The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition is back for another year, showcasing some of the finest images of the ocean’s beauty to be snapped up in 2020.
The annual competition, organized by the Underwater Photography Guide, hopes to highlight some of the world’s best underwater images and document the wondrous ecosystem that exists beneath the water’s surface. Now in its 9th year, 2020’s winners are as stunning as ever, despite lockdowns, travel restrictions, and hardship brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Best of Show award was swooped by photographer Gaetano Dario Gargiulo for a wide-angle shot (image below) of a deeply curious octopus having a close took at the camera lens in the tide pools of New South Wales, Australia.
“On the day of the photo, I remained in the tide pool as the tide was too low to venture outside of its boundaries. In one of the shallowest parts of the pool I noticed an octopus. I placed my camera near its den and the octopus started interacting with it. It came completely out of the den and to our amazement it started shooting pictures! My son (3 y.o. in the background) was very curious about the octopus," Gargiulo said on the competition's website.
The competition also features winners for an array of different categories, including Wide Angle, Macro, Marine Life Behaviour, Portrait, Coldwater, Blackwater, Nudibranch, Underwater Conservation, and many others.
You can check out some of the winning images from the latest competition below. If they tickle your fancy, be sure to take a look at 2019’s winners too.
1st Place - Marine Life Behaviour. Image Credit: Steven Kovacs/Ocean Art 2020
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