The Ocean Photography Awards recently announced its winners for the year 2021. The competition, which is in its second year, is presented by the Oceanographic Magazine and is “a platform to shine a light on the beauty of the ocean and the threats it faces,” according to the organizers.
The entrants to the 2021 competition included several noted ocean and wildlife photographers from all over the world, and it couldn’t have been an easy task selecting the winners from such an incredible pool of talent. Photographer Aimee Jan won the coveted top prize and title of Ocean Photographer of the Year 2021 for her stunning image of a green sea turtle surrounded by a school of glassfish. Other winners show beautiful shots of sharks, jellyfish, whales, and more.
Scroll down and discover the best of the undersea world through the winning photos from the 2021 Ocean Photography Awards.
Related: These Spectacular Pics Are a Tribute to Oceans Everywhere
Aimee Jan, Ocean Photographer of the Year, Winner
A green turtle surrounded by glassfish. (Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia)
Hannah Le Leu, Youth Photographer of the Year, Winner
A green sea turtle hatchling tries to make its way to the water's surface for air.
Martin Broen, Exploration Photographer of the Year, Winner
Speleothems (structures formed in a cave by the deposition of minerals from the water) at Cenote Dos Pisos covered in long shadows (Quintana Roo, Mexico).
Matty Smith, Ocean Photographer of the Year, Third Place
A hawksbill turtle hatchling makes its first swim.
Galice Hoarau, Collective Portfolio Award, Nominee
Eel larvae (Lembeh, Indonesia).
Galice Hoarau, Collective Portfolio Award, Nominee
A close-up of a lemon shark (Jupiter, Florida).
Galice Hoarau, Collective Portfolio Award, Nominee
A juvenile trevally fish hides in a box jellyfish (Lembeh, Indonesia).
Alex Kydd, Collective Portfolio Award, Third Place
A whale shark wades through a school of juvenile golden trevally on the Ningaloo Reef of Western Australia.
Alex Kydd, Collective Portfolio Award, Third Place
A whale shark swimming in the blue (Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia).
Gergo Rugli, Adventure Photographer of the Year, Nominee
A common dolphin swims in the Port Stephens Marine Park off Broughton Island (Port Stephens, Australia).
Stefan Christmann, Collective Portfolio Award
Penguin chicks gather in mini huddles when both parents are away foraging for food.
James Ferrara, Adventure Photographer of the Year, Nominee
A sperm whale and sargassum seaweed (Roseau, Dominica).
Martin Broen, Adventure Photographer of the Year, Nominee
A diver moves down into a cenote (an underground chamber or cave which contains permanent water) in Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Fabrice Guerin, Community Choice Award, Nominee
This sea lion has plenty of mackerel to hunt (Baja California Sur, Mexico).
Matty Smith, Collective Portfolio Award, Nominee
The Porpita porpita siphonophore or the Blue Button Jellyfish.
Share these beautiful photos with other nature lovers you know!
