Cast your eye on these stunning images which have scooped top prizes at the prestigious Ocean Photography Awards 2020.
Two widowed penguins comforting each other and a diver hovering above a microbial cloud are among the winners of this year’s awards.
But it was Nadia Aly who wowed judges and took home the top prize for her wondrous shot of an aggregation of mobula rays off the coast of Mexico.
The Ocean Photography Awards consists of just six categories and the overall winner the Ocean Photographer of the Year.
Nadia Aly wowed judges and took home the top prize for her wondrous shot of an aggregation of mobula rays off the coast of Mexico
The Oceanographic Magazine inaugural competition received more than 3,000 submissions from across the world this year.
The entries were whittled down to the final 100 frames with winners of the six categories announced and the overall winner crowned at a virtual ceremony on Thursday.
The competition is a celebration of the planet and the photographers who capture ocean spaces and share them with those who might otherwise never have an opportunity to see such places.
The Ocean Photography Awards also helps to raise money for its protection whilst showcasing the work of some of the finest photographers in the world.
Matt Sharp – Ocean Conservation Photographer of the Year: A hermit crab crawls atop a pile of plastic in a shell made from manmade waste
Jason Gulley – Ocean Adventure Photographer of the Year: A freediving instructor waits for their student to return from a dive below Cenote Angelita’s microbial cloud. The cloud is so thick it looks like a floor
Ben Cranke – Ocean Exploration Photographer of the Year: Penguins march through heavy snowfall and strong winds in St Andrew’s Bay, South Georgia, Antarctica
Cruz Erdmann – Young Ocean Photographer of the Year: The silky tentacles of a brightly coloured Magnificent Anemone sway in surging water – an endemic species only found in the atolls of the Maldives
Tobias Baumgaertner – The Community Choice Award: Two widowed penguins seemingly comfort one another as they gaze upon Melbourne’s lights
Nadia Aly – The Collective Portfolio Award: The photographer with a focus on underwater marine life wants to educate people about the diverse populations of sea creatures
Adventure Photographer Of The Year Nominee Sean Scott: Two sharks surf a wave at Red Bluff, Quobba Station, in remote Western Australia
Exploration Photographer Of The Year Nominee: Karim Iliya: A freediver explores a cave in Tonga. Despite having visited this site more than 100 times the photographer said he’s not seen light quite like it
Adventure Photographer Of The Year Nominee Grant Thomas: Paddle boarders float above a reef at sunset demonstrating the bond humans have with the ocean
Community Choice Award Nominee Tanner Mansell: Predator and prey, photographed off the coast of Jupiter, Florida
Adventure Photographer Of The Year Nominee Lance Morgan: A surfer at the remote Shipstern Bluff in Tasmania
Exploration Photographer Of The Year Nominee SJ Bennett: Two technical divers descend into the Blue Abyss, Mexico
Conservation Photographer Of The Year Nominee Ton Watkins: A blue shark clearly displays two hooks protruding from its mouth
Exploration Photographer of the Year Nominee Florian Ledoux: A polar bear scans the ocean for prey in Svalbard, Norway
Adventure Photographer of the Year category Nominee Todd Thomas: Orcas surf rough waters in Norway
Exploration Photographer of the Year category Nominee Jason Gulley: Cave diver enters Little River Spring in Mexico during a flood
Exploration Photographer of the Year Nominee Fred Buyle: Diver operates 360 degree camera as waves and fish crowd in Reunion Island, East Africa
