The World’s Leading Underwater Photography Competition Announces Stunning Winners for 2025
Culver City, CA – January 23, 2026 – The Ocean Art Underwater Photography Competition, widely regarded as the world’s premier underwater photography contest, has announced its winners for 2025.
With thousands of entries submitted from photographers across more than 90 countries, this year’s competition highlights extraordinary moments from beneath the surface—from rare deep-sea encounters to powerful conservation stories.
Winning photos can be seen at the Underwater Photography Guide.
Best In Show: Chasing the Unseen
The coveted Best in Show award was presented to Steven Kovacs for his image “Tired Fish,” captured during a blackwater dive off Kumejima, Japan. Kovacs spent nearly two weeks searching for a rarely documented larval goosefish species, capturing a fleeting moment when the elusive subject opened its mouth toward the camera. The image exemplifies the dedication and patience behind underwater photography—where extraordinary images often require days or weeks of targeted diving in challenging conditions.
Category Highlights
This year’s winners excelled across 14 categories, two highlights included:
• Macro: This category was particularly competitive in 2025, celebrating the dramatic microcosm of life on the reef from a pipefish hiding between coral polyps to an elusive juvenile batfish.
• Fashion: This category was judged by our newest judge – Canon and Marelux Ambassador, Ipah Uid Lynn. It featured a cacophony of colors and elegant shapes produced by human form and the photographer behind the lens.
Behind the Lens
Ocean Art 2025 winners documented rare and intimate moments across marine environments:
• Birth and Reproduction: Jeon Min Seok captured the birth of a seahorse after diving nightly in Japan to time the elusive event.
• Extreme Environments: James Ferrara photographed a freediver beneath frozen Lake Huron, navigating a shifting cathedral of ice with only one exit point.
• Rare Behavior: Galice Hoarau documented a sea snake tying itself in a knot while shedding— behavior rarely seen on camera.
• Micro World: Andrea Michelutti revealed a nearly invisible 2mm sea snail perched on nudibranch eggs, highlighting the reef’s hidden scale.
• Conservation: Elio Nicosia photographed a trapped moray eel that appeared to ask for help— then freed it after capturing the image.
• Creative Expression: Michal Stros transformed a pufferfish portrait into a surreal digital artwork blending fractal patterns and motion. Together, these images span tropical reefs, cold-water lakes, and the open ocean—revealing how much of the underwater world remains unseen.
Our Organizers and Judges
“These images are the result of obsession, patience, and exploration,” said Nirupam Nigam, organizer of the contest and President of Bluewater Photo & Editor-in-Chief of the Underwater PhotographyGuide. “Many of this year’s winners spent weeks—or even years—chasing moments most people will never witness. While all great photography demands dedication, underwater photography requires a uniquely intense combination of patience, persistence, and technical skill.”
The judging panel returned for 2025, featuring world-renowned underwater photographers and industry experts including Tony Wu, Marty Snyderman, Mark Strickland, and Marelux Ambassador Ipah Uid Lynn, who provided expert evaluation across technical, artistic, and storytelling criteria.
Over $60,000 in Prizes
The Ocean Art Underwater Photography Competition has always been known for having a massive endowment — this year over $60,000 in prizes. Ocean Art prizes are provided by some of the world’s top scuba diving resorts, liveaboard dive yachts, and underwater photo gear manufacturers.
Grand prizes include an 8-night dive trip (22 dives) to Ambon, Indonesia with Spice Island Divers; an 8-day/7-night dive package (12 dives) for two at Meridian Adventure Dive Resort in Raja Ampat, Indonesia; a 7-night dive trip for two to Papua New Guinea with Walindi Plantation Resort; a 10- day/9-night liveaboard trip aboard Mermaid I or Mermaid II in Raja Ampat or Komodo with Mermaid Liveaboards; an 8-night dive cruise aboard the Coralia Liveaboard; a 4-night dive trip for two at Atmosphere Resort & Spa in the Philippines; a 7-night dive package to Puerto Galera, Philippines with El Galleon Resort & Asia Divers; an Indonesian dive cruise for one plus 50% off a companion aboard the SMY Ondina Liveaboard; a buy-one-get-one-free 10-dive package with Sea Saba; a $1,000 voucher toward the luxury Jardines Avalon fleet with Avalon Outdoor; and a $1,000 voucher off any liveaboard trip with Mexico Liveaboards.
Ocean Art 2025 also featured top-tier gear prizes from leading manufacturers, including Marelux Apollo III strobes, a Marelux Apollo S strobe, Marelux Artemis 4500RMT video lights, and Marelux Spectrum macro video lights from Marelux, as well as an Ikelite DS-232 strobe from Ikelite. Additional prizes included a $300 gift certificate from Ultralight Camera Solutions, along with gift certificates from Bluewater Photo and Bluewater Travel.
Exhibition and Global Recognition
Winning images will be showcased in over 250 global media outlets, including prestigious print, online, and TV publications. These images continue to inspire audiences, reinforcing the importance of marine conservation and the incredible artistry of underwater photography.
Complete list of winners:
Best in Show
“Tired Fish” by Steven Kovacs
Wide Angle
1st: Byron Conroy
2nd: George Kao
3rd: Alex Lindbloom
4th: James Ferrara
Honorable Mention: Katherine Zhou
Honorable Mention: Pedro Carrillo
Macro
1st: Daniel Sly
2nd: Luis Arpa Toribio
3rd: Nicholas More
4th: Bruce Hall
Honorable Mention: Lena Remy
Honorable Mention: Luis Arpa Toribio
Marine Life Behavior
1st: Jeon Min Seok
2nd: Suliman Alatiqi
3rd: Kazuhiro Katano
4th: Mark Chivers
Honorable Mention: Jeffrey Milisen
Honorable Mention: Devyn Winner
Portrait
1st: Galice Hoarau
2nd: Imogen Manins
3rd: Wojtek Meczynski
4th: Wen Chou Wu
Honorable Mention: James Ferrara
Honorable Mention: Alessandro Fantin
Coldwater
1st: James Ferrara
2nd: Anton Sorokin
3rd: Nicholas More
4th: James Ferrara
Honorable Mention: Simon Temple
Honorable Mention: Allison Vitsky
Nudibranch
1st: Paolo Bausani
2nd: Brian Skjerven3rd: Kirsty Andrews
4th: Franco Tulli
Honorable Mention: Paul Eijkemans
Honorable Mention: Will Luckock
Blackwater
1st: Steven Kovacs
2nd: Steven Kovacs
3rd: Giancarlo Mazarese
4th: Steven Kovacs
Honorable Mention: Yoichi Sato
Honorable Mention: Akira Asahina
3rd: Mehmet Gungen
Honorable Mention: Shunsuke Nakano
Honorable Mention: Tom Ingram
Underwater Fashion
1st: Bruce Campbell
2nd: Cassie Pali
3rd: Claudia Weber-Gebert
Honorable Mention: Bruce Campbell
Honorable Mention: Sarah Teveldal
Underwater Conservation
1st: Elio Nicosia
2nd: Dan Mele
3rd: Pietro Cremone
4th: Celia Kujala
Honorable Mention: Theresa Guise
Honorable Mention: Thomas Pavy
Underwater Digital Art
1st: Michal Stros
2nd: Conor Culver
3rd: Ysabela Coll
4th: Lilian Koh
Honorable Mention: Julio Martínez
Honorable Mention: Ysabela Coll
Black & White
1st: Patrick Désormais
2nd: Jack Berthomier
Compact Wide Angle
1st: Haemi Cho
2nd: Enrico Somogyi
3rd: Megan Dente
Honorable Mention: Kevin McCown
Honorable Mention: Marty Jung
Compact Macro
1st: Andrea Michelutti
2nd: Don Bouchard
3rd: Andrea Michelutti
Honorable Mention: Enrico Somogyi
Compact Behavior
1st: Jo Taylor
2nd: Vadim Belakhov
3rd: Mohd Shakir
4th: Vadim Belakhov
Honorable Mention: Pierre-Benoît Querton
Honorable Mention: Marco Lausde
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