The ocean has a funny way of making you feel tiny. One second, you’re staring at something unbelievably beautiful; the next, you’re reminded just how fragile that beauty really is.
The Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 winners capture that tension in stunning fashion. Presented by Oceanographic and Blancpain, this year’s winning images move from the deepest seabed to the shimmering surface, revealing the ocean photos wildlife, drama, tenderness and growing vulnerability.
French photographer Julien Anton took the top prize with an extraordinary portrait of a male seahorse alongside two tiny juveniles in Tahiti and Mo’orea. Look closely, and the scene almost feels cinematic. The young seahorses seem to pause in the darkness, as if they’re looking back before heading into whatever comes next.
And there’s a deeper story here. Male seahorses carry and give birth to their young, turning Anton’s photograph into something more than a beautiful wildlife shot. It’s a quiet snapshot of the next generation and a haunting reminder of the ocean we’re handing them.
That’s the real power of these photographs. They don’t just show us the sea. They make us care about what happens to it.
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#1. Overall winner and Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Julien Anton
"An adult seahorse pictured with newly born juveniles in the shallow seaweed-filled waters of Moorea, French Polynesia. Although they are unlikely to be related, their arrangement creates the impression of a farewell, as if the tiny seahorses are gathering around a father after he has released them into the world. Seahorses are now rare in French Polynesia so this image was the result of long hours of searching among the seaweed."
#2. Wildlife Photographer of the Year – 2nd Place: Rafael Fernandez Caballero
"In the Pacific waters of Mexico, this photograph captures the aftermath of a successful orca hunt. Nearly an hour after a pod separated a humpback whale calf from its mother, the orcas resurfaced carrying their prey between them. The event reveals the cooperative hunting strategies of orcas, where multiple individuals work together to isolate and subdue large prey. What the image doesn’t show is that after the kill, other scavengers, including silky sharks, were drawn to the remains, showing how one event can influence an entire marine food web."
#3. Wildlife Photographer of the Year – 3rd Place: Ariel Mei Gliboff
"A group of 11 gunnels gathers in a colourful cluster beneath the waters of Seattle. Although gunnels are a common species in the region, finding so many together in a tightly packed group with such varied colours is unusual. Their bright patterns stand out against the darker waters typical of Pacific Northwest diving. This image highlights the unexpected beauty found in familiar species."
#4. Fine Art Photographer of the Year – 1st Place: Matty Smith
"A tawny nurse shark glides through the warm waters of the Maldives as the setting sun filters through the ocean surface. Beneath it, remoras travel alongside their host, illustrating a common partnership in which the smaller fish gain transport, protection and feeding opportunities. Often perceived as fearsome predators, nurse sharks are slow-moving, bottom-dwelling animals that play an important role in maintaining healthy marine ecosystems. The shark’s direct gaze creates a sense of connection with the viewer."
#5. Fine Art Photographer of the Year – 2nd Place: James Ferrara
"A common octopus reveals its intricate suckers, textured skin and watchful eye in the waters of Blue Heron Bridge, Florida. Known for its rich marine life, this shallow dive site provided the setting for a close encounter with one of the ocean’s most intelligent animals. Focused lighting highlights the octopus’s anatomy, including its open siphon, which moves water through its body for breathing and movement."
#6. Fine Art Photographer of the Year – 3rd Place: Ben Thouard
"A powerful wave breaks off the coast of Tahiti, its lip shaped by offshore winds as sunlight turns the spray into a glowing veil. Shot from a jet ski using a long telephoto lens, a moment of ocean chaos is transformed into a carefully balanced landscape, reminiscent of the famous print The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai."
#7. Adventure Photographer of the Year – 1st Place: Gergo Rugli
"Dolphins ride the waves alongside surfers at Tamarama Beach, Sydney, during a powerful swell and offshore winds. The pod stayed with the surfers for more than an hour, moving through the lineup as naturally as the people around them. Captured from the water, this image shows the ocean as a shared space, where humans and wildlife briefly move together within the same powerful coastal environment."
#8. Adventure Photographer of the Year – 2nd Place: Ben Thouard
"A surfer races through the barrel of Teahupoʻo, French Polynesia, photographed from beneath the wave using a slow shutter speed. Rather than freezing the action, the technique blurs the rushing water while keeping the surfer as the focal point, conveying the incredible speed inside the wave. Teahupoʻo is a busy surf spot, yet the photographer has managed to capture an isolated surfer at this iconic location."
#9. Adventure Photographer of the Year – 3rd Place: Romona Robbins Reynolds
"A cave diver follows a yellow guideline through the winding passages of a Mexican cenote. Formed over thousands of years as limestone dissolved and caves flooded, these submerged systems preserve spectacular stalactites and stalagmites. In the darkness, careful buoyancy is essential to avoid disturbing fine silt, allowing the cave’s remarkable clarity and geological history to remain undisturbed."
#10. Conservation (Impact) Photographer of the Year – 1st Place: James Ferrara
"A whale shark is surrounded by divers and snorkelers in the Maldives, revealing the overwhelming pressure that crowded wildlife tourism can place on marine animals. With almost 50 people visible in the frame, this image captures the reality behind some popular wildlife encounters: an animal seeking space while people compete for a closer view. It challenges us to rethink how we experience and protect the species we admire."
#11. Conservation (Impact) Photographer of the Year – 2nd Place: Karsten Michels
"During a Grindadráp in the Faroe Islands, a pilot whale lies on the shore as hunters carry out the final stages of the hunt. Children watch a tradition that has been passed between generations. The visible wounds and hunting tools show the injuries caused during a process that can last for hours. Whole pods of pilot whales and Atlantic white-sided dolphins are driven onto beaches by boats and are killed for their meat and blubber. More than 1,000 whales are typically killed each year, despite ongoing concerns over high levels of heavy metals in the meat."
#12. Conservation (Impact) Photographer of the Year – 3rd Place: Lu Minqiang
"An aerial view of Malé Fish Market showing a fisherman emptying a barrel of fish waste into the sea as a swarm of rays gathers below. Rather than a natural feeding event, this behaviour is driven by human activity. The discarded remains provide an easy food source, altering where and how these rays feed."
#13. Conservation (Hope) Photographer of the Year – 1st Place: Thomas Pavy
"A great hammerhead shark (Sphyrna mokarran) is photographed at 55 metres depth in Tiputa Pass, Rangiroa Atoll, during a population survey. This image represents the moment an anonymous shark becomes a known individual. Through photo identification and laser-calibrated video photogrammetry, scientists can track sharks over time, measuring size, sex and population trends. Conducted without bait or attractants, this research helps reveal the lives of Tamataroa, a culturally respected species protected in French Polynesia."
#14. Conservation (Hope) Photographer of the Year – 2nd Place: Francesca Page
"Thousands of juvenile European lobsters are raised at the National Lobster Hatchery in Padstow, Cornwall, UK, before being released into the wild. By protecting the young lobsters during their most vulnerable stage, the Hatchery greatly improves their chances of survival. Here, these baby lobsters are being transferred into the space-efficient AquaHive system, an innovative hatchery design where each unit holds around 4,000 juveniles, safely separated across individual trays to prevent cannibalism."
#15. Conservation (Hope) Photographer of the Year – 3rd Place: Yuta Shigeno
"A male white-spotted pufferfish creates an intricate spawning nest in the sand. The fish carefully shapes a two-metre-wide radial pattern using only his fins. Built over several days, this structure and its subtle details reveal the extraordinary effort this small fish invests in reproduction. Fine sand, shells and fragments are arranged from the centre outward, each piece carried into place by the fish."
#16. Human Connection Award: People & Planet Ocean – 1st Place: Rui Duarte
"Volunteers, surfers, lifeguards and conservation groups work together to refloat stranded short-finned pilot whales. While many animals initially returned to the sea, the pod stranded again further along the coast, highlighting the complexity of mass strandings. The image captures compassion in action, but it also reflects how wildlife rescue continues to evolve. In the months that followed, international experts trained the local community in safer, science-based stranding response techniques, strengthening future rescue efforts."
#17. Human Connection Award: People & Planet Ocean – 2nd Place: Sirachai Arunrugstichai
"A Lamafa, the lead harpooner in the Indonesian village of Lamalera, leaps from his boat to strike an orca with a hand-thrown harpoon. For more than 600 years, the community has relied on hunting whales and other cetaceans for food, with the meat shared throughout the village. Today, the use of motorboats has made the hunt increasingly controversial, placing traditional subsistence practices at the centre of debates about culture, livelihoods and marine conservation."
#18. Human Connection Award: People & Planet Ocean – 3rd Place: Gergo Rugli
"A fearless teenager stands at Bronte Ocean Pool, Sydney, as a powerful swell sends waves crashing over the closed pool. While the conditions forced beaches to shut, people watched the waves from behind the fence. A group of local teenagers climbed into the closed pool and stood on the edge, waiting for the waves to crash over them and sweep them across the pool. It was undoubtedly dangerous, but demonstrates their deep familiarity and connection with the ocean."
#19. The Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds – 1st Place: Mitsuna Kawai
"A ribbonfish rises vertically through the dark waters of Osezaki, Japan. Its long, silver body and delicate fins are adapted for life in the open ocean. This image was captured during a winter blackwater dive. Around the ribbonfish, a swarm of salps – small, jelly-like animals that feed on tiny particles in the ocean – creates a glimpse of life moving through the deep sea."
#20. The Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds – 2nd Place: Andrea Michelutti
"A shrimp carrying a clutch of eggs shelters within the branches of a coral. The photographer used a snoot placed behind the coral to create the fiery glow surrounding the eggs, while front lighting revealed the shrimp without disturbing its fragile habitat."
#21. The Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds – 3rd Place: Suliman Alatiqi
"A male Banggai cardinalfish shelters newly hatched juveniles inside his mouth, continuing the parental care that follows a three-week incubation period. After hatching, the male may brood the young for another 10 days without feeding, protecting them from predators until they become more independent. This image captures two juveniles peering from their father’s mouth, revealing the specialised mouthbrooding strategy that helps this species increase the survival of its young."
#22. Ocean Portfolio Award – Winner: Miguel Serrano Ruiz
"On El Suspiro Beach, conservationist Israel Oblea protects eggs laid by an olive ridley sea turtle. The exhausted turtle has begun nesting too close to the water without digging a deep enough nest to protect her eggs. As the tide rises, waves threaten to wash them away. Israel prepares to move the eggs to safety, showing the hands-on work needed to protect vulnerable nests during the sea turtle nesting season."
#23. Female Fifty Fathoms Award – Winner: Jenny Stock
"A mother humpback whale and her calf glide through Tonga’s warm, sheltered waters. The calf stays close to its mother at first, then becomes curious, swimming in playful circles and approaching the camera. The mother remains calm and watchful, guiding her young when it comes too close. Tonga’s protected waters are an important nursery, where pregnant humpbacks give birth and calves grow stronger before beginning their long journey south towards Antarctica. This encounter captures the quiet bond between mother and calf."
Frequently Asked Questions:
Who won Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026?
French photographer Julien Anton won the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 title with a striking image of a male seahorse alongside two tiny juveniles in the waters around Tahiti and Mo’orea.
What does Julien Anton’s winning photograph show?
Julien Anton’s winning photograph shows a male seahorse with two tiny juveniles nearby. The image highlights the unusual role of male seahorses in carrying and giving birth to their young.
Who presents the Ocean Photographer of the Year competition?
The Ocean Photographer of the Year is presented by Oceanographic and Blancpain. The competition celebrates powerful ocean photography while highlighting marine ecosystems, wildlife, and conservation challenges.
What is the purpose of Ocean Photographer of the Year?
The competition aims to celebrate the ocean’s beauty while highlighting its fragility. It also supports greater awareness, scientific research, and conservation efforts to protect marine ecosystems worldwide.
Why are the 2026 Ocean Photographer of the Year images important?
The 2026 winning images show both the ocean’s breathtaking beauty and its vulnerability. They connect viewers with marine life while encouraging people to think about environmental change and the future of our seas.
