The site’s photo contest DivePhotoGuide has just unveiled its magnificent winners across its 7 categories. The grand winner of this edition is the Italian photographer Marco Gargiulo.
Once again, thousands of photographers and filmmakers from dozens of countries competed in this contest reserved for expert photographers. Seven image categories and one video category were submitted to the competition, and the entries were evaluated by a panel of award-winning photographers: Stephen Frink, Renee Capozzola, Scott « Gutsy » Tuason, Allison Vitsky Sallmon, Matty Smith, and Amanda Cotton.
The results were announced during a ceremony in New York, and the « Best of Show » award was given to Italian photographer Marco Gargiulo for his extraordinary image of a young imperial black fish riding a jellyfish under the watchful eye of Italy’s famous Mount Vesuvius. The photo, titled « The Passenger, » also won gold in the over-under category.
« What stands out most to me is the juxtaposition of a subject in black water and a wide-angle view from above with sunlight, commented Renée Capozzola. At first, I thought it was a composite, and learning that it was a single image sealed the decision for me« . Stephen Frink added: « The greatest compliment I can give an underwater photo is undoubtedly asking myself: « How did they do that? Looking at this image, I am amazed by the perfect alignment of the interface between the surface and water, despite the surface’s ripple. The mix of strobe light for the underwater subject and ambient light in the background is masterful. The combination of artistic vision and significant technical prowess makes this photo the winner in my eyes« .
Discover the complete list of winners!
Over-under
1st prize and Best of Show 2023 – The Passenger – Marco Gargiulo (Italy)
« It’s not often that you see snow on Mount Vesuvius here in the Gulf of Naples, where I live, in Sorrento. It quickly disappears because of the mild temperatures. I’ve always wanted to photograph it and finally managed to get in the water to do so. During my walk along Marina Grande in Sorrento, my usual spot for night diving in winter, the wind pushed a large number of jellyfish along the coast. I was lucky enough to find one with a small passenger on board, a juvenile imperial black fish (Schedophilus ovalis)« .
2nd prize – Smalltooth sawfish among the mangrove at dawn – Grace Pempek (United States)
« One never expects to encounter a critically endangered species during a sunrise walk on the beach, but luckily, I was ready. My camera was set to wide-angle because I intended to dive on Key Largo’s famous wrecks later that morning. For my wide-angle shots, I use a wet lens with a dome only 5 inches, and it’s certainly not designed for underwater shooting. I had to orient my dome with great precision to avoid any water line across the image. As challenging as it was, an overhead shot was my only option since the juvenile smalltooth sawfish didn’t venture into water more than six inches deep. With the limited morning light, easily sedimented bottom, and the difficulty of holding my camera in the exact position to capture the lying subject, it’s one of the most challenging and rewarding photos I’ve ever taken. After this encounter, I was able to share my shot and behavior notes with Florida Fish & Wildlife to improve the knowledge of this rarely observed animal. »
3rd prize – American alligator – Mirko Zanni (Switzerland)
« On my last trip to Florida, I visited the Everglades to photograph American alligators with a friend. It didn’t take long for us to find very large specimens, which weren’t afraid of my camera housing. The alligator in the photo remained still for a few minutes ».
Honorable mention – Primal plunge – Suliman Alatiqi (Kuwait)
« Over-under photo of a crab-eating macaque (Macaca fascicularis). These macaques can be observed in various locations around the Phi Phi Islands and are known for occasionally foraging for food in the water or avoiding a rival clan. I spent considerable time in the field studying these animals’ maritime behavior, and this photo is the result of that effort ».
Traditional
1st prize – Sea lion at work – Fabien Michenet (France)
« Every year, in the south of Magdalena Bay on Mexico’s Pacific coast, a sardine run takes place between October and November. Millions of Pacific sardines (Sardinops sagax) gather on the seamounts, attracting fin whales, humpback whales, striped marlins, mahi-mahi, Pacific sea lions, and other predators. After several hours of searching, we found this bait ball of densely packed sardines, and we observed marlins and mahi-mahi—particularly abundant this year due to the El Niño phenomenon—feeding on these fish. Suddenly, a group of sea lions took over the area, barring access to other predators. Keeping the sun at my back, I positioned myself so the scene was symmetrically lit and took a few images as the churning ball of fish, surrounded by sea lions, slowly moved away« .
2nd prize – My home – Helmut Theiss (Germany)
« As my wife and dive buddy really enjoy observing coconut octopuses, how they move, and interact, we chose this particular site for our first dive of the day. We found two, one walking on its arms with shells covering its body, and another hiding between two shells. I took a few photos, and they were good but quite similar to others I’ve seen before. The idea came to me to artistically enhance the image using colored light. We placed two lamps on the sandy bottom, one blue and one red, and blended the lights by adjusting the beam angles. I asked our dive guide, Hiros, to help light the animal’s face with another white light equipped with a clamp. Hiros’ assistance and understanding of photography helped me create this more creative photo ».
3rd prize – Icarus reaching the sun – Martin Broen (United States)
« I am fascinated by the strange environments of Mexico’s cave systems. One of these natural phenomena is the alteration of otherwise clear water color, created by tannic acid flowing from the jungle into the cenotes. The water color changes depending on the tannic acid concentration, from green at low concentration to yellow, and if you’re extremely lucky, to red at high concentration. To witness this, you need to be in the water after a long period of very heavy tropical rains. When two consecutive hurricanes hit Mexico for 10 days, I decided to visit the famous Car Wash cenote to film a diver submerged in high tannin-content water, illuminated by the sun and surrounded by water lilies ».
Honorable mention – Electric Frogfish – Nicolas Remy (Australia)
« During night dives in Chowder Bay, swarms of tiny shrimps sometimes gather around our underwater torches (we call them ‘swarmies’). They are a real headache for the many underwater photographers diving in the bay, the trick being to work quickly when you find a subject, take a few shots, and move away before the swarmies appear. I thought the swarmies might actually make a nice background, with proper lighting: I dived with the idea of embracing, rather than avoiding them. The idea was to use colored light to make them pop and highlight the main subject. I thought a frogfish would be ideal and easy to find as they group in Chowder Bay during the warmer months. With my wife/lighting assistant, we went looking and found four different frogfish that night. With its yellow/orange color, this individual was the most beautiful, and I chose a blue backlight for the swarmies, so the colors would complement each other ».
Macro
1st prize – Gone fishin’ – Byron Conroy (United Kingdom)
« I have long admired frogfish. The way they hunt fascinates me, and the challenge was to capture this particular behavior in all its glory. To take this photo, I blocked a snoot on my camera and patiently waited for the lure to emerge. Such a photo requires patience because the fish must be relaxed to display its habitual behavior. The lure subject and the black background draw the eye to the action, and the black negative space was chosen to give the idea that a potential meal might be about to enter the scene ».
2nd prize – Giving birth – Todd Aki (United States)
« My wife and I were at the end of a dive when I noticed something that didn’t make sense: Why was a seahorse floating freely in the water column? I couldn’t believe my eyes as what happened next unfolded. The seahorse began to convulse, and hundreds of babies erupted into the water! Taking the shot is always my priority, but I wanted my wife to experience this moment with me. So I tapped my tank with my stick to attract her attention, missing an opportunity to take a few photos. I managed to get into position and snapped three shots of the next release from the male seahorse. My wife was now by my side, and the current swept the baby seahorses right past her mask. After a final release of its offspring, the seahorse collapsed back to the ocean floor, exhausted ».
3rd prize – Young turtle – Claudio Zori (Italy)
« A surprise encounter with a juvenile turtle. By using a particular shooting angle and fast shutter speed, it was possible to create a pleasant mirror effect. »
Honorable mention – Speedy boxfish – Byron Conroy (United Kingdom)
« Juvenile boxfish are quite common in Lembeh, but capturing them poses several challenges. Firstly, they constantly move. Secondly, the background is typically made up of unattractive gray sand. To take this photo, I decided to use a snoot to light the fish, then used a long exposure with intentional camera movement to blur the background and also to capture a sense of movement from the fish. The shot was taken in manual focus with a snoot locked onto an arm, so when I saw the eyes were in focus, the snoot fell on the subject. After the initial setup with an offset snoot, it took a lot of time and patience waiting for the perfect connection between the eyes and subject.«
Wide angle
1st prize – Wishing well – Suliman Alatiqi (Kuwait)
« Underwater photo of a crab-eating macaque looking at the water from the edge of a rocky platform, seen through the Snell’s window. After visiting the islands known for their macaques, I noticed the animals tend to stay on cliffs near the water during the day. This led me to think of the possibility of capturing an underwater perspective of the animal with the landscape above. The biggest challenge was lighting a subject completely above water, as I didn’t want a silhouette. After a few attempts, I patiently waited for the right opportunity and managed to get this moment while snorkeling. The macaque appeared curious about my approach, making the photo possible ».
2nd prize – Fish buffet – Yinan Liu (China)
« I found a reef about 10 meters deep, surrounded by small fish. Suddenly, two groupers emerged from under the reef to hunt the fish. I stayed near the reef and continued waiting for them to lunge again at the fish and took this shot. »
3rd prize – Trio – Annie Guttridge (United Kingdom)
« As we headed back home after an incredible day at sea, we noticed several dorsal fins breaking the water at the horizon. We had encountered a group composed of Atlantic spotted dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. I carefully slipped into the water and observed the dolphins feeding, playing, and frolicking beneath the waves. The dolphins were tightly intertwined but seemed to split apart as they resurfaced to breathe. After watching this behavior for several minutes, I decided to retreat and remain at the surface. By doing so, I seemed to pique the curiosity of these hard-to-impress marine mammals, accustomed to eager divers approaching them. The spotted dolphins are known for their bold and playful nature, while bottlenose dolphins are generally more reserved and challenging to excite. With this in mind, much to my surprise, three bottlenose dolphins chose to rise together, in unison, directly and deliberately towards me. It was at this moment I patiently waited for the perfect moment to capture the shot ».
Honorable mention – Reflections – Cédric Péneau (France)
« Humpback whales migrate from their polar feeding areas to tropical seas to reproduce and mate during the southern winter, and in good years, we’re lucky to see many of them come very close to the shores of our small island of La Réunion. Boats can approach within 100 meters, and we can cautiously approach the whales while snorkeling, hoping they allow us to share astonishing and intense moments of mutual curiosity. This particular mother, who stayed in the area for a few weeks, was easily recognizable thanks to her cut tail fin and often let us get close to her and her calf. This photo shows the end of a long and calm interaction on a particularly flat sea, hence the reflections on the surface ».
Conservation
1st prize – Massacre – Yinan Liu (China)
« When we went out to sea in the morning, we passed a small island and saw the island’s fishermen chopping up sharks and throwing the unused parts on the beach. When we returned in the afternoon, due to the high tide, the discarded parts were washed back into the sea, allowing me to go underwater and capture this heartbreaking scene. I hope this photo will encourage more people to work together to protect sharks. If there’s no trade, there will be no massacre ».
2nd prize – The anisakis parasite leaves the host – Guido Villani (Italy)
« On the southern coast of Italy, in the Cilento National Park, in the municipalities of Pisciotta, Palinuro, and Camerota, a traditional anchovy fishery called ‘menaica’ survives. Passed down from generation to generation, it’s now only practiced by six small boats under the control of the coastal authority. This fishery, which takes place in May and June, uses a 12 mm mesh drift net, with a maximum length of 400 meters and a depth of 20 meters, left adrift with coastal currents in calm waters. The activity occurs at sunset and is limited to one hour, requiring extensive knowledge of local currents. The catch is limited to adult anchovies and yields no bycatch. Menaica anchovies are a highly prized resource along the coast of Campania and are a distinctive element of the Mediterranean diet ».
3rd prize – Problem props – Simon Hilbourne (United Kingdom)
« While working for Manta Trust in the Maldives, I became well-acquainted with this manta named Babaganoush. However, just before I met it, it had been struck by a speedboat, the outboard’s keel deeply cutting into it, with each propeller blade rotation leaving perpendicular slashes. The severity of its injuries was unprecedented, and we didn’t know if it would survive. Unfortunately, this story repeats throughout the Maldives, with more and more whale sharks and mantas bearing the scars of boat collisions. With the country’s tourism development, operators are opting for faster boats over traditional dhonis, leaving little chance for the vulnerable wildlife to move out of the way ».
Honorable mention – Is this a hobby ? – Gaetano Gargiulo (Italy)
« This very friendly moray eel was never shy with the many photographers who dived in Chowder Bay. Unfortunately, one day it got caught on a hook and was released with the hook piercing an eye. Since that day, it stayed sheltered in the hole at the base of the pylon where it used to live. It couldn’t hunt, and disappeared after about two months, likely succumbing to its injuries. »
Black and white
1st prize – Parallel universes – Martin Broen (United States)
« Over the past year, I have had the pleasure of capturing the beauty of more than 250 different Mexican cenotes. One of the most fascinating aspects of these cave systems is the beauty of their formations and decorations, along with the ability to move freely and explore them in all directions in a perfectly translucent environment. Nothing illustrates this freedom of movement better than breaking free of two-dimensional constraints and diving into vertically opening tunnels, as if entering a parallel universe ».
2nd prize – Silfra sunrise – Byron Conroy (United Kingdom)
« The icy waters of the Silfra fissure have long been famous for very specific shots, but it’s the only dive site in the world where you can use underwater landscape photography techniques due to the incredible clarity, with visibility of over 100 meters. I wanted to find a new angle for this iconic site, an angle that allowed me to convey the diving experience here. Silfra is often called « liquid air »; by using black and white, I was able to express the water’s clarity and show the sensation of diving between two divergent tectonic plates with a strong contrast between the water, the model, and the plates. To make this shot possible, I chose the time of day and the time of year to ensure the sun was in the right place. »
3rd prize – Crossing under the light – Miguel Ramirez (France)
« In July 2023, we had the opportunity to go snorkeling with humpback whales off the coast of Reunion Island. This pair of whales, one lighter than the other, was very calm and allowed us to get close. The clarity of the water and the sunlight created magnificent sun rays underwater. It was a magical and moving encounter. »
Honorable mention – Amongst clouds of sediment – Francis Glassup (United Kingdom)
« Dugong populations, once abundant across Africa, have tragically declined over the past few decades. This is believed to be due to the loss of seagrass habitat and human pressure. Fortunately, the lagoons of Abu Dabbab, Egypt, still provide a sanctuary for some of these magical creatures. After spending days studying the behavior of this large male, I was able to position myself in an area where I thought he would come. Luck was on my side, and after a long wait, he slowly approached, unfazed by my presence. I wanted to capture an image that represents the raw power and beauty of the dugong as it sucks up seagrass among the rising clouds of sediment. »
Black water
1st prize – Flamenco pose – Magnus Lundgren (Sweden)
« It was during a dramatic night that I encountered one of my dream subjects in Balayan Bay. The Taal volcano was erupting, casting fireworks into the black sky like a massive dragon, and the deep rumbling of earthquakes echoed through the ocean. At the same moment, this female octopus appeared out of nowhere, in the darkness, before my camera. She began to unfold her long web, ending in this Batman pose. Fake eyes decorating her flamenco-style mantle between her arms stared at me. The web is thought to be probably used to scare or confuse predators. »
2nd place – Juvenile moray eel – Liang Fu (China)
« Moray eels usually live in coral reefs, but juveniles often inhabit open waters until they mature. During a black water dive, I found a transparent creature swimming over 20 meters deep. It had coiled its body into a heart shape in the water. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a juvenile moray eel! Unlike adults that live in reef crevices, juveniles drift in the open sea, their transparent body allowing them to camouflage against predators in the vast blue. I was very lucky to spot this elusive juvenile moray eel in the dark waters. »
3rd prize – Sparkling Wunderpus – Magnus Lundgren (Sweden)
« As a photographer, I can only smile when I encounter this spectacular octopus, scientifically named Wunderpus photogenicus. To me, this alien creature reminds us that 80% of the ocean remains unexplored. I found this juvenile wunderpus at night in the pelagic zone, about 200 meters above the seabed. The wunderpus spends its life in the open sea before settling on the seabed and taking its adult form. As an adult, it acquires white banded markings and has the ability to mimic other animals, much like the mimic octopus. »
Honorable mention – Dinner time – Dennis Corpuz (Philippines)
« We were nearing the end of our black water dive when I spotted this crab swimming near the lights at about 5 meters. I noticed the crab was swimming frantically, and when I followed it to get a closer look, I was surprised to see it pursuing a small fish. Eventually, the crab caught up with its meal and I was able to take a few photos before running out of air and returning to the surface. »
Short film
1st prize – The magic triangle – Alfred Schaschl (Austria)
« The film tells the elusive story of an ocean lover who dives through a hole in the ice and experiences the strange beauty of the tropical ocean. »
2nd prize – Blackwater: Cozumel style – Walter Marti (United States)
« Black water diving has become my favorite type of diving. It allows me to document rarely observed creatures and their behavior. You can observe the vertical and horizontal migration of larvae and pelagic creatures. It’s not uncommon to come to the surface after a black water dive wondering « What was that? » Cozumel is an excellent location for black water diving, due to great visibility and currents bringing subjects. One night, we drifted nearly eight kilometers! The AOI UWL-09PRO allows me to shoot the subject right on the lens, reducing camera shake and backscatter. I made ‘blinders’ for my video lights. This lets me focus the light on the subject rather than lighting up the entire ocean. »
3rd prize – Beneath the horizon – Michael Fafalios (United Kingdom)
« I chose the underwater macro world of the Philippines as the setting for my short film because it was absolutely hypnotic. I wanted to showcase the complex details and vivid colors of small marine creatures that often go unnoticed. By focusing on the macro perspective, I aimed to create an astonishing and immersive visual experience for the audience. Additionally, this choice allowed me to raise awareness about the importance of marine conservation and the need to protect these fragile ecosystems. The underwater world of the Philippines offered a unique opportunity to captivate viewers and encourage them to appreciate and preserve the wonders of our oceans.« .
Honorable mention – Silent fleet : Chuuk lagoon – Peter Nicholas (Australia)
« I have always wanted to visit Chuuk lagoon and dive on the wrecks there, since the 1980s, but life sometimes gets in the way. My wife Margy and I decided it was finally time, so we booked for 2020. Then COVID hit, and we postponed the trip by a few years. Normally I’d take a DSLR camera, but due to weight and clutter restrictions, I decided to travel light with a GoPro and a drone. Once in the water, I was absolutely blown away by the life on the wrecks – they are truly living reefs. Add to this the historical context and you have one of the world’s most must-do dive destinations. »