Whale shark with 50 remoras in her mouth wins Scuba Diving Magazine’s 2020 underwater contest

Scuba Diving Magazine recently published winning photos of its annual underwater photo contest. Now in its 16th year, the contest has received the record number of entries so far. And the best of the best that have been chosen are absolutely marvelous.

This year’s contest received 2,636 photos and put the judges on a difficult task of choosing the winner in each of the four categories: Behavior, Compact Camera, Macro, and Wide-Angle. The grand prize was awarded to Evans Baudin for his stunning image of a whale shark with its mouth full of remoras.

“In June 2020, with a special permit, I went on an expedition to document marine life and the effects of reduced marine traffic due to COVID-19,” Baudin explained. “After two hours in the water with a school of silky sharks near the surface, our boat captain yelled, ‘Whale shark, right behind you!’—a 12-plus-meter female. The surprise was twofold when I discovered about 50 remoras peacefully enjoying a free ride in her mouth!”

Baudin took the winning image with the Sony Alpha 7R III paired with the Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L fisheye lens in a Nauticam housing. He only used available, natural light.

The judges selected the first, second, and third place winners in each of the categories, along with 15 honorable mentions. We bring you the first place winners and a few honorable mentions below, and you make sure to check out Scuba Diving’s website for more fantastic images from the 2020 underwater photo contest.