First of all, we would like to congratulate everyone who joined the 2019 Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition! This competition is one of the most prestigious nature photo contests in the world, and the winning images represent some of the best underwater photographs of the year, taken in some of the best scuba diving locations in the world.
Photographers from 78 countries entered images, and over $85,000 in sponsor prizes have been awarded, making the Ocean Art prize value among the highest in the world. Our two new categories, conservation and blackwater diving, had an overwhelming response of incredible photos and were two of the highlights of the competition. In addition to the "Best of Show", we added a new award "Rising Star Photographer" won by Jules Casey who took an amazing photo of six juvenile seahorses.
Winners were asked to rank their prize choices and were awarded one prize based on totaling points from all their winning photos.
We would also like to extend our appreciation to our world-renowned judges Tony Wu, Martin Edge, Marty Snyderman and Scott Gietler for judging the competition, Bluewater Photo and Bluewater Travel for their support. An additional thanks to Mark Strickland and Craig Dietrich for their help with the judging process when their expertise was needed. Click here to view the judges comments for this year's competition.
Press Release and Media Contact: http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/ocean-art-2019-press-release
Click here to view the Ocean Art 2019 winners at a larger size (best for desktop)
Want to win next year? Join one of our underwater photo workshops
Quick Links:
Novice Category:
Compact Category:
List of Winners
Best of Show
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"Crab-Eater Seal"
Best of Show - Greg Lecoeur
Shot in Antartica Peninsula
Our Sponsors:
Wide-Angle Category
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"Blur of Sweetlips"
1st Place - Nicholas More
"The Engine"
2nd Place - Tobias Friedrich
Shot in Red Sea, Egypt
"Eye of the Tornado"
3rd Place - Adam Martin
Shot in Baja, Mexico
"Anemone City"
4th Place - Borut Furlan
"Paradise"
5th Place - Taeyup Kim
Shot in Fakarava, French Polynesia
"The Cave"
Honorable Mention - Alessandro Buzzicheli
Shot in Tuscany, Italy
"Under the Pier"Honorable Mention - Jose Antonio Castellano
Macro
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"Radiography"
1st Place - Stefano Cerbai
Shot in Puerto Galera, Philippines
"The Story"
2nd Place - Wu Yung-Sen
Shot in Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
3rd Place - Dave Johnson
Shot in Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
"Lucernaria Quadricornis"
4th Place - Petr Polách
Shot in White Sea, Russia
"Flamboyant in Space"
5th Place - Hakan Basar
Shot in Anilao, Philippines
"Rospo Smeraldino"
Honorable Mention - Paolo Bondaschi
"The Indian"
Honorable Mention - Yat Wai So
Shot in Anilao, Philippines
Marine Life Behavior
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"A Friendly Ride"
1st - Paula Vianna
"Lethal Fluid"
2nd Place - Paolo Bausani
Shot in Anilao, Philippines
"Worm with Eggs"
3rd Place - Steven Kovacs
Shot in Palm Beach, Florida, USA
"Strange Encounters"
4th Place - Hannes Klostermann
Shot in Baja California Sur, Mexico
"The Choir"
Honorable Mention - Pedro Carillo
Shot in Baja California Sur, Mexico
"Egg Release"
Honorable Mention - Steven Kovacs
Shot in Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles
"Gigantic Aggregation of Munk Devil Rays in Baja California Sur"
Honorable Mention - Jay Clue
Shot in Baja California Sur, Mexico
Portrait
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"Gaspare"
1st Place - Virginia Salzedo
Shot in Puglia, Italy
"Look at me"
2nd Place - Davide Lombroso
Shot in Saline Joniche, Italy
"Toads"
3rd Place - Claudio Zori
Shot in Bolzano, Italy
"Cuba Croc"
4th Place - Emry Oxford
Shot in Cuba
"Silky Portrait and Sunset"
5th Place - Mok Wai Hoe
"Cormoran Underwater"
Honorable Mention - Greg Lecoeur
Shot in La Paz, Mexico
"Snooty"
Honorable Mention - Galice Hoarau
Shot in Florida, USA
Coldwater
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"Crab-Eater Seal"
1st Place - Greg Lecoeur
Shot in Antartica Peninsula
"Icerock"
2nd Place - Tobias Friedrich
Shot in Tasiilaq Fjord, East Greenland
"Hungry"
3rd Place - Johan Sundelin
Shot in Shetland Islands, Scotland
"Catch"
4th Place - Johan Sundelin
Shot in Shetland Islands, Scotland
"Sup on the River"
5th Place - Aldo Costa
Shot in Tuscany, Italy
"Welcoming Committee"
Honorable Mention - Celia Kujala
Shot in Chubut Province, Argentina
"Reflection"
Honorable Mention - Mirko Zanni
Shot in Maggia Valley, South Switzerland
Nudibranchs
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"Treats from Mooloolah River"
1st Place - Jenny Stock
Shot in Queensland, Australia
"The Sheep"
2nd Place - Andrea Pescarolo
Shot in Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia
"The Sky"
3rd Place - Andrey Savin
Shot in Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia
"Green Field"
4th Place - Mauro Apuleo
"Orange UFO"
5th Place - Cedric Peneau
Shot in Étang Salé, Reunion Island
"Sheep in Dreamland"
Honorable Mention - Chun Ho Tam
Shot in Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
Supermacro
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"Clownfish Eggs"
1st Place - Paolo Isgro
Shot in Tulamben, Indonesia
"Hiding in Flowers"
2nd Place - Leon Zhao
Shot in Bali, Indonesia
"Tiny Hairy Shrimp"
3rd Place - Paolo Isgro
Shot in Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia
"Spikefin Goby"
4th Place - Qing Lin
Shot in Cebu, Philippines
Reefscapes
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"Raja Ampat"
1st Place - Eduardo Acevedo Fernandez
Shot in Raja Ampat, Indonesia
"Mangrove Soft Coral"
2nd Place - Nicholas More
Shot in Raja Ampat, Indonesia
"Reef at Sunrise"
3rd Place - Enrico Somogyi
Shot in Moalboal, Cebu, Philippines
"Biodiversity"
4th Place - Greg Lecoeur
Shot in Simon's Town, South Africa
"Rose Garden"
Honorable Mention - Yen Yi Lee
Shot in Palau
"Glass Fish Reef"
Honorable Mention - Nicholas More
Shot in Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Blackwater
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"Snaketooth Swallower"
1st Place - Fabien Michenet
Shot in Tahiti Island, French Polynesia
"Blanket Octopus"
2nd Place - Paolo Bausani
Shot in Anilao, Philippines
"Lionfish"
3rd Place - Steven Kovacs
Shot in Florida, USA
"Mom Keeping an Eye on the Little Ones"
4th Place - Lureen Ferretti
"Bride"
5th Place - Tianhong Wang
Shot in Anilao, Philippines
"Alciopid Worm"
Honorable Mention Place - Fabien Michenet
Shot in Tahiti Island, French Polynesia
"Flounder"
Honorable Mention - Steven Kovacs
Shot in Florida, USA
"Long Lure Larval Flounder"
Honorable Mention - Suzan Meldonian
Conservation
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"Victim"
1st Place - Shane Gross
Shot in Eleuthera, Bahamas
"Trapped"
2nd Place - Alessandro Grasso
Shot in Punta Chiappa Camogli, Italy
"Plastic Soup"
3rd Place - Brooke Lori Pyke
Shot in Bali, Indonesia
"Acropora Robusta Coral Fragments at the Ocean Gardener Coral Nursery in Candidasa Bali"
4th Place - Nicole Helgason
Shot in East Bali, Indonesia
"Sea Turtle Trapped"
5th Place - Francis Perez
Shot in Canary Islands, Spain
"The Dawn of a NOT, New Day"
Honorable Mention - Pasquale Vassallo
Bacoli Napoli, Italy
"Both Worlds of Fishing"
Honorable Mention - Rafael Fernandez Caballero
Shot in Ceuta, Spain
Underwater Art
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"Psychedelic Seahorse"
1st Place - Francisco Sedano
"Hairy at Sunrise"
2nd Place - Enrico Somogyi
Shot in Ambon, Indonesia
"Bubble Portrait"
3rd Place - Jenny Stock
Shot in Australia
"Narcissism"
4th Place - Tae Wook Kang
Shot in Daegu, South Korea
"Untitled"
Honorable Mention - Kimber Greenwood
"The Air of Jupiter"
Honorable Mention - Aia Mar
Novice Wide Angle
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"The Shepherd"
1st Place - George Kuo-Wei Kao
Shot in Raja Ampat, Indonesia
"The Blue Arch"
2nd Place - George Kuo-Wei Kao
Shot in Cebu, Philippines
"Welcome to Mikura-Jima"
3rd Place - George Kuo-Wei Kao
Shot in Mikura-Jima, Japan
"Beauty Spots"
4th Place - Jake Wilton
Shot in Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia
"Humphead Parrotfish and Diver""
5th Place - Jeongin Kim
"Couple Dating"
Honorable Mention - Jeongin Kim
Shot in Bali, Indonesia
Novice Macro
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"Seahorse Bus"
1st Place - Jules Casey
"Rising Star Photographer" Award
"Best of Show" runner-up
Shot in Victoria, Australia
"Hairy Shrimp"
2nd Place - Michael Loh
Shot in Tulamben, Indonesia
"Who is it?"
3rd Place - George Kuo-Wei Kao
Shot in Anilao, Philippines
"Cuttlefish and Friends"
4th Place - Mel Wu
Shot in Dauin, Philippines
"Chestnut Moray"
5th Place - Kierstin Zetterberg
Shot in Kralendijk, Bonaire
"What Are You Looking At?"
Honorable Mention - Naomi Strong
Shot in Tulamben, Indonesia
Compact Wide Angle
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"Blended"
1st Place - Talia Greis
Shot in Sydney, Australia
"Red and Blue"
2nd Place - Minsik Roh
Shot in Jeju Island, South Korean
"Stretching"
3rd Place - Benhur Sarinda
Shot in Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
"Boat Full of Bottles"
4th Place - Enrico Somogyi
Shot in Dauin, Philippines
"Coconut Octopus"
Honorable Mention - Enrico Somogyi
Shot in Sipalay, Philippines
Compact Macro
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"Lemon Goby"
1st Place - Stan Chen
Shot in Lembeh, Indonesia
"Ponda Goby with Eggs"
2nd Place - Stan Chen
Shot in Lembeh, Indonesia
"Telle Une Torpille Pelagia Cherche Sa Proie"
3rd Place - Fabien Martinazzo
"La Communication Non Verbale"
4th Place - Fabien Martinazzo
"Dancing in the Garden"
Honorable Mention - Donghoon Lee
Shot in Tulamben, Indonesia
"Reflection"
Honorable Mention - Alesso Tinti
Shot in Monticolo Lake, Italy
Compact Behavior
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"Open Mouth Grouper"
1st Place - Ferenc Lorincz
Shot in Red Sea, Egypt
"Protective Cocoon of the Parrot Fish"
2nd Place - Fabien Martinazzo
Shot in Mactan, Philippines
"Mating Hairy Frogfish"
3rd Place - Willy Irawan
Shot in Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia
"Hairy Frogfish Hunting at Night"
4th Place - Simon Deblock
Shot in Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
"Fighting for the Female"
Honorable Mention - Lawrence Alex Wu
List of Winners
Wide Angle
1st Place: Nicholas More
2nd Place: Tobias Friedrich
3rd Place: Adam Martin
4th Place Borut Furlan
5th Place: Taeyup Kim
Honorable Mention: Alessandro Buzzichelli
Honorable Mention: Jose Antonio Castellano
Macro
1st Place: Stefano Cerbai
2nd Place: Wu Yung-Sen
3rd Place: Dave Johnson
4th Place Petr Polách
5th Place: Hakan Basar
Honorable Mention: Paolo Bondaschi
Honorable Mention: Yatwai So
Marine Life Behavior
1st Place: Paula Vianna
2nd Place: Paolo Bausani
3rd Place: Steven Kovacs
4th Place Hannes Klostermann
5th Place: Pedro Carrillo Montero
Honorable Mention: Steven Kovacs
Honorable Mention: Jason Clue
Portrait
1st Place: Virgina Salzedo
2nd Place: Davide Lombroso
3rd Place: Claudio Zori
4th Place Emry Oxford
5th Place: Mok Wai Hoe
Honorable Mention: Greg Lecoeur
Honorable Mention: Galice Hoarau
Coldwater
1st Place: Greg Lecoeur
2nd Place: Tobias Friedrich
3rd Place: Johan Sundelin
4th Place Johan Sundelin
5th Place: Aldo Costa
Honorable Mention: Celia Kujala
Honorable Mention: Mirko Zanni
Nudibranch
1st Place: Jenny Stock
2nd Place: Andrea Pescarolo
3rd Place: Andrey Savin
4th Place Mauro Apuleo
5th Place: Cedric Peneau
Honorable Mention: Chun Ho Tam
Supermacro
1st Place: Paolo Isgro
2nd Place: Leon Zhao
3rd Place: Paolo Isgro
4th Place Qing Lin
Reefscapes
1st Place: Eduardo Acevedo Fernandez
2nd Place: Nicholas More
3rd Place: Enrico Somogyi
4th Place Greg Lecoeur
5th Place: Yen-Yi Lee
Honorable Mention: Nicholas More
Blackwater
1st Place: Fabien Michenet
2nd Place: Paolo Bausani
3rd Place: Steven Kovacs
4th Place Lureen Ferretti
5th Place: Tianhong Wang
Honorable Mention: Fabien Michenet
Honorable Mention: Steven Kovacs
Honorable Mention: Suzan Meldonian
Conservation
1st Place: Shane Gross
2nd Place: Alessandro Grasso
3rd Place: Brooke Lori Pyke
4th Place Nicole Helgason
5th Place: Francis Perez
Honorable Mention: Pasquale Vassallo
Honorable Mention: Rafael Fernandez Caballero
Underwater Art
1st Place: Francisco Sedano
2nd Place: Enrico Somogy
3rd Place: Jenny Stock
4th Place: Tae Wok Kang
Honorable Mention: Kimber Greenwood
Honorable Mention: Aîa Mar
Novice Wide Angle
1st Place: George Kuo-Wei Kao
2nd Place: George Kuo-Wei Kao
3rd Place: George Kuo-Wei Kao
4th Place Jake Wilton
5th Place: Jeongin Kim
Honorable Mention: Jeongin Kim
Novice Macro
1st Place: Julie Casey
2nd Place: Michael Loh
3rd Place: George Kuo-Wei Kao
4th Place Mel Wu
5th Place: Kierstin Zetterberg
Honorable Mention: Naomi Strong
Compact Wide Angle
1st Place: Talia Greis
2nd Place: Minsik Roh
3rd Place: Benhur Sarinda
4th Place Enrico Somogyi
Honorable Mention: Enrico Somogyi
Compact Macro
1st Place: Stan Chen
2nd Place: Stan Chen
3rd Place: Fabien Martinazzo
4th Place: Fabien Martinazzo
Honorable Mention: Donghoon Lee
Honorable Mention: Alessio Tinti
Compact Behavior
1st Place: Ferenc Lorincz
2nd Place: Fabien Martinazzo
3rd Place: Willy Irawan
4th Place Simon Deblock
Honorable Mention: Lawrence Alex Wu
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