Here are the 14 most impressive photographs in six categories from The Ocean Photography Awards. Overall Winners will be announced on September 16th.

The Ocean Photography Awards are a celebration of our beautiful blue planet, as well as a platform to highlight the many plights it is facing.

Finalists across six categories, including Collective Portfolio, Youth Photographer of the Year, and Conservation have been announced for the second annual Ocean Photography Awards. Public voting to decide the winners is currently open. Winners will be announced in a series of videos that will air September 10th – 16th. An open-air exhibition will be available to the public on September 17th alone the River Thames, close to Tower Bridge.

‘As a keen scuba diver and underwater photographer, I appreciate what it takes to capture extraordinary photographs of the ocean: passion, skill and commitment to your craft. The finalists of the Ocean Photography Awards 2021 display those assets in abundance. Their images reveal the ocean for what it is – or at least what it should be – a place full of life, colour and wonder. They also remind us of the injustices we are inflicting upon it,’ says Marc A Hayek, president and CEO of Blancpain – one of the contest’s partners.

You can find more info about Ocean Photography Awards:

#1 Collective Portfolio Award: Grace Hoarau

The Ocean Photography Awards 2021 Finalists

Snooty the lemon shark, Jupiter, Florida.

#2 Collective Portfolio Award: Matty Smith

The Ocean Photography Awards 2021 Finalists

Pacific Man o’ War, a colourful marine invader under an apocalyptic red sky.

#3 Collective Portfolio Award: Stefan Christmann

The Ocean Photography Awards 2021 Finalists

Male emperor penguins huddling during polar night, to stay warm as a group.

#4 Collective Portfolio Award: Steven Kovacs

The Ocean Photography Awards 2021 Finalists

Larval lobster carrying four larval acorn worms which are one of its food sources.

#5 Community Choice Award: Phil de Glanville

The Ocean Photography Awards 2021 Finalists

Surfer Jack Robinson rides the famous break known as ‘The Right’, home to some of the heaviest waves in the world.

#6 Community Choice Award: Fabrice Guerin

The Ocean Photography Awards 2021 Finalists

A sea lion hunts mackerel off the coast of Baja (California Sur, Mexico).

#7 Youth Photographer of the Year: Hannah Le Leu

The Ocean Photography Awards 2021 Finalists

A green sea turtle hatchling cautiously surfaces for air, to a sky full of hungry birds in Heron Island, Australia.

#8 Exploration Photographer of the Year: Martin Broen

The Ocean Photography Awards 2021 Finalists

Speleothems cast long shadows at cenote Dos Pisos (in Quintana Roo, Mexico).

#9 Conservation Photographer of the Year: Nicholas Samaras

The Ocean Photography Awards 2021 Finalists

A seahorse clings to a face mask (in Stratoni, Greece).

#10 Conservation Photographer of the Year: Kimball Chen

The Ocean Photography Awards 2021 Finalists

An endangered yellow-eyed penguin under a starry sky (in Curio Bay, New Zealand).

#11 Conservation Photographer of the Year: Henley Spiers

The Ocean Photography Awards 2021 Finalists

A dead gannet hangs from a piece of discarded fishing gear, used to build its nest (in Isle of Noss, Shetland, UK).

#12 Adventure Photographer of the Year: Sebastien Pontoizeau

The Ocean Photography Awards 2021 Finalists

A freediver duck dives to capture a photograph of a humpback whale.

#13 Adventure Photographer of the Year: Tanya Houppermans

The Ocean Photography Awards 2021 Finalists

An American crocodile glides through the water at sunset at Gardens of the Queen, Cuba, a protected marine reserve since 1996.

#14 Adventure Photographer of the Year: Rodrigo Thome

The Ocean Photography Awards 2021 Finalists

A shiver of hammerhead sharks.


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