The ocean’s vast expanse and mysterious depths have long captivated everyone’s imagination. Photographers are no excuse, and today we bring you some marvelous underwater and marine photography. The finalists for the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2023 have just been announced, and the selection is nothing short of breathtaking.
This photographer turned a joke into a record-breaking underwater shoot
Photographer Steve Haining didn’t only take gorgeous underwater photos that you’ll absolutely enjoy looking at – they also landed him a Guinness World Record. Yup, Steve broke the world record for the deepest underwater portrait shoot! While doing something like this is no joke, it actually started as one, and Steve shared details of this incredible accomplishment with DIYP.
Photo of rare pink river dolphin wins Underwater Photographer of the Year
An eye-catching photo of a pink river dolphin breaching the surface of the Amazon river sees Kat Zhou from the United States named Underwater Photographer of the Year 2023. Zhou’s photo ‘Boto Encantado’ perfectly frames this endangered species, whose numbers are falling year on year, by photographing it simultaneously above and below the surface at sunset.
“There’s a legend among locals that river dolphins, or ‘botos’, can transform into handsome men known as ‘boto encantado’ to seduce women,” says Kat. “Though I did not witness the transformation, I was enchanted by these beautiful mammals in a different way.” Underwater Photographer of the Year is an annual competition based in the UK that celebrates photography beneath the surface of the ocean, lakes, rivers, and even swimming pools. Here are the rest of the winning images.
Close-up of octopus mom and her babies win 2022 Ocean Art underwater photo contest
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.
Watch: photographer films getting a “hug” from a giant octopus
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.
A close up of a curious croc wins this year’s Mangrove Photographer of the Year Award
A close-up portrait of an American crocodile surrounded by luscious mangroves has won this year’s Mangrove Photographer of the Year Awards, run by the Mangrove Action Project. The image was captured by Tanya Houppermans in Cuba.
The competition is now in its 8th year, and over 2,000 images were submitted from 68 countries. The images reveal “fascinating insights into the world of mangroves, while challenging us to consider both our place in the natural world and our responsibility to protect it.” Check out the winning images below.
Engineers at MIT have built a wireless underwater camera that doesn’t need batteries
According to scientific estimates, more than 95% of Earth’s oceans have never been observed. As SciTechDaily points out, this means that we’ve seen less of our own planet’s oceans than we have the surface of Mars. The biggest challenge in exploring the oceans, though, is powering cameras, particularly for a lengthy amount of time. They typically have to be tethered to research vessels or require regular trips out to swap batteries.
Researchers at MIT, though, have taken a pretty big leap in overcoming this hurdle by developing a battery-free, wireless underwater camera that they say is around 100,000 times more energy-efficient than other underwater cameras. It shoots photos in colour, even in the deep, dark underwater depths and transmits them wirelessly through the water.
Photographer captures adorable baby seal under the ice of Lake Baikal
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.
Ultra-rare dragonfish captured on camera for first time
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) has captured some incredibly rare footage of a bronze coloured dragonfish. While there are several types of dragonfish, this particular type is extra elusive.
The highfin dragonfish (Bathophilus flemingi) can grow to be seven inches long and usually lives at depths of 740 to 4,500 feet below sea level, well out of the range of most underwater filming equipment.
Gathering of giant whale sharks wins 2022 Underwater Photographer of the Year
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.
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