Here are our ten favorite images from Oceanographic's 2024 contest
(Image credit: Enric Adrian Gener / Ocean Photographer of the Year)
The finalists from the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2024 have been announced - showing us stunning images of maritime life picked from over 15,000 entries from around the world.
From breathtaking photos of wildlife above and below the water, to skilled drone images and thought-provoking documentary work - the contest as become one of the must-see competitions each year.
Presented by Oceanographic Magazine and Blancpain, the annual competition has a simple mission: to shine a light on the wonder and fragility of our blue planet, and to celebrate the photographers giving it a voice.
A full gallery of the finalists can be seen online - but below we have picked out ten of our favorites from the various categories…
A breaching humpback whale. New South Wales, Australia (Image credit: Clayton Harris / Ocean Photographer of the Year)
Leucistic green sea turtle. Conflict Islands, Papua New Guinea (Image credit: Jake Wilton / Ocean Photographer of the Year)
Freedivers hang upside down beneath a boat in Sri Lanka (Image credit: Chong Wan Yong / Ocean Photographer of the Year)
Bamsebu whaling station in Svalbard, Norway. (Image credit: Kristiyan Dimitrov Markov / Ocean Photographer of the Year)
A male and female polar bear rest after mating, Svalbard, Norway. (Image credit: Florian Ledoux / Ocean Photographer of the Year)
A giant Pacific octopus in the shallows, Russia (Image credit: Andrey Shpatak / Ocean Photographer of the Year)
A seagull rests on top of a sea turtle, Mediterranean (Image credit: Enric Adrian Gener / Ocean Photographer of the Year)
A peacock mantis shrimp. Bali, Indonesia (Image credit: Ajiex Dharma / Ocean Photographer of the Year)
Blue shark inspects the photographer’s camera gear, Azores (Image credit: Filippo Borghi / Ocean Photographer of the Year)
Leopard sea, Antartica (Image credit: Filippo Borghi / Ocean Photographer of the Year)
Category winners, the recipient of the Female Fifty Fathoms Award, and the yet-to-be-shared overall winner of the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2024 will be announced on September 12.
The Ocean Photographer of the Year 2024 exhibition will open at the Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney, on November 28 – and will then tour in early 2025.
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Chris George has worked on Digital Camera World since its launch in 2017. He has been writing about photography, mobile phones, video making and technology for over 30 years – and has edited numerous magazines including PhotoPlus, N-Photo, Digital Camera, Video Camera, and Professional Photography.
His first serious camera was the iconic Olympus OM10, with which he won the title of Young Photographer of the Year - long before the advent of autofocus and memory cards. Today he uses a Nikon D800, a Fujifilm X-T1, a Sony A7, and his iPhone 15 Pro Max.
He has written about technology for countless publications and websites including The Sunday Times Magazine, The Daily Telegraph, Dorling Kindersley, What Cellphone, T3 and Techradar.
