The Top Images Of The Underwater Photographer Of The Year 2021 Competition Were Shared Online So The Audience Can Enjoy Seeing Them.

Underwater Photographer, About 71% of the earth’s surface is covered by water, So it’s only natural that a photography competition is held to celebrate 71% of the world’s natural splendor.

According to Bored Panda, the Underwater Photographer Of The Year competition has just announced its winners for 2021, and the published images are absolutely stunning.

In this contest, all underwater beauty is celebrated, and it doesn’t matter if the subject of the submitted photo is from the ocean, sea, lake, river, or even a pool.

First, second, and third places and numerous honorable mentions were selected from 14 different photography categories. Renee Capuzzola, SJ Alice Bennett, Mark Kirkland, Karim Ilya and many others were placed in the first row in different categories and their enchanting photos were able to attract the attention of many people.

Bored Panda has rounded up the top winners from each category and made a fun list for you to enjoy. At the bottom of the pictures, explanations are provided by the artist, which provides a better understanding of the recording conditions.

Please write the name of your favorite option in the comment section after viewing the beautiful pictures of the winner of the Underwater Photographer Of The Year competition.

Sharks’ Skylight by Rene Capuzzola (USA)

First place in the wide-angle category and the final winner of the underwater photographer of the year competition

Location: Moreh, French Polynesia

This image was taken in French Polynesia, which is one of my favorite places to photograph sharks. There are strong legal protections for sharks here, allowing them to thrive to help balance the marine ecosystem. During my visit to French Polynesia, I spent several sunsets in shallow water hoping to capture something unique. Instead of focusing on the method I always like to use when taking pictures, I decided to try something else. I envisioned the final idea of ​​the image in my head and I was going to hunt sharks underwater with the sunset seen from Snell’s window. I tried many times; But on this particular night when I captured the final image, the water was calm, the sunset was vibrant and I was very lucky.

Bored Panda contacted one of the winners of the 2021 Underwater Photographer of the Year competition, SG Alice Bennett. Bennett is a designer, photographer and diver born in England and now living in Tulum, Mexico.

Bennett submitted one of his underwater photos, “Trying In,” a spectacular view of the Cenote Mayan Blue Cave. He said about this picture:

When I captured this image, we were caving and had quite a complicated plan to execute. Usually, I don’t photograph caves like this. However, when one of the speleology students suffered multiple breakdowns in his equipment, the proposed plan failed miserably. Programs are important; But in case of failure, you have to quickly adapt and deal with new conditions.

After fixing all the problems and changing the plan to provide the fuel supply which was now almost gone, we went down in the water again. I swam ahead and waited for the rest of the divers at the spot you see in the photo and watched them swim towards me as they were followed by the beams of light. Suddenly, everything came together perfectly to capture a beautiful image; So I pressed the shutter button just as Max, the student whose equipment had malfunctioned on the first dive, turned around.

Milk Feeding by Mike Korostelf (Russian Federation)

Third place in the “behavior” category.

Location: Indian Ocean

On this day, a family of 13 whales allowed me to stay with them all day. It is a great honor for this man to be with the whales in their habitat in the ocean. These creatures remind us of the possibility of whaling years ago, but they have forgiven us. At the end of the day, a mother just a few meters away from me started to breastfeed her baby. I was dry with excitement and did not move. It was incredible to see such a special moment.

Pontohi Pigmy Seahorse (Pontohi Pigmy Seahorse) by Galis Hvara (Norway)

First place in the “Macro” category.

Location: Siladen, Indonesia

The pygmy pontoon seahorse (Hippocampus pontohi) is one of the smallest and most recently discovered seahorses. They usually live on rock walls and are difficult to find. We found two during our morning dive so I decided to spend the afternoon photographing them. I was lucky to find this seahorse hanging from the wall, as this situation allowed me to use the backlight with the help of Rando, my dive guide. After setting up the camera and light, we had to wait for him to get used to us and finally he turned to the camera for a brief moment.

BoardPanda had a chance to speak with another winner of the contest, René Capuzzola, who won first place in the Wide Angle category for his masterpiece Sharks’ Skylight. This photo shows two majestic sharks swimming in French Polynesia with seagulls flying overhead.

Renee was asked why she photographed sharks in the first place and if she was at least a little intimidated by the fact that she was about to swim with them.

Capuzzola explained:

Sharks are one of my favorite creatures to photograph underwater. Contrary to the stereotype of sharks as dangerous, I have found them to be very shy animals and one of the most difficult subjects to photograph. In these 17 years of photography and diving, I have never felt in danger with sharks. Sharks are magnificent creatures and should be respected; But there are also beautiful animals that are in danger of extinction.

My hope is that images like this help make more people aware of the added legal protections for sharks around the world. Because French Polynesia does such an amazing job by legally protecting its sharks, these animals thrive and help balance the marine ecosystem. French Polynesia is one of the best places in the world to photograph sharks.

Larval Lionfish by Steven Kovach (USA)

Second place in the “Macro” category.

Location: Palm Beach, Florida, USA

I came across this 1 inch fish larva off the coast of Florida while I was near the surface while black water diving at night. In the Atlantic, lionfish are an invasive species and unfortunately finding marine larvae is a very common occurrence on these dives. This creature had a more beautiful color than usual; So I decided to capture a picture of the blades when they are at their best. This is a challenging task, not only because they avoid bright lights and usually try to run away, but also because they only open their fins fully for a brief moment in a defensive stance. I was very lucky to be able to capture the image of this particular creature in its exemplary glory.

The Great Migration by Mark Kirkland (England)

2nd place in the “Wide Parasite of British Waters” category

Location: Isle of Cole, Inner Hebrides, Scotland

It is this microscopic plankton that draws the giant basking shark to the west coast of England and into the narrow channel between the Isles of Coll and Tiree. Their migration is predictable; But to be able to share water with them in a trip requires high luck. For me, spending a late summer night with them (in 2020) was a dream come true. I have photographed basking sharks before; But I had never been able to take the classic “face-to-face” image with this creature; So I decided to try something completely different instead. Despite the challenging light conditions and plankton-rich water, I wasn’t sure it could be done; But after two years of planning, getting help from my brother Pavel, trial and error with different lenses and filters, I finally got the chance to figure it out.

Bennett did not discover the Ceneote Mayan Blue Cave himself, but was actually done by his diving instructor; But regardless, he seized the opportunity and took some beautiful pictures while underwater.

Bennett explained his image:

Cenote Mayan Blue is a popular caving training site and this photo was taken in a scuba diving class; So that day, I didn’t choose the location and the caving instructor did; He is the diver on the right in the photo; And no, I’m not claustrophobic and I love cave diving, it’s one of my favorite things to do. Most of the places we go are huge, but you can also find tight wind tunnels that are usually fun to dive into.

The Silent Strong of Sunrise Eats Underwater by Ian Wade (UK)

1st place in the category “British pressed waters”

Location: St. George’s Park – Bristol, England (MBY)

I decided to attach a small weight to the back of my GoPro and drop it into the lake a short distance away from me. The presence of extra weight in that part of the camera means that this device always falls on its back; So I can shoot from an almost vertical angle. I have a GoPro attached to my camera so I can remotely capture the images I want.

As my small camera hit the water, the attention of the swans was drawn towards it; That’s why they swam to him. I waited until one of the swans was in the right position and put its head under the water, then I took several different shots at high speed to capture the best image.

Nest Buddies by Dan Bolt (England)

3rd place in “British macro waters” category

Location: Swanage Pier, England

This fish in the background was actually building its nest under the pier. This means that he was very distracted from his duties and kept returning to the same spot to collect more pieces of seaweed.

The flounder was also moving on the algae near the fish. I only had to wait a minute or two before I could finally capture an image where both of them were in the same frame.

In the 2021 Underwater Photographer of the Year competition, Bennett won first place in the “Expert” category, which is one of 17 different categories. The purpose of this group is to showcase the work of new talents in the competition; But his success does not end there. In addition to winning the first place in this group, he also won the title of “Britain’s Most Promising Underwater Photographer”.

He said about his feelings about getting this position:

When I received that email I was very surprised and of course very excited. Caving is very famous in the world diving community; So I’m really happy to be able to share photos of places that I love so much that not many people get to see in real life. Also, to win two categories with one of those photos is pretty amazing to me!

Gray Seal Gully by Christy Andrews (England)

3rd place in the “Wide Parasite of British Waters” category

Location: Farne Islands, Northumberland, England

Photographing gray sea lions is wonderful; But I like this photo because of the background. My friend showed me this beautiful moat filled with different algae and light streaming in from above. I waited at that place for a while hoping that a sea lion would pass by. Finally, only one shy sea lion hurried past the place; But I was able to use that limited time and capture this portrait.

While You Sleep by Mark Kirkland (England)

First place in the category “Wide Parasite of British Waters”

Location: Malls Mire, Glasgow, Scotland (MBY)

A small forest called Malls Mire in Glasgow is located between housing, a supermarket and a factory, and it has become a haven for wildlife. As the winter warms, for a few nights each year one of the small muddy ponds comes alive with common frogs. I photographed them here for the first time in 2018 and have had this image in my mind ever since. It took me another two years to hunt down the little wonders that wake up on cold nights when the city sleeps. Using a remote shutter release while using a combination of long exposures, backlighting and a close focus angle meant that I had to give up and fail even after the 100th attempt to finally get that image. that I would like to record.

As you have noticed, underwater photography is not an easy task at all. This work does not end only with having the right equipment and technical knowledge of photography and of course not being aquaphobic. An underwater photographer also knows how to adapt to a new visual environment.

Bennett explains about underwater photography:

One of the most challenging things when diving underwater with a camera is lighting. To photograph underwater caves, there may be no light; Therefore, all the light needed to represent the environment must be illuminated and then used to create visually appealing scenes.

Keeper Of The Seven Keys by Ryuhai Ito (Japan)

First place in the “Portrait” category.

Location: Tatayama , Chiba Prefecture, Japan (MBY)

As the Asian sheephead fish grows, its gender changes from female to male, along with a large lump on its head. I thought about the light and the composition so that the mass on its head is seen and its powerful face is conveyed and challenged many times. He lives in an underwater shrine and looks exactly like a guardian deity. I want to thank my teacher, Keigo Kawamura, for teaching me how to take pictures underwater and Hiroyuki Arakawa for guiding me.

Face To Face by Jing Gong Zhang (China)

2nd place in the “Behavior” category.

Location: Minabe, Wakayama, Japan

This picture shows the fight between two Belny fish. This creature is a type of chaenopsid blenny fish found around Japan and South Korea. The most obvious feature of this cute animal is its very interesting hairstyle, which is often called Punk Blenny or Mohican Blenny.

In fact, these types of fight scenes with Blaney are very rare; because they only stay in their nest and do not interact with other creatures; But during the breeding season, if an area is overcrowded, blennies will engage in intense fights for mates, though these fights are often resolved quickly.

Blaney is one of my favorite projects. From the moment of getting the information to the long wait and search to find this fish, filming this scene took about three years intermittently. Finally, I would like to thank my Japanese friends who have helped me in this process. At the same time, I am very proud to share this fascinating moment.

Capuzzola also explained about the challenges of underwater photography and how important some of the requirements and limitations of being underwater are:

I have to say that one of the most challenging things about underwater photography is that taking photos while diving with limited air requires swimming management and the ability to quickly analyze animal behavior. Divers also don’t have the ability to change lenses while shooting or spend all day in one location.

Gothic Chamber by Martin Brown (USA)

Second place in the “wide angle” category.

Location: Cenote Monkey Dust, Mexico

The Maya River in Mexico is home to the world’s largest underground river system, filled with crystal clear water, endless tunnels, and amazingly decorated halls that rival the best Gothic community churches in the world.

The challenge of recording the image of this beautiful hall was not only in its vast dimensions, but also that this place is in complete darkness, and this issue itself is one of the most important challenges for photography.

This image is the result of a horizontal panorama shot taken at 1/15 second with the aperture wide open to create an 86MP landscape. My goal was to capture the scale, the three-dimensionality, the richness of the structure and its incredible texture.

Portrait Of A Variable Blenny by Malcolm Nimmo (England)

First place in the category of “British waters macro”

Location: Plymouth Sound, England (MBY)

The variable blenny (Parablennius pilicornis) is a relatively new fish to British coastal waters, originating from more southerly waters. The presence of the mentioned species has been recorded throughout the Mediterranean Sea. This species may appear in different colored forms. In the current image, taken in July 2020 in Plymouth Sound, you can see a male blenny. This particular blenny stood proudly on the edge of a rock, making itself an ideal subject for photography. To record this image and improve the features of the face, the method of lighting from the top is used.

Rainbow Goby by Manbad (Malaysia)

Second place in the “Compact” category.

Location: Lembe, Indonesia

When I was underwater with this furry panda Gabby, he seemed very shy; So it took a long time to get comfortable and appear in front of my camera. While I waited, I prepared my colored flashlights and adjusted them to brighten the corals. These lights were positioned to only illuminate the corals, so to get a sharper image of the gabi I had to use another white light so that the final shot was properly captured and this beautiful creature was surrounded by different colors.

Bennett was asked which is his favorite work in this competition. He replied:

René Capuzzola’s work, which was chosen as Best Picture, is a spectacular shot. I also really like “Glamour” by Danny Lee, which won third place in the “Talents” category. I love colors that convey a silky feel to the viewer.

Also, I love “Striped Marlin on a High-Speed ​​Hunt in Mexico” by Karim Ilya, which was entered in the “Behavior” category of this contest. In fact, this work is a good dynamic image that really conveys the predation and terror of the small fish very well.

Double Turtle by Renata Romeo (Italy)

Third place in the “Black and White” category.

Home: Marsa Agha, Marsa Alam, Egypt

During the long months of the corona pandemic, I, like everyone else, had to modify my usual lifestyle. One of the things I did was replace my normal snorkeling with snorkeling. This activity amazingly presented me with a new time and place, interesting perspectives and different perspectives. This new way of diving gave birth to my life in the shadows. This summer, I often encountered the friendly little loggerhead turtle during early morning snorkelling at Marsa Agla. I was mesmerized by its delicate movements and spent hours watching this creature eat and breathe.

I found that the particular conditions of the light and the sea clearly showed the reflection of its image on the water. I waited patiently for days for the ideal situation and finally I recorded the final photo as I envisioned in my mind. I wanted to press the shutter at the exact moment when this turtle and its body geometry were reflected in the water.

Jellyfish Galore by Oleg Gepuniuk (Russia)

3rd place in “Wide Engle” category

Location: Mermaid Lake, Palau

In March 2020, I traveled to Palau for two weeks of diving. When I was there, the borders were closed due to Corona; So I had to stay there for 3 months and then return to my place of residence.

It was a good time. Places you used to be able to visit with groups of 50 or so now hosted me alone. I have been to Mermaid Lake 4 times. Usually, a diving session lasts about 45 minutes due to the large number of tourists; But since I was alone, I could even swim for 3-4 hours and visit that place.

Before the first dive, the guide told me: to swim to the center of the lake, you will see mermaids there. When I got to the center of the lake, I only saw about 12 jellyfish, which made me sad.

The second time, I took a drone with me and quickly flew around the entire lake. During this short trip, I saw a lot of mermaids that I had previously read about on Wikipedia. These beautiful creatures were gathered together in a group near the shore at the end of the lake, which was about 500 meters away.

I took my camera and swam. I had to dive for 20 minutes to finally reach a place full of jellyfish. That’s where I captured this panoramic image.

The Cut by Diana Ferney (Australia)

First place in the “black and white” category.

Location: Lro Kat, Jazair Suleiman

This photo was taken in Lero Cut, Solomon Islands. I was lucky enough to be awarded a 10-day trip to the Solomons PNG Master Live program and was very happy to have the opportunity to visit this beautiful place again. Having dived the site twice before, I knew what to expect. However, I needed a nice model as a basic element for this composition. Fortunately, there was another photographer in the group whose wife would have been the perfect subject for my work. I talked to them and finally managed to capture several different images of this scene.

Capuzzola also announced some of his favorite works in this competition. He said about this:

There are many entries in this contest that I like; So it’s really hard to pick my favorite image; But some photos really caught my eye, including these ten:

1- Gothic hall

2- Pygmy pontoon seahorse

3- Hunting shark and sardine

4- Great migration

5- Gray sea lion ditch

6- When you sleep

7- The wolf’s nest

8- Reclaimed by the ocean

9- Blue brothers

10- Red dot

Some of the images he mentioned were not included in the final list and as a result, are not included in this report.

Japanese negative (Japanese Manefish) by Keigo Kawamura (Japan)

Second place in the “Portrait” category.

Location: Ose, Japan

The downside is that Japanese is not a fish that can be found by searching. They can only be seen while diving when the waves have completely brought them close to the shore. I have been scuba diving for 20 years and took this photo when I first saw this creature. Young Japanese negatives have a mirror-like skin and a glassy and transparent body; So I chose to back light it to show these features in my image.

Pinky by Sandra Stalker (England)

3rd place in “Compact British Waters” category

Location: Portland Harbour, Dorset, England

I love these little gobies and their grumpy faces. I often watch them while diving because they are curious in nature and like to have a staring contest with me; A race that they win most of the time. These creatures often have a habit of blending in with their background on the sand, I wanted to make Gabby stand out so I put a color filter behind it and an extra light in front of it to make it stand out. I was thrilled with the contrast the pink created and how shiny the face was.

Reclaimed By The Ocean (Reclaimed By The Ocean) by Grant Thomas (England)

2nd place in the “ruins” category

It was late in the day and the sun was setting on the arid landscape of Aqaba in southwest Jordan. Myself and a group of underwater photographers eagerly awaited nightfall so that we could enter the water and begin exploring the vast collection of military hardware that had been deliberately sent to the bottom for the divers to enjoy. For the shoot, we decided to use a combination of powerful off-camera lights to illuminate the subject (the M42 duster) and backlight for the diver, which helps eliminate background distractions. Creating this image was a team effort and I have to thank the entire Diverse Divers team for making it happen.

Location: Aqaba, Jordan

Toward Shining Light by Ryuhai Ito (Japan)

Second place in the “talents” category.

Location: Maya Lagoon, North Ari Atoll, Maldives

As we were exploring the lagoon with a safari boat at night, sea anemones came to the back of the boat to eat the plankton gathered under the light of the boat; So I put on my wetsuit, grabbed my gear and hit the water with my camera.

This plankton eating table fish circled in front of me again and again and then went deep into the water. Seeing this giant dance in front of me was a unique feat. Seeing this beautiful scene up close, I was compelled to press the shutter button. This photo was taken when the table fish was swimming from the depths of the water towards the light.

At the end of his words, Rene Capuzzola said:

I want to thank the judges and organizers of the competition for all their hard work and organizing this competition, which gives photographers an opportunity to showcase their work and raise awareness for marine conservation.

You can search for her name (Renee Capozzola) on social networks to get more information about this person and follow her personal page on Facebook and Instagram to see more works of this artist.

Capuzzola is a photographer and winner of an international underwater photography contest, who has a special talent for capturing wide-angle and segmented images. His paintings are a fascinating combination of his artistic talent developed through oil painting in his youth and a professional background in biology. As a result, his works are considered very valuable.

The Yellow Candy by Pasquale Vassallo (Italy)

2nd place in the “Protection of the Sea” category

Location: Campi Flegrei, Italy

In one of my trips, I noticed the bold presence of these yellow nets that look like candy. I could not understand the purpose of their existence. In the following days, with the help of some local fishermen, I found out that these candy nets are actually the heart of a trap.

The hunter fills it with dead fish and throws it into another net. Thanks to the smell of dead fish remains, it attracts small molluscs, more precisely, Nassarius mutabilis. Once these creatures enter the trap, they cannot get out. When the creatures inside the trap are removed, it itself is left in the sea, which causes plastic pollution of the sea and endangers the lives of many creatures. As you can see, these nets can be like traps for other creatures and capture them.

Crab Affairs, by Atanas Petrov (England)

2nd place in the “Coexistence of British Waters” category

Location: SS Rosalie, Wybourne, England

While diving on the SS Rosalie wreck off the coast of Wybourne, England, I noticed these two Pagorus brown crabs sitting together. They have probably completed mating, an important part of their life cycle, and now the male is on top protecting the female until the creature’s exoskeleton hardens. I was happy to observe this particular behavior using my wide angle lens and successfully captured such a shot that showed not only the subjects but also their surroundings.

Bowlander by Tobias Friedrich (Germany)

First place in the “ruins” category.

Location: Nassau, Bahamas

Due to bad weather at Tiger Beach and Bimini, we had to seek shelter near Nassau in the Bahamas and dive regularly. This carcass was completely new to me and I was seeing it for the first time. As we were descending, we were struck by the fact that the wreck was almost on the edge of a large sand dune.

Trying In by SG Alice Bennett (Mexico)

First place in the “Talents” category, winner of the title of Britain’s Most Promising Underwater Photographer

Location: Cenote Mayan Blue, Sistema Ox Bel Ha, Tulum, Mexico

When I captured this image, we were cave climbing and had a very complicated plan to execute. Usually, I don’t photograph caves like this. However, when one of the speleology students suffered multiple breakdowns in his equipment, the proposed plan failed miserably. Plans are important, but if they fail, you need to adapt quickly and deal with new situations.

After fixing all the problems and changing the plan to provide the fuel supply which was now almost gone, we went down in the water again. I swam ahead and waited for the rest of the divers at the location you see in the photo and watched them swim towards me as the light beams followed them. Suddenly, everything came together perfectly to capture a beautiful image; So I pressed the shutter button just as Max, the student whose equipment had malfunctioned on the first dive, turned around.

Doule Near The Surface by Jack Bertomir (New Caledonia)

First place in the “Compact” category.

Location: Ouenghi River, New Caledonia

I used to go fishing and take photos a few days after heavy rains that raise the river bed and cause flooding. The water current is strong but still efficient for freediving practice. Plants, leaves and detached branches have a lot of color to display, a feature that makes this photo of this simple Caledonian carp even more beautiful.

Golden Hour At The Georgios (Golden Hour At The Georgios) by Rene Capuzzola (USA)

The third place in the “ruins” category.

Location: Neom, Saudi Arabia

This photo was taken of the Georgios shipwreck in Neom, Saudi Arabia along the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea. In 1978, this large cargo ship originally from England ran aground on a shallow coral reef at night and then caught fire. The wreck now serves as an artificial reef for many marine creatures. Some locals refer to this place as “Saudi Titanic”. To achieve this shot, I used a very small aperture, a very wide 12mm linear lens, a lower ISO, and a strobe to illuminate the underwater corals.

SS Hispania (SS Hispania) by Kirsty Andrews (England)

First place in the “Coexistence of British Waters” category

Location: Sound of Mull, Scotland, England

In my opinion the UK has some of the best diving spots in the world and SS Hispania in the Sound of Mull is one of my favourites. This carcass has actually become an artificial reef and attracts wild animals. Of course, only animals have not realized the beauty of this place and divers are also attracted to this beautiful place. Every inch of metal is covered in orange and white anemones, seaweed or sponges.

My friend was inspecting the superstructure above the pits. At the same time I went back as far as I could and tried to capture the widest possible shot. My intention in doing this is to convey the sense of scale that was created in this colorful scene.

Time Travel by Martin Brown (USA)

Second place in the “Black and White” category.

Location: Cenote Chan Hole (Little Hole), Mexico

Imagine yourself in an underwater cave in Mexico, where you are hours away from the exit surface. Imagine diving into an endless labyrinth covered in prehistoric structures, where you can see the remains of an ancient culture’s fire, a place to find the bones of animal species that went extinct 8,000 years ago, and remember everything around you. It is from before the time when these places were filled with water.

This photo tries to capture such an atmosphere. The uneven texture of the cave, along with the pristine structures in it, accompany the diver in the dark. To add the feeling of time travel and endlessly showing the depth of the tunnels, the zoom movement technique is used towards the light and the subject.

This image conveys a claustrophobic feeling to some and a sense of discovery and adventure to others.

River of Blood from a Dead Whale, by Rafael Fernandez Caballero (Spain)

Third place in the category “Protection of the Sea”

Location: Baja, Gulf of California, Mexico

Seeing a dead animal is always considered sad; But seeing a large mammal like this dead whale is something indescribable.

From land, this image looked scary; But when I flew the drone, it was even more shocking and heart-pounding. As I watched this scene from above, I saw a very large river of blood flowing out of the Great Wall, perhaps more than a mile in length.

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Now that you’ve seen all 30 winning images in the Underwater Photo of the Year contest, please let us know in the comments section which one looks more beautiful and impressive than the others.