Winners medal
Winning here (or even just being placed) is Underwater Photography's most coveted accolade because it says you succeeded in the most competitive environment there is, against the top talent of the moment.
Every year a panel of judges select the best images entered in our online photo contest from the previous year. Gold, silver, and bronze medals are awarded for the top three from each category in order of merit.
The judges comprise of industry professionals, previous year's World Champions, our site moderators - anyone we can rope in! They are unpaid, non-affiliated, and (of course) cannot vote for themselves.
You may not agree with the judges. You may think you have 'better shots' at home - prove it! Enter this year's contest.
| World Champion 2017/18 |
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The judges award the photographer who submits the most consistent and complete portfolio over the year World Champion.
Other photographers of distinction are awarded Grand Master.
 The overall 2017/18 World Champion is...
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Over/Under (shots half topside, half U/W)
shots that cross the surface boundary (so under/overs like Snells Window too)
Gold Medal Winner
Over/Under (shots half topside, half U/W)
Entre Terre et Mer
Location: France
Silver Medal Winner
Over/Under (shots half topside, half U/W)
inside a Mangrove lived american crocodile
Location: Cuba
Bronze Medal Winner
Over/Under (shots half topside, half U/W)
Floating eggs of Silverfish (Pleuragramma antarctica) under the Antarctic sea ice
Location: Antarctica
Runner Ups
Over/Under (shots half topside, half U/W)
Wide Angle - Natural Light (no strobe)
shots taken using ambient light i.e. unlit by flash or continuous lighting like HID but filters on the lens are allowed if declared
Gold Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Natural Light (no strobe)
A whale shark in Papua.
Location: Indonesia
Silver Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Natural Light (no strobe)
Diving In the Light/ Cenote diving, Tulum, Mexico. Canon 5D MarkIII, 16-35mm, F,1/125,ISO1000.
Location: Mexico
Bronze Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Natural Light (no strobe)
To Boldly go ... !
Manta Ray - Manta alfredi
Manta Point, Bali, Indonisia
Location: Indonesia
Runner Ups
Wide Angle - Natural Light (no strobe)
Wide Angle - Wrecks
anything man-made that is sunk including cars, tanks, planes etc. - oh and ships!
Gold Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Wrecks
The famous staircase on the Karwela Ferry wreck in Gozo.
Location: Malta
Silver Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Wrecks
2017-This year I went back to northern Red Sea and wanted to shoot the scenery with addition of a diver and front lighting. Light beams where the front lighting comes are not strong as the shadowy areas, but I think color on the motorcycle also works
Location: Egypt
Bronze Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Wrecks
Kaş/Antalya -Turkey Tank Wreck
Location: Turkey
Runner Ups
Wide Angle - Wrecks
Wide Angle - Divers
Divers doing what divers do - underwater or on the surface
Gold Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Divers
Encircled/ a diver navigates through a school of big eye jacks
Location: Mexico
Silver Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Divers
Snooted anemone and diver in front of early morning sun / no double exposure
Location: Spain
Bronze Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Divers
Silversides are reflected in a diver's mask as he watches a huge swirl of the tiny fish.
Location: Cayman islands
Runner Ups
Wide Angle - Divers
Wide Angle - Marine Life
wide angle shots with no divers in frame
Gold Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Marine Life
American Crocodile - An American crocodile shot at Banco Chinchorro. These are one of the larger species of crocodile, although they are not particularly aggressive.
Location: Mexico
Silver Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Marine Life
Mauve stinger (lat. Pelagia noctiluca. Shot taken on the north coast of the balearic island Menorca.
Location: Spain
Bronze Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Marine Life
shot@LaPaz Mexico
Location: Mexico
Runner Ups
Wide Angle - Marine Life
Wide Angle - Close Focus
shots taken with a WIDE ANGLE (or fisheye) lens having 1) a well defined close subject (usually strobe-lit) AND 2) a wide angle BACKGROUND with a second subject, usually a diver
Gold Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Close Focus
Eagle Rey
Location: Spain
Silver Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Close Focus
Safe navigation
Location: Italy
Bronze Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Close Focus
Close up of Loggerhead Turtle
Location: Australia
Runner Ups
Wide Angle - Close Focus
Macro - not swimming
Smaller subjects typically 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.5cm) shot on macro settings or with macro equipment that are NOT MOVING usually on the bottom (i.e. between 1:1 and 1:3)
Gold Medal Winner
Macro - not swimming
Egg Cowrie in the coral with open polyps, Canon 6d, 1/100, F10, Iso100
Location: Indonesia
Silver Medal Winner
Macro - not swimming
Title:bubble
shot@yakushima Japan
Location: Japan
Bronze Medal Winner
Macro - not swimming
N E O N
Thorny Seahorse
(Hippocampus histrix)
Location: Indonesia
Runner Ups
Macro - not swimming
Macro - swimming
Smaller subjects typically 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.5cm) shot on macro settings or with macro equipment that are in MID WATER not touching anything (i.e. between 1:1 and 1:3)
Gold Medal Winner
Macro - swimming
This is one of the few shots in existence of this larval form of a Tripod fish. It is a creature from the deep, originally found at 15,000 feet in the Marianas Trench. Discovered while on a Black water dive over a depth of 600 feet in the Gulf Stream
Location: United States
Silver Medal Winner
Macro - swimming
A walking octopus
Location: Philippines
Bronze Medal Winner
Macro - swimming
Title: "The Moment of Birth" Name of species: Apogon imberbis.
Location: Cyprus
Runner Ups
Macro - swimming
Macro - Nudibranchia
Sea slugs. A subject popular with macro guys! (means naked gills) Flatworms allowed
Gold Medal Winner
Macro - Nudibranchia
The most common nudibranch in Brazil, but very very beautiful.
Location: Brazil
Silver Medal Winner
Macro - Nudibranchia
Favorinus mirabilis
Location: Philippines
Bronze Medal Winner
Macro - Nudibranchia
Thecacera pennigera.
Location: Italy
Runner Ups
Macro - Nudibranchia
Macro - Super macro
Shots taken (at smaller than 1:1) with multiple extension rings, diopters, or teleconverters of extremely small subjects typically less than 1 inch (2.5 cm)
Gold Medal Winner
Macro - Super macro
All eyes on me
Location: Indonesia
Silver Medal Winner
Macro - Super macro
A Big-eye amphipod (Hyperia galba) is living inside a Common jellyfish (Aurelia aurita)
Location: Netherlands
Bronze Medal Winner
Macro - Super macro
Octopus get cleaned by a bumblebee shrimp
Location: United States
Runner Ups
Macro - Super macro
Macro - Close-Up
Shots taken of a subject between 3 inches and 1 foot (7.5 to 30cm) in size (e.g. large fish or diver head) that dominates the frame - any background is incidental and occupies LESS THAN 50% of frame
Gold Medal Winner
Macro - Close-Up
A jaw fish with hundred new life in its mouth. I spent 4 dives to search and wait this shoot.
Location: Indonesia
Silver Medal Winner
Macro - Close-Up
Fish n'Fish
Location: Indonesia
Bronze Medal Winner
Macro - Close-Up
Battle of the Tompots
Location: United Kingdom
Runner Ups
Macro - Close-Up
Sharks
Shots where sharks are the predominant subject. Sponsored by Stuart Cove's
Gold Medal Winner
Sharks
"Out of the pack" - I really had this image or something very similar to it in my mind during this particular dive with the sand tiger sharks, when I turned my head to see it in actuality!! Lucky me!!
Location: United States
Silver Medal Winner
Sharks
'A Light Embrace' - A lemon shark glides through the late-afternoon sunlight off the coast of Grand Bahama
Location: Bahamas
Bronze Medal Winner
Sharks
Soaking up the suns' rays. Feeding whaleshark.
Location: Indonesia
Runner Ups
Sharks
Temperate Waters
Seas with green water well north or south of tropical zones typically cold enough for drysuits!
Gold Medal Winner
Temperate Waters
Cuttlefish, Zeeland, The Netherlands.
Location: Netherlands
Silver Medal Winner
Temperate Waters
From Degirmendere/Turkey
Location: Turkey
Bronze Medal Winner
Temperate Waters
Looking out for jellyfish, Lake Grevelingen, Zeeland, The Netherlands. Double exposure inside the camera.
Location: Netherlands
Runner Ups
Temperate Waters
Freshwater
shots taken bodies of water with no salt e.g. in lakes, streams, pools, rivers i.e NOT the Sea!
Gold Medal Winner
Freshwater
Diver on the Tree,
Cenote Dive Cancun
Location: Mexico
Silver Medal Winner
Freshwater
Grenouille dans la rivière de la Solenzara
Location: France
Bronze Medal Winner
Freshwater
The sun here is at 91% Totality during the Eclipse.. not a big difference, but fun to try.
Location: United States
Runner Ups
Freshwater
Fashion
Underwater Fashion Photography, Trash the Dress, Wedding and Couple shots and any other shot with models underwater
Gold Medal Winner
Fashion
Cradle of Love
Location: Bulgaria
Silver Medal Winner
Fashion
La peinture à l'eau
Location: France
Bronze Medal Winner
Fashion
Wagasa - Umbrella in japanese
Location: Japan
Runner Ups
Fashion
Creative - Manipulated (Photoshopped)
Shots that have been digitally edited outside of the camera for creative reasons (not brightness/contrast etc.) in a program like PhotoShop
Gold Medal Winner
Creative - Manipulated (Photoshopped)
"Manta Terrarium" part of my Underwater Surrealism body of work
Location: Mexico
Silver Medal Winner
Creative - Manipulated (Photoshopped)
1-2-3
Location: Czech Republic
Bronze Medal Winner
Creative - Manipulated (Photoshopped)
shaun the sheep in a different light
Location: Indonesia
Runner Ups
Creative - Manipulated (Photoshopped)
Topside (above water but marine related)
shots above the surface. Can be on land but with relevance to the marine environment
Gold Medal Winner
Topside (above water but marine related)
Reflection of a Wood Duck drake.
Location: United States
Silver Medal Winner
Topside (above water but marine related)
Spinner dolphins riding the bow wave of our dive boat.
Location: Micronesia
Bronze Medal Winner
Topside (above water but marine related)
The Milky Way at the lighthouse on Bonaire
Location: Netherlands Antilles
Runner Ups
Topside (above water but marine related)