Geographical

Official magazine of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)

Underwater Photographer of the Year 2023

3 minutes

J Gregory Sherman, winner, Wide Angle. ‘My dive partner and I chartered a boat to arrive at Stingray City on Grand Cayman before dawn so as to capture the morning light and undisturbed sand ripples. Just as the sun broke the horizon, a line of southern stingrays headed straight for me and I captured this image as they glided across the sand’
J Gregory Sherman, winner, Wide Angle. ‘My dive partner and I chartered a boat to arrive at Stingray City on Grand Cayman before dawn so as to capture the morning light and undisturbed sand ripples. Just as the sun broke the horizon, a line of southern stingrays headed straight for me and I captured this image as they glided across the sand’  

Singing fish, mussel lines and a very happy dolphin, here is a selection of the winning entries from the Underwater Photographer of the Year 2023 competition

Since 1965, the Underwater Photographer of the Year competition has been celebrating photography beneath the surface of the ocean, lakes, rivers and even swimming pools. This year’s competition attracted some 6,000 images, entered by photographers from 72 countries. Here we present a selection of the winning entries.

Visit www.underwaterphotographeroftheyear.com to see more

J Gregory Sherman, winner, Wide Angle. ‘My dive partner and I chartered a boat to arrive at Stingray City on Grand Cayman before dawn so as to capture the morning light and undisturbed sand ripples. Just as the sun broke the horizon, a line of southern stingrays headed straight for me and I captured this image as they glided across the sand’
J Gregory Sherman, winner, Wide Angle. ‘My dive partner and I chartered a boat to arrive at Stingray City on Grand Cayman before dawn so as to capture the morning light and undisturbed sand ripples. Just as the sun broke the horizon, a line of southern stingrays headed straight for me and I captured this image as they glided across the sand’  
Henley Spiers, third, British Waters Living Together. ‘Exploring the Shetland mussel lines was an excitingly novel dive, with the lines themselves proving to be surprisingly photogenic’
Henley Spiers, third, British Waters Living Together. ‘Exploring the Shetland mussel lines was an excitingly novel dive, with
the lines themselves proving to be surprisingly photogenic’ 
Kat Zhou, winner, Up & Coming. ‘After seeing how botos [Amazon river dolphins] would sometimes bring their beaks above water, I knew I wanted a split shot at sunset. Although the water was so dark that I was shooting blind, this dolphin gave me a perfect pose and smile!’
Kat Zhou, winner, Up & Coming. ‘After seeing how botos [Amazon river dolphins] would sometimes bring their beaks above water, I knew I wanted a split shot at sunset. Although the water was so dark that I was shooting blind, this dolphin gave me a perfect pose and smile!’
Kirsty Andrews, winner, British Waters Macro. ‘I have long admired pictures of nudibranchs feeding on the egg coils of other nudibranch species. I was therefore thrilled to find three large specimens [Favorinus branchialis] feeding on a big coil of eggs in Shetland, Scotland’
Kirsty Andrews, winner, British Waters Macro. ‘I have long admired pictures of nudibranchs feeding on the egg coils of other nudibranch species. I was therefore thrilled to find three large specimens [Favorinus branchialis] feeding on a big coil of eggs in Shetland, Scotland’  
Suliman Alatiqi, winner, Portrait. ‘The elephant’s trunk is one of the most distinctive anatomical features in the natural world and this photo aims to emphasise it. Luckily, he was curious about my camera’
Suliman Alatiqi, winner, Portrait. ‘The elephant’s trunk is one of the most distinctive anatomical features in the natural world and this photo aims to emphasise it. Luckily, he was curious about my camera’
Bryant Turffs, third, Behaviour. ‘I captured this image of a common snapping turtle in a freshwater spring after a prolonged period of observation. In the image, the turtle is consuming a scavenged flatfish, commonly known as a hog-choker’
Bryant Turffs, third, Behaviour. ‘I captured this image of a common snapping turtle in a freshwater spring after a prolonged period of observation. In the image, the turtle is consuming a scavenged flatfish, commonly known as a hog-choker’ 
Shane Gross, winner, Macro. ‘Plainfin midshipman are deepwater fish that travel to the intertidal zone to spawn. The males sing to attract females and she will lay as many eggs as his singing deserves’
Shane Gross, winner, Macro. ‘Plainfin midshipman are deepwater fish that travel to the intertidal zone to spawn. The males sing to attract females and she will lay as many eggs as his singing deserves’
Dmitry Kokh, highly commended, Marine Conservation. Polar bears and humans exist in two different worlds. Those two worlds continue to drift apart’
Dmitry Kokh, highly commended, Marine Conservation. Polar bears and humans exist in two different worlds. Those two worlds continue to drift apart’ 
Rafael Fernandez Caballero, runner up, Portrait. ‘For me, the leopard seal is the most special and epic predator on the planet’
Rafael Fernandez Caballero, runner up, Portrait. ‘For me, the leopard seal is the most special and epic predator on the planet’
Andy Schmid, runner up, Wide Angle. ‘I’ve been travelling to northern Norway for the five past winters to witness one of our planet’s most spectacular wildlife events – the herring migration into the fjords’
Andy Schmid, runner up, Wide Angle. ‘I’ve been travelling to northern Norway for the five past winters to witness one of our planet’s most spectacular wildlife events – the herring migration into the fjords’