News

11th Annual Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest Winners Announced

Published

5 months ago

January 24, 2023

The prestigious Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition, organized by the Underwater Photography Guide, has announced the results of the 11th Annual competition and the world’s largest underwater photo contest.

The competition organiser’s said:

“It is clear from this year’s winning images that our community of underwater photographers has dived into a new and exciting post-pandemic era. An unprecedented caliber of photos was ushered in by the lifting of travel restrictions – including our best in show image featuring another teachable moment from an octopus. This photo, captured in Palm Beach, Florida by Kat Zhou, depicts the bittersweet final days between a mother octopus and her young before dying of old age.”

Winning photos can be seen at the Underwater Photography Guide at https://www.uwphotographyguide.com/ocean-art-contest-winners-2022

This year’s competition debuted a new Mobile Phone category, with inspiring images captured by a tool that almost every ocean lover has in their pocket. Other extraordinary winners included extra-terrestrial blackwater scenes of the crazy domain of pelagic critters, images that brought hope and solutions for ocean conservation, exhibitions of imaginative photographic technique, and inspiring animal portraits.

14 different categories ensure a competitive contest for all levels and disciplines of underwater photography. The judges evaluated thousands of entries from 96 countries before selecting the final set of images as Ocean Art winners. Ocean Art 2022 judges included prestigious underwater photographers Tony Wu, Mark Strickland, and Marty Snyderman.

Over $100,000 in prizes was awarded provided by some of the world’s top scuba diving resorts, liveaboard dive yachts, and underwater photo gear manufacturers.

As the world resumes activities once considered normal, Ocean Art 2022 is a testament to the promise of novel photographic talent and innovation ahead. The competition was overseen by Nirupam Nigam, Editor-in-Chief of the Underwater Photography Guide and a partner in Bluewater Photo and Bluewater Travel.

Nirupam commented: “The winners of Ocean Art 2022 surprised me. I expected an “instagramable” moment to steal the show. Instead, each image is that of photographic excellence or poetic reflection of the natural world around us. These images will be seared in my mind of years to come.”

Complete list of winners:

Best in Show
“Octopus Mother” by Kat Zhou

Best of Show – ‘Octopus Mother’ – Kat Zhou

Wide Angle
1st Place Renee Capozzola
2nd Place Daniel Nicholson
3rd Place Martin Broen
4th Place Julian Gunther
Honorable Mention Josh Blank
Honorable Mention Adam Martin

1st place Wide Angle – Renee Capozzola

Macro
1st Place Kat Zhou
2nd Place Matthew Sullivan
3rd Place Nicolas Remy
Honorable Mention Novrizal Herdananto
Honorable Mention Kat Zhou

Best of Show and 1st place Macro – Kat Zhou

Marine Life Behavior
1st Place Galice Hoarau
2nd Place Bryant Turffs
3rd Place Tom Shlesinger
4th Place Mirko Zanni
Honorable Mention Luc Rooman
Honorable Mention Mark Green

1st place Marine Life Behavior – Galice Hoarau

Portrait
1st Place Kuo-Wei Kao
2nd Place Gabriella Luongo
3rd Place Kim Briers
4th Place Andrew Cummings
Honorable Mention Frank Begun
Honorable Mention Jeff Molder
Honorable Mention Lorenzo Terraneo

1st place Portrait – Kuo-Wei Kao

Coldwater
1st Place Nicolas Remy
2nd Place Yannick Gouguenheim
3rd Place Jon Anderson
Honorable Mention Shouhao Ren
Honorable Mention Sage Ono

1st place Coldwater – Nicolas Remy

Nudibranch
1st Place Aleksei Permiakov
2nd Place Veronika Nagy
3rd Place Luke Gordon
Honorable Mention Mayumi Takeuchi-Ebbins
Honorable Mention Talia Greis

1st place Nudibranch – Aleksei Permiakov

Blackwater
1st Place Dennis Corpuz
2nd Place Josh Raia
3rd Place Steven Kovacs
4th Place Marcello Zof
Honorable Mention Steven Kovacs
Honorable Mention Galice Hoarau

1st place Blackwater – Dennis Corpuz

Underwater Conservation
1st Place Lawrence Alex Wu
2nd Place Caroline Power
3rd Place Gabriella Luongo
4th Place Celia Kujala
Honorable Mention Alessandro Giannaccini
Honorable Mention Daniel Pio

1st place Underwater Conservation – Lawrence Alex Wu

Underwater Art
1st Place Sarah Teveldal
2nd Place Julian Nedev
3rd Place Lilian Koh
Honorable Mention Jenny Stock

1st place Underwater Art – Sarah Teveldal

Black & White
1st Place Martin Broen
2nd Place Brooke Pyke
3rd Place Piers Baillie
Honorable Mention Renee Capozzola
Honorable Mention Richard Condlyffe

1st place Black & White – Martin Broen

Compact Wide Angle
1st Place Enrico Somogyi
2nd Place Felix Beck
3rd Place Martina Favero

1st place Compact Wide Angle – Enrico Somogyi

Compact Macro
1st Place Eunhee Cho
2nd Place Regie Casia
3rd Place David Pleuvret
4th Place Ipah Uid Lynn
Honorable Mention Martina Favero
Honorable Mention Andrew Michelutti
Honorable Mention Man Bd

1st place Compact Macro – Eunhee Cho

Compact Behavior
1st Place PT Hirschfield
2nd Place Sheryl Wright
3rd Place PT Hirschfield
4th Place João Pontes
Honorable Mention Sofia K. Tenggrono

1st place Compact Behavior – PT Hirschfield

Mobile Phone
1st Place Buzzichelli Alessandro
2nd Place Chris Gug
3rd Place Grega Verc

1st place Mobile Phone – Buzzichelli Alessandro

For more information, please visit http://www.uwphotographyguide.com

Up Next

New Red Sea Aggressor IV to explore Southern Egyptian Red Sea

Don't Miss

Deptherapy to complete mission with groundbreaking IDP

Team Scubaverse

Team Scubaverse manages the Scubaverse website

Marine Life & Conservation

Watch The Real Watergate from Live Ocean Foundation (Trailer)

Published

48 mins ago

June 8, 2023

Team Scubaverse

Sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke established Live Ocean Foundation out of their deep concern for health of the ocean and the life in it. Through their sport they champion action for the ocean, taking this message to the world.

Many of the issues the ocean faces are out of sight, but the science is clear, the ocean is in crises from multiple stressors; climate change, pollution and over-fishing. We’re not moving fast enough, not even close.

Live Ocean Foundation supports exceptional marine scientists, innovators and communicators who play a vital role in the fight for a healthy future.

Thanks to generous core donors who cover their operating costs, 100% of public donations go directly towards the marine conservation projects they support.

Find out more at https://liveocean.com/foundation/

WATCH THE REAL WATERGATE AT https://www.realwatergate.com/

Marine Life & Conservation

World Oceans Day: Fourth Element and Love The Oceans join forces

Published

5 hours ago

June 8, 2023

Team Scubaverse

FOURTH ELEMENT AND LOVE THE OCEANS JOIN FORCES TO CELEBRATE WORLD OCEANS DAY AND ADVANCE MARINE CONSERVATION WITH A NEW PARTNERSHIP

Fourth Element, a leading provider of high-quality dive gear, and Love The Oceans, a non-profit organization dedicated to marine conservation, have announced their new partnership on World Oceans Day, June 8th, 2023. This collaboration represents a shared commitment to protecting our oceans and promoting sustainable practices within the diving community.

Love The Oceans is widely recognized for their exceptional work in marine conservation and their dedication to community development in Mozambique. The organization’s approach involves not only protecting marine wildlife and habitats but also empowering local communities to become guardians of their own environment.

Photo: Kaushiik Subramaniam

They place a strong emphasis on empowering women in the field of marine conservation. The team actively supports and encourages women to participate in their research programs, providing opportunities for training, leadership development, and career advancement, inspiring a new generation of female scientists and conservationists.

Love The Oceans seek out passionate individuals within local communities and provide them with training and resources. Fourth Element will then support these champions to become divers and ambassadors of the ocean, spreading awareness, implementing sustainable practices, and inspiring others to join the movement.

Photo: Mario Guilamba

“We are thrilled to embark on this partnership with Love The Oceans,” said Jim Standing, co-founder of Fourth Element. “Our shared commitment to sustainable practices and marine conservation makes this collaboration a natural fit. We believe that by joining forces, we can amplify our efforts to protect our oceans and inspire positive change within the diving community.”

Francesca Trotman, Founder and CEO of Love The Oceans, expressed her excitement about the collaboration, stating, “We’re thrilled to be working with Fourth Element, a brand that aligns with our values and ethos. This partnership will enable us to get more local community members scuba diving in Mozambique, monitoring our reef systems, and striving for better protection of our marine world. Working together, we’re conserving Mozambique’s coastline for generations to come.”

For more, visit www.fourthelement.com