1. "Whale bones" by Alex Dawson - the winner in the "wide angle" category and photographer of the year
"The local hunters in East Greenland share their prey with each other. Out of a stable population of over 100,000 minke whales, Tasiilaq city hunters take the lives of less than a dozen. They bring the whales ashore during high tide, and many families gather to cut their skin, blubber and meat when low tide comes. Almost all parts of the whale are consumed, but the skeleton is thrown back into the sea as soon as the next tide comes in, and its remains can be found in the shallows, where marine invertebrates and small fish feed on it until it is completely clean."
2. "Window of Opportunity" by Lisa Stengel - winner of the "Promising Photographer of the Year" category
"We spent an exciting week looking for baitballs (Baitball - a phenomenon that occurs when thousands of small fish swim densely and in the shape of a ball as a defense mechanism) which provided many photo opportunities. The unique temperature in the water for the season caused the commentators to swim away from us, but brought with it an interesting phenomenon: a huge amount of bluish roaring fish . I chose not to put on a hood and noticed the distinctive sound coming from a batball whenever the blue manatees tried to hit a target. If you listen closely, there are a lot of sounds in the ocean, especially around batballs. I picked up on the blue manatee attack sounds and tracked them with the camera. This technique, along with random conditions , opened a window of opportunity for me to capture this special moment."
3. "The End of Batball" by Rafael Fernandez Caballero - the winner in the "Behavior" category
"I was lucky enough to experience this unique spectacle in the waters of the Pacific Ocean in the Gulf of Magdalena at the end of 2023. Due to the warm water this year caused by the El Niño climate phenomenon, more species than ever before joined this hunt. Sardine batballs attracted a variety of predators, but the main stars of the show, visiting Baja in perhaps greater numbers than ever before, were the baleen whales. They scoured the water looking for batballs to fill their bellies with hundreds of pounds of fish. This image shows the moment of the attack, when the whale's ventral folds are wide open and filter the prey from the water with its gills after swallowing hundreds of kilograms of sardines in one bite - simply unforgettable.
4. Jenny Stock's "Central Star" - winner of the "British Macro Photography" category and British Photographer of the Year
"Loch Leven is a Scottish dive site near Oban, easily accessed via a bay on the A82. Descending into the dark green depths of the lake on a dusk dive, I approached an area where my flashlight highlighted the vivid colors of a living carpet made of thousands of sea urchins. Captivated by the multitude of shades and shapes of each starfish, I felt it was an amazing encounter with a species I had never seen before. I was taking pictures with pleasure when suddenly I saw this purple sea urchin, and I was really excited. A dominant star next to these picturesque invertebrates created a beautifully balanced pairing, perfectly framed by the tangle of sea urchins in the background."
5. "Connection with Gray Whale" by Rafael Fernandez - the winner in the "Portrait" category
"Encounters with gray whales in saltwater lagoons in the Pacific Ocean are extremely special. Gray whales, known for their friendly and curious nature, often come close to boats and allow viewers to witness unique behaviors such as spy-hopping (taking the upper body out of the water almost completely vertically in order to turn (the environment). This photo was taken from the boat, where the whale showed a friendly look towards my camera, similar to a human look of curiosity and innocence. These special moments highlight the beauty and intelligence of the whales, and create lasting memories for the viewers, and of course for the curious whales themselves."
6. "Twilight Smile" by Rodolphe Guignard - third place in the "wide angle" category
"In 2011, the Bahamas declared its waters a 'shark sanctuary'. Close to Grand Bahama Island, I witnessed some unforgettable encounters. At dusk, several dozen lemon sharks rose from the depths and surrounded the diving boat. I sat on the swim platform with my body half submerged, aiming to take split photos. On this day the sea was rough; it was almost dark, and the sharks were very active and curious, and did not hesitate to come into contact with the vessel that protected me! In these lighting conditions, I replaced my flashes with two headlamps to ensure continuous light. I used continuous mode together With a fast shutter speed to better capture the movement. With a lot of patience and luck, I was able to capture some very close-up shots and highlight the spectacular colors of the sunset. A spectacular face-to-face encounter!"
7. "Lone Wanderer" by Dennis Corpuz - second place in the "macro" category
"We often see the vertical migration of small creatures attracted to lights at a depth of more than 200 meters in the dark water. While I was patrolling the area, I came across a pirosoma (a kind of strange stringy thing that has a cylindrical shape), which was about 10 cm long. While I examined it carefully, I discovered that there was an animal hiding inside. This creature floats in the water and moves randomly. Fortunately I was able to take a few pictures before it was swept away."
8. "Fluorescent Fire" by James Lynott - second place in the "Dense British Water" category
"I've experimented a bit with shutter drag/motion blur in the past and have seen amazing examples of this style of photography being used by underwater photographers. I've never seen this technique incorporated into underwater glow photography, so it's something I was keen to try in 2023. I experimented with a variety of objects, and quickly found that I really loved how glowing sea anemones looked with this technique, which was no surprise, as they are my favorite glowing subject. for photography."
9. Jon Bunker's "Galden on Bootlaces" - winner of the "Tight British Waters" category
"The algae in the picture almost completely cover the pebbles on the reef of Chezil Bay in the summer months. Dozens of cuttlefish, squid and other nocturnal predators roam this seasonal "jungle" and happily eat everything that comes their way. This sleepy gobbler, as you can see, doesn't understand exactly what he's seeing when he encounters me, and his head is poking through the seaweed trying to decide if I'm a threat or food. While he considered the options, I was able to play with the flash a bit to dim the algae a bit, and my subject allowed me to take 3 photos before it swam off into the night."
10. "Save Goliath" by Nuno Sá - the winner in the category "Saving our sea for the preservation of marine life forms"
"The golden beaches of the Costa de Caprica were packed with sunbathers one sunny day, and then something very strange caught their attention on the horizon. A large-headed humpback whale struggles to swim and moves slowly towards the shore. Very quickly his huge and injured body passed surfers and bathers and reached the shallow waters of the beach, but suddenly, dozens of sunbathers started running towards him. Together they pushed him and tried to help the whale return to the heart of the sea, as he slowly flapped his tail and panted heavily. After several hours the whale breathed its last, and its body crashed on the sand. About 20,000 whales are killed every year, and many more are injured, after being hit by ships, and very few people are aware of it."
11. "Aerial Diving" by Kat Zhou - winner of the "Wide Angle in UK Water" category
"I took this photo during a diving trip with northern soles in the Shetland Islands. The experience of being among the northern plovers during their aerial dive is chaotic and full of adrenaline, and I had a hard time choosing where to point my camera. I tried to photograph the birds as they approached, and was pleasantly surprised when I saw afterwards how this image managed to capture the dynamic movement of the experience."
12. "Sea shell on fire" by Enrico Somogyi - the winner in the "compact photography" category
"This photo of a sea urchin with a caesarean cap on her head was taken in Tulamban, Bali. To create the fiery background I built a special tool that took me a long time to operate, but in the end I got the image I wanted."
13. "Abstract portrait of an oboe seahorse" by alia Greis - the winner in the "macro" category
"I was drawn to this seahorse because it had special markings around its eyes and because of its stunning color palette, which contrasted beautifully against the reef that surrounded it. While seahorses are not uncommon at Sydney's dive sites, one such striking shot was a dream come true for me. I chose to open the aperture all the way to f/3.5 to turn the reef into an out-of-focus cloud, but I also embraced the color of the green waters of Sydney's dive waters in the summer months. To me, the seahorse's red eyes and posture conveyed a power and strength rising from the smoky ocean floor."
14. Kirsty Andrews' "Ballenies in a Bottle" - winner of the "Britain Who Lives Together" category
"Butterfly bellfish naturally choose the shells of skilled snails as their home, but it seems they can be quite creative. On the bottom of the Pal River, many chose to use discarded glass bottles as shelter. One man's trash is another fish's treasure."
15. Sarah O'Gorman's "from the title" - second place as the most promising photographer of the year
"The summer of 2023 brought with it the usual small groups of baby barracuda to every coral pinnacle on the main reef of Marsa Segura, but for the first time in the 11 years I've lived there, they all gradually coalesced into one giant batball at the entrance to the bay, giving divers no choice but to pass through them at the start of the dive And in the end. Snorkelers spent hours every day floating above them, mesmerized by their movements. One clear, calm morning, I was able to witness and photograph this free-ranging diver as she played with them, changing their configuration as long as she could hold her breath. As the fall wore on, the tiny ones grew, and the batball beckoned. Carnivores such as lutinians, hippopotamus fish and large barracudas, which feasted on it for several months, and by winter it was as if it had never existed."
