Ethereal Moonscape. Runner-up, Wide Angle. "A diver using a rebreather glides through one of my favorite caves in the Yucatán Peninsula. The rebreather was a critical piece of equipment for this shot. Using rebreathers in the caves allows us to spend much more time exploring their depths, and enhances my photos as it gives us the opportunity to precisely illuminate the scene." #

Pink Cheeks. Third Place, Up & Coming. "This was my first time taking a camera underwater, and was nervous but excited. My goal was to get a tiny nudibranch in focus, and with the support of my husband, Adam Martin, and our amazing guides, I quickly fell in love with macro photography." #

Chasing Dolphins. Winner, Black & White. "This image was captured in the northern Red Sea during a free-diving expedition in search of bottlenose dolphins. The moment portrays an intimate mating ritual, where several males—four visible in the picture, though others were nearby—were playfully chasing a female. It was a dynamic and ritualistic display, with the males engaging in friendly skirmishes and occasionally mating with the female, their bodies joining briefly for just a few seconds. Notably, the female was not attempting to escape; she actively participated, playing along and waiting for them." #

Deep Sea Birds. Runner-up, Wrecks. "Aqaba is well known among most divers and was high on my wish list for years. Finally, a perfect opportunity was created by Carlos Diezel (the agile free diver you can see in this photo) in collaboration with Diverse Divers diving center. We were lucky to free dive all around Aqaba wrecks for the week. This photo was made on our second visit to this particular dive spot." #

Amazon River Dolphin Silhouette. Runner-up, Portrait. "I spent two weeks in Manaus, where about 10 operators feed the river dolphins, which are a draw to tourists. We visited a pontoon with four resident botos and a beach that draws about seven in daily. Botos look very unusual compared with other dolphins, with incredibly long rostra—with vestigial hairs on them, tiny eyes and thick bodies. The idea here was to try to get an unexpected view of a surprising animal most people have never heard about." #

Disco Lion. Third Place, Macro. "As I back-rolled into the Lembeh Strait, the first thing that came into view was a table coral in eight to 10 meters of water. Atop the coral was a cloud of small baitfish surrounding a very pretty lionfish. An open aperture reveals detail in the lionfish's face but renders the small silvery fish as defocused, bokeh disco balls." #

A Frondly Snoot Boop. Third Place, Portrait. "The giant kelp forests of the Falkland Islands are among the lushest algal amphitheaters anywhere in the cold-water world. Their prodigious productivity supports a plethora of awesome aquatic animals, including this rambunctiously curious South American sea lion. Initially intrigued by this vibrant sea forest tucked away off the West Falkland archipelago, my dive buddies and I quickly found ourselves the center of a passing pride’s attention. An exuberant young male, with small scars of missing whiskers looking so much like adolescent acne on his face-forward personality, began his investigation slowly. Then suddenly was right in our faces, poking, prodding and jawing his way into figuring out what exactly was this bubbly beast barking in his backyard." #

Fluo Spiny Squat Lobster. Runner-up, British Waters Macro and Most Promising British Underwater Photographer 2025. "This image was taken on a wonderful night dive at Inveraray, Loch Fyne. This site is known for being home to many beautiful fireworks anemones at shallow depths, but it also has an old pipe covered in concrete blocks that is home to lots of life, including the spiny squat lobster. These squat lobsters are usually found clinging upside down on boulders and overhangs and disappear the instant the camera shutter is pressed. However, on this night dive they were wandering about in the open and didn’t seem to mind having a few pictures taken. These squat lobsters show the brightest fluorescence I have seen in crustaceans, and I was really pleased on this dive to be able to capture the whole animal in frame." #

Radiant Bond. Winner, Wide Angle, and Underwater Photographer of the Year 2025. "A mother humpback whale accompanies her calf to the surface for its first breath early in the morning. The youngster is releasing a few bubbles as it rises, perhaps because it is still learning to control its breathing, or it is simply experimenting with its own body." #

Dazzling Donut Doto. Runner-up, Macro. Bali, Indonesia. "I wanted to leave this inspirational place with a unique image of Doto greenamyeri, one of the most striking subjects in Tulamben. I created a dramatic glowing effect on the nudibranch with my strobe and snoot, and completed the frame by backlighting the host hydroid with subtle blue light to balance the composition." #

Water Zen. Runner-up, Black & White. "This image was taken at the Los Angeles Olympic send-off event for the USA Olympic Artistic Swimming Team. As the event photographer, I was able to photograph the team both underwater and from land. In this shot, the swimmer is warming up before the team's demonstration of its 2024 Paris Olympic routines by standing on the bottom of the pool engaged in a breathing exercise. Artistic swimmers have an incredible lung capacity and they are able to perform these unusual feats such as standing on the bottom of the pool, effortlessly." #

The Moment. Runner-up, Behavior. "November-December at Magdalena Bay in Baja California are the best months to try and get good encounters with blue marlin. However, getting strong images of these fish in wild life is very difficult, because they attack the sardines and mackerels at very high speed, making it extremely difficult to capture this behavior in a photo." #

Hydration. Winner, Portrait. "I had the idea of photographing the camels drinking water for about one and half a years. I wanted to photograph them drinking water from the underwater perspective, because I did not see any images showing this. The weather was critical, and it took me several weeks to get the best possible shots. The first week, the camels were a bit hesitant to drink water while my camera was under the water, and only few gathered to drink, which is not what I wanted. But after several days the camels had already accepted me and my equipment." #

The Beauty of the Swamp. Winner, Compact. "I captured this image at one of my favorite locations within the Everglades ecosystem. Historically, I primarily dove in salt water, but I have become enamored by this foreboding environment, with clear waters, light filtering through cypress trees, and the fish species, both native and introduced. I have revisited this spot many times trying to capture various subjects and the light just right. The water levels vary significantly, sometimes completely drying, during different times of year. The fish species are in constant flux, and this location is often dominated by exotics. Ironically, on this occasion, I hadn't invested too much thought and I was enjoying the scenery when this Florida gar positioned itself perfectly in the frame of my GoPro." #

Face Off. Winner, Behavior. "This is a photo of two male Asian sheepshead wrasse fighting. The unique form of this species is characteristic of males, who form harems and claim territories during the breeding season. The one on the left in the photo is the harem king, who has defended his territory for more than 10 years and is estimated to be over 30 years old, while the one on the right is a young challenger." #

Aurora Underwater. Category winner, Up & Coming, and Up & Coming Underwater Photographer of the Year 2025. "I first traveled to Cancun, Mexico, for a shoot two years ago, and since then, I’ve been captivated by its charm. These days, I find myself visiting Cancun frequently. From where I live, it’s a very long journey—about 24 hours by plane—but this place perfectly aligns with the direction of my photography and offers a variety of shooting opportunities. To capture this particular photo, I visited during the rainy summer season and worked with a local Korean guide as my model." #