Gallery: Underwater Photographer of the Year 2026

Rockpool Rookies, by Australian photographer Matty Smith, was the latest general winner of the Underwater Photographer of the Year 2026 competitors. Taken in a shallow rockpool on Sealion Island within the Falklands, the split-level picture captures two southern elephant seal pups throughout their earliest encounters with the ocean.

Once weaned from their mom’s milk, elephant seal pups are abruptly left alone on shore to navigate life for themselves. Many collect within the island’s shallow rockpools, the place they start to take their first dip within the chilly waters.

“I watched dozens of them clamber over one another in shallow rockpools, awkwardly learning to swim,” Smith stated. “I’d come here for this moment, to witness and photograph their first solo lessons in life.”

The {photograph} got here collectively on Smith’s first night on the island. “The sky ignited with colour,” he stated. “I donned my dry suit and rushed into the water, capturing a handful of frames before the light vanished.”

Main picture by Matty Smith