11th Annual Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest Winners Announced 

Ocean Art Contest Announces the World’s Best Underwater Photography 

Culver City, CA – January 17, 2023 – The prestigious Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition, organized by the Underwater Photography Guide, has announced the results of the world’s largest underwater photo contest.

It is clear from this year’s winning images that our community of underwater photographers has dived into a new and exciting post-pandemic era. An unprecedented caliber of photos was ushered in by the lifting of travel restrictions – including our best-in-show image featuring another teachable moment from an octopus. This photo, captured in Palm Beach, Florida by Kat Zhou, depicts the bittersweet final days between a mother octopus and her young before dying of old age. Ocean Art could not have been possible without the help of our generous sponsors who were responsible for the largest selection of prizes ever in an underwater photo contest – with over $100,000 in prizes awarded! 

Winning photos can be seen at the Underwater Photography Guide at https://www.uwphotographyguide.com/ocean-art-contest-winners-2022 

This year’s competition debuted a new Mobile Phone category, with inspiring images captured by a tool that almost every ocean lover has in their pocket. We hope this category will inspire new underwater photographers and explorers to tell their own stories. Other extraordinary winners included extra-terrestrial blackwater scenes of the crazy domain of pelagic critters, images that brought hope and solutions for ocean conservation, exhibitions of imaginative photographic techniques, and inspiring animal portraits. 14 different categories ensure a competitive contest for all levels and disciplines of underwater photography. The judges evaluated thousands of entries from 96 countries before selecting the final set of images as Ocean Art winners. 

Ocean Art 2022 judges included prestigious underwater photographers Tony Wu, Mark Strickland, and Marty Snyderman. 

Prizes for Ocean Art 2022 are provided by some of the world’s top scuba diving resorts, liveaboard dive yachts, and underwater photo gear manufacturers. Grand prizes include a liveaboard dive cruise on the M.Y. Oceanic in Komodo, Flores, Alor, or the Banda Sea; a liveaboard dive cruise on the S.M.Y. Ondina in Raja Ampat, North Banda Sea, Triton Bay, Halmahera, or Cenderawasih Bay; choice of 7 or 8 nights for two aboard the Coralia in Raja Ampat or Komodo; a 14 night dive package at the new White Sands Beach Resort in Lembeh with Eco Divers; a trip on any Indonesian Damai liveaboard with Dive Damai; a trip to Malpelo aboard the Ferox liveaboard with Colombia Dive Adventures; a 7 night stay for two in Papua New Guinea with Wilindi Plantation Resort; a 7 day, 16 dive adventure in Raja Ampat with Meridian Adventure; a week long liveaboard trip to Cuba with Avalon Outdoor; a dive trip for two on the Carpe Novo in the Maldives with Carpe Diem Cruises; an 8 night all-inclusive dive package in Bohol, Philippines with Magic Oceans Dive Resort; a 14 night dive package in Raja Ampat, Indonesia at Kri Eco resort with Papua Diving Resorts; a 9 day trip to the Socorro Islands aboard Pacific Fleet’s Solmar V Liveaboard; and a variety of gift certificates from Bluewater Photo and Bluewater Travel. 

Premium travel prizes are provided by El Galleon/Asia Divers (Philippines), Explorer Ventures Fleet (Saba/St. Kitts), Villa Markisa (Bali, Indonesia), Komodo Resort & Diving Club (Komodo, Indonesia), Anthony’s Key Resort (Roatan, Honduras), Kusu Island Resort (Kusu Island, Indonesia), Blue Force (Maldives), Tawali Leisure & Dive Resort (Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea), The Three P Beach Resort (Romblon Island, Philippines), Mike Ball Dive Expeditions (Australia), Atmosphere Resorts & Spa (Dumaguete, Philippines), Intercontinental Hotel (Cozumel, Mexico), Spice Island Divers (Ambon, Indonesia), Havaiki Lodge (Fakarava, French Polynesia), Lumbalumba Resort (North Sulawesi, Indonesia), Sea Saba (Saba, Caribbean), and Eco Pro Divers (Maldives). Premium gear prizes are provided by Ikelite (DS160 II strobe), Marelux (SOFT Snoot & $500 Gift Certificate), Sea & Sea (YS-D3 Strobe), SeaLife (SportDiver smartphone housing), and Think Tank (Freeway Longhaul 75 Carryall duffel bag). 

As the world resumes activities once considered normal, Ocean Art 2022 is a testament to the promise of novel photographic talent and innovation ahead. The competition was overseen by Nirupam Nigam, Editor-in-Chief of the Underwater Photography Guide and a partner in Bluewater Photo and Bluewater Travel. Nirupam commented, “The winners of Ocean Art 2022 surprised me. I expected an “instagramable” moment to steal the show. Instead, each image is photographic excellence or poetic reflection of the natural world around us. These images will be seared in my mind for years to come.” 

Complete list of winners: 

Best in Show
“Octopus Mother” by Kat Zhou 

Wide Angle
1st Place Renee Capozzola
2nd Place Daniel Nicholson
3rd Place Martin Broen
4th Place Julian Gunther
Honorable Mention Josh Blank
Honorable Mention Adam Martin 

Macro
1st Place Kat Zhou
2nd Place Matthew Sullivan
3rd Place Nicolas Remy
Honorable Mention Novrizal Herdananto
Honorable Mention Kat Zhou 

Marine Life Behavior
1st Place Galice Hoarau
2nd Place Bryant Turffs
3rd Place Tom Shlesinger
4th Place Mirko Zanni
Honorable Mention Luc Rooman
Honorable Mention Mark Green 

Portrait
1st Place Kuo-Wei Kao
2nd Place Gabriella Luongo
3rd Place Kim Briers
4th Place Andrew Cummings
Honorable Mention Frank Begun
Honorable Mention Jeff Molder
Honorable Mention Lorenzo Terraneo 

Coldwater
1st Place Nicolas Remy
2nd Place Yannick Gouguenheim
3rd Place Jon Anderson
Honorable Mention Shouhao Ren
Honorable Mention Sage Ono 

Nudibranch
1st Place Aleksei Permiakov
2nd Place Veronika Nagy
3rd Place Luke Gordon
Honorable Mention Mayumi Takeuchi-Ebbins
Honorable Mention Talia Greis 

Blackwater
1st Place Dennis Corpuz
2nd Place Josh Raia
3rd Place Steven Kovacs
4th Place Marcello Zof
Honorable Mention Steven Kovacs
Honorable Mention Galice Hoarau 

Underwater Conservation
1st Place Lawrence Alex Wu
2nd Place Caroline Power
3rd Place Gabriella Luongo
4th Place Celia Kujala
Honorable Mention Alessandro Giannaccini
Honorable Mention Daniel Po 

Underwater Art
1st Place Sarah Teveldal
2nd Place Julian Nedev
3rd Place Lilian Koh
Honorable Mention Jenny Stock 

Black & White
1st Place Martin Broen
2nd Place Brooke Pyke
3rd Place Piers Baillie
Honorable Mention Renee Capozzola
Honorable Mention Richard Condlyffe 

Compact Wide Angle
1st Place Enrico Somogyi
2nd Place Felix Beck
3rd Place Martina Favero 

Compact Macro
1st Place Eunhee Cho
2nd Place Regie Casia
3rd Place David Pleuvret
4th Place Ipah Uid Lynn
Honorable Mention Martina Favero
Honorable Mention Andrew Michelutti
Honorable Mention Man Bd 

Compact Behavior
1st Place PT Hirschfield
2nd Place Sheryl Wright
3rd Place PT Hirschfield
4th Place João Pontes
Honorable Mention Sofia K. Tenggrono 

Mobile Phone
1st Place Buzzichelli Alessandro
2nd Place Chris Gug
3rd Place Grega Verc 

The Underwater Photography Guide is the #1 destination for all things underwater photography. Featuring highly-regarded tutorials, technique tips, in-depth gear reviews, amazing international workshops, and breaking u/w photo news, UWPG is here to help divers around the world achieve their photo and video goals. For more information, please visit http://www.uwphotographyguide.com