14th Annual Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest Winners Introduced

The World’s Leading Underwater Photography Competition Announces Stunning Winners for 2025

Culver City, CA – January 23, 2026 – The Ocean Art Underwater Photography Competition, broadly considered the world’s premier underwater images contest, has introduced its winners for 2025.

With 1000’s of entries submitted from photographers throughout greater than 90 nations, this yr’s competitors highlights extraordinary moments from beneath the floor—from uncommon deep-sea encounters to highly effective conservation tales.

Winning pictures may be seen on the Underwater Photography Guide.

Best In Show: Chasing the Unseen

The coveted Best in Show award was introduced to Steven Kovacs for his picture “Tired Fish,” captured throughout a blackwater dive off Kumejima, Japan. Kovacs spent practically two weeks looking for a hardly ever documented larval goosefish species, capturing a fleeting second when the elusive topic opened its mouth towards the digicam. The picture exemplifies the dedication and persistence behind underwater images—the place extraordinary photos typically require days or even weeks of focused diving in difficult circumstances.

Category Highlights

This yr’s winners excelled throughout 14 classes, two highlights included:

• Macro: This class was notably aggressive in 2025, celebrating the dramatic microcosm of life on the reef from a pipefish hiding between coral polyps to an elusive juvenile batfish.

• Fashion: This class was judged by our latest decide – Canon and Marelux Ambassador, Ipah Uid Lynn. It featured a cacophony of colours and stylish shapes produced by human kind and the photographer behind the lens.

Behind the Lens

Ocean Art 2025 winners documented uncommon and intimate moments throughout marine environments:

• Birth and Reproduction: Jeon Min Seok captured the beginning of a seahorse after diving nightly in Japan to time the elusive occasion.

• Extreme Environments: James Ferrara photographed a freediver beneath frozen Lake Huron, navigating a shifting cathedral of ice with just one exit level.

• Rare Behavior: Galice Hoarau documented a sea snake tying itself in a knot whereas shedding— habits hardly ever seen on digicam.

• Micro World: Andrea Michelutti revealed a virtually invisible 2mm sea snail perched on nudibranch eggs, highlighting the reef’s hidden scale.

• Conservation: Elio Nicosia photographed a trapped moray eel that appeared to ask for assist— then freed it after capturing the picture.

• Creative Expression: Michal Stros remodeled a pufferfish portrait right into a surreal digital paintings mixing fractal patterns and movement. Together, these photos span tropical reefs, cold-water lakes, and the open ocean—revealing how a lot of the underwater world stays unseen.

Our Organizers and Judges

“These images are the result of obsession, patience, and exploration,” mentioned Nirupam Nigam, organizer of the competition and President of Bluewater Photo & Editor-in-Chief of the Underwater PhotographyGuide. “Many of this year’s winners spent weeks—or even years—chasing moments most people will never witness. While all great photography demands dedication, underwater photography requires a uniquely intense combination of patience, persistence, and technical skill.”

The judging panel returned for 2025, that includes world-renowned underwater photographers and business consultants together with Tony Wu, Marty Snyderman, Mark Strickland, and Marelux Ambassador Ipah Uid Lynn, who supplied professional analysis throughout technical, inventive, and storytelling standards.

Over $60,000 in Prizes

The Ocean Art Underwater Photography Competition has all the time been identified for having a large endowment — this yr over $60,000 in prizes. Ocean Art prizes are supplied by a number of the world’s prime scuba diving resorts, liveaboard dive yachts, and underwater picture gear producers.

Grand prizes embody an 8-night dive journey (22 dives) to Ambon, Indonesia with Spice Island Divers; an 8-day/7-night dive package deal (12 dives) for 2 at Meridian Adventure Dive Resort in Raja Ampat, Indonesia; a 7-night dive journey for 2 to Papua New Guinea with Walindi Plantation Resort; a 10- day/9-night liveaboard journey aboard Mermaid I or Mermaid II in Raja Ampat or Komodo with Mermaid Liveaboards; an 8-night dive cruise aboard the Coralia Liveaboard; a 4-night dive journey for 2 at Atmosphere Resort & Spa within the Philippines; a 7-night dive package deal to Puerto Galera, Philippines with El Galleon Resort & Asia Divers; an Indonesian dive cruise for one plus 50% off a companion aboard the SMY Ondina Liveaboard; a buy-one-get-one-free 10-dive package deal with Sea Saba; a $1,000 voucher towards the luxurious Jardines Avalon fleet with Avalon Outdoor; and a $1,000 voucher off any liveaboard journey with Mexico Liveaboards.

Ocean Art 2025 additionally featured top-tier gear prizes from main producers, together with Marelux Apollo III strobes, a Marelux Apollo S strobe, Marelux Artemis 4500RMT video lights, and Marelux Spectrum macro video lights from Marelux, in addition to an Ikelite DS-232 strobe from Ikelite. Additional prizes included a $300 reward certificates from Ultralight Camera Solutions, together with reward certificates from Bluewater Photo and Bluewater Travel.

Exhibition and Global Recognition

Winning photos might be showcased in over 250 world media retailers, together with prestigious print, on-line, and TV publications. These photos proceed to encourage audiences, reinforcing the significance of marine conservation and the unimaginable artistry of underwater images.

Complete listing of winners:

Best in Show
“Tired Fish” by Steven Kovacs

Wide Angle
1st: Byron Conroy
2nd: George Kao
third: Alex Lindbloom
4th: James Ferrara
Honorable Mention: Katherine Zhou
Honorable Mention: Pedro Carrillo

Macro
1st: Daniel Sly
2nd: Luis Arpa Toribio
third: Nicholas More
4th: Bruce Hall
Honorable Mention: Lena Remy
Honorable Mention: Luis Arpa Toribio

Marine Life Behavior
1st: Jeon Min Seok
2nd: Suliman Alatiqi
third: Kazuhiro Katano
4th: Mark Chivers
Honorable Mention: Jeffrey Milisen
Honorable Mention: Devyn Winner

Portrait
1st: Galice Hoarau
2nd: Imogen Manins
third: Wojtek Meczynski
4th: Wen Chou Wu
Honorable Mention: James Ferrara
Honorable Mention: Alessandro Fantin

Coldwater
1st: James Ferrara
2nd: Anton Sorokin
third: Nicholas More
4th: James Ferrara
Honorable Mention: Simon Temple
Honorable Mention: Allison Vitsky

Nudibranch
1st: Paolo Bausani
2nd: Brian Skjerven3rd: Kirsty Andrews
4th: Franco Tulli
Honorable Mention: Paul Eijkemans
Honorable Mention: Will Luckock

Blackwater
1st: Steven Kovacs
2nd: Steven Kovacs
third: Giancarlo Mazarese
4th: Steven Kovacs
Honorable Mention: Yoichi Sato
Honorable Mention: Akira Asahina
third: Mehmet Gungen
Honorable Mention: Shunsuke Nakano
Honorable Mention: Tom Ingram

Underwater Fashion
1st: Bruce Campbell
2nd: Cassie Pali
third: Claudia Weber-Gebert
Honorable Mention: Bruce Campbell
Honorable Mention: Sarah Teveldal

Underwater Conservation
1st: Elio Nicosia
2nd: Dan Mele
third: Pietro Cremone
4th: Celia Kujala
Honorable Mention: Theresa Guise
Honorable Mention: Thomas Pavy

Underwater Digital Art
1st: Michal Stros
2nd: Conor Culver
third: Ysabela Coll
4th: Lilian Koh
Honorable Mention: Julio Martínez
Honorable Mention: Ysabela Coll

Black & White
1st: Patrick Désormais
2nd: Jack Berthomier

Compact Wide Angle
1st: Haemi Cho
2nd: Enrico Somogyi
third: Megan Dente
Honorable Mention: Kevin McCown
Honorable Mention: Marty Jung

Compact Macro
1st: Andrea Michelutti
2nd: Don Bouchard
third: Andrea Michelutti
Honorable Mention: Enrico Somogyi

Compact Behavior
1st: Jo Taylor
2nd: Vadim Belakhov
third: Mohd Shakir
4th: Vadim Belakhov
Honorable Mention: Pierre-Benoît Querton
Honorable Mention: Marco Lausde

The Underwater Photography Guide is the #1 vacation spot for all issues underwater images. Featuring highly-regarded tutorials, approach ideas, in-depth gear evaluations, wonderful worldwide workshops and breaking u/w picture information, UWPG is right here to assist divers around the globe obtain their

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