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 2016/17 |
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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 2016/17 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)
Overunder shot. A green Iguana takes a breath after an underwater incursion in a semi-submerged cave on the island of Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean. Green Iguanas are everywhere on the island, they are part of every house's garden and...pools...
Location: Netherlands Antilles
Silver Medal Winner
Over/Under (shots half topside, half U/W)
White eyes, inky black
Location: Micronesia
Bronze Medal Winner
Over/Under (shots half topside, half U/W)
Over Under of Great White Shark
Location: Mexico
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)
'The Light Shines On'
Diver in Kukulkan Cenote, Yucatan Peninsular, Mexico
Location: Mexico
Silver Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Natural Light (no strobe)
Tannhauser gate
Location: Mexico
Bronze Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Natural Light (no strobe)
oceanic black tips
Location: South Africa
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
"R2D2" inside Fujikawa Maru
Location: Micronesia
Silver Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Wrecks
A diver explores the engine room of the ex-USS Kittiwake. I used a slave strobe and placed it so it would burst light through the metal structure in front of the diver.
Location: Cayman islands
Bronze Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Wrecks
'Life In The Big City' - The wreck of the U352 off the coast of North Carolina is reminiscent of a bustling city, with all of the residents busily going about their daily routines
Location: United States
Runner Ups
Wide Angle - Wrecks
Wide Angle - Divers
Divers doing what divers do - underwater or on the surface
Gold Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Divers
Freediving in the amazing Barracuda Lake , Coron , Philippines . Freediver : MJ Paula
Location: Philippines
Silver Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Divers
Mirror Mirror. Taken with a Nikon D300 in a Sea and Sea housing with a Sigma 10-20mm lens. Fortunate enough to get the Turtles reflection in the mask as the Turtle swam around the diver on the Great Barrier Reef.
Location: Australia
Bronze Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Divers
Taken in Mexico . Full res
Location: Mexico
Runner Ups
Wide Angle - Divers
Wide Angle - Marine Life
wide angle shots with no divers in frame
Gold Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Marine Life
"Vexation"
This young female raggie finally snapped and fought back when a big potato bass kept on pushing her around, I was lucky enough to capture the moment.
Location: South Africa
Silver Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Marine Life
St. seahorse
Location: Italy
Bronze Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Marine Life
Lost Galaxies
Location: Spain
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
No way out Giant Grouper breakfast ,
Location: Thailand
Silver Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Close Focus
toward orbit
Location: Italy
Bronze Medal Winner
Wide Angle - Close Focus
SMILE! A playful parrotfish seem to smile at my dome
Location: Maldives
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
A mouthful...Banded Jawfish
Opistognathus macrognathus
Blue Heron Bridge USA
Location: United States
Silver Medal Winner
Macro - not swimming
Stay'n alive... Saturday night fever.
Location: Italy
Bronze Medal Winner
Macro - not swimming
sawblade shrimp
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
Nightfever
Location: Indonesia
Silver Medal Winner
Macro - swimming
Squid with reflection
Location: Guam
Bronze Medal Winner
Macro - swimming
Pikeblennie fight
Location: Netherlands Antilles
Runner Ups
Macro - swimming
Macro - Nudibranchia
Sea slugs. A subject popular with macro guys! (means naked gills) Flatworms allowed
Gold Medal Winner
Macro - Nudibranchia
Silver Medal Winner
Macro - Nudibranchia
Light Sabers
Location: Papua New Guinea
Bronze Medal Winner
Macro - Nudibranchia
Nudibranch
Location: Malaysia
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
Jump!
Location: Indonesia
Silver Medal Winner
Macro - Super macro
Pipefish,
Location: Malaysia
Bronze Medal Winner
Macro - Super macro
Caprella sp.
Location: Philippines
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
Acrobat
Snake eel with periclimenes magnificus
Lembeh strat
Nikon D800E , 105 macro , snoot RETRA
Location: Indonesia
Silver Medal Winner
Macro - Close-Up
Hippocampus histrix with snooted backlite strobe
Location: Philippines
Bronze Medal Winner
Macro - Close-Up
THE SEXIEST TAIL
hairly shrimp taken in Lembeh.
Location: Indonesia
Runner Ups
Macro - Close-Up
Sharks
Shots where sharks are the predominant subject. Sponsored by Stuart Cove's
Gold Medal Winner
Sharks
Pelagic Sharks, like this Blue Shark are under the most pressure from fishing and the finning industry. A very curious Blue Shark with some war wounds and souvenir.
Location: United States
Silver Medal Winner
Sharks
'Ebb and Flow' - A river of bait fish swirl past a sand tiger shark in the wreck of the Aeolus off the coast of North Carolina
Location: United States
Bronze Medal Winner
Sharks
Wide Open
I had the camera on the end of a pole for this one. After many failed attempts and near misses, everything aligned - I got the right shark, the right angle, the right camera depth, and the right timing - and I ended up with this beauty.
Location: South Africa
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
A stubby squid in flight! A night dive brings an unexpected jewel. This brilliant squid floats thru the dark sea waiting for its next shrimp meal. Canon 100mm macro with dual sea and sea d1 strobes.
Location: Canada
Silver Medal Winner
Temperate Waters
Playful Seal - Farne Islands UK
Location: United Kingdom
Bronze Medal Winner
Temperate Waters
'Hydroid light' Medusa Hydroid in the early morning light
Location: United Kingdom
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
Trout eaten by Pike
Location: Germany
Silver Medal Winner
Freshwater
Lez river
Location: France
Bronze Medal Winner
Freshwater
Lillies under Palm Trees
Location: Guam
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
Back To Bubble
Sometimes we choose to live in a bubble that we hesitate to prick.
Who knows if this illusion is what makes life worth living?
Location: Czech Republic
Silver Medal Winner
Fashion
"Under my Umbrella" taken on breath hold in Barracuda Lake at around 9m . Model :MJ Paula Jumuad
Location: Philippines
Bronze Medal Winner
Fashion
"The cage"
Location: Spain
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)
"The Ambassador" Sea snakes are similar to divers, they rise to the surface and go below back to the reefs. As divers we have to be ambassadors for the ocean, spread awareness and inform everyone about the oceans. This image symbolizes that.
Location: Indonesia
Silver Medal Winner
Creative - Manipulated (Photoshopped)
The Lovers.
Location: Micronesia
Bronze Medal Winner
Creative - Manipulated (Photoshopped)
Space Creation
Location: Israel
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)
~ Breaking The Silence ~
Location: South Africa
Silver Medal Winner
Topside (above water but marine related)
The emperor penguin family on the Antarctic sea ice (Ross Sea - Baia Terra Nova - Antarctica - PNRA- ISMAR-CNR)
Location: Antarctica
Bronze Medal Winner
Topside (above water but marine related)
One of many banded sea kraits we found both underwater and on land at Isle of Pines, New Caledonia. Shot with Olympus E-M5, 60mm f/2.8. Thanks for having a look!
Location: New Caledonia
Runner Ups
Topside (above water but marine related)