6,000 photographers from up to 72 countries They met in the competition for the best underwater photographer of 2023.
The winning shots reflect the beauty that lurks beneath the surface, capturing the breathtaking images of nature and its hidden creatures. There are many award-winning masterpieces in the annual photo competition. But it was exactly a photo of a playful pink dolphin in the Amazon which really got the jury excited, as American photographer Kat Zhou was honored with the title of Best Underwater Photographer of the Year 2023.
The judges praised his work, commenting, “Zhou created an impressive composition in dark, tannic waters that captures this endangered and rarely photographed species in precise composition. This is by far the best picture we’ve ever seen.” We’ve seen species whose numbers are decreasing at an alarming rate.”
“It is fitting that the Amazon, as the world’s mightiest river, produced our overall winner,” they continue.
Enrico SomogyiUnderwater Photo of the Year 2023
Enrico Somogyi
“While diving in Marsa Alam, I saw countless Klunzinger fish (Thalassoma rueppellii). One of them was particularly curious and was very interested in my lens. I was able to get some good classic wide angle shots. After a while I thought it would be a good idea to try a long exposure. So I set my camera to the smallest aperture f11, ISO value to 64 and exposure time to 1/13 s. For this photo, I moved the camera slightly forward when the shutter was released. ANDThis created the zoom effect at the bottom of the image. I was very satisfied with the result,” says photographer Enrico Somogyi, winner in the compact category with his “Napoléon de Kluzinger in motion”.
Don Silcock Underwater Photo of the Year 2023
DonSilcock
Black & White Category Winner.
The picture was taken on the last morning of a five-day trip to Peninsula Valdes in Argentinain August 2022, with special permission to enter the water with the southern right whales, which congregate there between June and December every year, says the photographer.
Peninsula Valdés is an incredibly important refuge and breeding ground for southern right whales in the South Atlantic, and Argentina has done an excellent job, says the expert.
Suliman AlatiqiUnderwater Photo of the Year 2023
Suliman Alatiqi
Portrait Category Winner.
The full collection of winning images can be viewed on the competition website www.underwaterphotographeroftheyear.com
Yury Ivanovunderwater photo of the year 2023
Yuri Ivanov
Winner in the category “Behaviour”.
Here we see some coconut octopuses making love (mating ritual, come on). “I knew that I could find this species of octopus at one of the dive sites near the town of Tulamben (Bali, Indonesia) and that they are only active there at night. I dived alone hoping to photograph something unique: their mating. I have done 30+ night dives at the dive site and finally got lucky. The photo shows the end of their love,” says the winning photographer.
Brett Eldridge Underwater Photo of the Year 2023
Brett Eldridge
Winner in the “Shipwrecks” category.
“We were scanning targets in June when we saw a small but promising sonar flash. I got ready and jumped in hoping to see something special. After some searching, my heart started racing when I first saw fish and then the propellers of a WWII single engine plane, almost completely intact! It turned out to be an F8F-1 Bearcat, a rare aircraft that Neil Armstrong once said was his favorite plane. Luckily we had epic conditions and got the photos I needed. It was my last dive in 2022,” says the photographer.
Shane GrossUnderwater Photo of the Year 2023
Shane Gross
Winner in the “Macro” category.
The photo was taken on Vancouver Island, Canada, with a Nikon Z6 camera and a Laowa probe lens; ISO: 2000; Aperture: f/40; Shutter: 1/200; and for the lighting: diving lamp Big Blue AL1200NP II.
Gregory Sherman Underwater Photo of the Year 2023
Gregory Sherman
Winner in the “Wide Angle” category.
“Fade” is the title of the photo. “Fade was recorded in Grand Cayman at a world famous location called Stingray City. I saw this series of rays appear and thought it would be a good opportunity to do some kind of action shot or some kind of movement. So I was shooting, I took about 10 shots in the sequence and one of them was ‘Fade,'” says the winning photographer.
Alvaro Herrero Lopez-Beltran Underwater Photo of the Year 2023
Alvaro Herrero López-Beltrán
Winner in the category “Marine Conservation”.
This devastating image shows a humpback whale “dying a slow, painful and agonizing death after its tail became tangled in ropes and buoys, rendering it utterly useless.” was captured by the Spanish photographer Álvaro Herrero off the coast of Mexico. “Taking this picture was the saddest moment I have experienced in the ocean. Especially since I’ve spent a lot of time with humpback whales underwater, making eye contact, interacting and seeing firsthand how sentient and intelligent they are,” says the expert.
Oliver Clarke Underwater Photo of the Year 2023
Oliver Clarke
Winner in the UK Underwater Photographer of the Year category.
“The shark almost looked tired of the little fish and was trying to shake off the school. It made steep dives and then came back up wagging its tail but the fish just swarmed more closely around the poor shark… I was hoping to spend a bit of time photographing this shark but after a few ups and downs it disappeared he in the depths of the Indian Ocean, an encounter I will never forget.”
Kat Zhou Underwater Photo of the Year 2023
KatZhou
Overall winner of the “Underwater Photographer of the Year” competition.
American photographer Kat Zhou was named Underwater Photographer of the Year for her outstanding photo of an Amazon river dolphin. The picture shows the beautiful dolphin above and below the water surface at sunset. The photographer frames this endangered species of dolphin perfectly.