Cormorant” by James Emery. Winner, Cold Water
Location: Metridium Fields, Monterey, California
“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.”

“Fire Babies” by Jenny Stock. 2nd Place, Underwater Digital Art
“Cardinalfish are mouthbrooders. Females release an egg mass close to her 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 his 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.”

“Blue Face” by Eduardo Acevedo. 2nd Place, Portrait
Location: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
“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.”

“Blanket Reflection” by Kat Zhou. 2nd Place, Blackwater
Location: Anilao, Philippines
“I spent a week diving in Anilao, hoping to get the chance to photograph an adult female blanket octopus. One of my final nights, we ended up finding two octopuses! One of them swam away when we saw it, but this one stayed around for quite some time. Of course, we found her at the very end of the dive, and I had exactly 0 air left in my tank when she fully unfurled her cape, but luckily she was right at the surface – I keep a snorkel in my pocket when I dive, and this was the first time I’ve actually had to use it!”

“The Golden Yawn” by Nemer Chua. 2nd Place, Compact Behavior
Location: Anilao, Mabini, Batangas, Philippines
“A once-in-a-lifetime chance and pure luck! After more than 500 dives, I never imagined capturing such a rare moment a yawning Plotosus lineatus, commonly known as the striped eel catfish. I did’t even realize it was yawning at first. It was a breathtaking moment, and I felt incredibly fortunate to witness it. This photo was taken in Anilao, Mabini, Batangas, Philippines, using my compact Olympus TG7 and MF2 Snoot. It’s a testament to the power of luck, patience, and perseverance!”

“Drowning in Plastic” by Kimber Greenwood. Winner, Underwater Conservation
Location: USA, High Springs, Florida, Jonathan Springs
“This image was created as part of an awareness project for the Florida Springs Council about the impacts of water bottling on the local Florida Springs. Over 300 bottles of water are produced every minute at water bottling plants such as the ones located just minutes from the Spring this image was shot at. Not only are these bottles ending up in landfills and introducing micro-plastics into our environment, the bottling of “Spring Water” is causing a loss of water from the Floridian Aquifer which is reducing water levels and water flow, allowing for deterioration of the Springs and rivers. The bottles used for this image were donated from a local conservation activist who pulled them off the production belt of a local bottling plant. The images created from this campaign are used in on-going social media and print advertising campaigns to encourage individuals to make a better choice to use reusable water bottles over plastic bottles that harm the local Florida environment in many significant ways.”

“Desire” by Unkoo Kim. Winner, Underwater Digital Art
Location: Seogwipo, Jeju Island, South Korea
“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.”

“Mutualism” by Naomi Springett. Winner, Compact Behavior
Location: Great Barrier Reef, Australia
“This Bluestreak Cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) and Variegated Lizardfish (Synodus variegatus) were spotted on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. These fish are an example of mutualistic symbiosis, this means that both species benefit from their association with one another. The cleaner wrasse nibbles dead skin and parasites off the larger fish, providing the cleaner fish with food and leaving the lizardfish clean and healthy. Usually Lizardfish are quite skittish, not tolerating photographers to get too close, but this individual was quite content to pose for photos during its clean. I was amazed to watch the smaller fish dart all over the Lizardfish, even into its mouth, demonstrating incredible trust on the part of the smaller fish, eventually settling right on top of the Lizardfish’s head!”

“Juvenile Pike” by Enrico Somogyi. 2nd Place, Compact Wide Angle
Location: Lake Kulkwitz, Leipzig, Germany
“Last summer, I was snorkeling in Lake Kulkwitz, located near my home. In the shallow water, I discovered many juvenile pikes. This particular pike was very relaxed and allowed me to approach closely. For this shot, I used a macro wide-angle lens from Nauticam with a 160-degree field of view. I zoomed out until I achieved this circular perspective and captured some beautiful shots of the pike near the surface.”

“Plunge” by Kat Zhou. 2nd Place, Cold Water
Location: Shetland, UK
“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.”