Color disappears underwater faster than memory. Reds vanish. Blues thin out. What’s left is light, shadow, and instinct. That’s why black-and-white underwater photography hits different—it strips the ocean down to pure emotion. In the Exposure One Awards 2025 Nature Photography Contest, the Black & White category proved that when color steps aside, storytelling takes over.
These 24 winning images don’t shout. They whisper. They let contrast do the talking—sunbeams slicing through water, bodies suspended between motion and stillness, animals revealed as silhouettes, not spectacles. In monochrome, the ocean feels older, quieter, and more honest. You’re not distracted by turquoise fantasies; you’re face-to-face with nature’s raw mood.
The Gold Award went to Fabi Fregonesi for The Dive—a frame that feels like a held breath. Years of diving experience show in the calm precision of the image, where timing matters more than technique. The photo doesn’t chase drama; it lets gravity and water speak. That restraint is power.
Zach Parker earned Silver with Mother & Child, capturing a baby humpback whale riding gently on its mother’s nose. In black and white, the moment becomes universal—less about species, more about connection. It’s tenderness, underwater.
The Bronze Award went to Catherine Holmes for The Boss, a commanding portrait of a bull sea lion guarding his harem in Los Islotes, Mexico. Surrounded by baitfish, the image pulses with authority and quiet tension, proving that dominance doesn’t need color to be felt.
Together, these photographs remind us: underwater, black and white isn’t a limitation—it’s clarity.
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#1. Gold: "The dive" by Fabi Fregonesi
"Fabi Fregonesi is an underwater photographer whose passion for the ocean and visual storytelling has led her beyond her background in advertising to become a globally recognized name in underwater photography. With more than 15 years of diving experience and capturing the underwater world through her lens since 2012, her work has been featured by important media such as National Geographic and BBC Brasil, and she has been recognized in some of the most important underwater contests in the world."
#2. Silver: "Mother & Child" by Zach Parker
"A baby Humpback Whale hitching a ride on its mothers nose."
#3. Bronze: "The Boss" by Catherine Holmes
"A large bull sealion protects his harem of females and pups in the marine biosphere reserve of Los Islotes , Mexico. Here surrounded by baitfish, prolific I the safe haven of protection."
Honorable Mentions
#4. "Going with the Flow" by Dirk Pendzialek
#5. "Mouth of the wandering ghost" by Antoine Scuiller
#6. "Méduse" by Patrick Desormais
#7. "Croc 3 point stance" by Rick Beldegreen
"This American crocodile was photographed in Banco Chinchorro, Mexico; located 25 miles off the SE tip of Mexico in the Caribbean."
#8. "Shadows of the Pod" by Gerardo Del Villar
"Two orcas travel side by side in the cold northern sea, their white patches glowing against the dark water. I waited quietly for the pair to line up, using black and white and a high ISO to embrace the grain and turn the moment into a simple study of shape, light and family."
#9. "Face to Face" by Gerardo Del Villar
"Photographed in the deep waters off Isla Guadalupe, a great white shark approaches head-on, framed by striped pilot fish. I held position and waited for this direct encounter, using black and white to isolate its face in the dark water and reveal a calm, curious predator rather than a monster."
#10. "Above or Below" by Zach Parker
"An image that I have flipped upside down making it look as though this humpback whale is taking off from the surface of the water and into space."
Nominees
#11. "Mobula abstract" by Emily Krakoff
#12. "One Big Family" by Zach Parker
"A series of images of a mother Humpback Whale with her calf accompanied by a male escort in the Pristine waters of Tonga"
#13. "Circle of Calm" by Peter Hutchins
"Two green sea turtles glide through the dim water, tracing slow arcs around each other in a quiet exchange. One tucks a flipper close to its body, a gesture that may reduce its profile rather than signal submission. Their meeting captures the calm rhythm of Cabbage Tree Bay."
#14. "Silent Geometry" by Balazs Fodor
"A minimalist exploration of marine life reduced to pure form. Sharks, a crocodile, and a whale calf emerge from darkness as sculptural shapes, revealing the silent geometry, grace, and primal presence of predators and giants beneath the surface."
#15. "Silky Shark" by Andrew Cummings
#16. "Swimming around" by Fabi Fregonesi
#17. "Oceanic Megafauna" by Lisa Skelton
"Intelligent, charismatic and inspiring. Each of these species are keystones of their ocean ecosystems- their presence, numbers and movements revealing changes in our environment."
#18. "Bonaire Baitball" by David Morton
"Schooling big eye mackerel taken in 100′ of water off Bonaire, Netherland Antilles."
#19. "Jellyfish Galaxy" by Carol May
#20. "Between worlds, the eye that remembers" by Antoine Scuiller
#21. "Explorer" by Fabi Fregonesi
#22. "Sharky" by Fabi Fregonesi
#23. "The prayer of the deep" by Antoine Scuiller
#24. "Sanctuary" by Anthony Stark
"While diving in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, I watched a clown anemonefish weave through the swaying tentacles. It seemed calm and at ease, fully at home in the protective folds of the anemone. A reminder that even the smallest creatures have their sanctuary."
In Summary
What are the Exposure One Awards?
- They are an international photography competition recognizing excellence across genres, including nature and underwater photography.
Why choose black and white for underwater photos?
- Black and white removes color distraction, highlighting emotion, contrast, and form beneath the surface.
Who won Gold in the Black & White category in 2025?
- Fabi Fregonesi won Gold for her photo The Dive.
What makes underwater photography challenging?
- Limited light, movement, pressure, and color loss make timing and composition critical.
Why do these images matter?
- They show the ocean not as spectacle, but as a living, emotional world worth protecting.
