These wonderful award-winning ocean images are the very best you will see from our blue planet in the present day!

Julian Anton has received the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 competitors, introduced by Oceanographic and Blancpain, with {a photograph} of a male seahorse with two juveniles. Meanwhile, UK photographer Jenny Stock was recognised with prestigious Female Fifty Fathoms Award. Here we share the winners and extra unimaginable runner-up images, from the seabed to the floor, the profitable photographs span the total ecological and emotional vary of the ocean, and the connection our species has with it.

Over 15,000 photographs had been entered by the world’s best ocean photographers to a variety of classes together with Wildlife, Fine Art, Conservation, Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds, and extra. The competitors shines a light-weight on the surprise and fragility of our blue planet, in addition to celebrates the photographers who give it a voice. The Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 winners share a exceptional physique of labor that honours the ocean in all its complexity.

Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 winner: Julien Anton

French photographer Julien Anton has been named Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 for his extraordinary portrait of a male seahorse and two tiny juveniles alongside him within the shallow waters of Moorea, French Polynesia. In the picture, the juveniles – simply distinguishable towards the darkish expanse of the ocean – seem to pause and look again, as if weighing what lies forward. In seahorses, it’s the male who carries and births the younger, a reality that offers the picture its quiet cost

While it’s not identified if these seahorses are associated, their association creates the impression of a farewell, as if the tiny seahorses have gathered round their father after he has launched them into the world. It is a portrait of the subsequent technology, poised on the fringe of an unsure world, one which poses a query that hangs within the water lengthy after the viewer has appeared away: what sort of ocean are we forsaking? Seahorses at the moment are uncommon in French Polynesia so this picture was the results of lengthy hours of looking among the many seaweed. Anton’s {photograph} was first named winner of the Ocean Wildlife class earlier than being elevated to the general prize.

On being named Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026, Anton mentioned: “Winning Ocean Photographer of the Year is an immense honour – one I’m proud to share with my family, and with the local residents, naturalists and fishermen of Tahiti and Moorea whose knowledge made this image possible. We spent countless hours searching in difficult conditions, with no guarantee of finding a single seahorse. That is what made the moment so extraordinary – when the juveniles turned back towards the adult, it felt like something far beyond what I had dared to hope for. I am not a professional photographer; for me, photography is simply how I share what I see and feel. My hope is that this image can serve as a bridge between science, conservation and a world that deserves to know what is at stake.”

Ocean Photographer of the Year founder and director, Will Harrison, mentioned: “When Julien Anton’s image first appeared on screen, the judging panel fell silent. It is an image that demands reflection, pause for thought, and it certainly got that from us. The image is full of quiet energy, even if some of that comes from us humans imprinting our own emotions on the photograph: the bow of the father’s head, the juveniles turning back towards him, the generational gap and the unknown futures of the newborns. What kind of ocean are we leaving for those who come after us? It is ocean photography at its most powerful: intimate, urgent and impossible to ignore.”

Female Fifty Fathoms Award: Jenny Stock

The recipient of this yr’s Female Fifty Fathoms Award is British photographer Jenny Stock. The Female Fifty Fathoms Award was created in 2021 by Oceanographic and Blancpain to have fun pioneering and boundary-pushing girls in ocean pictures. Unlike different classes, the recipient of this award is nominated by her friends and judged by the Ocean Photographer of the Year jury, together with esteemed ocean photographer Laurent Ballesta, editorial employees at Oceanographic and a Blancpain delegation led by Marc A. Hayek, President and CEO.

On receiving the award, Stock mentioned: “To be nominated by fellow ocean photographers means more to me than I can easily express – this community is everything. The Female Fifty Fathoms Award is particularly special because it celebrates the achievements and passion of women in ocean photography, and the women who have previously won it are exceptionally talented, so it’s a privilege to join their ranks. The connection to the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms watch – diving’s most iconic timepiece – makes it even more extraordinary. I’m honoured beyond measure, and I hope this
recognition inspires more women to pick up a camera and discover the magic that’s beneath the surface.”

Marc A. Hayek, President and CEO of Blancpain, mentioned: “The Fifty Fathoms has lengthy performed a pioneering function within the historical past of diving and ocean exploration. Today, by our Ocean Commitment programme and the Ocean Photographer of the Year competitors, we proudly proceed to assist underwater pictures as a robust ally in ocean exploration and conservation – serving to to boost consciousness, encourage, and drive safety.

Category winners…

The Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds class, launched for the primary time this yr, was received by Mitsuna Kawai, whose picture of a ribbonfish in blackwater off the coast of Japan epitomises the class’s ambition: to show the lens to the ocean’s smallest and least-seen inhabitants. From the microscopic to the ignored, the class reveals a dimension of the ocean not often glimpsed, however no much less very important for it.

The Human Connection and Adventure classes discover our species’ enduring relationship with the ocean. The Human Connection class was received by Rui Duarte, whose picture of volunteers making an attempt to push a stranded pilot whale again to sea captures one thing important about our bond with the ocean, and what we stand to lose.

The Adventure class was received by Gergo Rugli, for a picture of dolphins cresting a wave alongside surfers at Tamarama Beach in Sydney, Australia – a joyful collision of two worlds that share the identical water.

In the Conservation Impact class, James Ferrara’s picture of a whale shark surrounded by a swarm of snorkellers and divers confronts the harm the ocean continues to face – on this case, the destructiveness and intrusiveness of overtourism. Stories of overfishing and bycatch, plastic air pollution taking its toll on marine mammals, and the killing of pilot whales within the Faroe Islands run by the class’s finalist work.

These photographs are counterbalanced by the Conservation Hope class, received by Thomas Pavy, whose picture of scientific divers utilizing laser-calibrated video photogrammetry throughout a inhabitants survey showcases the ingenuity being adopted by conservationists to higher shield the ocean and the species that inhabit it.

The Ocean Fine Art class was received by Matty Smith, whose black-and-white portrait of a nurse shark, flanked by remoras in good formation, is a examine in type and stillness, and a wide ranging reminder of the magic and surprise of our ocean planet.

The Portfolio class winner was received by Miguel Serrano Ruiz with a collection of photographs produced through the photographer’s month-long keep at a sea turtle conservation camp in Baja California Sur, Mexico. Miguel Serrano Ruiz initially went there to doc the olive ridley sea turtles and their nesting season. However, dwelling alongside the conservationists gave Ruiz an perception into the day by day lives and routines of the folks dedicating their lives to sea turtle conservation. While these photographs present the ocean turtle nesting season and the work these folks do, in addition they intention to doc the expertise of day-to-day life on the camp: the lengthy nights, the bodily work, and the isolation.

More wonderful images from Ocean Photographer of the Year

See finalist and different runner-up images from Ocean Photographer of the year.

Related studying:

Do you wish to win some nice prizes to your pictures? Enter your images in our International Amateur Photographer of the Year competition. Free entry for photographers aged 13-21.

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