Oceans contain entire worlds. Winners of the 2023 Ocean Art Contest capture them in vibrant, pulsating detail.
The Underwater Photography Guide, the online resource for photographers that sponsors the contest, announced the winners earlier this month. The Ocean Art contest, the organization said on its website, “stands as a celebration of ever-evolving photographic artistry alongside technological innovation.” The competition is now in its 12th year.
Three judges selected the winners from thousands of entries submitted from more than 90 countries. Photographers competed in 14 categories, including marine life behavior, underwater conservation, macro photography and black and white.
The winning photos offer stunning looks at undersea life, capturing sights from the violent mating ritual of nurse sharks to tiny luminescent predators poking out from the sand and sea lion pups’ playful pecking. Some images are surprising, illuminating rarely seen creatures and behaviors.
This year’s prize for best in show, for example, went to “Aquatic Primate” by Suliman Alatiqi, who captured a mesmerizing portrait of a crab-eating macaque foraging just beneath the surface of the water in the Phi Phi Islands of Thailand. The monkeys are efficient swimmers that have adapted to life near the ocean, and venture into the water to scavenge, cool down and play.
In capturing the winning shot, which also placed first in the portrait category, patience proved key for Alatiqi. The photographer spent long hours observing clans of macaques to better understand where and when they might go crab hunting before finally going close-up with a Nikon D850 camera housed in a protective Nauticam.
Alatiqi also nabbed first place in the wide-angle category for “Bunk Buddies,” a shot of whitetip reef sharks resting in place in South Roco Partida, Mexico.
This beauty, titled "Sea Lion Playing In Sardine Ball," placed first in the black-and-white ... [+]
Notably, with the proliferation of artificial intelligence tools that can dramatically alter images, the Underwater Photography Guide instituted new rules this year to address the use of AI during post-processing for its primary categories. It also inaugurated two new categories, underwater digital art and underwater fashion. Entrants to both were allowed to use generative AI tools for added creativity while keeping Ocean Art a photo contest.
Ocean Art 2023 winners received prizes such as dive packages that will encourage them to keep snapping underwater wonders.
One of the judges, longtime underwater photographer and frequent photo expedition leader Mark Strickland, said bringing subaqueous scenes to attention is more important than ever with climate change impacting ocean species and their habitats. “Our beloved underwater realm is facing unprecedented threats these days,” Strickland said in a statement, “and needs all the advocates it can get.”
See the first prize winners for each category below. You can gaze in awe at all the winning images on the Underwater Photography Guide site.
Wide-Angle: ‘Bunk Buddies’
Whitetip reef sharks are one of few shark species that rest in place, as they're doing here in ... [+]
Macro: ‘Cavalluccio’
Alberto Casati turned a Canon 5D Mark III with a Sigma macro art lens on this little seahorse in the ... [+]
Marine Life Behavior: ‘The Birthday’
A male black cardinal fish swims up and spits out eggs as they hatch. Females place the eggs in ... [+]
Coldwater: ‘Lunchtime’
A green frog dines on an insect in a muddy swamp at Porta Lake in Tuscany, Italy.
Nudibranchs: ‘After The Wedding’
Brilliantly colored soft-bodied marine gastropods can be seen mating in this photo, taken in the ... [+]
Blackwater: ‘Squid Hunting’
A pygmy squid eating a shrimp in Japan. Keigo Kawamura collects floating creatures and photographs ... [+]
Underwater Digital Art: ‘Water Sprite’
For this shot, a model sat in shallow water with fairy wings attached. This new contest category ... [+]
Underwater Fashion: ‘Tea Party’
Another new contest category that allowed for AI assistance. All props here are real, made from ... [+]
Compact Wide-Angle: ‘The Beauty of the Swamp’
A native Florida gar swims against the backdrop of a cypress dome as light filters through the trees ... [+]
Compact Macro: ‘Underwater Fireworks’
Tiny predators called tubular hydroids poke their heads out of the sand in cold, shallow water Down ... [+]
Compact Behavior: ‘Stay At-Home Mom’:
Female nesting Giant Pacific octopuses are a rare sight, so Derek Singer was thrilled to capture one ... [+]
Underwater Conservation: A Shark Gets Released
The title of this image, "Release Of Newborn Blacktip Shark During Study On Shark Adaptation To ... [+]
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2024-01-30 20:08:47Z
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