The winners of the 2015 Underwater Photography Contest hosted by the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science have just been announced! Since the contest’s inception in 2005, each year the school invites amateur photographers from around the world to submit their best underwater images in the categories macro, fish or marine animal portraiture, wide angle, and student submissions.
This year, Andrey Shpatak took home the top prize out of over 500 entries for his stunning capture of a Japanese War Bonnet in Rudnaya Bay. The spectacular-looking fish, whose tendril-like cirri are said to resemble the feathers in an Indian Chieftain’s war bonnet, stares unblinkingly forward in this magnificent images.
Check out the other award-winning photos below!
Above: Best Overall
Andrey Shpatak
Japanese War Bonnet (Chirolophis japonicas), Japan Sea, Rudnaya Bay
Macro 1st Place
Tony Barros
Crinoid Shrimp (Periclimenes amboinensis), Siquijor Island, Dumaguete, Philippines
Macro 2nd Place
Ching Kwan Ng
Golden Gobies (Priolepis aureoviridis), Lembeh, Indonesia
Macro 3rd Place
Mark Fuller
Stony Coral Ghost Goby (Pleurosicya micheli), Eilat, Israel (Red Sea)
Wide-angle 1st Place
Hani Bader
White Breasted Cormorant (Phalacrocorax lucidus) and Barrel Jellies (Rhizostoma pulmo), Kingdom of Bahrain
Wide-angle 2nd Place
Filippo Borghi
School of Ribbon Sweetlips (Plectorhinchus polytaenia), Wai Island, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Wide-angle 3rd Place
Mark Fuller
Lionfish (Pterois volitans) and School of Glassfish (Parapriacanthus guentheri), Eilat, Israel (Red Sea)
Fish or Marine Animal Portrait 1st Place
Beth Watson
Greater Blue Ringed Octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata), Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
Fish or Marine Animal Portrait 2nd Place
Kostas Milonakis
Larval Fish (Macrouridae nezumia), East Attica, Greece
Fish or Marine Animal Portrait 3rd Place
Judy Townsend
Molly Miller Blennies (Scartella cristata), Blue Heron Bridge, FL
Best Student Entry
Laura Rock
Great Hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran), Bimini, Bahamas
Student 2nd Place
Laura Rock
Lemon Shark (Negaprion brevirostris), West End, Grand Bahamas
Student 3rd Place
Christopher Brown
Panamic Cushion Sea Star (Pentaceraster cumingi), Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
2015 Underwater Photography Contest Winners on University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science’s website
via [Mashable]