An image captured by Suliman Alatiqi wins the Grand Prize with a stunning and fascinating portrait of a long-tailed macaque resolutely swimming in the ocean.

The prestigious underwater photography contest Ocean Art, organized by the Underwater Photography Guide, has announced the winners of its 12th edition. Although the AI revolution has rapidly changed the global photographic landscape, this year’s winners demonstrate humanity’s creative perseverance in the face of the machine. New rules banning the use of AI-generated images in the main categories have been introduced. Exceptions are made for two categories: underwater digital art and underwater fashion, for which these rules do not apply, allowing imagination to run free.

This year’s grand prize is a portrait of a long-tailed macaque swimming in the ocean, captured by Suliman Alatiqi. This photo is the result of several weeks of planning and documentation, illustrating the zeal and commitment necessary to capture the best underwater image.

Once again this year, the jury had to select the best from among thousands of photos captured by photographers from 90 different countries in 14 categories, ensuring a competitive contest for all levels and disciplines of underwater photography.

Grand Prize

“Aquatic Primate” by Suliman Alatiqi

« During several weeks of fieldwork in Phi Phi Islands, Thailand, I focused my efforts on documenting the maritime behavior of the long-tailed macaque, particularly its feeding in the water. Macaques have adapted well to life at sea and venture into the water for various reasons, including transportation, scavenging, cooling off, and playing. Efficient swimmers, they can dive for about thirty seconds and cover short distances faster than most humans. This photo offers a rare insight into the swimming movements of a male macaque.. »

^{Grand Prize Ocean Art © Suliman Alatiqi – Ocean Art 2023}

Wide Angle

1st Prize – Suliman Alatiqi

« The coral shark is one of the few shark species that rests motionless. At Roca Partida, a small island, space is limited for the many sharks living there, and you can often see them gathering. I wanted to take a photo of all the sharks facing me, and with lots of patience and a careful approach, I succeeded.. »

^{1st Prize Wide Angle © Suliman Alatiqi – Ocean Art 2023}

2nd Prize – Ines Goovaerts

3rd Prize – Bryant Turffs

^{3rd Prize Wide Angle © Bryant Turffs – Ocean Art 2023}

4th – Giancarlo Mazarese

^{4th Prize Wide Angle © Giancarlo Mazarese – Ocean Art 2023}

Honorable Mention – Fabien Michenet

^{Honorable Mention Wide Angle © Fabien Michenet – Ocean Art 2023}

Honorable Mention – Ipah Uid Lynn

^{Honorable Mention Wide Angle © Ipah Uid Lynn – Ocean Art 2023}

Macro

1st Prize – Alberto Casati

« During the dive, I saw this small subject and decided to take the photo using a snoot with a backlighting technique. »

^{1st Prize Macro © Alberto Casati – Ocean Art 2023}

2nd Prize – Byron Conroy

^{2nd Prize Macro © Byron Conroy – Ocean Art 2023}

3rd Prize – Dennis Corpuz

^{3rd Prize Macro © Dennis Corpuz – Ocean Art 2023}

4th – Lilian Koh

^{4th Prize Macro © Lilian Koh – Ocean Art 2023}

5th – Guillermo Viveros

^{5th Prize Macro © Guillermo Viveros – Ocean Art 2023}

Honorable Mention – Greg Sherman

^{Honorable Mention Macro © Greg Sherman – Ocean Art 2023}

Honorable Mention – Keith Mash

^{Honorable Mention Macro © Keith Mash – Ocean Art 2023}

Behavior

1st Prize – Kenji Sato

« The black cardinalfish lives in shallow coastal waters, and the males incubate the eggs they receive from the females in their mouths (mouthbrooding). The eggs hatch after about a week. Until they hatch, the males remain motionless behind a rock and nourish the eggs with fresh seawater. At first, I didn’t know when the eggs would hatch, but after a few observations, I could tell when they would hatch. Hatching takes place a few hours after sunset. At the moment of hatching, the father swims upwards and spits out the babies in an instant, making it difficult to capture a photo.

It is said that the number of fry in a single hatching is about 20,000, so the moment of hatching is quite impressive. As soon as the babies hatched, they scattered everywhere. I hope that many of them will grow up and survive until next year. »

^{1st Prize Behavior © Kenji Sato – Ocean Art 2023}

2nd Prize – Josh Raia

^{2nd Prize Behavior © Josh Raia – Ocean Art 2023}

3rd Prize – Kat Zhou

^{3rd Prize Behavior © Kat Zhou – Ocean Art 2023}

4th – Johan Sundelin

^{4th Prize Behavior © Johan Sundelin – Ocean Art 2023}

Honorable Mention – Brandi Romano

^{Honorable Mention Behavior © Brandi Romano – Ocean Art 2023}

Honorable Mention – Todd Aki

^{Honorable Mention Behavior © Todd Aki – Ocean Art 2023}

Portrait

1st Prize – Suliman Alatiqi

2nd Prize – Alessandro Raho

^{2nd Prize Portrait © Alessandro Raho – Ocean Art 2023}

3rd Prize – Jules Casey

^{3rd Prize Portrait © Jules Casey – Ocean Art 2023}

4th – Gabriel Jensen

^{4th Prize Portrait © Gabriel Jensen – Ocean Art 2023}

Honorable Mention – Celia Kujala

^{Honorable Mention Portrait © Celia Kujala – Ocean Art 2023}

Honorable Mention – Kat Zhou

^{Honorable Mention Portrait © Kat Zhou – Ocean Art 2023}

Cold Water

1st Prize – Alessandro Giannaccini

« In the photo, an Italian green frog is seen devouring an insect, in this case, a centipede. This remarkable moment occurred at lunchtime at Lake Porta, a protected natural area – a muddy marsh teeming with aquatic plants, insects, and amphibians – located in Tuscany, Italy. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I witnessed this unique, swift scene. The entire sequence lasted only a few seconds. In an instant, the frog skillfully captured and consumed the centipede, resulting in this sophisticated and fortuitous photograph!«

^{1st Prize Cold Water © Alessandro Giannaccini – Ocean Art 2023}

2nd Prize – Celia Kujala

^{2nd Prize Cold Water © Celia Kujala – Ocean Art 2023}

3rd Prize – Johan Sundelin

^{3rd Prize Cold Water © Johan Sundelin – Ocean Art 2023}

4th – Ferenc Lorincz

^{4th Prize Cold Water © Ferenc Lorincz – Ocean Art 2023}

Honorable Mention – Josh Raia

^{Honorable Mention Cold Water © Josh Raia – Ocean Art 2023}

Honorable Mention – Mayumi Takeuchi-Ebbins

^{Honorable Mention Cold Water © Mayumi Takeuchi-Ebbins – Ocean Art 2023}

Nudibranchs

1st Prize – Peter Pogany

« Over the past two years, I have dived in Anilao three times. We encountered this species on our first trip and were thrilled to see they were mating. My two diving companions took care of the nudibranchs, and when my turn came, I ran out of air. I didn’t hope for a second chance to observe this special event. But on our third visit, I caught them « in the act. »«

^{1st Prize Nudibranchs © Peter Pogany – Ocean Art 2023}

2nd Prize – Yen-po Huang

^{2nd Prize Nudibranchs © Yen-po Huang – Ocean Art 2023}

3rd Prize – Jenny Stock

^{3rd Prize Nudibranchs © Jenny Stock – Ocean Art 2023}

Honorable Mention – Cédric Péneau

^{Honorable Mention Nudibranchs © Cédric Péneau – Ocean Art 2023}

Black Water

1st Prize – Keigo Kawamura

« I collect and photograph floating creatures at night, like a bonfire. Many squids and shrimps gather in the beam of my underwater lamp. The squid in the photo is known to be the world’s smallest; it managed to tackle a shrimp as big as its own body. Pygmy squids eat the shrimps by inserting their mouth into the gaps of their carapace.«

^{1st Prize Black Water © Keigo Kawamura – Ocean Art 2023}

2nd Prize – Peter Pogany

^{2nd Prize Black Water © Peter Pogany – Ocean Art 2023}

3rd Prize – Jialing Cai

^{3rd Prize Black Water © Jialing Cai – Ocean Art 2023}

4th – Chris Gug

^{4th Prize Black Water © Chris Gug – Ocean Art 2023}

Honorable Mention – Kat Zhou

^{Honorable Mention Black Water © Kat Zhou}^{– Ocean Art 2023}

Honorable Mention – Steven Kovacs

^{Honorable Mention Black Water © Steven Kovacs – Ocean Art 2023}

Marine Environment Conservation

1st Prize – Victor Huertas

« Professor Jodie Rummer releases a newborn blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) at Mo’orea, French Polynesia, after tagging it and collecting biometric data. Professor Rummer leads Physioshark, a research team based at James Cook University, Australia, studying the impact of climate change on the physiological performance of newborn sharks in tropical shark nurseries. These habitats are typically found in shallow waters and are thus heavily exposed to rising temperatures and declining oxygen concentrations. Scientists strive to untangle the challenges faced by newborn sharks in rapidly changing environmental conditions. Professor Rummer and her students have so far managed to show that despite the impact of climate change on the physiology of young sharks, they demonstrate exceptional resilience to these changes, giving scientists hope that they will adapt to a warming ocean. »

^{1st Prize Marine Environment Conservation © Victor Huertas – Ocean Art 2023}

2nd Prize – Yinan Liu

^{2nd Prize Marine Environment Conservation © Yinan Liu} ^{– Ocean Art 2023}

3rd Prize – Andrea Michelutti

^{3rd Prize Marine Environment Conservation © Andrea Michelutti} ^{– Ocean Art 2023}

Honorable Mention – Dan Mele

^{Honorable Mention Marine Environment Conservation © Dan Mele – Ocean Art 2023}

Underwater Digital Art

1st Prize – Justin Lutsky

« Water Sprite was captured in the clear waters of Florida’s natural springs. I’ve been visiting Florida for years to take photos because the clarity and natural beauty of the springs create a breathtaking canvas for underwater portraits. For this image, I worked with Abbey Blake, a professional mermaid and underwater artist.

All elements of this image were practically created and captured using a camera. Abbey wore a mesh suit to which we attached fairy wings, and we ventured into the springs together in early January.

We took this photo in shallow water in the late afternoon, after the sun had begun to dip below the tree line. I used mainly natural light, utilizing the sun as backlight and a small amount of frontal fill light from my on-camera strobe.

Abbey and I submerged at the same time, capturing several photos before surfacing to review and discuss them. To take a comfortable pose at the edge of the crevice, Abbey had to exhale most of her air to fully descend.

The water temperature was 22°C, leaving us little time to take the photo before the risk of hypothermia set in. Additionally, the location presented another obstacle, as it is a favorite spot for local divers. We often had to pause our attempts, waiting for divers to pass through the frame. That’s where working with someone as talented as Abbey proves very beneficial. Her ability to work in such demanding conditions and meet time constraints made all the difference in making the shoot successful.

Most of the post-processing involved blurring the hard, visible lines of the suit and adjusting colors and levels to emphasize the subject and enhance the dramatic aspect of the underwater landscape.«

^{1st Prize Underwater Digital Art © Justin Lutsky – Ocean Art 2023}

2nd Prize – Francisco Sedano Vera

^{2nd Prize Underwater Digital Art © Francisco Sedano Vera – Ocean Art 2023}

3rd Prize – Conor Culver

^{3rd Prize Underwater Digital Art © Conor Culver – Ocean Art 2023}

Honorable Mention – Anna Aita

^{Honorable Mention Underwater Digital Art © Anna Aita – Ocean Art 2023}

Black and White

1st Prize – Joergen Rasmussen

« Every year in November, sardines gather off the west coast of Mexico. These sardines then attract many predators. In collaboration with a local fisherman, we explored the deep waters offshore, near the continental shelf, and we spotted a solitary sea lion. It was chasing the sardines, and the baitball kept changing shape as the sea lion disrupted it.«

^{1st Prize Black and White © Joergen Rasmussen – Ocean Art 2023}

2nd Prize – Jon Anderson

^{2nd Prize Black and White © Jon Anderson – Ocean Art 2023}

3rd Prize – Serge Melesan

^{3rd Prize Black and White © Serge Melesan – Ocean Art 2023}

4th – Enrico Pompei

^{4th Prize Black and White © Enrico Pompei – Ocean Art 2023}

Honorable Mention – Serge Melesan

^{Honorable Mention Black and White © Serge Melesan – Ocean Art 2023}

Underwater Fashion

1st Prize – Lucie Drlikova

« This photo is part of my project Once Upon a Dream in Waterland, which I have been working on since 2017. All scenes are real, including the food and cakes, which were made from concrete and covered with special colored foam, photographed underwater. The costumes, props, and scenes are handmade by me.

About my project Once Upon a Dream in Waterland: Once upon a time, in the magical and enchanted depths, in the land of endless water, there was a girl named Stella. At her birth, her fairy godmother, the Sea Angel, gave her the book « Once Upon a Dream in Waterland. » While sleeping, Stella dreams of stories from her favorite fairytale book. Alice in Waterland is one such story. The project represents a return to my childhood, to the stories I imagined as a child and which I wanted to someday tell my daughter. Unfortunately, she was never born. That is why I work on my project, to tell the underwater stories, and over time, this project has become my baby. »

^{1st Prize Underwater Fashion © Lucie Drlikova – Ocean Art 2023}

2nd Prize – Anna Aita

^{2nd Prize Underwater Fashion © Anna Aita – Ocean Art 2023}

3rd Prize – Julian Nedev

^{3rd Prize Underwater Fashion © Julian Nedev – Ocean Art 2023}

4th – Lucie Drlikova

^{4th Prize Underwater Fashion © Lucie Drlikova – Ocean Art 2023}

Honorable Mention – Vanessa Torres Macho

^{Honorable Mention Underwater Fashion © Vanessa Torres Macho – Ocean Art 2023}

Honorable Mention – Lucie Drlikova

^{Honorable Mention Underwater Fashion © Lucie Drlikova – Ocean Art 2023}

Compact Camera – Wide Angle

1st Prize – Bryant Turffs

« Exploring new environments, especially those rarely visited, is one of the greatest pleasures of underwater photography for me. The Everglades is a rightly daunting, but also a place of great beauty and interest. To capture this image, I took care to avoid risks like alligators in the area where I was snorkeling. Shooting with my GoPro allowed me to easily approach my subjects. In this image, I aimed to capture a beautiful Florida gar against the backdrop of a cypress dome with beams of light filtering through the trees. As a fish enthusiast, observing the many magnificent species living in this environment is another source of joy. This image also features a backdrop of endemic largemouth bass. Although they are not shown here, several of my shots that day also captured invasive fish, illustrating one of the many impacts of human actions on this endangered ecosystem.«

^{1st Prize Compact Camera Wide Angle © Bryant Turffs – Ocean Art 2023}

2nd Prize – Enrico Somogyi

^{2nd Prize Compact Camera Wide Angle © Enrico Somogyi – Ocean Art 2023}

3rd Prize – Andrea Michelutti

^{3rd Prize Compact Camera Wide Angle © Andrea Michelutti – Ocean Art 2023}

Compact Camera – Macro

1st Prize – Imogen Manins

« In the shallow waters of Naarm (Port Phillip Bay), scattered colonies of tubular hydroids peek out from the sand in the cold, shallow waters. There are hundreds of individuals, but at barely 4 cm in size, it’s easy to overlook these tiny animals that are endemic to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Each individual here is either male or female, extending their external tentacles to catch passing plankton.
Blairgowrie Pier is a sheltered site well-known to local divers for the spectacular colors of the sessile and invertebrate creatures. After 90 minutes in water at 12°C, my fingers started to go numb. Usually, I leave the site via the dive platform, but this time, I started to leave by the shore, noticing tiny hydroids on the sandy bottom. After inspecting several groups, I accidentally discovered this beautifully arranged « underwater fireworks » colony. Trying not to disturb the sand was a challenge in this environment. I watched the tentacles gently move in the water, making slight adjustments until I was satisfied with the composition.. »

^{1st Prize Compact Camera Macro © Imogen Manins – Ocean Art 2023}

2nd Prize – Marcus Commodore

^{2nd Prize Compact Camera Macro © Marcus Commodore – Ocean Art 2023}

3rd Prize – Regie Casia

^{3rd Prize Compact Camera Macro © Regie Casia – Ocean Art 2023}

Honorable Mention – Miguel Ramirez

^{Honorable Mention Compact Camera Macro © Miguel Ramirez – Ocean Art 2023}

Compact Camera – Animal Behavior

1st Prize – Derek Singer

« Although giant Pacific octopuses are common in the Pacific Northwest, it is rare enough to see a nesting female that word of mouth spreads quickly when someone finds one. In this case, my group of divers had heard that two nests had been discovered at Sund Rock, an excellent site to find them. Since their dens are typically in crevices and cracks in the rocks, it can be difficult to get a well-lit and composed shot with a full-frame camera (and risky if you’re shooting with a dome). While the female spends months tending to her eggs, you can never predict when they will hatch and when she will die. I intended to make the most of the opportunity, as it might have been the only one.

I decided to take my TG-6 instead of my usual DSLR. Due to its smaller size and very short minimum focusing distance, I was sure I could get the camera and flashes close enough to capture a striking image. This proved to be a good decision, as this particular nest was tightly nestled in a cluster of rocks. I took a series of close-ups of the mother octopus circulating water over her eggs before being distracted by another giant Pacific octopus roaming outside. This specific image best represents the tightness of the quarters and the balance between the mother and her eggs. From the RAW file, my edits mainly involved increasing contrast to make the colors and textures pop.