Penguins can fly. Not in the sky, but in icy waters. Photographer Jill Crosby’s face was freezing as she watched penguins zip around near the Salisbury Plain in South Georgia (located about 800 miles from the Falkland Islands). But with icy fingers she snapped photographs and captured the moment a penguin zipped by (seen above).
“He released a shimmering trail of tiny microbubbles from his plumage, coating himself with a lubricating layer of air to cut drag and maximize speed,” Crosby said. “Perhaps most enchantingly, underwater, his wings came to life, flapping to propel him forward and steering like rudders as he soared.”
The image took Honorable Mention in the Cold Water category of the 13th Annual Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest.
Honorable Mention Compact Wide Angle
“I recently had the incredible opportunity to swim with humpback whales in Tonga, and let me tell you, it was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had! Vava’u, Tonga, is one of the few places where swimming with these magnificent creatures is possible. Every year, from July to November, humpback whales migrate to Tonga’s warm waters, from Antarctica, to breed and give birth. It’s such a special place for these gentle giants and their little ones. During my swim, I managed to capture a photo of a curious calf that ventured away from its mom to check me out! The mother whale kept a close eye on her baby as it swam back and forth between us. I could honestly sense the calf feeling of Freedom, while the mom was always watching over him. It’s hard to put into words how amazing it is to be in the water with these giant whales. Watching them glide through the ocean, seeing a mother and calf swimming side by side, and listening to their hauntingly beautiful songs underwater is something I’ll cherish forever. Every moment felt so personal, as if time stood still just for me.”
Credit: Nancy Berg / Ocean Art 2024
This year’s contest garnered thousands of entries from more than 90 countries. The Best in Show prize went to Eduardo Labat for his photo “Dancing White Tips” showing dozens of sharks forming a tight, swirling group underwater.
Visit Underwater Photography Guide for a full gallery of winners. (Click to expand images.)
Honorable Mention Portrait
“In the shallow, dark waters of an Amazonian Brazilian river, a boto (pink river dolphin) surfaces, framed against the lush green canopy above. This image captures the delicate balance between the boto and the Amazon’s rich ecosystem, both of which face significant threats. Yet, it also symbolizes hope and resilience, reminding us of the urgent need for conservation efforts to protect these natural treasures and ensure a brighter future.”
Credit: Olivier Clement / Ocean Art 2024
Honorable Mention Place Compact Behavior
Credit: Grzegorz Krysiak / Ocean Art 2024
4th Place Wide Angle
“Sataya Reef (also known as Dolphin Reef) is located in the Marsa Alam region of the Southern Red Sea, Egypt. The most distinctive feature of this location is the presence of permanently residing pods of spinner dolphins. I visited the area on a liveaboard tailored for underwater photographers. We spent around 1.5 hours snorkeling in the water with dolphins. During this time, snorkelers from a couple of day-trip boats were also in the water. Our group stopped the activity as soon as the dolphins began showing sleeping behavior, in contrast to the playful behavior we had witnessed earlier. I visualized the image I wanted to capture as one of the pod or individual dolphins swimming toward me, rather than chasing them for side or tail shots. This presented a challenge: I needed to align the early morning sun in the right direction, as I was shooting with natural light. Another important consideration was keeping other snorkelers out of the frame as much as possible. Given the amount of swimming required, I kept my camera rig as compact as possible and brought freediving fins specifically for the dolphin snorkeling, even though this was primarily a scuba diving trip. To minimize motion blur, I shot most images at 1/320s. As the available light increased with the rising sun, I gradually lowered my starting ISO from 800 to 400. One advantage of using my water-contact Nikonos RS 13mm lens was its ability to shoot at relatively wider apertures, in addition to its compact size. For post-processing, I used Adobe Lightroom Classic. Most adjustments were global, such as white balance, contrast, and exposure adjustments for shadows and highlights. I also used Lightroom’s auto subject selection tool to enhance the contrast of the dolphins, helping them stand out more.”
Credit: Mehmet A. Gungen / Ocean Art 2024
3rd Place Compact Macro
These yellow gobies usually inhabit discarded bottles at certain muck dive sites here in Anilao. While I was photographing two gobies perched at the mouth of a bottle, a dwarf lionfish suddenly emerged from inside. This was an incredibly rare encounter based on my experience. To enhance the scene, I used a snoot to highlight the subjects and the bottle’s opening, creating a more natural and focused composition.
Credit: Jayson Apostol / Ocean Art 2024
1st Place Compact Wide Angle
“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.”
Credit: Marco Lausdei / Ocean Art 2024
Honorable Mention Marine Life Behavior
“A quite special encounter, as for the first time in my life I was able to have a dugong in front of my lens. I was freediving in the Red Sea, Marsa Alam, Egypt, when this beautiful individual showed up. He was ever so chilled, floating around, eating some seagrass, coming back up for air, when all of a sudden, he laid himself sideways on the seafloor and started rolling around like a puppy scratching an itch away. Even-though his eternal smile might say otherwise; this dugong was getting pretty annoyed by the dozen of remoras hitching a free ride with him.”
Credit: Ines Goovaerts / Ocean Art 2024 Ines
Honorable Mention Portrait
“There is a place in the Philippines named Kimud Shoal, where you can meet perhaps the most beautiful shark in the world in a natural environment. This shark is the thresher shark, which mainly decimates schools of mackerel, herring and sardines. It swims around shoals of herring and sardines, striking the water with its long tail fin that sounds far away. After having gathered the fish in this way, he swims among them and drops prey from the crowd. At this dive site there is a small coral reef surrounded by hundreds of meters of depth. At dawn, after they have finished hunting, they swim up above the reef, where the cleaner fish remove the parasites from their skin. For 10 days, we sailed out every early morning to this point, where I studied the sharks’ behavior and habits. I managed to take this picture after several hours of diving, of the shark circling above the cleaning station. I didn’t use an external flash when taking the picture, just natural light so as not to disturb the shark. This made my job very difficult, because the light and visibility under the water are poor in this area early in the morning.”
Credit: Földi László / Ocean Art 2024
4th Place Marine Life Behavior
Two American crocodiles cross paths off Cayo Centro, a mangrove island at Banco Chinchorro. As territorial reptiles, crocodiles exhibit various behaviors to challenge intruders including lifting their heads as seen here. If one of them does not back down, they will have to fight it out.
Credit: Suliman Alatiqi / Ocean Art 2024
2nd Place Portrait
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.
Credit: Eduardo Acevedo / Ocean Art 2024
2nd Place Underwater Conservation
“WWF turtle monitor volunteers measure a green turtle (Chelonia mydas) captured near Dravuni Island, Kadavu Province, Fiji. After the measurements, the green turtle is released back into the water. Green turtles are classified as ‘Endangered’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). From left to right: Vanivasa Vone, Lynn Vuli, Mikaele Finau.”
Credit: Tom Vierus / Ocean Art 2024 Tom Vierus
5th Place Marine Life Behavior
“In areas where these fish gather in large numbers, territorial battles between males often occur. However, in most cases, the outcome is decided in an instant, making it extremely challenging to capture such moments. When I took this photo, the fight lasted for more than 10 minutes. Since it was taken during a period of poor visibility with a lot of floating particles, I worked to reduce glare and flare effects.”
Credit: Keigo Kawamura / Ocean Art 2024
Honorable Mention Black & White
“In late spring, the waters around Baja California Sur are teeming with mobulas. Known as fevers, these groups of rays are often gathered by the thousands. Here for feeding and mating, their dance is an unbelievable sight to behold from both above and below the water. On this day, the water was exceptionally clear for this time of year. Mobulas eat plankton, and plankton means murky visibility. Conditions aligned for a clear shot of the rays from directly above. An endless wall of mobulas slowly glided below me, circling for hours, as I happily snapped away.”
Credit: Brittany Ilardi / Ocean Art 2024
2nd Place Marine Life Behavior
“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.’”
Credit: Reiko Takahashi / Ocean Art 2024
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