The ocean revealed: see the finalists for Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026

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The Hidden Worlds category makes its debut this year, spotlighting the ocean’s smallest inhabitants.

Close-up of a small white crab grasping an orange object against a dark background, with its detailed textures highlighted by dramatic lighting.

The finalists for Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 have been announced, featuring images that highlight the complexity and diversity of the world’s oceans. Presented by Oceanographic and Blancpain, the contest is now in its seventh year and showcases work across seven categories.

What sets this year’s iteration apart is a new category: Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds, which is dedicated to the ocean’s smallest inhabitants. Other categories include Adventure, Wildlife, Fine Art, Conservation Impact, Conservation Hope and Human Connection. The 2026 shortlist is among the most geographically and thematically varied the competition has fielded.

As the pressures on our ocean grow, so does the importance of the artists who bear witness to them.

Will Harrison, Ocean Photographer of the Year founder and director

Will Harrison, the competition’s founder and director, said: “These photographs don’t just capture what’s beneath the surface; they surface the stories our planet most needs us to hear. As the pressures on our ocean grow, so does the importance of the artists who bear witness to them. This year’s finalists have produced work of extraordinary depth and courage, and we’re proud that Ocean Photographer of the Year continues to be the platform where those stories reach the world.”

Below is a small selection of the finalists. The full set of finalists across all seven categories is available on the Ocean Photographer of the Year winners gallery. Category winners and the overall Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 will be announced in September 2026.

Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds

Translucent deep-sea ribbonfish with elongated, delicate fins and a prominent blue head swimming in a dark, speckled underwater setting.

Photographer: Mitsuna Kawai

Caption: A ribbonfish rises vertically through the dark waters of Osezaki, Japan. Its long, silver body and delicate fins are adapted for life in the open ocean. This image was captured during a winter blackwater dive. Around the ribbonfish, a swarm of salps – small, jelly-like animals that feed on tiny particles in the ocean – creates a glimpse of life moving through the deep sea.

Technical details: Canon EOS R10 | Canon RF-S 18-150mm F3.5-6.3 IS STM @ 18mm | F9 | 1/160 sec | ISO 200

Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds

Close-up of a fish’s eye with detailed textures and veins, featuring an iris with a blue center and reddish-brown outer ring, highlighted by visible reflections.

Photographer: Steven Lopez

Caption: A close view of a giant black sea bass reveals tiny parasitic copepods clustered around its eye in a Catalina Island kelp forest. Once misidentified on other hosts, these copepods are now known to have a specific relationship with this threatened fish. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the giant black sea bass was nearly extinct in Southern California but is now recovering through protection efforts. This image highlights how even a giant predator can support a hidden community of much smaller organisms

Technical details: Not available

Wildlife

Southern elephant seal pups explore shallow rock pools on Sea Lion Island in the Falkland Islands, testing their
first movements in the water after being weaned by their mothers. These young seals must quickly learn to
swim and survive independently. As they climb over one another and investigate their surroundings, this scene
captures a key moment in their journey from land-bound pups to ocean explorers.

Photographer: Matty Smith

Caption: In the Pacific waters of Mexico, this photograph captures the aftermath of a successful orca hunt. Nearly an hour after a pod separated a humpback whale calf from its mother, the orcas resurfaced carrying their prey between them. The event reveals the cooperative hunting strategies of orcas, where multiple individuals work together to isolate and subdue large prey. What the image doesn’t show is that after the kill, other scavengers, including silky sharks, were drawn to the remains, showing how one event can influence an entire marine food web.

Technical details: Nikon Z9 | Nikon AF-S Fisheye 8-15mm F3.5-4.5E ED @ 14mm | F9 |1/320 | ISO 800

Wildlife

Colorful fish in close-up with mouth open, releasing a cloud of tiny bubbles or particles underwater, set against a dark background.

Photographer: Yuta Shigeno

Caption: This photograph captures a male cardinalfish releasing the larvae he has been brooding inside his mouth. Although this species is common in Japanese waters, the image reveals a rarely noticed stage of its life cycle. The male carries and protects the developing eggs for around a week, eating little or nothing during this period. The larvae are released over several events, with the first release containing the largest number.

Technical details: Nikon Z8 | Nikon Nikkor Z MC 105mm F2.8 VR S | F18 | 1/200 sec | ISO 500

Conservation Impact

Sea lion with a visible neck injury looks upward against a blurred blue and beige background.

Photographer: Celia Kujala

Caption: A California sea lion has plastic netting tightly wrapped around her neck. This is a stark reminder of the lasting impacts of marine plastic pollution. The wound had already cut deep into her skin, yet rescuing her was impossible because of her location within a crowded colony. Images like this reveal the hidden cost of discarded waste and give a face to an often-unseen crisis. The catchlight in her eye creates an intimate connection that is difficult to ignore.

Technical details: Nikon D500 | Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR | F9 | 1/500 sec | ISO 500

Conservation Impact

Shark caught on a fishing line swims underwater with smaller fish nearby; sunlight filters through the water’s surface. Black and white photograph.

Photographer: Daniel Taylor

Caption: A silky shark circles helplessly after taking bait from an illegal longline, its fate sealed by a steel hook and heavy line designed to prevent escape. Photographed less than 48 hours after Baja California’s seasonal shark fishing ban ended, the image reveals a hidden reality unfolding far from shore. A small group of pilot fish remains beside the shark, highlighting how the loss of one animal can ripple through an entire ecosystem.

Technical details: Not available

Conservation Hope

Pipette transferring small shrimp-like aquatic organisms in a white, hexagonal lab tray with perforated compartments.

Photographer: Francesca Page

Caption: Thousands of juvenile European lobsters are raised at the National Lobster Hatchery in Padstow, Cornwall, UK, before being released into the wild. By protecting the young lobsters during their most vulnerable stage, the Hatchery greatly improves their chances of survival. Here, these baby lobsters are being transferred into the space-efficient AquaHive system, an innovative hatchery design where each unit holds around 4,000 juveniles, safely separated across individual trays to prevent cannibalism.

Technical details: Sony a7 IV | Sony E 70-180mm F2.8 @ 111mm | F13 | 1/250 sec | ISO 400

Conservation Hope

Large group of surfboards clustered in clear blue ocean water near several boats under a sunny sky, forming a vibrant, celebratory scene.

Photographer: Daniel Edmond Sullivan Jr.

Caption: Thirty days after the 2023 Lahaina wildfire claimed 102 lives, thousands gathered off West Maui for a traditional Hawaiian paddle-out ceremony. Surfers and families formed a circle on the ocean, linking hands and releasing leis in memory of those lost. Photographed from above, the image captures a community transforming grief into a shared expression of love, remembrance and connection to the sea.

Technical details: Hasselblad L2D-20c | 24mm equiv | F2.8 | 1/640 sec | ISO 200

Human Connection Award: People and Planet Ocean

A large stranded whale on a sandy beach is being assisted by six people working together in shallow water near the shore under a cloudy sky.

Photographer: Rui Duarte

Caption: Volunteers, surfers, lifeguards and conservation groups work together to refloat stranded short-finned pilot whales. While many animals initially returned to the sea, the pod stranded again further along the coast, highlighting the complexity of mass strandings. The image captures compassion in action, but it also reflects how wildlife rescue continues to evolve. In the months that followed, international experts trained the local community in safer, science-based stranding response techniques, strengthening future rescue efforts.

Technical details: Canon EOS 5D IV | Canon EF 16-35mm F2.8L III USM @ 26mm | F6.3 | 1/640 sec | ISO 400

Human Connection Award: People and Planet Ocean

Floating fish farms with rows of colorful huts are positioned on the blue sea, with many small white buoys visible in the background.

Photographer: Qingsheng Sun

Caption: Thousands of fish-farming cages stretch across the sea, connected by floating walkways and small wooden huts to form a vast floating community. Extending for kilometers, this carefully organized aquaculture network supports local livelihoods while transforming the coastal landscape.

Technical details: Not available

Adventure

Blurred abstract scene in blue tones featuring a surfer on a wave, with fluid motion emphasizing dynamic movement.

Photographer: Ben Thouard

Caption: A surfer races through the barrel of Teahupoʻo, French Polynesia, photographed from beneath the wave using a slow shutter speed. Rather than freezing the action, the technique blurs the rushing water while keeping the surfer as the focal point, conveying the incredible speed inside the wave. Teahupoʻo is a busy surf spot, yet the photographer has managed to capture an isolated surfer at this iconic location.

Technical details: Canon EOS R5 | Canon EF 85mm F1.4L IS USM | F12 | 1/10 sec | ISO 50

Adventure

Freediver ascending a rope toward the water’s surface, sunlight shining through a round opening above, with underwater equipment floating in clear blue water.

Photographer: Daan Verhoeven

Caption: Freediver Arnaud Jerald descends into Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas during a successful world record attempt at the Vertical Blue competition. Photographed from more than 30 meters below, the image captures the scale of one of the world’s deepest marine sinkholes. Crystal-clear water, sunlight and drifting sand combined to create a rare view of this remarkable moment.

Technical details: Canon EOS R5 | Canon EF 11-24mm F4L USM @ 11mm | F5/6 1/250 sec | ISO 100

Fine Art

Abstract underwater scene showing distorted dolphin shapes reflected on the water’s surface, with swirling patterns of blue, beige, white, and gold blending together.

Photographer: Chelsea Mayer

Caption: A pod of short-beaked common dolphins swims beneath the bow of a ship off the coast of southern California. Dolphins are known to ride the pressure wave created by moving vessels, using it to travel with little effort in a behavior known as bow riding. Calm seas and exceptional water clarity reveal the dolphins’ markings, while the reflection of the white, yellow and blue paint from the National Geographic Venture creates a psychedelic, abstract image.

Technical details: Not available

Fine Art

Five spotted eagle rays with dark bodies and white spots swim in a line above a textured blue ocean floor.

Photographer: John Kowitz

Caption: Five-spotted eagle rays glide above the sandy seabed, their dark bodies and white markings contrasting against the pale background. These rays often travel together while searching for prey, using electroreceptors to detect hidden mollusks and crustaceans beneath the sand. Photographed during a dive in search of manta rays, this formation appeared during the journey back to shore.

Technical details: Sony a1 | Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM @ 16mm | F5.6 | 1/160 sec | ISO 125

About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.

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