A spellbinding picture of two tiny however vibrant “ladybugs of the sea” has received the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025 award.
Taken by Indonesia-based photographer Yury Ivanov at his native dive website in Bali, the successful {photograph} reveals two amphipods, which stand at simply three millimeters tall, resting on a chunk of coral, in keeping with a press launch from competitors organizers Oceanographic Magazine and Blancpain on Thursday.
“It required a lot of patience and precision to compose and light the shot properly,” mentioned Ivanov in a press release. “The result reveals an intimate glimpse of underwater life that is often overlooked.”
Winning the competitors “is an incredible feeling,” added Ivanov. “This award is not just about one image, but about celebrating the ocean itself – its fragility, its diversity, and its extraordinary power to inspire us.”
His image was chosen as the general winner from a subject of greater than 15,000 photos submitted by photographers everywhere in the world, with 9 class winners additionally chosen.
Category winners embody a surprising shot of a private watercraft navigating large waves on the famed Nazaré surf spot in Portugal; a haunting picture of a long-finned pilot whale foetus mendacity underneath their lifeless mom’s physique throughout whale searching season within the Faroe Islands; and a stupendous photograph of a feminine yellow pygmy goby fish releasing newly-hatched larvae from her mouth.
“The winners of this year’s Ocean Photographer of the Year remind us that photography is more than art – it is a bridge. Their images connect people to the ocean in ways words cannot, reaching those who may never dive in it or paddle on it, but whose lives are deeply intertwined with it,” mentioned Will Harrison, director of Ocean Photographer of the Year, within the launch.
“In a time of planetary urgency, this year’s photographers invite the world to see, feel, and ultimately care. Their work is critical, because we protect what we understand,” he added.
The successful images will type a part of an Ocean Photographer of the Year exhibition, which can make its first cease on the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney from November 6.
Editor’s Note: Call to Earth is a CNN editorial collection dedicated to reporting on the environmental challenges going through our planet, along with the options. Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative has partnered with CNN to drive consciousness and training round key sustainability points and to encourage optimistic motion.