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Japan and Australia researchers have set a record for the “deepest fish” ever filmed. In other words, they found a fish at the greatest sea depth ever – more than 8km (5.1 miles) – and it’s the deepest a fish has ever been caught on camera.
[Related reading: A new species of deep-sea crown jellyfish caught on camera]
The Underwater Photography Guide has announced the results of its Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition for 2022. One of the world’s largest underwater photo contests hasn’t disappointed, and ahead of you is a selection of marvelous photos taken in the underwater realm.
Octopuses are interesting and intriguing creatures in more than one way. While they have some unique bodily traits, like three hearts, they also keep surprising us with their remarkable intelligence. They have characters, they can be mischievous, and they can even recognize faces. And if your face is a friendly one – you may even get a hug.
This is exactly what happened to a group of divers from Campbell River, Canada. As they were exploring and photographing the underwater world of the Salish Sea, they encountered a rare giant octopus. The animal wasn’t only eager to pose – it even gave one of them a “hug,” and it was all caught on camera.
Underwater drones or at least drones that can land and take off from water have become quite a thing over the last couple of years. Most true underwater drones can only operate underwater and don’t fly. Most airborne drones that can land on the water can’t exactly swim underneath it. FPV pilot Blaster, however, has figured out how he can film both in the air and underwater the same flight.
Two drones were used in this video. DroneXL says that the Dex Models Dex Hydro H was the one used for the underwater shots and the Deep Designs Deep6 is what we see flying into the waterfall. But the film’s creator, Blastr, says that these are custom quads that “are difficult to build and took lots of trial and error to get right”. Some behind-the-scenes b-roll later in the video gives clues as to how it was done.
Chirodectes maculatus is a jellyfish species that’s seen super-rarely. And I really mean super-rarely: it has only been documented twice so far. So, when this incredible creature was captured on camera, it was quite exciting. A diver managed to film it off the coast of Papua New Guinea, and the video is as spectacular as the jellyfish itself.
Lake Baikal is the deepest and the oldest lake on Earth. Its icy surface is extremely photogenic, and people travel thousands of miles just so they could take photos at this magical place. But there’s another unique feature of this beautiful lake. It’s home to the Baikal seal or nerpa, one of the smallest pinnipeds in the world that could be found only in this lake.
Russian photographer Dmitry Kokh (previously) was on a mission to photograph this incredibly cute, but also incredibly shy creature. After a failed attempt two years ago, he gave it another shot and took some amazing photos of nerpas both above and below the icy lake surface. He kindly shared some photos with DIYP, and I’m sure you’ll love them as much as I did.
Have you been feeling a bit stressed out recently? If so, take a look at this amazing video created by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI).
The video shows 29 different species of jellyfish, pulsating gently to music as they swim around in the water. It’s 10 minutes of total calmness and has a sort of meditative quality to it.
Underwater Photographer of the Year has just announced its winners for 2022. And like every year, quite a lot of stunning scenes have been captured in splendid underwater photographs.
“One photo to rule them all” was taken by Spanish photographer Rafael Fernandez Caballero. He was named this year’s Underwater Photographer of the Year, and his incredible image shows five whale sharks feeding together at night in the waters of the Maldives.
“What better way to engage a child’s curiosity and inspire community support for sea life than to create truly unique underwater art?” wonders photographer Brett Stanley. So, he embarked on an ambitious project of creating a photo essay that involved World War II diving gear, a real-life mermaid, and lots of imagination. The Diver and the Mermaid project was born, a photo series commemorating the brave divers from history, but also inspiring our wonder and curiosity.
Ocean Art is one of those photo contests that shows us the underwater world that we can’t see all that often, if at all. The contest has just announced its winners, and as always – they didn’t disappoint.
Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.
Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe
Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.
John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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