Ocean Photographer of the Year: Award winning photos
- Published
This amazing picture has won the Ocean Photographer of the Year prize. It is a stunning picture of a green turtle surrounded by glass fish off the West Coast of Australia. The winning photographer - Aimee Jan - is a tour guide and photographer based in Western Australia who has spent the last ten years exploring the Unesco World Heritage Site, Ningaloo Marine Park, and has helped to research some of the world’s most endangered ocean species. Aimee said: “When I dived down to look, the fish separated around the turtle perfectly and this is what I saw. I said to her - I think I just took the best photo I have ever taken.”
The Ocean Photography Awards showcase the pictures from around the world, and this year has featured some poignant images of the planet’s oceans under threat. The coronavirus pandemic has added to pollution problems around the world, as shown by the picture below which features a facemask tangled around a seahorse. "When you dive regularly, you have the opportunity to observe changes,” says photographer Nicholas Samaras. “I visit Stratoni, a small seaside village in the Halkidiki peninsula, (Greece) regularly to... photograph the local seahorse population. The biggest recent change: Covid waste.”
The awards are designed to highlight environmental threats faced by the world’s oceans as well as showcasing their beauty. Here a sea nettle drifts in the shallows of Monterey Bay. “This image was taken during one of my first shore dives in Monterey,” says photographer Maxwell Hohn. “There were thousands of sea nettles drifting into the shallows. The event was breath-taking! To avoid being stung by the jellies I ventured deep into a kelp forest where I came across this perfect opportunity... with the sun beaming down from above.”
Photographer Ben Thouard caught this image of a surfer wipeout from below the surface in Tahiti. “I shot this image under the wave of Teahupo’o,” he says. “I call this image ‘The fight’ as it visually describes the feeling of getting wiped out and fighting back to the surface... This is the unseen part of surfing, yet so mesmerizing.”
Have you ever seen a pod of dolphins cresting a wave? “This image depicts the power of the ocean, its colour, vibrancy, life and its diverse and dynamic energy,” says photographer Michael Haluwana. “The dolphins effortlessly using their hydrodynamics to enjoy an epic surf creates a playful, infectious and fun vibe. The vivid textures and patterns demand your attention yet also create a sense of calm with peaceful blue hues and soft fluffy whites of the water and whitewash.”
A sea lion hunts mackerel off the coast of California. “Many predators converge here for the same appointment: to hunt on mackerel,” says photographer Fabrice Guerin. “ In this vast free-for-all, each individual finds their place and the feast begins. The mackerel huddle together and form huge balls to try to protect themselves and avoid being eaten." It's no wonder this area is called "the aquarium of the world".
This photo shows surfer Jack Robinson riding the famous break known as ‘The Right’ - home to some of the heaviest waves in the world. “The clean lines in the wave displays its graceful movement and leads the eye to the surfer, dwarfed by the massive wave,” says photographer Phil de Glanville. “The rainbow and heart shaped wash were a bonus, representing the ocean’s beauty and power and the respect we should have for it.”
- Published24 February 2020